Caryn Rose's Blog, page 17
April 19, 2012
On Levon Helm, and The Band
I cut this exact ad out of the New York Times one Sunday, and hung it on my bedroom wall. I couldn’t go into the city to see it, but went down to Ridgeway Cinemas one Saturday afternoon to see it, all on my own.
When it was done — before it was done, even — I had gone out to the pay phone to call home and ask if I could stay to see it again. It wasn’t because I thought it was amazing (although I certainly did think that), it was because it was so enormous, so mind-blowing, so more-tha...
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April 18, 2012
on american bandstand, and dick clark
When I was old enough to remember listening to and caring about music, we lived in the middle of nowhere, a town in Michigan so small that when I visited it for the first time in 25 years, my first question to my mother was, “Where did you shop? Where did you buy clothes?” But there was a local FM station and at night I could twist the gold dial of the radio my mother gave me and could pick up Chicago radio, WLS, and Detroit radio sometimes, in the summer when the sky was clear. I woul...
<!--SPOSTARBUST 317 else (count($tags) >April 9, 2012
Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band, Madison Square Garden, 4-9-12
After Friday night's bulldozer of an intro, Bruce clearly decided he liked it enough to try it again tonight, but this time, with mixed results. Things were a little odd, a little off balance, a little not quite all together for this second MSG show. "Badlands" didn't have the same punch, but "We Take Care of Our Own" and "Wrecking Ball" (which has grown on me) felt solid as ever. I didn't think we needed to go the "Out In The Street" route again, given that the people behind the stage...
April 7, 2012
Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band, Madison Square Garden, 4-6-12
Madison Square Garden is still one of the grand rooms of rock and roll. Magic can still happen there. You expect magic when the E Street Band is in the house on a Friday night, and things certainly began with a take-no-prisoners opening: "New York, New York" on the PA, and instead of the band taking the stage in darkness and Bruce coming to the mic for his "Star Time" intro, the band walked on with the house lights full up and slammed straight into the most balls-to-the-wall version of...
April 4, 2012
Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band, Izod Arena, 4-5-12
There you are, having survived a party trick duet on "Sunny Day" and a brisk but standard "Promised Land," and then the stage goes dark and maybe Bruce said something, maybe he didn't, but all of a sudden there are those piano notes and the crowd roars in recognition and then immediately goes silent. Suddenly it is as though there is no one else in the room, there is no one else between you and that stage. It is a moment, somehow Bruce can turn this behemoth on a dime and create the space in ...
March 30, 2012
Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band, Wells Fargo Arena, Philadelphia, PA, 3-29-12
Once you've been to a Springsteen show in Philadelphia, it will be hard for you to not be at a Springsteen show in Philadelphia. More than Jersey, more than New York, the audiences here are a combination of diehards that make the place vibrate and elevate the performance. Bruce always responds to this with high energy and inspired setlist choices.
Night two in Philly especially has a lot to live up to, especially after what was by all accounts (and according to the various live streams) a...
March 19, 2012
Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band, Greensboro Coliseum, 3-19-12
What a difference a day, and two songs, can make.
The intro music was "Papa's Got A Brand New Bag" and once again, the "Star Time" intro took us into "We Take Care Of Our Own," which is already rock-solid and will just be a battle-axe by the time the middle of the tour rolls around. Bruce is trying to play with "Wrecking Ball" a little, trying to emphasize things here or slow things down there, but there's just so much going on that it's tough to do that.
"Badlands" is "Badlands" and it's...
March 18, 2012
Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band, Philips Arena, Atlanta, GA, 3-18-12
There has been so much Bruce Springsteen in these past few weeks, what with late-night telly vision and satellite radio and keynote speeches and album releases that you would think I would be ready, that I would be prepared, that I would not burst into tears the minute the lights went out and everyone started filing into place onstage. The stage is dark and one by one everyone takes their places and then Bruce steps into the center and the lights come up and there they are. I was happy that n...
March 13, 2012
The Music of the Rolling Stones, Carnegie Hall, 3-13-12
Michael Dorf presents
The Music of the Rolling Stones
Carnegie Hall, March 13, 2012
This was the most star-studded Carnegie tribute benefit show out of the five I have attended (Springsteen, R.E.M., The Who, Neil Young). The announced performers were strong from the outset, it didn't feel like the organizers were scrambling for talent (which is what it seems like sometimes, with the lineup only filling out a few weeks before the actual show). That's why it was so surprising that it was so...
March 9, 2012
In which the student becomes the master…
…or something like that.
From the Apollo tonight:
From the Moore Theater, 1992
If you liked In which the student becomes the master… you may be interested in my novel, "B-sides and Broken Hearts": http://www.bsidesandbrokenhearts.com/
