Bruce on Saturday Night Live, 12/19/15

As twenty-firstly reported on Legends of Springsteen, Bruce played on Saturday Night Live last night.  Continuing the promotion for The Ties That Bind, Bruce played "Meet Me In The City" and "The Ties That Bind".

Saturday Night Live is a notoriously poor place to perform, and Bruce did his best.  While it was interesting to see the "stripped-down" band (if you can call 5 guitarists, a bassist, two keyboardists, a sax and a drummer "stripped-down), I felt that the keyboard was too high in the mix, and you could tell Bruce was missing the front-row of fans to play off of.  However, Bruce wasn't done with the night:



Instead of saying their regular goodbyes, Bruce joined the SNL cast to sing "Santa Claus Is Coming To Town", with a little help from Sir Paul McCartney!  It was a great treat for people who were lucky enough to stay up to 1AM, or, if you were a tired blogger, a delightful surprise to view on YouTube early the next morning.

Video Spotlight - Jamming With Paul McCartney at Hard Rock Calling 2012

Everyone already knows the infamous story associated with this performance (as detailed exclusively on Legends of Springsteen), but here is a fantastically filmed version of the night.  The excellent camera work captures all of Bruce's mugging and Paul McCartney's glorious hair in high definition.  Personally, there's nothing overwhelming about the performance itself (I believe most Bruce fans have seen him play "Twist And Shout" in person by now), but it is still surreal to see two of the largest music icons in rock-and-roll history cavorting on stage.

Breaking News - Springsteen to Perform Benefit Concert at MSG

On December 12th, Springsteen, along with a random assortment of stars ranging from Paul McCartney to Kanye West, will be performing a benefit concert for victims of Hurricane Sandy at Madison Square Garden.  While the mainstream media has moved on from hurricane coverage, there is still many people who are suffering, who have lost their homes and possessions, who have missed work, and who desperately need help.  It will take a long time for the East Coast to recover, and kudos to all involved in this project for continuing to raise money and awareness for these people in need.  

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.

Encore ruined in London

http://www.cnn.com/2012/07/14/showbiz/music/springsteen-mccartney-power-cut/index.html?iref=allsearch

I cannot put into words how annoyed I am by this.  I don't know who I feel worse for, the fans for being robbed of such a historical moment in music history, or for Bruce for being embarrassed and denied his moment with one of his heroes.  Pardon my French, but this bullshit to an infinite degree.

Bruce Springsteen Kicks Off the Grammys, E Street Style

Legends of Springsteen is proud to present a guest post on Bruce's performance at the 2012 Grammy Awards from Jess, friend of the blog and fellow Springsteen fanatic.

In general, I don't get overly excited about award shows, but when it was announced on February 2 that the E Street Band was added to the 2012 Grammys roster, I knew for sure I would be tuning in. Even better that they would be the opening act! And I have to say that each time I hear “We Take Care of Our Own,” it grows on me a little more.



Not only was The Boss the perfect way to open the show, he also surprised everyone by joining Paul McCartney for a guitar shred-athon. Paul belted out a medley of tunes from Abbey Road, including a blend of 'Golden Slumbers' and 'Carry That Weight' from behind a piano before jumping up and moving to guitar for 'The End,' when he was joined by Dave Grohl, Bruce Springsteen and Joe Walsh of the Eagles for an unexpected but fitting end to the awards show. If you turned off the show before this ending, please watch it here now!



But what’s even more exciting for E Street fans is what is yet to come. March 6th Wrecking Ball is released, and the tour kicks off March 18th in Atlanta. The Grammys performance was just enough of a “tease” to hold me over for the next couple months! I think Bruce said it best last night as he opened the show, “America, are you alive out there?” Yes, Bruce. We are. And we’re listening.

Want more inside scoop on E Street’s Grammys appearance? Check out Maureen Van Zandt’s Twitter handle, @MVZaGoGo.