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F R I D AY, J U N E 2 3 , 2 0 0 6Springsteen At The GardenBefore the show, I was a little ashamed of New Yorkers. I don't carewhat album he's promoting, if Bruce Springsteen is performing atMadison Square Garden, the show should be a sell-out. Instead, peopleoutside looking to buy were trying to bargain down fans with extratickets. Inside, there were scattered empty seats throughout the arena.It was certainly very full, but seeing ANY empty seats at Springsteen'sone and only show in NYC on this tour is a bit of a shock. I couldn'thelp thinking Bruce might be feeling a bit bummed. He's delivered arollicking, fun album and it's barely made a ripple on the charts andcasual fans are taking a pass on a stage show with 20+ musicians intow. On the other hand, this meant the only people there were thefaithful. And none of it mattered once the show began.Most rock shows, including Springsteen's, are raucous, poundingaffairs. I've seen Springsteen in concert and been so exhausted at theend I can barely stand. (Seriously.) The same is true for everyone fromU2 to Billy Joel (who sold out the Garden for 12 straight nightsrecently.) But this 2 hour and 40 minute show to promote "We ShallOvercome: The Seeger Sessions," an album of classic folk tunes andprotest songs associated with or written by Pete Seeger, was different.It was a joyous, uplifting affair -- at the end, I was ready to go on foranother 2 and a half hours or at least go home and get politically active.Rousing, moving, and tremendous fun, it was the equal of anySpringsteen show I've ever seen, which means it's the equal of ANYconcert I've ever seen. The only way I could have enjoyed it more is ifmy seat was even closer. (I was on the floor, which contained threesections. The front section was standing room. The middle section andback section had seats. I was in the fifth row of the middle sectionpretty much dead center.)I didn't recognize the fine opening number, which might have been anold folk tune or a Springsteen original called "American Land," butsince the people at fanzine Backstreets didn't recognize it either, I don'tfeel so dumb. "John Henry" followed immediately. A folk tune and oneof the first I think to become widely popular that treated a black man asa hero, it's about a fellow working the railroad who competes with asteam drill to see who can work faster and dies in the process. YouNext Blog»sal1mineo@hotmail.comSEARCH BLOG FLAG BLOGFOLLOW BLOGP O P S U R F I N G . C O MS U R F I N G T H E WAV E S O F P O P U L A R C U LT U R EB Y M I C H A E L G I LT Z & F R I E N D SPOPSURFING.COM: Springsteen At The Gardenhttp://popsurfing.blogspot.com/2006/06/springsteen-at-garden.html
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POPSURFING.COM: Springsteen At The Gardenhttp://popsurfing.blogspot.com/2006/06/springsteen-at-garden.html
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