As MM says, the songs themselves are great, but in Brice's hand they lack something fundamental - soul. That said, his is nowhere near as bad as Rod Stewart's "soul" album.

3 or 4 are pretty good - "Soul Days", "7 Rooms", for example.

I suggest you look at the song titles and check out the originals.

Watched the recent interview with Howard Stern. Pretty good & extensive. Worht checking out.

Love The Boss, but he cannot do soul.

As for the outrageous ticket fiasco...... Bruce is a typical Champagne Socialist but with a fake working man persona added in. Talking and writing about the blue- collared worker while making sure they cannot afford go to his gigs.

It's not a good look Bruce.

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strat72
Love The Boss, but he cannot do soul.

As for the outrageous ticket fiasco...... Bruce is a typical Champagne Socialist but with a fake working man persona added in. Talking and writing about the blue- collared worker while making sure they cannot afford go to his gigs.

It's not a good look Bruce.

He is and has been that way for these days, since his Broadway stint in particular.

The ticket price was reasonable and affordable for the blue-collared workers up to the 2016 River Tour, though.

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RisingStone

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strat72
Love The Boss, but he cannot do soul.

As for the outrageous ticket fiasco...... Bruce is a typical Champagne Socialist but with a fake working man persona added in. Talking and writing about the blue- collared worker while making sure they cannot afford go to his gigs.

It's not a good look Bruce.

He is and has been that way for these days, since his Broadway stint in particular.

The ticket price was reasonable and affordable for the blue-collared workers up to the 2016 River Tour, though.

I paid basically the same money for the upcoming tour as the 2016 tour. & for better seats. It depends what your expectations are. Yes there are huge problems with Ticketmaster but if you know how to work the system you can do reasonably well a lot of the time. Again, expectations come into play.

Ryan Adams has released a free download of his take on "Nebraska"



[twitter.com]

--

[www.youtube.com]

How many "blue collar" workers are left in the United States and how many actually listen to Bruce Springsteen?

Ummmm.... wait till i ring A factory girl



ROCKMAN

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Dan
How many "blue collar" workers are left in the United States and how many actually listen to Bruce Springsteen?

Interesting question, actually.

I've never fully understood it, Bruce and that stigma.

What if some artist sang about how teachers aren't paid enough?

Does that mean a majority of that artist's fans will be teachers?


I would think the blue collar thing just became a connection and promoted by the media.

Do Clapton fans actually have the blues?

Do Stones fans throw their noses at old men's/petty morals?

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GasLightStreet

Do Stones fans throw their noses at old men's/petty morals?

Well, I've had a romantic liason with a 13 year old girl once.



(just to make sure: I was of the same age myself)

Just as long as the guitar plays, let it steal your heart away

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Dan
How many "blue collar" workers are left in the United States and how many actually listen to Bruce Springsteen?

well, I guess the (former) blue collar workers rather prefer 'Born in the USA' (the song, not the album) than 'Nebraska'

On Broadway, Bruce readily admitted that he has never had a real job in his life.

[www.nytimes.com]

If anyone is interested you can pre-order cds of the whole upcoming tour at a discount on the link below. Link is for US but the same holds for Europe. It's too spendy for me but I'll most likely pick up the show I see later.

[live.brucespringsteen.net]

I posted this on The Cure thread — see how Robert Smith cares about the ticket price.

[www.iq-mag.net]

So there you have it: the artists do have a say in pricing.

The above Cure article is very long. For your convenience, here is a quote of the related portion:

Quote
The Perfect Boy
Revealing the depth of Robert Smith’s involvement in the band’s career, Mitha tells IQ, “Robert is the only artist I know in the world who discusses ticket prices, sightlines, scalings with every promoter – it was the same with the 2016 tour. So, when you send over scaling plans with those colour seating maps and everything, he literally goes into every detail and changes the colours. It must be crazy time-consuming for him, but he’s very involved.”

Spanish promoter Mercader comments, “They care deeply about the ticket prices – the only other act I can think of who care to the same extent is AC/DC. Robert wants sensible prices to make it as affordable as possible for all fans.”

It’s something that Hopewell knows well. “Promoters will put forward a ticket price they think is achievable and a lot of the time Robert will come back and say thank you very much, but I think the prices should be lower,” he says. “He’s also very keen to see ticket scales that are neatly structured rather than appearing to be haphazard from the fans’ point of view.”

Production manager Broad notes the positives, “Robert is like management. He wants to know the sales numbers, how everything looks, where everything is – he is very hands on. It actually has its advantages: if anyone asks ‘Why do you do X?’ we can answer, ‘Because Robert wants to!’ And that’s the end of the conversation.”

A large number of The Cure tickets are sold through Ticketbastard in the U.K. Indeed the artists can have a say in pricing if they want to.

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RisingStone
The above Cure article is very long. For your convenience, here is a quote of the related portion:

Quote
The Perfect Boy
Revealing the depth of Robert Smith’s involvement in the band’s career, Mitha tells IQ, “Robert is the only artist I know in the world who discusses ticket prices, sightlines, scalings with every promoter – it was the same with the 2016 tour. So, when you send over scaling plans with those colour seating maps and everything, he literally goes into every detail and changes the colours. It must be crazy time-consuming for him, but he’s very involved.”

Spanish promoter Mercader comments, “They care deeply about the ticket prices – the only other act I can think of who care to the same extent is AC/DC. Robert wants sensible prices to make it as affordable as possible for all fans.”

It’s something that Hopewell knows well. “Promoters will put forward a ticket price they think is achievable and a lot of the time Robert will come back and say thank you very much, but I think the prices should be lower,” he says. “He’s also very keen to see ticket scales that are neatly structured rather than appearing to be haphazard from the fans’ point of view.”

Production manager Broad notes the positives, “Robert is like management. He wants to know the sales numbers, how everything looks, where everything is – he is very hands on. It actually has its advantages: if anyone asks ‘Why do you do X?’ we can answer, ‘Because Robert wants to!’ And that’s the end of the conversation.”

A large number of The Cure tickets are sold through Ticketbastard in the U.K. Indeed the artists can have a say in pricing if they want to.

Definitely. Also see: Pearl Jam, Rage Against the Machine, Garth Brooks… If artists care, they can make it happen. Bruce doesn’t give a shit.

I’m a fan of Bruce myself but I have to say, a bunch of the Goth rockers care about fans’ finances more than The Boss, “the friend of the common man” does.

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RisingStone
I’m a fan of Bruce myself but I have to say, a bunch of the Goth rockers care about fans’ finances more than The Boss, “the friend of the common man” does.

A lot of artists I like try to be fan friendly in varying degrees. Keeping ticket prices & venue size down, charging reasonable money for merch, etc. Some of my faves like this are Nick Cave, Flaming Lips & NIN. The last NIN tour was mostly smaller outdoor venues (under 10000) priced at $100. T-shirts were $25 or $30. A lot of the big acts are charging $50 for shirts. I won't do it, can't afford it. Looking forward to seeing the Cure in North America. Also, looking forward to Bruce in February. I'm one of the lucky ones who scored reasonably priced tickets. I wouldn't have bought tickets if they were more than what I spent. One more ride with the boss.....

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crholmstrom
If anyone is interested you can pre-order cds of the whole upcoming tour at a discount on the link below. Link is for US but the same holds for Europe. It's too spendy for me but I'll most likely pick up the show I see later.

[live.brucespringsteen.net]

This just completely killed any motivation for me to go, at least for real money. Not that I am complaining, I love stuff like this. One of the reasons I record everything is because I prefer to listen at home.

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Dan

Quote
crholmstrom
If anyone is interested you can pre-order cds of the whole upcoming tour at a discount on the link below. Link is for US but the same holds for Europe. It's too spendy for me but I'll most likely pick up the show I see later.

[live.brucespringsteen.net]

This just completely killed any motivation for me to go, at least for real money. Not that I am complaining, I love stuff like this. One of the reasons I record everything is because I prefer to listen at home.

Did you think he wasn't gonna be releasing the shows? He's been doing this the last several tours.

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NashvilleBlues

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RisingStone
The above Cure article is very long. For your convenience, here is a quote of the related portion:

Quote
The Perfect Boy
Revealing the depth of Robert Smith’s involvement in the band’s career, Mitha tells IQ, “Robert is the only artist I know in the world who discusses ticket prices, sightlines, scalings with every promoter – it was the same with the 2016 tour. So, when you send over scaling plans with those colour seating maps and everything, he literally goes into every detail and changes the colours. It must be crazy time-consuming for him, but he’s very involved.”

Spanish promoter Mercader comments, “They care deeply about the ticket prices – the only other act I can think of who care to the same extent is AC/DC. Robert wants sensible prices to make it as affordable as possible for all fans.”

It’s something that Hopewell knows well. “Promoters will put forward a ticket price they think is achievable and a lot of the time Robert will come back and say thank you very much, but I think the prices should be lower,” he says. “He’s also very keen to see ticket scales that are neatly structured rather than appearing to be haphazard from the fans’ point of view.”

Production manager Broad notes the positives, “Robert is like management. He wants to know the sales numbers, how everything looks, where everything is – he is very hands on. It actually has its advantages: if anyone asks ‘Why do you do X?’ we can answer, ‘Because Robert wants to!’ And that’s the end of the conversation.”

A large number of The Cure tickets are sold through Ticketbastard in the U.K. Indeed the artists can have a say in pricing if they want to.

Definitely. Also see: Pearl Jam, Rage Against the Machine, Garth Brooks… If artists care, they can make it happen. Bruce doesn’t give a shit.

I get the anger against Bruce. But in 2014 his shows in Australia were AUD$220 a ticket. The Stones? AUD$520. Go figure, no vitriol directed to The Stones? Yeah, I know, I’m just goading..

Rod

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bitusa2012

Quote
NashvilleBlues

Quote
RisingStone
The above Cure article is very long. For your convenience, here is a quote of the related portion:

Quote
The Perfect Boy
Revealing the depth of Robert Smith’s involvement in the band’s career, Mitha tells IQ, “Robert is the only artist I know in the world who discusses ticket prices, sightlines, scalings with every promoter – it was the same with the 2016 tour. So, when you send over scaling plans with those colour seating maps and everything, he literally goes into every detail and changes the colours. It must be crazy time-consuming for him, but he’s very involved.”

Spanish promoter Mercader comments, “They care deeply about the ticket prices – the only other act I can think of who care to the same extent is AC/DC. Robert wants sensible prices to make it as affordable as possible for all fans.”

It’s something that Hopewell knows well. “Promoters will put forward a ticket price they think is achievable and a lot of the time Robert will come back and say thank you very much, but I think the prices should be lower,” he says. “He’s also very keen to see ticket scales that are neatly structured rather than appearing to be haphazard from the fans’ point of view.”

Production manager Broad notes the positives, “Robert is like management. He wants to know the sales numbers, how everything looks, where everything is – he is very hands on. It actually has its advantages: if anyone asks ‘Why do you do X?’ we can answer, ‘Because Robert wants to!’ And that’s the end of the conversation.”

A large number of The Cure tickets are sold through Ticketbastard in the U.K. Indeed the artists can have a say in pricing if they want to.

Definitely. Also see: Pearl Jam, Rage Against the Machine, Garth Brooks… If artists care, they can make it happen. Bruce doesn’t give a shit.

I get the anger against Bruce. But in 2014 his shows in Australia were AUD$220 a ticket. The Stones? AUD$520. Go figure, no vitriol directed to The Stones? Yeah, I know, I’m just goading..

Definitely a fair question. We’ve known The Stones were a money machine for a long time. The difference to me is Bruce’s career long image of being for the blue collar man.

Image or not, Bruce isn't exactly running a charity either. Its true his tickets were going for a better price for a long time, but now he plainly admitted he's just doing "what everyone else is doing" and "why should he care, he's 73". Whether those are very good arguments is another matter.

Quote
Topi
Image or not, Bruce isn't exactly running a charity either. Its true his tickets were going for a better price for a long time, but now he plainly admitted he's just doing "what everyone else is doing" and "why should he care, he's 73". Whether those are very good arguments is another matter.

I put my garbage can out for pick up Wednesday morning. It didn't get picked up.

Whoooo .... when the whip comes down ....



ROCKMAN

My girlfriend defended her PhD thesis in human geography on Friday the 16th at the University of Eastern Finland.

Here's my speech to her at the celebration dinner:


It's a bit of a show and tell here. [Places wood print of Bruce Springsteen on the window sill].

This man is Bruce Springsteen.

I'll place him here far enough from the candles so he doesn't catch fire. It's made out of wood. I also don't want my coat skirts to catch fire...
What can I say here, really? I told a couple of people at the thesis defense that I was just bursting with pride, and probably smiling like a butcher's dog.
We've actually got a lot to celebrate this Christmas. Because at Christmas, it's our nine-and-a-half year anniversary. You can round that up to ten years, right?

Me and E, we met online. Match dot com. I don't even know if that exists anymore, it was the time before Tinder. Somebody all the way from Joensuu was writing to me? I was like, what's going on? Joensuu? I gotta check this out.
So we got to talking on Messenger and stuff, and our first date was June 10th. It was the Canadian prog rock band, Rush.

At Midsummer I was preparing to move house, so I asked E to come and help me wash the windows. And from there on it all kinda started.

How does Bruce Springsteen come into play? Our first selfie together was taken in Pikku Huopalahti, on a bench down by the shore at this little bay cove. I was wearing a T-shirt with the "Born To Run" cover.

And "Born to Run", that song is all about running away. Escaping. This little town is a death trap, gotta get out. That theme of going away repeats itself in Springsteen's work over and over.

As far as sense of place goes, in 2019 I was fortunate enough to visit some of the places Bruce writes about in his songs. "Oh, so this is the house Born To Run was written in? That's the factory? This is E-street?" And that's when things really hit home. You had to be there to figure it all out. I've also seen Springsteen on his home turf in Newark, NJ, from the front row. He's just a great performer.

Now, we've had some amazing trips together. Just recently we took a two-week trip to Australia, finally got around to doing it after more than 2 years of postponing it. We had originally booked the whole thing in January 2020 - and then somebody decided to eat a bat.

We've been to Canada, we've been to Italy numerous times, Spain...
But to me, some of our best trips have been to England. Been to London, Manchester, Liverpool. And to me, London is really the place. I know you always say it's not "the real England"; and that's correct, it isn't. But you can actually take the train out of London and get to the countryside if you want to. There's always something happening in London. In 2014 we saw Monty Python live. I have had the pleasure of taking you to see my favorite band, The Rolling Stones, twice.

It just so happens that in July, a bit after our 10th anniversary, a certain Bruce Springsteen is playing Hyde Park. So I bought us tickets to the Golden Circle. My friend was kind enough to let us use her guest room in Maida Vale. We'll be flying in business class.

When the boss man calls, you gotta go!

"Oh, someday, girl, I don't know when
We're gonna get to that place
Where we really wanna go and we'll walk in the sun
But 'til then, tramps like us
Baby, we were born to run"

Here's to E!

The road bends.

Quote
Topi
My girlfriend defended her PhD thesis in human geography on Friday the 16th at the University of Eastern Finland.

Here's my speech to her at the celebration dinner:


It's a bit of a show and tell here. [Places wood print of Bruce Springsteen on the window sill].

This man is Bruce Springsteen.

I'll place him here far enough from the candles so he doesn't catch fire. It's made out of wood. I also don't want my coat skirts to catch fire...
What can I say here, really? I told a couple of people at the thesis defense that I was just bursting with pride, and probably smiling like a butcher's dog.
We've actually got a lot to celebrate this Christmas. Because at Christmas, it's our nine-and-a-half year anniversary. You can round that up to ten years, right?

Me and E, we met online. Match dot com. I don't even know if that exists anymore, it was the time before Tinder. Somebody all the way from Joensuu was writing to me? I was like, what's going on? Joensuu? I gotta check this out.
So we got to talking on Messenger and stuff, and our first date was June 10th. It was the Canadian prog rock band, Rush.

At Midsummer I was preparing to move house, so I asked E to come and help me wash the windows. And from there on it all kinda started.

How does Bruce Springsteen come into play? Our first selfie together was taken in Pikku Huopalahti, on a bench down by the shore at this little bay cove. I was wearing a T-shirt with the "Born To Run" cover.

And "Born to Run", that song is all about running away. Escaping. This little town is a death trap, gotta get out. That theme of going away repeats itself in Springsteen's work over and over.

As far as sense of place goes, in 2019 I was fortunate enough to visit some of the places Bruce writes about in his songs. "Oh, so this is the house Born To Run was written in? That's the factory? This is E-street?" And that's when things really hit home. You had to be there to figure it all out. I've also seen Springsteen on his home turf in Newark, NJ, from the front row. He's just a great performer.

Now, we've had some amazing trips together. Just recently we took a two-week trip to Australia, finally got around to doing it after more than 2 years of postponing it. We had originally booked the whole thing in January 2020 - and then somebody decided to eat a bat.

We've been to Canada, we've been to Italy numerous times, Spain...
But to me, some of our best trips have been to England. Been to London, Manchester, Liverpool. And to me, London is really the place. I know you always say it's not "the real England"; and that's correct, it isn't. But you can actually take the train out of London and get to the countryside if you want to. There's always something happening in London. In 2014 we saw Monty Python live. I have had the pleasure of taking you to see my favorite band, The Rolling Stones, twice.

It just so happens that in July, a bit after our 10th anniversary, a certain Bruce Springsteen is playing Hyde Park. So I bought us tickets to the Golden Circle. My friend was kind enough to let us use her guest room in Maida Vale. We'll be flying in business class.

When the boss man calls, you gotta go!

"Oh, someday, girl, I don't know when
We're gonna get to that place
Where we really wanna go and we'll walk in the sun
But 'til then, tramps like us
Baby, we were born to run"

Here's to E!

The road bends.

Congratulations to E!

Quote
crholmstrom
If anyone is interested you can pre-order cds of the whole upcoming tour at a discount on the link below. Link is for US but the same holds for Europe. It's too spendy for me but I'll most likely pick up the show I see later.

[live.brucespringsteen.net]

I ordered the 2016 New York show (in which the band played the entire River album in order). Also the 1988 LA show. The sound quality of both is excellent - similar to the No Nukes shows released last year. Snare sound is similar to Bob Seger's Live Bullet album.

Rehearsals for the tour have started a while ago as per BTX