Hidden Bruce in Bally's Atlantic City!

(Click to embiggen!)

Theme park goers may be familiar with the concept of "Hidden Mickeys" at Disney parks.  Basically, the theme park designers hidden Mickey heads throughout the park, only to be spotted by the most eagle-eyed Disney fanatics.  Well, I think I may have found the first every "Hidden Bruce", in none other than my favorite stomping ground, Atlantic City!

Just look at the glorious mural above!  That, my friends, is located in Bally's, just behind Harry's Oyster Bar, brightening an otherwise dank hallway where casino-goers wait for a shuttle to Harrah's.  This glorious mural/potential back tattoo features many legends of New Jersey enjoying the Atlantic City beach, from Frankie Valli to Shaquille O'Neal.  And, who are those two handsome gentlemen bopping together in the lower left?

Why, it's our boy Bruce, and....Bon Jovi I want to say?  Judging by his appearance (as well as Shaq's Lakers jersey), I'd date this work of art as going back to the late 90s/early 00s.

Either way, I want this hanging on my wall.  And as my permanent Christmas card.

As I've clearly run out of things to write about on this blog, I will keep an eye out for all the "Hidden Bruces" I can find.  You're welcome.

Two for Tuesday Video Spotlight: Bon Jovi and Springsteen at 12.12.12

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I haven't written a post in a few weeks so I decided to come back with a big one.  These videos are from the famous 12.12.12 Concert at Madison Square Garden.  Clocking in at just under 6 hours this was an incredible concert for a great cause: Hurricane Sandy relief.  This concert was a "Who's Who" of rock icons and pop culture and had so many notable moments: Paul McCartney playing with the surviving members of Nirvana, Adam Sandler proving he can still be quite funny, Brian Williams proving he should stick to news casting and not be doing comedy, Roger Daltry showing off a hernia scar, Eddie Vedder and Roger Waters stealing the show with an incredible performance of "Comfortably Numb", Kanye West nearly ruining the show with a widely panned, overindulgent performance, Billy Joel proving he's one of the most under appreciated legends in rock music, and countless others.

But for me this was the above videos were the highlight of the night.  Bon Jovi and Bruce Springsteen are my two favorite musicians.  As much as it is ripe for making stereotypical New Jersey jokes, I just can't help it.  I love them both and have seen them live more times than I can count.  To see these two take the stage together was just incredible to watch live.  Even though ticket prices were astronomical for this concert, when I was watching this on TV as soon as I saw them on the stage together I knew I made a mistake by not getting tickets for this once in a lifetime concert.

Bruce kicked off the night with a great performance, and it was during his last song of his set that he played the iconic "Born To Run", and invited Jon Bon Jovi out to play with him.  Later during Bon Jovi's set, Bruce returned the favor and played with Bon Jovi performing their massive hit "Who Says You Can't Go Home?".  One of  the things I noticed about these videos is that Bruce seemed a lot more comfortable with Bon Jovi than Jon did playing with Bruce and the E Street band.  I think the reasoning is pretty simple: Jon grew up idolizing Bruce, and even though Jon is one of the biggest names in music he's still humbled to be playing with one of his heroes.  I think that's pretty cool.  Bruce has stated on countless occasions his admiration and respect for Bon Jovi, but by the time Bon Jovi hit it big, Bruce was playing to sold out stadiums all over the world.  All in all these are just two incredible performances from two very proud and beyond-talented New Jerseyans who wanted to help out their home state in a time of need.  What more needs to be said.  Crank it up and enjoy.

Video Spotlight- "Glory Days" (Bon Jovi)

I once heard Stevie Van Zandt say in an interview "You know if Jon or Bruce were from any other state no one would ever compare the two."  I somewhat agree with him, as the two aren't very similar but you know that old stereotype: "All white males from New Jersey who play in rock bands are the same."

That's not to say that there isn't a connection. Bon Jovi has stated on many occasions how big a fan he is of Bruce and Bruce has stated his admiration for Bon Jovi too. They have shared the stage a few times and I'm sure I will be covering that in future Video Spotlights.

But for now we have this, a quick little cover thrown into the middle of a Bon Jovi concert in Long Island, NY in 1995. Enjoy!

Springsteen Video Of The Week- "It's Been A Long Time"

"It's Been A Long Time"- Southside Johnny and The Asbury Jukes (Featuring Bruce Springsteen and Stevie Van Zandt)

Ah Southside Johnny, the other guy who made Asbury Park famous.  In a more perfect world, Southside Johnny would be much more famous, but unfortunately that's just not the case.  Southside Johnny was a major influence on Bruce and Bon Jovi and is barely known outside of South Jersey, while Bruce and Jon tour the world playing major stadiums.  However even though he's a fraction as popular as Springsteen and Bon Jovi, Southside Johnny and The Asbury Jukes have legions of their own fans and they're as hardcore about him, as we are about Bruce.  And it doesn't hurt to have Bruce Springsteen as one of your biggest fans.

It was actually this song that introduced me to Southside Johnny.  I had heard his name mentioned before, however didn't know much about him.  But I came across this video a few years back on YouTube, and liked it so much that I immediately bought Southside's Better Days album, which featured this song.  And ever since then, I have called myself a fan of Southside Johnny.

Ain't No One Can Fake It - Best of the Bruce Rip-Offs

When a musician breaks through, the money starts piling in.  And, as in any industry, once people start to see there is money to be made, they all start thinking "How can I get me a piece of that?"  So, they examine the successful musician, and see how they can replicate that formula.

This may sound cynical, but it isn't necessarily a bad thing.  For example, the success of The Beatles led to the "British Invasion", which paved the way for acts like The Rolling Stones and The Who to find their audiences.  As the saying goes, a rising tide floats all boats.  However, The Beatles phenomenon also created The Monkees, a campy cash grab assembled for the sole purpose of getting in on the scene.  

So, with the appropriate amount of respect a minor blog can offer these rich musicians, I'm going to take a look at some of the Springsteen-inspired knock-offs throughout the years.

John Cafferty and the Beaver Brown Band - Specifically, the above hit "On The Dark Side", which was written for the movie Eddie and the Cruisers.  Yes, the band is from New Jersey in the movie.  Yes, the band has a charming black saxophonist.   Yes, you are seeing the word "Spring" over Tom Berenger's head as he lip-syncs this song.  It is a catchy song, but clearly borrows a lot from "She's the One".

John Mellencamp - Before writing this entry, I tossed out the idea to the other Legends of Springsteen editors, to get their opinion on other artists who rip-off the Boss.  OB immediately responded, "Anything and everything John Mellencamp has said or done."  Fair enough.  Personally, I don't see him as a total Springsteen copycat, but rather as an exaggeration of one specific aspect of Springsteen's personality.  It is like someone took Springsteen and dialed up his working man roots to 11, and then removed the rest of the politics, anger, and sadness.  

Bon Jovi's "Joey" - Another suggestion from editor OB.  While a lot of people associate Bruce and Bon Jovi due to their Jersey roots, they don't really share many similarities artistically.  However, this song owes a lot to the Born to Run album, as the piano sounds like a mix between "Thunder Road" and "Jungleland". 

The Killer's Sam's Town album - More and more young artists are getting influenced by the Boss.  Springsteen's name has been frequently dropped in interviews with Brian Fallon of Gaslight Anthem and Win Butler of Arcade Fire.  However, there's a fine line between drawing inspiration from and going out of your way to mimic your heroes.  In the Killer's sophomore effort, Brandon Flowers did his best Bruce impersonation, telling stories about rivers and being wild.  I highly enjoy the album, but do often wonder what it would be like to hear the E Street Band play some of the songs.

Let us know what other artists you think owe a bit of their paychecks to the Boss in the comments!