Springsteen Covers Crystals' "Then He Kissed Me" and Berry's "Little Queenie"

This past weekend, Springsteen released a concert he performed in St. Louis in 2008 on his website.  This concert from the Magic tour includes covers of the Crystals' "Then He Kissed Me" and Chuck Berry's "Little Queenie".  You can download the concert on his website, but here's "Then He Kissed Me" and "Little Queenie" for you now!

When Bruce Springsteen opened for Chuck Berry

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Found via the Springsteen sub-reddit, here is an advertisement for an April 1973 concert, where Bruce Springsteen opened for Chuck Berry and Jerry Lee Lewis.  According to Brucebase, Springsteen and company were told about a week before that they had to be Chuck Berry's backing band.  So, with very little practice, the boys went out there and improvised with Berry for 70 minutes.  Unfortunately, there exists no recording of this show.  But, I think we can safely assume that the concert goers got their $5.50 worth that night (roughly $30 today).

Duke Street Kings at Mayne Stage (Chicago) on Feb 14

Looking for something to do this Valentine’s Day? What better date than seeing The Duke Street Kings perform an All-Springsteen show at Mayne Stage in Chicago?

Mayne Stage:

The Duke Street Kings celebrate the music of Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band with spirit, energy and passion! But this isn’t a tribute band, it’s Chicago’s own Michael McDermott, whose own original music, songs and performances have often been compared to Springsteen. Michael brings the Duke Street Kings to life only a couple of times a year to create a party-like sing- along that pays tribute to The Boss in his own original and personal style. Journey back to the shores of Asbury Park with The Duke Street Kings as they perform the best of The Boss’s classic albums from Greetings From Asbury Park to Born to Run to The Rising and Born In The USA.

Legends of Springsteen will be in attendance, stay tuned for a review of the show.

Video Spotlight: Ain’t Good Enough for You (Live in Gijon – 6/26/13)

Well, it’s Annual “Ain’t Good Enough for You” Day over here at Legends of Springsteen (see 2012 and 2013). Diverting from the past two years, we’re highlighting a rare live performance today.

Ever since hearing it on The Promise, I’ve hoped for an opportunity to see "Ain't Good Enough for You" performed live. One time at the Izod Center, he started to play “So Young and in Love” and I momentarily thought it was the beginning of “Ain’t Good Enough for You.” Alas, I’m still holding out hope. But I am pleased that he’s played it in a few of his European shows and that video exists.

The opening of this video shot in Gijon, Spain conveys exactly what I imagined it would be like to see it live. The crowd cheering in unison, the hands flying, Bruce strutting around like a goofball. It’s all there.

Great Moments in Springsteen Television History: The Facts of Life

So a few weeks ago I was hit with a serious case of insomnia.  I tried a number of different things to fall asleep, but as the minutes turned to hours and I just stared at the ceiling, I gave in, turned on the TV and flipped around.  I stopped on a late night marathon of The Facts Of Life.  For those who don't remember, The Facts of Life was a popular show in the 1980's about 4 girls coming of age while living together at a boarding school with their motherly figure, Mrs. Garrett.  The girls run the gamut of usual stereotypes: Blair, the rich and pretty girl, Jo, the tough tomboy, Tootie, the sassy black girl, and Natalie, the cheerful chubby girl.

This particular episode, "The Fear Strikes Back", was "a very special episode."  Again, for you young ones, "very special episodes" were a staple of sitcoms back in the 80s and early 90s where they tackled serious issues.  Usual topics included drug use, drinking and driving, and child abuse.  This time the topic was sexual assault.  In this particular episode, Natalie is the victim of sexual assault.  What does that have to do with Bruce Springsteen?  In a vain attempt to cheer Natalie up, the other girls get her tickets to the Bruce Springsteen concert.  I couldn't help but laugh at this episode, and think about how mercilessly this episode would be lambasted today as sexist and misogynistic.  The other girls spend a good part of the episode wondering why Natalie can't just get over what happened to her and go to the Springsteen concert, why would the attacker want Natalie as a victim (after all, she's a fat girl), and finally they all come to the conclusion that Natalie basically deserved what happened to her because she was by herself, and walking on a dimly lit street.  Ah, 80s TV... is there anything finer?

Springsteen Video Of The Week: "Take 'Em As They Come"

NOTE:  Bruce drops a few "F-bombs" in the intro to this video.  So if'you're at work, or got kids around, you might want to hold off on this one

I found this video on YouTube last week when I did my lyrics of the week of the this same song.  This is video might show the most accurate depiction of Bruce and his fans.  It's almost as if Bruce knew he would be at multiple shows, and held off waiting till the time was right.  And this fan, never gave up hope, never thought that Bruce would disappoint him.  And Bruce rewards that faith with his "ask and you shall receive" mentality.  When Steve and I went to show at Wrigley Field this summer, Steve had mentioned that Bruce had started off by testing the fans a little bit.  Almost to see if we would abandon Bruce (of course we never did), and when he was sure of it, BAM!  That's when Bruce comes out swinging and ready to partyAnd this fan, and his family with him, are just about the happiest people I've ever seen at a Bruce concert.

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OB's Top 5 songs "I've never heard at a concert, but really want to!"

What can I say?  I enjoy a good list.  So even though I've seen Bruce a dozen times before (and gotten to see some rare "once in a lifetime" performances like "The Weight" and "Jailhouse Rock") there are plenty of songs I haven't gotten to that I am really hoping he plays either of the next two times I see him (September 7th at Wrigley Field and September 22nd at Metlife Stadium).

Honorable Mention goes to "The Wrestler" and "Leap Of Faith".  I would love to hear either one of them, but they both just barely missed the cut.




5.  "Ain't Good Enough For You"-  Just in general, I'd like The Promise  to get some more love at live shows.  But in particular this toe tapper would be awesome to hear live!  It's upbeat, got some heartbreaking lyrics which are completely contradicted by some rockabilly-style piano and E Street harmony, and is one of my favorite songs from The Promise.  I can't see Bruce putting this into a setlist, so my best hope is for Bruce to pull a sign requesting this.



4.  "Two Faces"-  Like The Promise, I'm dying to see some more songs from Tunnel Of Love played!  I realize both albums were written when Bruce was going through some issues, and they might just be too personal to play live.  Tunnel Of Love, has so many under-rated songs that'd be great to hear live, but this soul searching ballad tops the list for me.  Like previously mentioned, this one probably won't get played outside of a sign request.  But hey I can still hope, right?



3.  "The River"- This one particularly hurts.  It was a big hit for Bruce and he plays it semi-regularly on tours. I just never seem to be in the right place, at the right time to hear this live.  Fortunately since it was such a big song for Bruce, there's always the possibility Bruce could add it to a setlist, and due to it popularity with the fans, it's also likely there could be a sign for this.  This song is the one I think I have the best chance of hearing, so I'll be keep my fingers crossed.



2.  "The Promise"- I told you I wanted to this album get some more appreciation!  "The Promise" I think is Bruce's best song lyrically.  It's my favorite song off the album of the same name, and probably even one of my top 5 Bruce songs altogether.  It's rare, but not unheard of, for Bruce to put this on a setlist, and I'm sure there will be plenty of signs for it as well.  No matter what else he played that night, I can say with almost certainty this song would be the highlight of the night.



1.  "Incident on 57th Street"- Duh, it's my favorite song.  Of course this one tops the list.  Like "The River", Bruce plays this one somewhat often, but I just haven't been lucky enough to be at any of those shows.  It's always a crowd favorite, and would make this particular blogger very happy!

The coolest thing about this list, is that Bruce has played all of these songs live before.  There's always a chance he could play one, or even all five, on any given night.  It's that sort of variety and appreciation of his fans to not give them any two shows that are alike, that has made Bruce the beloved performer he is today.  And who am I kidding, if he just played "Born to Run" and "Badlands" all night, I'd be happy with that too!  What do you guys say?  What songs would you want to hear live that you've never heard before?  

Springsteen Video of the Week - Hyde Park with Paul McCartney

There has been plenty of media brouhaha over the past week regarding the infamous microphone cut-off during the Paul McCartney finale of the Hyde Park concert in London. While it was definitely a bureaucratic affront and somewhat humiliating to leave Bruce screaming into a dead mic (even though he's done much sillier things on stage before), these stories do gloss over the fact that we still got 13 glorious minutes of Bruce and McCartney singing "I Saw Her Standing There" and "Twist and Shout" (with a sampling of "La Bamba"). The above video is pretty shaky but it gives a flavor of what it would have been like for the lucky crowd in London.