Between the 2000 "Live in NY" CD and the 2003 "Live in Barcelona" DVD, I gotta believe that the E Street Band is the greatest American rock show on earth. After the Stones, it's the greatest rock show that ever was.

I concur. Check out the 1975 London gig included with the Born to Run anniversary box set and then realize that sandwiched between that show and the ones you mentioned was the 1978 tour, the 1980-81 tour, the 1984-85 mega tour and the 1987-88 tour. That's a lot of good rockin'.

I fully agree, they rock all night long! seen them 4 times never let me down.

No doubt about it,but for the Stones,Bruce would be top dog.

The E Street Band is pretty awesome, but there are at least a dozen or so other bands besides the Stones that I like as well or better: The Who (in their prime), Bowie when he had Mick Ronson in the band, Zeppelin, Cream, Jimi Hendrix experience, etc., etc.

I think the 78-80 Bruce tour was the second best ever after Led Zeppelin 75 tour. Stones come in third with their 75 tour.

johang Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> I think the 78-80 Bruce tour was the second best
> ever after Led Zeppelin 75 tour. Stones come in
> third with their 75 tour.

I'm so envious! I wish I could have seen those great shows in the '70s. My first live concert was Robert Plant in '88 when I was 18. Oh well, at least I have bootlegs!

They are a weird thing. My main criticism with the whole Bruce thing is that hugee boom boom of the overbearing self importance. That bicep fueled lighter burning anthemic concept. I respect Bruce totally. But that band ...there is something missing for me. There is no inividuality. Always the crashing drums, those constant arpeggios and glockenspiel runs on the keyboards. Patti and Miami Steve, Nils and Bruce crowding the mike and then of course the big man blowing and blowing his three notes of 1-4-5. The other alternative then is only the totally stripped down rendition with only one accoustic guitar.
the Stones get nasty, there IS a rhythm section. Max and Gary are IMO not a rhythm section. They are more volume in the lower register.
But yes, it sure is a party.

"...no longer shall you trudge 'cross my peaceful mind."

First I want to state that I love the Stones and I'm a huge fan, I have seen them several times live and on many different tours and I have tons of their boots. But with that said, for the overall concert experiance and for getting your true dollar value out of the price of the ticket to see a concert now days I feel that Bruce Springsteen and the E Street band is the best out there live. Again, I'm not trying to start any trouble on this board or offend anyone here, but I feel that if you look at the several areas that I hear alot of other Stones fans complain about alot here of being to the Stones concerts like the price of the tickets, the short length of concert, not much varity of the set list. I have never personally felt a need or had to deal with any of those concerns or issues after seeing Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band in concert.

johang Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> I think the 78-80 Bruce tour was the second best
> ever after Led Zeppelin 75 tour. Stones come in
> third with their 75 tour.


There were actually two tours in these years. The Darkness on the Edge of Town tour was 1977-78. The River tour was 1980-81.

The "Darkness" tour was really just from May 1978 to New years Day 1979.

The band toured through much of 1976 and the first half of 1977 as Bruce couldnt record the new album until his contractual dispute with Mike Appel was sorted out

The River tour is the best tour I've seen or heard by ANY artist ever. Bruce's opening night of his Wembley Arena run in May 1981 was the first time I saw him in concert and to this day is still the greatest concert I've ever seen.

Chelsea, you're too rough on Max Weinberg and Gary Tallent. Other than Charlie, Max is my favorite rock drummer ever. Gary Tallent isn't flamboyant, but is both rock solid AND melodic. You seriously underestimate this rhythm section, as do many other people, as they are the underpinning of the E Street Band's incredible onstage "wall of sound".

Springsteen YAWN.....zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz

When your 14 great , afterwards musical valium

After standing in line for the best part of 48 hours outside of the Manchester Apollo back in 1981, I was fortunate enough to secure front row tickets for both of his shows there, the like of which I never thought could ever be bettered at a rock concert. Amazing? Brilliant? No. It was much, much better than that!

Having seen him on every tour since however, I would say that his Wembley Arena show in October 2002 came very close.

Yes, the E-Street Band are without doubt the greatest band alive today...until Neil Young & Crazy Horse get their arses into gear and prove me wrong again!

Nobody ever solos.
the only reason why I even consider that band is that people who I have respect for like them very much (Gazza e.g). So I wonder if I am missing something. But I'm not. It becomes subje tive. I also think that one of the reasons the rest of the world loves him/them is a similar reason U2 became fascinated with America.

"...no longer shall you trudge 'cross my peaceful mind."

ChelseaDrugstore Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> Nobody ever solos.


youve got to be kidding. Seriously! Its a bit hard to stretch a 25 song set to over 3 hours if no one is soloing....


> It becomes subje tive.

of course it does. All good or bad music is by nature subjective.

> I also think that one of the reasons the rest of the
> world loves him/them is a similar reason U2 became
> fascinated with America.

Not necessarily. I appreciate great music, great songwriting and great live performances regardless of where its from. I like the Stones for similar reasons, and theyre not American. the US gave the world great music so its natural that a lot of the best acts of all time come from there. You dont need a 'fascination' with a country to appreciate it's great musical culture.



Edited 4 time(s). Last edit at 2006-01-09 14:54 by Gazza.

Sergio Leone once said of Clint Eastwood "he has only two expressions: with a cigar and without a cigar".

I think that very much the same can be said of the E-street band.

C

balls. They have more versatility than any band in history

Could you imagine the Stones playing a song live on a whim or as a crowd request that they havent even rehearsed let alone played live in years and still manage to pull it off?

Givin Gazza a hard time here, are ya?
Well, I like ´em for what it´s worth.
Wasnt that Irish band Hothouse Flowers purdy influenced by the Estreets btw?

LOL..Liddas knows I'm only yankin' his chain...

Dunno about the Hothouse Flowers. Christ, thats a blast from the past...

Gazza Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> balls. They have more versatility than any band in
> history
>

The fact that they have the memory of an elephant doesn't make them a versatile band! Basically they always play the same song, some times fast sometimes slow. All they have to do is change the tonality!

> Could you imagine the Stones playing a song live
> on a whim or as a crowd request that they havent
> even rehearsed let alone played live in years and
> still manage to pull it off?

The stones of course are not known to have the memory of an elephant! Too much coke I suppose.

C

see it like liddas here. if there is one thing the EStreet band does not have IMo it's versatility. That have the bombastic version, and they have the soo accouistic version.
They do not know how to reach into ANY other musical genre like e.g the Stones.
As far as soloing: yes I have seen Clemmons way too many times blow his very mundane loud sustained notes. The solo in Jungleland still; makes me shudder. IU have seen the vrious lead guitarrists hit an array of stompboxes and wail around, sure. It got lost in the overall cacophony and noise.
I think Bruce and the whole band, his fans too, all have their hearts in the right place. But I think his arrangments and production are terrible. More is not better. Louder is not neccessarly better. I agree that they are able to play any song from the catalogue at the drop of a hat. So they have practiced every song in the endless loud catalogue. They're doing what the Stones SHOUL be doing.

"...no longer shall you trudge 'cross my peaceful mind."

yeah like the Stones have re-worked their songs dramatically in concert over the years so much! Not!

the ESB knows no other musical genres? Funny, but Ive seen them pull off plenty over the years - rock n roll, r&b, soul, country, stripped down acoustic or bluesy versions, a wide variety of covers of songs by more artists than you can shake a stick at, and others

Guess I've been watching a different band....

and yeah, Liddas, being able to improvise and play anything from your back catalogue DOES show a lot of versatility (not to mention having some balls to try and do so in front of a stadium full of 50,000 people). The Stones unfortunately never seem to wing it anymore, whilst still a great live band, theyve taken any danger and risk out of their live performance some time ago

Gazza Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> balls. They have more versatility than any band in
> history
>
> Could you imagine the Stones playing a song live
> on a whim or as a crowd request that they havent
> even rehearsed let alone played live in years and
> still manage to pull it off?

I was at the Philly show (stadium) 8/11/04 when these two guys had a sign near the front of the stage requesting "I'm Goin' Down". The song hadn't been played live in over 15 years. Bruce obliged the two guys' request by playing the song. Priceless moment.

I'm not a fan at all, because their music kind of bores me, but if I were a fan of Springsteen's, I'd be so proud of the live performances of the E Street Band. They put so much effort in what they're doing, like maybe no one else of the big live acts.
Of course, I'd take a sloppy Stones performance over any of Springsteen's, but his concerts are a real good value for his fans' money.
just imagine what Stones' gigs would be like if the boys put the same committment live as E Street Band does...!

"got to be worked on
don't have no bark nor bite..."

I have got to agree with Gazza and Davester on the E Street Band. The Stones are by far my favorite band, but seeing Springsteen live is something special. This guy sings every song like it is his last. He gives you three hours and pours it out there. The Stones hit 1 hour and 58 minutes and the limos are warming up the boys are dreaming about those fluffy robes that they like to wear.

Love this band live. Great, long, varied set. Energy to burn.


Don't care for Bruce's politics or dreary-ass, woe-is-me rockstar routine.

Springsteen live is a religious experience. The guy has never smoked or drank and pours his whole soul into whatever rock n roll offers for salvation. The Born In The Usa era was cheesy but he ( or manager Jon landau) was shrewd enough to realize that bombast only gets you so far, something the Stones regretably haven't. As an American I feel he represents some deeper truth about this country; something darker, sinister, but not without redemption. Springsteen isn't cynical and that bothers people. I would agree that the E Street Band is not not, on the whole, the greatest band ever assembled. They are in a way over achievers, hard workers, reaching their considerable heights with sweat and a stubborn, gutbucket grace. A uniquely American band that is the best thing going night after night. If you haven't seen them, do. If you already have then you know exactly what I'm talking about.

bassplayer617 Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> Between the 2000 "Live in NY" CD and the 2003
> "Live in Barcelona" DVD, I gotta believe that the
> E Street Band is the greatest American rock show
> on earth. After the Stones, it's the greatest
> rock show that ever was.

No question, BS & the ESB is an incredible ensemble.

For "pure rock" without "you're missing" and "the rising" and some other more "gospelly" or "folksy" tunes, among bands still together, Motley Crue will give the E-Street band a run for their money.

As for "greatest rock show that ever was", again it depends on "what kind of rock", but BS doesn't take a back seat to anyone. For that matter neither do the Stones or the Grateful Dead... just depends on what kind of sound you're talking about at the moment, there have been several "rock acts" that in their own way are untouchable.

Nobody puts on a better "country rock" show than Creedence, nobody a better "funk-rock" show than the Chili Peppers, nobody a better "folk/gospel/refinery rock" show than BS... there's quite a few great shows out there.






"It's just that demon life has got me in it's sway..."

I have seen both the stones and Springsteen over ten times each. Springsteen concerts do offer many surprises. I have been to two shows in particular when songs were added at last minute. One back in 92 in connecticut Springsteen (with another band) finished the show the house lights went up people started to leave. A person with a hooded sweatshirt came out to the center of the stage - turned out it was Bruce he called the band back up and they played working on the highway as the people left in the building rushed backed to their seats.

In 2003 in Alabny Springsteen finsihed show and then launched into "Around and Around" and had to yell out the key to play it in as the band tried to keep up.

Springsteen feeds off crowds and calls audibles in many shows which makes it exciting.