Bruce Review

[ThePolskiOgorki]

Ken, you look truly happy in that photo. We have to hand it to Rob because he really captured a rare moment here I think. Also, it is a good thing the super wide angle lense was on to capture the full extent of that giddy school boy smile. 

Seriously though, after seeing this I think I owe it to myself to get out next time he is in Toronto. I have been listening to Springsteen since I was four and Born in the USA was the first album I ever owned. 30 years later and shamefully I have never been to see him live. Better do it while it is still possible. The man won't be doing sets like this forever. 

Glad you all enjoyed the show. 

[OZCUBAN]

2 hours ago, ThePolskiOgorki said:

Ken, you look truly happy in that photo. We have to hand it to Rob because he really captured a rare moment here I think. Also, it is a good thing the super wide angle lense was on to capture the full extent of that giddy school boy smile. 

Seriously though, after seeing this I think I owe it to myself to get out next time he is in Toronto. I have been listening to Springsteen since I was four and Born in the USA was the first album I ever owned. 30 years later and shamefully I have never been to see him live. Better do it while it is still possible. The man won't be doing sets like this forever. 

Glad you all enjoyed the show. 

Do our self a huge favour my friend and go see him live like I have previously stated before ,I like you was a fan sort of,liked his music when younger and just never got to get on board.till 2014 high hopes tour,instantly hooked,and a whole new world opened up,what a songwriter .and live there's not to many that can beat him and  his endurance is legendary.

if you can't wait till the next tour watch live in Hyde Park London does a mean version of London calling by the Clash  good show well worth watching 

cheers 

steve

 

 

[OZCUBAN]

Also go see him even if have to go to "Trumpland "  

[MrGlass]

I saw Bruce's second Brisbane concert last night and it is truely incredible the amount of effort that he put in to this - three hours straight and somehow he seemed to finish with even more energy than he started with.  He started about 30 minutes late, and even though the crews arrived and were waiting by the stage to start disassembling everything, he ignored them and continued to play.  And even though they then turned all of the lights back on to signal it was time for him to stop, he ignored those too and kept on playing.  The tickets weren't cheap, but they were great value when you see how hard he worked and he deserves every cent.

And he definitely made this kid's night:

 

[Ken Gargett]

going to post when i get a moment but so glad you posted the clip. unbelievable. i have it on the phone but no idea how to get it onto the forum.

[Ken Gargett]

but any time he plays this, it is a great year.

THE GREATEST ROCK BAND THIS EARTH HAS EVER SEEN.

 

 

[OZCUBAN]

I concur  ??

[99call]

Something that no doubt Ken will not find amusing.

I used to work of ScottBase a few years back, and in being obviously pretty isolated, the comms opp used to deliver our news in a short 10 minute burst in the mornings. Anyway I worked with the worlds (second) biggest Bruce fan. I agree with El Pres that theres almost something wonderful about how Springsteen fans idolise and look up to him. So to cut a long story short, I got the comms opp one morning to deliver "and in other news, unfortunately the The Boss, Bruce Springsteen has passed away today"  I was working about 5 meters away from my mate, and his face, indeed his hole body kind of dropped, he looked a bit like he aged 20yrs in 20 seconds...... this was undoubtedly one of my finest moments at being a heartless joker bast*rd.  I let the news linger for about 5mins, and then righted the wrong, and told him The Boss was in good health, and will probably outlive all of us. 

Although there was a definite sense (in that moment) that he hated me more than Hitler and Trump combined,, I also (I reminded him) delivered the pheonix like rebirth of The Boss, a bit Jesus, something he found apt.

Anyway I felt truly proud of myself, he's promised to never ever ever forgive me, and that retribution is lingering at a weak moment somewhere in the near future

[Ken Gargett]

1 minute ago, 99call said:

Something that no doubt Ken will not find amusing.

I used to work of ScottBase a few years back, and in being obviously pretty isolated, the comms opp used to deliver our news in a short 10 minute burst in the mornings. Anyway I worked with the worlds (second) biggest Bruce fan. I agree with El Pres that theres almost something wonderful about how Springsteen fans idolise and look up to him. So to cut a long story short, I got the comms opp one morning to deliver "and in other news, unfortunately the The Boss, Bruce Springsteen has passed away today"  I was working about 5 meters away from my mate, and his face, indeed his hole body kind of dropped, he looked a bit like he aged 20yrs in 20 seconds...... this was undoubtedly one of my finest moments at being a heartless joker bast*rd.  I let the news linger for about 5mins, and then righted the wrong, and told him The Boss was in good health, and will probably outlive all of us. 

Although there was a definite sense (in that moment) that he hated me more than Hitler and Trump combined,, I also (I reminded him) delivered the pheonix like rebirth of The Boss, a bit Jesus, something he found apt.

Anyway I felt truly proud of myself, he's promised to never ever ever forgive me, and that retribution is lingering at a weak moment somewhere in the near future

well that was a brave post for such a new member! been nice having you.

i'd have been comatose for a day. not sure any of my mates would be so courageous to try that with me. but look on it this way, when the great man does leave us, though he must be so fit that it will be years after most of us have fed the worms, the legend will grow even more. there will be bruce sightings for two centuries. we will have been considered blessed to live in this age. i assume that the USA will be renamed the united states of bruce!

[99call]

Haha, Yes in watching you're review videos since the beginning, I feel as if I know you well enough, to know such a stunt would be met with a 100% unforgiven status, and a communication embargo that would last longer than that of Cuba's.

As a fan of the Boss and Dylans, I thought you might enjoy the Fred Neil. I will not be offended in the slightest is you spit out you claret and say "this is Shite" but I think he's an lost talent. He wrote 'Everybody's Talkin' which was turned into an abomination by Harry Nilsson. Sadly Fred loved heroin a bit to much to claim the respect he was due, but if you like Dylan, give him a listen. Its my cigar smoking music of choice. 

 

[Ken Gargett]

1 hour ago, 99call said:

Haha, Yes in watching you're review videos since the beginning, I feel as if I know you well enough, to know such a stunt would be met with a 100% unforgiven status, and a communication embargo that would last longer than that of Cuba's.

As a fan of the Boss and Dylans, I thought you might enjoy the Fred Neil. I will not be offended in the slightest is you spit out you claret and say "this is Shite" but I think he's an lost talent. He wrote 'Everybody's Talkin' which was turned into an abomination by Harry Nilsson. Sadly Fred loved heroin a bit to much to claim the respect he was due, but if you like Dylan, give him a listen. Its my cigar smoking music of choice. 

 

thanks. will definitely give that a go. was a huge dylan fan before i discovered bruce (and still am).

another that older aussies know well and love is rodriguez. but very few americans got on to him. never understood why.

[99call]

Only got on to Rodriguez in the last few years, 'Jane S Piddy' is a great track. It's always pretty harrowing in life that someone like Dylan, gets worldwide acclaim, where as Rodriguez get f**k all, and is now working as a labourer. 

[Colt45]

Glad you all had a great valentine's day!

 

[Ken Gargett]

4 minutes ago, Colt45 said:

Glad you all had a great valentine's day!

 

and i get banned if i so much as hiccup.

[Colt45]

6 minutes ago, Ken Gargett said:

and i get banned if i so much as hiccup.

The greats are always held to a much higher standard than the gutter trash

did you get the flowers I sent you?

[Ken Gargett]

7 minutes ago, Colt45 said:

 

did you get the flowers I sent you?

if only...

 

[Ken Gargett]

21 hours ago, MrGlass said:

I saw Bruce's second Brisbane concert last night and it is truely incredible the amount of effort that he put in to this - three hours straight and somehow he seemed to finish with even more energy than he started with.  He started about 30 minutes late, and even though the crews arrived and were waiting by the stage to start disassembling everything, he ignored them and continued to play.  And even though they then turned all of the lights back on to signal it was time for him to stop, he ignored those too and kept on playing.  The tickets weren't cheap, but they were great value when you see how hard he worked and he deserves every cent.

And he definitely made this kid's night:

 

Either the biggest coincidence or was this set up?  it is possible. I prefer to think the stars aligned.

This has to be the biggest ever coincidence!

The following is a report from 2013 when a young kid got called up by Bruce.

4 years later, the subsequent following report is of another young kid called up. The same kid.

But before you dismiss this, I remember many years ago that an editor had me go to a couple of massive dinners for something long forgotten, one at the coast and one in Brizzy. Several thousand people at each. The entertainment was a magician (wish I could have made him disappear, or better yet, me). There were a number of us who had to attend both and the magician picked the same bloke out each time to come up to the stage, out of several thousand each time - the odds? (he said that when the magician realised what he’d done, he pleaded with the guy not to spoil the tricks, but the bloke was not happy being called out once, let alone twice, and needless to say, the act was a dismal failure). So, it is possible. And remember that this is a kid/family that gets to the concerts and gets right up next to the stage so it greatly diminishes the odds. Happens a third time and I’ll be dubious, but till then, just more evidence of the wonder of Bruce.

 

 

Nathan Testa, 11, will have no more waitin' for the concert of a lifetime after joining The Boss on stage at Springsteen's Brisbane concert

Anthony Gough, The Sunday Mail (Qld)

April 7, 2013 12:00am

RULE No.1 in any workplace is don't upstage The Boss.

But when Bruce Springsteen hand-picks you to appear on stage for a duet backed by the E Street Band, you don't turn him down.

Brisbane boy Nathan Testa found himself in front of more than 10,000 cheering fans at the Brisbane Entertainment Centre last month when the superstar pulled him out of the crowd mid-performance for a rendition of Waitin' on a Sunny Day.

"It was amazing," Nathan recalled.

"I was that happy I started crying; I had a little tear in my eye."

OUR SEARCH: Little Boss - who is the kid who upstaged Bruce?

Nathan, 11, who had gone to the concert dressed in a white T-shirt, blue jeans and red cap in honour of the Born in the USA album cover, even performed a trademark knee-slide alongside the rocker.

"I was a bit nervous but it was really cool," Nathan said. "Now Waitin' on a Sunny Day is my favourite song."

A video of the moment has gone viral, racking up more than 280,000 views on YouTube and featuring on international websites and news shows, including including The Guardian in the UK, The Telegraph, yahoo, the Huffington Post, and Sky News.

Nathan's family, all Springsteen fans, said they had no idea the video would be so popular, and Nathan said the international attention had been "awesome".

The entire Testa clan camped out from early morning to make sure they had the perfect spot for the gig, and had chance encounters with Springsteen both before and after the concert.

The superstar also gave Nathan his harmonica and signed his shirt, and after the concert shook hands with the youngster.

"I grabbed his hand and said, 'Thank you so much, Bruce' and he said, 'That's OK, I'll see you again'," Nathan said.

Springsteen's Brisbane Concert tops sizzling summer of music

Proud dad Wade Testa said the whole family was "blown away" by the experience.

"I'm not overly superstitious myself, but the more I think about it, the way things panned out was so uncanny and bizarre that it was like it was meant to be," he said.

Mr Testa said meeting Springsteen was "humbling" and he was impressed by how generous the star was with the family, particularly Nathan.

"He was tremendous, just a lovely bloke," he said.

"Bruce reached down and touched his heart; that's what it was like."

 

 

 

The teenager who stole Springsteen's Brisbane show

He may be in trouble for skipping school, but a Brisbane teenager is counting his lucky stars after he got to jam alongside Bruce Springsteen on Thursday night.

The teen was called up on stage to sing to a crowd of adoring fans after holding up a sign requesting to share a song with The Boss.

The Brisbane teen played alongside Bruce Springsteen on Thursday evening. Photo: MsEsther76/Youtube

Springsteen read the sign, "Missed school, in the s--- now, can I play Growin' Up with you?" out loud to the masses.

"Do you know the song?" Springsteen called out to the teen.

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The teenager held up this sign before being asked to come on stage. Photo: MsEsther76/Youtube

"You know it on guitar?...Well come on up!"

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The boy raced to the stage and was handed a guitar before he tuned it and began pelting out the lyrics to the song from Greetings From Asbury Park, sharing the mic with Springsteen.

About halfway through, Springsteen asked the teen to play softer and told him he was about the boy's age when he got his first guitar.

"I brought it home and I realised it wasn't about how well you played it, it was about how good you looked doing it," he said.

"So I got in front of the mirror and I tried out some poses."

The pair pulled a couple of poses to a cheering crowd before carrying on with the song.

The teenager is reportedly Nathan Testa, who shared the stage with Springsteen at the age of 11 when the musical legend played in Brisbane in 2013.

It is not known whether the performance was pre-planned.

[MrGlass]

On 2/18/2017 at 3:38 PM, Ken Gargett said:

Either the biggest coincidence or was this set up?  it is possible. I prefer to think the stars aligned.

I'm inclined to think this was a massive coincidence.  I'm pretty sure that kid was the only one holding a sign that night asking to play, although now that this has happened I imagine those types of signs will be much more commonplace.  

Regardless, there was at least some aspect of spontaneity to it - while Bruce was reading the sign, I was watching band who were swapping guitars in preparation for the next song.  And as soon as he invited the kid on stage to play, they scrambled to change guitars again, so they certainly weren't expecting this to happen (at least right then).

[Ken Gargett]

 

this was one of the comments in the guardian about saturday's concert in the rain - sums up things for so many. they arrive without being much of a fan and they leave zealots!

i tried playing bruce for a mate of mine when we travelled about 30 years ago, for 8 months. he was having none of it. not interested. the following year, he got stuck and had to attend a bruce (and others) concert in india. 30 years later, he is still a massive fan.

only takes one concert...

 

 

Went to one of his shows last week (as not much of a fan), but walked away extremely impressed with a guy in his late 60s doing a show better than what most 20yo musicians just don't want to or can't seem to be able to do in these times. Lucky to get really close seats. His gig was exactly as described by the author. Mentioned after to a friend that it was better than any motivational church gospal service on the planet (hillsong can only wish to replicate his act). Genuine, down to earth guy with oodles of talent to burn. Amazing experience.

If you dont go to a springsteen gig before you die you havent lived

[OZCUBAN]

Well said Ken 

And it is so true,one concert was all it took for me and that was in 2014 3 years on and yes I am a zealot  and the euphoria from the last Perth gig still lingers,and songs I just can't get out of my head.being a late adopter I as you know a huge back catalogue to wade through ,and when you come across something new (to you) you tend to flock the guts out of it ,well that's me I was discussing the concert/fans and who else garnishes that sort of adoration the only one we could come up with was ELVIS,And The Beatles and a couple more which are that good I can't remember ,but that might have been the company I was keeping and the Alcohol and cigars 

glad you got to see more than one show ..so jealous 

P.S Show highlites for me Drive all night and and then cosquently discovering Wreck on the Highway 

cheers let's hope he wants to make a yearly event. rumours of a new album means fresh tour 

steve 

[Ken Gargett]

5 minutes ago, OZCUBAN said:

Well said Ken 

And it is so true,one concert was all it took for me and that was in 2014 3 years on and yes I am a zealot  and the euphoria from the last Perth gig still lingers,and songs I just can't get out of my head.being a late adopter I as you know a huge back catalogue to wade through ,and when you come across something new (to you) you tend to flock the guts out of it ,well that's me I was discussing the concert/fans and who else garnishes that sort of adoration the only one we could come up with was ELVIS,And The Beatles and a couple more which are that good I can't remember ,but that might have been the company I was keeping and the Alcohol and cigars 

glad you got to see more than one show ..so jealous 

P.S Show highlites for me Drive all night and and then cosquently discovering Wreck on the Highway 

cheers let's hope he wants to make a yearly event. rumours of a new album means fresh tour 

steve 

hope you're right re the next tour. bit concerned as both the last two (possibly all three) tours, he has promised to come back. did not do so this time but he clearly loves the place.

i think you could add the stones in that small group.

[OZCUBAN]

Ah yes the stones,on the list 

maybe Australia is a lucrative tour ? or like you said he just likes the place 

[Ken Gargett]

8 minutes ago, OZCUBAN said:

Ah yes the stones,on the list 

maybe Australia is a lucrative tour ? or like you said he just likes the place 

he doesn't need the money!

 

[OZCUBAN]

So true  must be us Aussies then