HAPPY NEW YEAR!
December 31, 2007

Magic in the Night -- 30 Years Ago

by Jon Greer

Bruce is taking a break from the Magic tour, but I got my first taste of Springsteen magic 30 years ago -- a taste that has had me coming back for more ever since.

It was New Year's Eve, December 31, 1977. Southside Johnny and the Asbury Jukes, at the peak of their popularity, were playing a sold-out concert at the legendary Capitol Theatre in Passaic, NJ. The show would be broadcast live on the radio. There was a rumor that Bruce might show up. And I had a pair of tickets.

I was a new Springsteen fan. Earlier that fall, a college classmate in Philadelphia had turned me on to his collection of bootlegs from the early '70s, and I was hooked. We spent many a night (when we should have been studying), sitting in his darkened dorm room, blasting live Bruce. We considered the second side of the Wild and Innocent album ("Incident on 57th Street" into "Rosalita," then "New York City Serenade") the spiritual equivalent of a church service. To this day, the first strains of "Incident" trigger those memories.

As the fall semester ended, I found myself in the position that many Bruce fans will find familiar: yearning for new Springsteen music and a slate of new concert dates. Young as I was at the time, patience didn't seem to be a virtue. To us, it seemed like forever since Bruce had released Born to Run! (Actually, it had been a little more than two years.)

For his part, in the fall of 1977 Bruce was finally back in the studio after settling his legal dispute with his former manager, Mike Appel. It would be another five months before he would release Darkness on the Edge of Town and begin his historic 1978 tour.

So there we were on that cold December night in New Jersey. Me, the Bruce newbie, and the New Year's Eve crowd in the theatre and listening on the radio, all wondering the same thing: would he show up?

Sure enough, at midnight, out came Bruce to join the Jukes for "Havin' a Party," followed by "The Fever" and "I Don't Want to Go Home." My first Springsteen in-concert experience!

I have to admit, it was pretty anti-climactic. Our seats weren't great, and from where we were, he just looked like another guy on stage. Oh well, at least I could say I lost my Springsteen virginity and "saw" Bruce.

Southside finished his encores, and the show seemed to end. Okay, I thought, that was cool. Southside put on a great show, and I even got to see Bruce. It was something to talk about back at school.

Out in the lobby, I bought a T-shirt to commemorate the night. As we stepped outside and headed to the car, I heard a roar from inside the theatre. We rushed in a side door and saw Bruce and the Jukes coming back on stage! We ran toward the stage and wound up dead center, about 15 rows back.

Then I realized the stage was more crowded than before. It wasn't just Bruce, Southside and the Asbury Jukes coming back on stage. There was Steve, Garry, Max, Danny, Clarence, Roy -- the entire E Street Band!

Was this a dream, I wondered? Is this really happening?

It was fairly chaotic at first, with about 20 musicians trying to figure out what to do and what to play. At first, the entire group (Jukes, Miami Horns and E Streeters) ran through "Higher and Higher," "Little Latin Lupe Lu" and "You Can't Sit Down." Bruce prowled the stage like a caged animal, taking command of the show and giving stage directions, clearly relishing the opportunity to play live after so many months in the studio.

But the magic was just starting. There was a bit of delay, which I later learned was to get the radio people to end their live broadcast. After that, the Jukes and Miami Horns retreated to the side of the stage, Bruce took center stage, and he and the band launched into "Backstreets," complete with the first-ever live version of the "Drive All Night" interlude. "Born to Run" followed, with Bruce stumbling through the words and pointing the mic to the audience for us to help him.

The show seemed to end, but wait! There was one more: "Quarter to Three," the Gary U.S. Bonds classic that was Bruce's trademark show closer in the 70s. The song went on and on -- no one, especially Bruce, seemed to want it to end. Finally, someone (was it Southside?) came up and literally walked Bruce off the stage. Max threw his drumsticks in the air and the song -- and this dream show -- ended.

I staggered outside and handed the car keys to my friend to drive us home, because I was too numb to drive. Bruce! The E Street Band! "Backstreets"! "Born to Run"! It had really happened! Not only had we seen one of those fabled Bruce walk-ons, but my first Springsteen show turned out to be, as far as I can tell, the only walk-on E Street Band performance in Bruce history. Wow.

I've since been to many Springsteen shows, of course, including such special events as the 1986 Bridge School Benefit and, more recently, the Storytellers show. But nothing will ever come close to that New Year's Eve. Thanks, Bruce, for the magical memories.

PARIS, FRANCE
Monday, December 17

Two Americans in Paris

by Ermanno Labianca

Years ago, when the '80s were about to fade and Bruce Springsteen had put his recording career and the beloved E Street Band on hiatus, yours truly and Elliott Murphy sat on a evening train heading north, with Rome a couple of hours behind us. I had asked him to produce some young rockers from Modena, just a few miles from where Luciano Pavarotti used to live. "They sound like Tom Waits, and Bruce. I dig that. I gotta give it a try," he had written back weeks earlier.

Trying to stay awake to avoid missing our stop, we came once again to our favorite subject: Bruce Springsteen. "He's so good, since the days when we were young kids, sharing the same dreams," he said, sipping a hot tea.

"What do you think makes him so good?" I asked.

"He's so good at being himself. That's a quality that makes you last forever," he replied, before adding, "but the hardest part of this business it's not just being good, it's about being good and being able to last".

Quality, integrity, the ability to endure. I think I always admired Bruce Springsteen for the same reasons Elliott Murphy does. And when something you believed in for more than half of your life starts becoming unsteady, and you find yourself a man who "doubts what he's sure of," it's like losing your way home. Not that Bruce Springsteen suddenly lost what made him better than anybody else in the rock 'n' roll business, but recently, for some reason, I felt that some of that magic was gone. Maybe you shouldn't see your favorite artist performing more than 150 times. Maybe you should live every show like it's going to be your last. But how can you convince yourself that he's not touring so extensively -- and ending tours in football stadiums -- just for the money? How can you get rid of that prejudice?

Just go to one of his shows. It's as simple as that. His eyes don't lie. He's enjoying every second he's on stage so much, he still makes you want to tell everybody else what they've been missing if they've never experienced an E Street Band show.

In Paris, I was thinking all of this, and enjoying immensely the best "Jungleland" I've heard in years (Clarence, you've gotta be kidding, you were pre-recorded for this one, right?) when Elliott Murphy hit that stage and joined his old pal for "Dancing in the Dark." All of a sudden, those words of Elliott's resonated in my ears: "it's about being good and be able to last".

The Omnisports Palace in Bercy got one of those nights when you'd like to go home, take a little nap, and start again in search of that beauty and that endurance. It's not about the set list (yes, yes, it was basically the same as a few previous shows) -- I mean it's not about what he plays: it's how he plays it. Bruce Springsteen was so focused, so strong and happy, he blew the roof off. Great help came from a very tight E Street Band that's getting better and better through this second leg.

It was obviously good to hear "Long Walk Home" with both Nils Lofgren and Steve Van Zandt adding their vocal skills, and it was so refreshing to find "The River" and its melody so intact. A powerful rendition of "Night" proved once again why Born To Run is such a classic album. But it's the approach that should scare any other performer in the universe.

Except Elliott Murphy, who seems to have learned a lot about standing the test of time.

BELFAST, IRELAND
Saturday, December 15

On the streets of Belfast

by Karl Birthistle

Strolling through the crowded Saturday-before-Christmas streets of Belfast town centre, I periodically bump into fellow fans I know from such encounters over the years. There's the guy who is known as a veritable Southside Johnny expert; here's the guy who takes a few pictures for Backstreets; here's another fanclub leader...

The atmosphere in town is particularly festive and relaxed. Belfast is beautiful with lights and Christmas cheer, the Glu-Wein is flowing in the market, and this town is a transformed place from a Belfast I once knew a long time ago. The friendliness of the place is infectious, and it bodes well for tonight's show. There is a feeling of calm anticipation.

Once in the arena I find myself talking to a man who has brought his wife and three children to the show. He tells me that his first Bruce show was at the Spectrum in 1978. The arena is full of such stories -- fans are here from all over Ireland, Scotland; the Welsh and the English are here. Scattered Frenchmen and other Europeans bring home the point that fans of this music very much vote with their feet and have travelled long distances. We are all here for the passion and inspiration that we seek in Bruce's music, and this show is simply wonderful. It never lets up, it is magnificent each night. Tonight is no different, with "Because the Night," "The River," an epic "Kitty," and an exhilarating "Santa Claus."

COLOGNE, GERMANY
Thursday, December 13

It's been a long time

by Mark Zwinderman

I'm one of the legion of fans that do not get to see dozens of Springsteen shows each tour. The last time I managed to make it to a Springsteen concert was during the Rising tour in London. He was good then, but the horrible venue took a lot of the fun out of it for me. Then life interfered as it does and the long drought started...

I made it this time (and will do so quite a few times next year), and I realized something pretty quickly: you forget exactly how good these guys are, and how good Springsteen is. You sort of know and remember... but when he launched into "Reason to Believe," it really hit home. He worked hard. Not so much running around these days, but walking around. That's okay. The drive this guy has is just unbelievable.

The crowd was very good, though where I was sitting up in the back it took a while for everybody to get up. By the time "Because the Night" came round, the job was done. They stayed on their feet, as well.

Another thing that amazed me was the sound quality. I could actually understand what he was singing -- it was a very good mix. I suppose five years is a long time in soundboard technology as well...

"Kitty's Back" was phenomenal. I've always liked that song, but it truly was a smoking version. Bruce needed some help from Steve when the crowd didn't fully understand what was expected at the end -- it was a funny moment, and Bruce seemed to find it quite funny himself. He was in good spirits anyway -- maybe getting past that virus has given him a second wind.

The new songs come into their own live. As usual, I hadn't been all that impressed with the new album... you need to hear those songs live.

Oh, and straight from "Long Walk Home" into "Badlands"? That works.

ANTWERP, BELGIUM
Wednesday, December 12

Bruce is all right

by Peter Vandenberghe

I was 15, I told my folks I'd spend the night with a friend, and I secretly took the train to Brussels to see, hear, and feel the E Street Band. The date was April 26, 1981.

Now I'm 41, the date is December 12, 2007. Thirty-seven shows later, and time for a new generation: I took my 8-year old son Jos to the Antwerp Sportpaleis.

How do you explain an 8-year-old what's going to happen? Well, you don't. You get him decent earplugs, get a good seat, a large coke... and wait. Wait for "Radio Nowhere" (Hey, I know this song!), "No Surrender" (Why are you singing along, Dad?), "Gypsy Biker" (I want to play the guitar like that, Dad. You learn it with me, so we can play like those two on stage), "Because The Night" (Why is everybody acting so crazy? And why is there another guy playing the guitar now?), and so on.

The boy was fighting sleep, and when he finally asked "how many more songs" were to come, my wife took him home. During "Long Walk Home" --because it was a long walk to the car. Yeah, he missed the encores. He wondered what happened during "Badlands" -- he was outside by that time, but heard the crowd go nuts.

Eight-year-old boys are way too cool to admit to their father they've had fun. A soccer game, a computer game -- everything is "all right." So is Bruce, as far is Jos is concerned. "Bruce is all right."

But that's not what he's been telling his friends at school. They call him Bruce now, and at the end of the first school day after the show, they begged him to stop bragging about it.

Jos is hooked, just like I was, 26 years ago.

We're hooked by the same people (great to see and hear Clarence back in good shape), by the same music. The energy's still there -- it's amazing.

"The River" was the absolute highlight for me. It's what's got me started, what made me take that train back in 1981, what made me run from home to that show. Hearing it again, now, with my boy next to me -- well, what kind of a man would I be if I hadn't cried, just a little bit?

Just go on, rock on, Mister Springsteen. Please. I've got a girl of 6 and another boy of 4. They need to hear you ask them "Is there anybody alive out there?" at least once.

STOCKHOLM, SWEDEN
Monday, December 10

Little Big Man

by Sven-Anders Soderberg

The front of the pit was particularly well-drilled tonight, at times looking like synchronized swimmers packed in a swimming pool. Arms never seeming to stop, yet always knowing where Mecca was tonight -- i.e. wherevers the Big Man happened to be on stage. Clarence's Swedish son Christopher came on stage for "Dancing in the Dark," strumming an acoustic guitar (apparently he's very good). Your "next President" (as Bruce called Clarence) came over and brushed off his son's shoulders, as Bruce sang of shaking this world off his. Nils came over and did the same for the Big Man himself. Three Swedes (if one honorary) socially grooming.

At one point Bruce came up behind father and son (Christopher later telling the Swedish press what a thrill and how nervous he was) and fairly gently pushed them to the front of the stage -- not the worst way to have a Fender in your back. Clarence later told the press it was the biggest night of his life, having his son on stage with him. By the end of the show there were five or six Santa hats thrown on the stage, and Bruce and the band gave us a bonus "Santa Claus" after "American Land."

Tip: if you like free beer, wear a Stone Pony T-shirt in the bar before hand.

COPENGHAGEN, DENMARK
Saturday, December 8

One for the ages

by Karl Birthistle

Part of the joy of following the Springsteen circus around the world is the added bonus of getting to visit many different lands and cultures. In Europe a comparatively short trip can bring about a wealth of impressions and surprises. It is true that the music, the art, is what brings this Springsteen touring phenomenon together, it is the centerpiece. Without doubt, seeing him ten nights in one venue in a three week period is great... but there is a further frisson added when traveling from land to land. As I told friends and family that I was off to Copenhagen for the weekend, there was a lot of comprehension that not only would I see Bruce but would also get a chance to see a beautiful town. This is not about to evolve into a travel blog, but I just have to note that a different Springsteen experience comes from "doing" Mannheim, Copenhagen, Cologne, Belfast and Paris in the space of just over two weeks.

And the glue to this manifold experience? It is the many different perceptions we have of the same thing. What, around ten thousand folk saw the same concert tonight in Copenhagen's Forum, but we came out with multiple perceptions. Some saw Bruce at his best... some were captivated by certain moments, songs, nuances... some were disappointed by the absences, such as "Santa Claus." This concertgoer saw the benefit that a four-day break -- a chance to rehearse, rest and chill out -- had on this unit. Charlie had clearly used the time valuably; he played with assurance and calm.

And what a show! It is for nights like this one in Copenhagen that many of us travel so far and so often to see Bruce. My Backstreets editor has described the second show in Philadelphia as 'one for the ages'. WelI, I was there, I agree -- and tonight was in the same league. Bruce was in just awesome form tonight, smiling, laughing, and playing with a renewed energy and joy, characteristics a little lacking in the sickness and fatigue of Mannheim. He gave Steve a big hug after an incendiary "Gypsy Biker," and the two played so well off each other all night, with so much fun and laughter. "She's The One" was played as well as I have ever heard it.

Everything worked and gelled together almost perfectly. The setlist was adjusted subtly, so as to render it a remarkably cohesive whole. Moving "Darkness" back to the "sandwich" slot was ideal, as "I'll Work for Your Love," "The River" and "Tenth" worked their magic. As soon as "The River" finished, Bruce pointed at Roy with both hands, with all ten fingers raised, conducting him clearly to start "Tenth Avenue Freeze-out." "Tenth" is perfectly positioned here in the main set, cementing a fabulous, high-energy show. Bruce was all smiles and laughs at the end of the song, as if to say that that really worked. They were all in cracking form tonight.

"Long Walk Home" just grows and grows in power, now augmented by Steve's unique closing vocals, a real high point..

After "Girls in their Summer Clothes" Bruce went immediately into "Kitty's Back," forgetting to remove his capo, which he had to rip off after two or three bars, much to Steve's amusement. Bruce's solo in "Kitty" could well have been the best he has ever done on this song, at least in my experience. I was mesmerized. As he finished and Clarence took the lead, Bruce stepped back and looked very, very pleased with himself! As well he should have been.

COPENHAGEN, DENMARK
Saturday, December 8

Down to the RIver

by Heikki Olander and Riku Olkkonen

We remember when we were young, we went to see new and promising bands in our high school gym. Our Danish friends told us that the Forum is not a good place to go to a rock concert. But tonight we were able to relive those memories of our youth with Bruce and the E Street Band in the Copenhagen Forum, the smallest venue of this European tour. It was an intimate atmosphere, for the very lucky 6,000 people who managed to get the ticket to get in tonight, making it feel like Bruce was playing in a small club in the early '70s, somewhere in New Jersey (although we have never been there).

Today Riku celebrated his 20th Bruce concert. For a longtime U.S. concertgoer that may sound like nothing, but only two of those 20 have been in our home country of Finland. Traveling over the years, we have met a lot of European fans and created a united community through our shared musical interest.

We both saw our first concert on this tour in Mannheim a week ago. We felt pretty lucky being there, but tonight was something else. The beginning of the Copenhagen show was typical of what we had already seen, only that the sound was wonderful and really well balanced. We could see Bruce and the band were back in shape after the stomach flu earlier on this tour. As the show went on, Bruce and the band were really working for the love of their audience. From "I'll Work for Your Love" onward, the concert rose to another level. For both of us, "The River" happens to be that specific song that inspires us, the reason why we found ouselves tonight in Denmark. We have heard "The River" live so many times that we could not expect it to feel as fresh and moving as it did tonight. At this show it was also a step to another great song, as we were fortunate to experience the true meaning of rock 'n' roll through the amazing "Tenth Avenue Freeze-out" that followed.

We remember Bruce saying that the new songs on the Magic album were meant to be played in front of live audience. And he's right. When an established artist goes touring to promote his new material, the audience may think it will be at the expense of the older songs. After seeing two magical concerts on this tour, you have to forget that idea. These new songs and old songs fit perfectly together.

We all waited for Santa to come to Copenhagen as well, but instead we got Kitty -- and what a version it was. If they hadn't blown that small venue away already before "Kitty's Back," well, there was nothing left after that.

MANNHEIM, GERMANY
Sunday, December 2

Elemental Force

by Karl Birthistle

I am three hours on the road, driving through the rain from Zurich to Mannheim, and I am reflecting that for the better part of 30 years now I have been following Bruce around the globe. And today I am as excited at the prospect of the show as I was when I first saw him play all those many, many years ago. When I arrive at the venue it is mid-afternoon, there are around 300 like-souls lined up in the driving wind and rain outside the arena. They are wrapped in an assortment of blankets, sleeping-bags, hats and wraps -- anything to try to keep the elements at bay. As I walk down the line of poeple, greeting and being greeted by folks I have seen usually only at other shows over the years, I am left to contemplate what it is that unites us here, bringing us to spend a Sunday afternoon in the cold rain just so we may be a bit nearer to "our man" for the show. Let's face it, it's not a large venue, we'll all be near enough anyway.... And I reflect that the "it" that unites us is even now as difficult to grasp, define, and outlin, as it was for me when I first got "it" almost 30 years ago.

I was 17 and came home late to the house after work; my sister was listening to records with a new boyfriend (now her husband) and some friends, playing a record by a man whose name I neither recognized nor could pronounce. In answer to my questions, her boyfriend played me side two of The Wild, the Innocent & the E Street Shuffle. Quite simply, I was visited by a force that impacted my life forever; after 20 minutes I was hooked, captivated. I have spent my adult life since then absorbed in Springsteen music and following him from country to country -- so that now I do not consider it at all unusual to find myself today in the industrial outskirts of this German town, lined up in perfectly miserable weather with a few hundred kindred souls, five hours before showtime.

There is a deep place in my soul, my being, that is touched, moved, and inspired by this music, this community. Now, attending my 116th show, I am again transported to a place of wonder as Bruce and the E Street Band take the stage, and E Street power pervades and dominates all senses.

As the band plays songs such as "Jackson Cage," "She's the One," or the sublime "Darkness on the Edge of Town," I'm brought back to that time when I first felt this thrill. I consider that there are many, many ways we can choose to spend our lives, and I feel highly privileged to be able to spend mine this way. No longer do I hear my family or friends or work colleagues ask me when am I going to grow out of this obsession -- now it is only "When is he playing again?" and "Do you have any spare tickets?"

Reason to Believe

by Riku Olkkonen

There is something special when it comes to the European audience -- I have to wonder how can you catch cold in front of such a warm and lovely crowd. Lucky for the Germans' first show on this tour, Bruce and the E Street Band were back in action with full power.

I had read reports from previous Magic concerts, but I couldn't believe everything being said about these songs being played so quickly and intensely. But now I do have a "Reason to Believe." That refreshed version in particular reminded me why I have travelled around the world following Bruce Springsteen over the years. You can not explain it without seeing and hearing that with your own eyes.

In the guitar duel between Bruce and Steven during "Gypsy Biker," both seemed to have real fun -- and we can declare two winners in that battle. We miss Danny and that Patti, but luckily we can say that their "substitutes" are holding their own. Charles is doing his part admirably, considering what a big hole he has to fill in; Soozie, the blonde filling in for the redhead, has really become a multifunctional player in the band.

Thanks to the German ticketing system, which allows real fans to get their tickets fast and smoothly, you could find a lot of different nationalities in the audience (e.g., there were at least 50 people from Finland). Santa Claus came to Mannheim as well, and this week in particular every Bruce fan has to be good. In the coming week we will have three concerts in the Nordic countries, and who knows how many concerts to buy for next summer.

Once again I have to wonder if you can make world better by "only" playing guitar. Hell, I don't care if that happens... but after this concert it really feels like it could.

ARNHEM, NETHERLANDS
Saturday, December 1

Killing the Bug

by Jos Westenberg

On Friday afternoon, the originally scheduled day of the Arnhem show, with more than 400 people already at the stadium waiting for hours in the cold and rain, notice came that Bruce had to postpone the show due to a "severe cold." Partly because of the one-day delay (quite a few people couldn't come the next day, especially those flying in only for this show), the venue -- the first soccer stadium show of the tour -- wasn't completely full. But all in all roughly 30,000 people witnessed Bruce coming onstage for this rescheduled Saturday night show to the sounds of the calliope. " Instead of Bruce calling out "Is there anybody alive out there," his first words were: "Arnhem, I'm alive!"

Before "Magic'" he gave his apologies for the delay: "Niemand ziek? (Nobdy sick?) Hoe gaat het met jullie? (How are you doing?) I apologize for the delay. It would have been very ugly." It was pretty clear on stage that Bruce was still not doing well, still suffering from the flu. (Later, it was confirmed that other crew and band members were sick, too.) "Candy's Room" was superb, with a great solo from Bruce. But at "She's the One," Bruce seemed to get tired and he started to lose the intensity he put into this song in Bilbao. Next, before "Livin' in the Future', Bruce muffled the intro (in English, not in Dutch), and he didn't really get across what he wanted to say. He cut the intro short, called out Max to start the song, and when prowling the stage left to right, he really seemed tired. "The Promised Land" also lacked the usual energy, though there was a nice moment: Bruce spotted a young boy stage left, and at the end of the song he jumped off the stage and walked down to give this kid the harmonica and a pinch on the cheek.

Back on stage again, he directed the band through some more chords, E minor, C, G, three or four times, stretching the end of "Promised Land" to go into -- "Watch me, Max!" -- "'Darlington County." Here Bruce picked up the energy again, getting Nils to come down the ramp to sing with him. Bruce held the mic out to the crowd for the sha-la-la sing-alongs and at the end even stopped the band to let the crowd sing. Before the end of "Tunnel of Love," Bruce audibled "Night" to the band members, calling for Clarence to pick up his sax. Garry was shaking his head in disbelief. "Night" was Bruce back in full energy again.

Before the first encore, "Girls in Their Summer Clothes,", Bruce spoke Dutch again, telling the audience this song was for the Dutch girls in the audience. Then, instead of the planned "Tenth Avenue Freeze-out," he said that someone told him about "Sinterklaas," the Dutch version of Santa Claus, celebrated on December 5th. So in honour of Sinterklaas, "Santa Claus is Comin' to Town" was debuted, with Clarence on the extra "you better be good for goodness sake" vocals. Someone from the crowd threw a hand puppet of Sinterklaas onstage, and Steve picked it up, handing it to Bruce. "Ah, it's the man himself!" Bruce said, putting it on his hand and making some funny moves.

"Thunder Road," which was on the official setlist, was not played. It would have been welcome, because lasting barely two hours, the concert felt very short, especially for this large stadium crowd. But it's better that Bruce recovers quickly and for him to get some more rest.

Steve was really doing a great bit of acting during "Dancing in the Dark," making funny motions to Bruce as if he did not want to sing, before running to Nils' mic to join in. At the end, Bruce was jumping up and down, saying to Steve, "I'm feeling pretty good!" Maybe this show killed the bug.

In "American Land" Bruce gave a shout-out to the Dutch in the lyrics (instead of the Italians), and at the end he introduced the "legendary E Street Band" members. No mention of Patti, who remains absent from the European leg, but he mentioned Charlie Giordano "filling in for Danny Federici." And at the end of the show, he said "see you in Amsterdam in June!"

And so it will be, June 18, Bruce will play the Amsterdam Arena, one of the biggest Dutch soccer stadiums, with a roof -- and unfortunately, with the worst acoustics a stadium can have. But we'll be there again anyway.

MILAN, ITALY
Wednesday, November 28

A Swiss fan in the Italian court

By Thomas Mäusli

Since Bruce and his E Street Band don't stop in Switzerland anymore, we were forced to travel south to witness the Boss and his legendary band. We tackled the 300 kilometers from Zurich to Milano by car and arrived around four in the afternoon. At the Datchforum (previously Forum Asago) there were already hundreds of people gathered, queuing and/or seeking tickets. After a few pizzas and beers we battled our way inside the stadium, about two hours before the gig. Our tickets didn't give us access to the floor level (where we wanted to be), so we made our way upstairs -- to find three-quarters of the seats already taken! For the Swiss, two hours before the gig normally means "on time," so we were quite surprised how early the Italians were on the spot.

It didn't take long for the Italians to start their cheers, claps and "Bruuuuuuuuuce" shouts -- mind you, two hours before showtime! It wasn't until 9.30 when the lights went out and the crowd went really nuts. You could see shadows entering the stage, accompanied by loud cheers, culminating in a deafening roar when Bruce took the stage. The venue still bathed in black, he yelled, challenging: "Is there anybody alive out there, Milano"? You bet the Italians didn't let the Boss down, answering with a thundering "Yeah!" My god, I've never witnessed such fanatic and fantastic fans -- and I know now why Bruce prefers being in Milano than in Zurich.

From there into the opening riffs of "Radio Nowhere," and off we went onto a stunning 135-minute journey. Everyone was in a great mood, Garry especially was enjoying himself very much, interacting with Roy and Max much of the time. Soozie received more focus with Patti absent, and she did really well. And even though Danny Federici was badly missed, Charlie did a great job; from a distance you couldn't tell if it was Danny or him, so hats off to Charlie!

One thing beclouded the whole thing, though, and that was the volume. It was way (and I mean way) too loud. It wasn't that the mix was bad, it was just too loud. You couldn't distinguish between the three guitars sometimes, and with Garry's bass vibrating in between, sometimes it sounded just awful. Why, oh, why do mixers reckon that quality and power have something to do with loudness? I really don't understand. No more moaning here, it was just some missing icing on the cake. In all it was a brillant night, a great experience, and you can bet that I will come back to Milano -- probably next summer to the San Siro Stadium. Thank you, you crazy Italians!

Visit backstreets.com, by fans, for fans.

MADRID / BILBAO, SPAIN
Sunday, November 25
Monday, November 26

One of those nights

by Salvador Trepat

Bruce's first Magic tour show in Europe, in Madrid, was a good, solid show, including tremendous work from Nils Lofgren on "Tunnel of Love," plus a very well received "Thunder Road." This was the first E Street Band show ever without Danny Federici. We wish him well and a quick return to the band. Charles Giordano, sitting in for Danny, did a good job considering the little time he had to learn and rehearse all the songs. Hats off to him. Patti, too, was absent (in Bilbao as well) so Soozie Tyrell took her place in front of the stage.

Bilbao, the next night, was a complete different story. Bruce was playing the city for the first time ever and got a tremendous reception. The band was ready, and he was on fire. The result was a spectacular show. It was one of those nights. From beginning to end there were no weak performances or throwaway songs. "Radio Nowhere" and "Night" set the tone of the show: intense, rocking, irresistible. "Jackson Cage" and "Reason to Believe" were a blast, followed by an explosive "She's the One". In the central "rarities" spot, a nice "I'll Work for Your Love" (at a faster tempo than in Madrid) was followed by a very intense and emotional version of "Backstreets." Next was the most rockin' and exhuberant take on "Darlington County" that you can get, followed by particularly good versions of "Devil's Arcade" and "The Rising".

Bruce was sweating profusely, interacting continually with Nils and Steven, jumping down to the front of the pit, enjoying the warm and strong reception he was getting. And then came the encores. "Girls in Their Summer Clothes" sounded fresh, dedicated to "all the girls from Bilbao, and one from New Jersey!" Next was "Tenth Avenue Freeze-out" in its original, non-extended version and played with frenzy. This started 25 minutes of non-stop playing . As "Tenth" was finishing and the crowd was roaring, Bruce started playing a familiar guitar intro: "Kitty's Back," totally unexpected and out of the blue. This was the real "magic" moment of the night, with terrific solos from each band member. They all shone. We were transported back to 1975. Next were "Born to Run", "Dancing in the Dark" (both with lights on and big excitement both in the audience and on the stage) and a powerful "American Land" to end, with the lyrics shown on the screens (a wise idea). After the show ended, Bruce spent a good two minutes behind the stage waving goodbye, bowing and sending out kisses to the people seated on the sides. He sure loved the show. Can this get any better?

MADRID / BILBAO, SPAIN
Sunday, November 25
Monday, November 26

Take a Holiday in Spain

by Ermanno Labianca

In early September 1982, more than 25 years ago, I was walking the streets of Madrid listening to a cassette tape that had some very good music and more than a little hiss. It was a pre-release of Nebraska that a friend gave me on that holiday in Spain. When the album came out, some weeks later, surprisingly some of the hiss was still there on the vinyl, but I didn't care. It was part of the deal. Those songs sounded so rough and brilliant - and they still do.

Back then, I had the feeling my favorite artist was speaking to me and a few others. Could I imagine that, after those folky songs that followed The River, Bruce Springsteen was going to become everybody's artist? No. Born in the U.S.A. proved that I lacked some imagination. And I still do, when it comes to predicting what Springsteen's next move is going to be.

Now that he is everybody's artist, I don't give a damn that he is still a hard ticket. I travelled back to Spain to see the first two nights of this European leg, and I found what I was hoping for when sitting in La Plaza del Sol a quarter of a century ago, with my headphones blasting "Reason to Believe." I had dreamed of how that spare, bluesy rock'n'roll would sound if played with the magnificent E Street Band. As we all left the El Palacio De Deportes after the opening night of this 2007 European tour, my ears still resonated from what - once again - I was not so brave to predict. The new, roaring version of "Reason to Believe" at least doubled the pleasure I had when San Diego rockers Beat Farmers covered the tune in 1985. This E Street Band treatment shows how powerful Bruce and his mates can be when they challenge themselves to jump the fence and leave some of their cliches behind. That's when they turn from great to extraordinary.

What I now hope is that the challenge continues through what is shaping up to be a long tour, as it returns to the U.S. and comes back here for the summertime.

In 1984-85, Springsteen had a strong album to tour behind, but he still expanded his already brilliant catalogue to extremes that made you think he never stopped writing, thinking, considering or reconsidering his work. Newly written songs like "Sugarland" and "Man at the Top" came. "Shut Out the Light" was not forgotten, as many B-sides tend to be. "Atlantic City," in its live incarnation, became so wild and powerful, I imagined Bruce listening to a lot of U2 and Big Country before hitting the road. To many of us, all of that made Springsteen an artist you wanted to go see perform night after night after night.

Now, in 2007, nine songs out of 12 from Magic are in the set, yet I don't have a feeling they strongly mark the tour. How can that be possible? Are they weak songs? Not at all. "Radio Nowhere" is a powerful opener, and "Long Walk Home" (which shines even more with Steven's vocals) is a magnificent example of how Bruce is probably the only artist of his generation still capable of matching today his finest writing of yesterday. "Girls in Their Summer Clothes" is the perfect pop song you'd might not expect at this point in Bruce's career, but there it is: brilliant, lovable, simply beautiful. So what's the problem?

I thought about it, and the answer (at least to me) lies in what surrounds those new ones in the set. So many of the other songs -- other than "Reason to Believe," of course -- make me feel it's 1999 or 2002 again. "Tunnel of Love," which in Madrid sounded so good and was linked thematically to "I'll Work For Your Love," is a good example of how an old and (recently) rarely played song can pop up and benefit the show much better than others.

Bilbao was a hell of a show. But I also can't help feeling that this tour has an incredible potential hidden somewhere. A smarter rotation of the songs, some sacrifice (ironically, I think dropping a couple of Magic songs might benefit the rest, allowing people to better focus on the new tracks), a couple of covers (think back to 1988 - how great were Tunnel of Love songs in the context of the live show, surrounded by great cover choices?) and a new, more adventurous approach to old classics would make our minds blow.

Or, as the Counting Crows sing in "Take a Holiday in Spain" (a song I think would not exist without Bruce Springsteen), should I "flush my worries down the drain"?

BOSTON, MA
Monday, November 19

Critical mass

by Jon Phillips

In many of Bruce's interviews, he talks about communing with the audience, about a shared connection. It's one of the aspects I've also found the most rewarding at a Springsteen show: it's almost always a tough ticket to get in the house, so you could rely on the fact that almost all of the people in audience were into the music and ecstatic to be there. When the lights go up during "Born to Run" and everyone's singing their hearts out with smiles on their faces, life is good.

As you enter new levels of fandom obsession -- as the number of shows or the number of minutes you spend daily on the online boards enters double digits -- you start to wish for an even tighter connection at the show than is possible with 15,000 other people in the room. Even if those in attendance are big fans of Springsteen's music, they may not be obsessive about the finer points.

I'm going to bet that less than a third of the people in the building for Boston's Monday show knew Danny Federici's full name. And only a select few of those folks had the patience to spend time on the boards to hear about the rumors that Danny might be taking a break from the tour. As the setlist started coming together and the performance chugged along, it was clearly Danny's night. Probably the last for a little while. But how is a lone audience member to show his or her appreciation? I yelled "Danny," plenty of times, but of course he couldn't hear me, and the other fans around me didn't seem clued in to what was going on.

So here's to the critical mass at the center of the pit that started chanting Danny's name loud enough for he and the rest of the band to hear it. You guys did together what the rest of us scattered about couldn't do by ourselves. Thanks for letting Danny and the band know that we got what was happening, that we were so grateful to Danny. Thanks for showing that we got the connection.

And Danny - thanks, Danny. Thank you. Thank you. Here's to seeing you up the road.

The legend of the band

by Caryn Rose

On the drive up to Boston on Sunday, my traveling companion and I amused ourselves with a little game we called, "The La Bamba Horns aren't doing anything because of the Writer's Strike. What if they showed up in Boston this weekend?" We limited ourselves to the setlist as we know it, some nice fills on the 8-bar-bluesiness that is "Reason To Believe" in '07, expanding "Girls in Their Summer Clothes" so we can get rid of the sleigh bells, and some fantasies about "Sweet Soul Music" or "Higher and Higher" (shades of Boston Gardens '76). Funnily enough, what transpired on Monday would have indeed been the perfect setlist for those horns.

My requirements for Boston were simple: something I hadn't seen yet in the epic slot, Peter Wolf and Dirty Water. If you'd told me I'd see three songs from the second album, if you told me what was going to transpire, and if you'd asked me if I would've taken Peter Wolf onstage for "Tenth Avenue Freeze-out" instead, I would have smiled at you benevolently and returned to my fantasy about the horns as just as realistic.

Kitty, Sandy, the boy prophets, and Scooter and the Big Man all came out to dance, and by the end of the night, our section of the floor was chanting "DANNY! DANNY!" at the encore. So fitting that the legend of the band was told tonight. So much history, so much love. Nils on Danny's riser, Bruce coaxing out the riffs on "E Street Shuffle" like he probably did back in the day when that song was brand new and finding its form. My favorite part of the song has always been the instrumental at the end, the scratch guitar and the veering off into freeform jazz, and the band proves why they are the E Street Band, as they breathe as one organism and make the song come to life.

The Boston crowd won my heart. Boston beat my hometown show at MSG, Boston beat CAA, Boston kicked Philly's ass around the block three times. The people in the top row of the very back section (Section 308!) were on their feet and dancing every time the lights hit them and every minute the lights weren't on. Boston was the place I had a frigid 45-minute conversation in the GA line with the family behind me, parents and their 20-something sons, where the mother tells me how the son wrote "She's got the heart of a ballerina" on a birthday card for her. Boston was the place I watched people on the floor dancing to every single song. Even if you might question the appropriateness of butt-shaking during "Last To Die," you gotta give 'em credit for the intent.

And finally: Boston, where the houselight blast into "Born to Run" has me scanning the crowd in section 12 in search of a friend. I couldn't find her, but instead, I saw two guys in their 20s, who were jumping up and down and going nuts as though the rarest of the most rare rarities was being played. They were screaming, waving, singing along, hugging each other, and probably having one heckuva grand time. And I think: Every time you see "Born to Run," someone else is seeing it for the very first time.

BOSTON, MA
Sunday, November 18

Heads up, Garry!

by Jon Phillips

Ah, Boston. "Home of the World Champion ... [insert dejected look from Bruce]." NY/NJ has their Southsides and Pittsburgh has its Grusheckies. Who have we got in Beantown? Peter Wolf: in the audience, but not onstage tonight. Professor Robert Coles: namechecked from the stage, but we're assuming from tonight's lucid performance that he and Bruce didn't spend the day with shots of whiskey, discussing the Literature of Social Reflection. So what we got was the usual great, attentive Boston crowd and the E Street Band firing on all cylinders. Oh, and a couple in the pit with a sign proclaiming that they had been dating for fifteen years and that he was proposing tonight. So, before "I'll Work For Your Love," Bruce asked where they were, blessed their union, and sang while the bride-to-be was held aloft. After the song was over, Bruce suggested that next time they should just have a candlelit dinner, adding that Patti would have killed him if had tried something like that with her. The thought cracked Bruce up, but sadly Patti was in conference with Little Steven on the other side of the stage and couldn't give one of those patented, head-shaking looks of disapproval. C'mon everybody, eyes on the Boss for the whole show or you'll miss these sorts of spontaneous cues!

These days, the E Street show is so lyrically driven that you have to wait for those potential standout musical moments. You know, will the coda to "Racing in the Street" (remain calm - it wasn't played tonight) lock into a magical groove or will it trudge along? Tonight we got two such moments: Nils's solo at the end of "Tunnel of Love," and Clarence's solo during "Jungleland." Both had that excitement of the audience realizing something special was happening, the performer building on top of that, and on and on. Clarence nailed "Jungleland," and the solo goes on long enough that you could see the band basking in the glow. There was no mugging for the cameras on this one... Garry catching Max and Bruce's eye. Bruce looking over at Danny. Yes, boys, we've been playing this one for a long time... and it's still got it.

We're lucky to have Garry still with us, as Bruce threw his guitar straight over Garry's head to Kevin during one transition. That was worth a sheepish look from Bruce and a bit of an "alright, now" glance from Garry. And at the rate that Bruce is throwing water around the stage, the E Streeters better start wearing boots.

Two final thoughts, as this was my first show of the tour. First, a shout-out to the lighting crew--they're not putting on a laser light show, nor should they be, but to my eye there were more cues and more subtle enhancements than ever before. Second, the show ran 2 hours and 15 minutes and it does it with no bloat. There is no 20-minute "Tenth Avenue Freeze-out," and there's barely a moment between songs. All the transitions have been thought out, and Kevin will present two guitars to Bruce when the setlist has an option on it. So to those with their stopwatches out, it ain't all about elapsed time, you know?

Tonight: night 2. "Dirty Water"? "Diddy Wah"? Nah, this is Boston. Sure, we love tradition, but we're ready for the new!

Attention must be paid

by Chris Phillips

What really struck me at Boston 1 (besides "Jungleland," for which I'm a broad-side-of-a-barn target) was the five-pack to close the main set. We tend not to give as much lip service to that stretch, since the songs don't change night after night. But of course the reason that section doesn't change is the very reason it's worth talking about: it's a powerful, thematically charged mini-set that's the very core of what Springsteen is trying to communicate night after night.

My brother Jon [report above] is right about the "usual, attentive Boston crowd" -- the whole place was into it, from the pit to the rafters. Though, picking up on what Pont reported from Albany about the "Devil's Arcade" yak-fest, it was frustrating to see that song turn a wonderful Boston crowd into a coffee klatch. The song requires attention, it's one of those where you only get out of it what you put into it, and in Boston I marveled at a couple next to me chatting throughout the song, at what a very different concert experience we were having at that moment, just a few feet away from each other. Not to begrudge anyone a fun night out. But it's quite a story Bruce is telling every night, and when attention is paid, man, I think that song is devastatingly powerful -- it's the heart of the show.

A few songs later, Bruce was really feeling "Long Walk Home" -- so much so that I was wondering why he didn't close the set with it. Musically and lyrically it's a perfect summation. Bruce is hollering, grimacing, rocking out, and as the whole thing rollicks along and stretches out, it's got that credits-roll feel to it. Why not let this be the set's final punctuation mark? Why feel the need to break out "Badlands"? Can't we give "Badlands" a rest and let this one step up and take over?

And then "Badlands" kicks in, and the entire pit hits the ceiling, and I remember. Oh yeah, that's why. Nevermind.

ALBANY, NY
Thursday, November 15

Little Things That Count

by Jonathan Pont

The cold and rain made getting out of the city and up to Albany for Thursday's show feel more like a task. Once there, I was buoyed by a quick drink and a surprisingly good dinner. But I told my old friend Erik that it had better be a good night once Bruce and the band took the stage. And it was. A high-octane start got me thinking during a particularly hard-hitting "No Surrender" that Bruce had better dial it back a bit if he wants to make it to "Badlands." By "Lonesome Day," he had, slightly -- for the most part, there was a sustained, high level of energy throughout the show. But for my two cents -- and, oh, $95 and service charges -- the subtle things behind the music made Albany memorable. Bruce appeared to struggle a bit with a harmonica at the start of "Reason to Believe." Dry reeds, I thought, despite the damp outside. Sure enough, he dunks the thing in water after the third verse (the one about taking away little Kyle's sins), then proceeds to drain the excess by dousing band members. Preacher shtick, anyone?

The audience was great, though I'm still perturbed by people yapping away mindlessly. A young trio of folks did just that through "Devil's Arcade" (of all songs). But I was just as amused earlier, when a security guard saw me turning off my cell phone. He told me he had the same one, and asked me whether I might take some pictures for him (I took one for him, but it probably wasn't that good), and if I knew how to make it record. He was singing along most of the night. Others sang, too, just not on cue. It occurs to me that the first-verse sing-along is harder to create in 2007, which is particularly curious. In 1980, people seemed to get it with "Hungry Heart." And it seems that people practically ache to get to the end of the first verse of "Thunder Road." But on "Girls in Their Summer Clothes," people don't seem to get it just yet.

"Darkness on the Edge of Town" was surprising both for its inclusion and vitality, and the old songs from his second record sounded particularly fresh and vibrant. Sparks fly, indeed. And props to "I'll Work for Your Love," which realizes its potential in the arena. On the album, it's a speed bump, and given that this show has few, if any, it wasn't at the top of my list of songs I'd like to hear ("You'll Be Coming Down" still occupies that spot, and doubtless for others, too). But in performance, the song is a winner.

WASHINGTON, DC
Sunday, November 11
Monday, November 12

Come Veterans' Day

by Chris Phillips

Just back from Washington DC, where I finally caught my first shows of the tour, other than the 9/28 warm-up at the Meadowlands. For the past few weeks I've been kicking myself for waiting so long... but after seeing five of the first six shows in 2002, I promised myself I wouldn't do that kind of front-loading again. Back in those early days of the Rising tour, the setlists were relatively static, the band was taking a while to find its feet, and while I couldn't really complain about the shows (or getting to see that many in the first place), it wasn't smart as a show-goer to burn out early. Good things clearly came to those who waited.

So, lesson learned, this time I've held off -- and my plan backfired. I've missed some choice Magic moments in the past few weeks. After those rocky rehearsals, Bruce and band did some serious acceleration, started throwing some real curveballs into the set, and before long my hardcore show-going buddies were saying, "This does NOT feel like the first month of a tour." So finally, on the floor of the Verizon Center on Sunday night, I got to make up for lost time. It was absolutely stunning how far the show has come since that late-September rehearsal -- the band's incredibly tight, energy is high, transitions are for the most part flawless, and songs that seemed rough at the start have been buffed to a high shine. "American Land" in particular, which initially felt out of place, has become a powerhouse crowd-pleaser to close the show (scrolling the lyrics on the screen helps). "Tunnel of Love" is a personal favorite, so that alone made my night, with Patti's passionate wails and Nils' incendiary guitar rocketing the whole thing skyward. And that was before the surprise two-fer of "Growin' Up" and "Kitty's Back" in the encore.

So after the show, I talked to a friend who's been on the road for most of the tour, and asked him how this one stacked up. "You really want to know?" he said. Oh, yeah, I gotta know. "Pretty low. Consensus is, this was one of the weaker shows so far." He was quick to add that it's splitting hairs, that we're talking small degrees here... but I didn't need placating. You mean it gets better than this? That's GREAT news.

Monday night was a powerful experience in a different way. Better performance than Sunday? Hard to say. But it was a hell of a way to spend Veterans Day. A couple hours before the show, I was in the bowels of the Verizon Center, where I was to interview Patti Scialfa. Time got too tight, though, and the interview had to be postponed, because she, along with Bruce and their son Evan, had spent their Veterans Day afternoon visiting wounded soldiers at Walter Reed Army Medical Center. Much as I'd been looking forward to the interview, that's a punch I can roll with. And it gave me a lot to think about as I lingered a while in that backstage hallway, especially as it started to fill up with a host of visitors against the painted cinderblock walls. Some had canes, some were in wheelchairs -- all from Walter Reed, I found out. One soldier in a wheelchair-- not a vet, he was still on active duty -- was there with his young son, probably all of nine years old, both sporting Magic T-shirts. Bruce had invited them all to the show, and they were waiting for him to come out and say hi. And as long as nobody was ushering me out, I was going to stay and watch.

I thought back to 1981, when at the L.A. Sports Arena on August 20, Springsteen played a benefit for the Vietnam Veterans of America Foundation. The show has become legendary, not only for the almost frighteningly intense performance, but also because it's no overstatement to say that benefit show singlehandedly sustained a struggling movement. VVAF President Bob Muller has said as much, numerous times. In 2001, we put together a special issue of Backstreets magazine [Backstreets #72] to mark the concert's 20th anniversary, with an interview with Muller as a centerpiece. Here's just a small part of what Muller had to say about the significance of that '81 show:

"That was the turnaround event, really, in our history of putting together a coherent Vitenam veterans' movement. The organization that I was president of, the Vietnam Veterans of America, went on to become the only congressionally chartered organization in this country for Vietnam Veterans. It led the fight for the whole range of benefits that ultimately got enacted. So it was the critical organization and voice for Vietnam vets at a very appropriate and necessary time.

"I'd started the organization in the very beginning of 1978 and struggled to keep it going. And literally, right at the time that we got connected with Bruce Springsteen, it was several years down the road and I just said, you know, 'that's it.' We'd hit the rocks five times where we thought the organization was going to fold, We got to the point where I said, 'we cannot rally one more time and pull this thing out,' even after those remarkable survivals... we were going down. It was our darkest moment, and I say that very honestly.... We were finally about to give up the ghost. And that's when Bruce came in. It literally turned us around."

Muller draws a direct line from that night -- from not only the money raised, but more importantly, Springsteen's public support -- to "ending the silence that surrounded Vietnam," to getting better programs in place for veterans, to the Vietnam Veterans Memorial.

Putting together that anniversary feature for the magazine, I had the chance to sift through a great number of images from that night, courtesy of photographer Neal Preston. Neal sent me a stack of photos and contact sheets, which I slowly sorted through at my desk shortly after 9/11, somewhat awestruck. Not only stage shots, showing Springsteen sweat-soaked and intense, but glimpses of backstage: a young and skinny Bruce, in a tight, faded jean jacket, down on his haunches listening intently to a guy in a wheelchair. A closer look, and I realize the guy has no legs. A shot of a riser by the stage with a long row of vets in wheelchairs, waiting for the show to start. Bruce again in a squat with his hand on the arm of Muller's wheelchair (Muller himself, as a lieutenant in the Marine Corps, was wounded in combat in 1969), a broad grin on Springsteen's face as Muller holds court. The images went on and on -- we ran as many as we could in the magazine -- and those are what I see in my head now when I listen to that Vets show (through the wonder of a, er, "fan-based recording").

Powerful as they are, those photos are locked in time, those photos are history. To someone like me, born in the middle of the Vietnam era, the vets in those images, with their mustaches and afros, could be nothing but our parents' generation. For me, they call up memories of being around my dad's friends as a kid, them drinking Schaefer, me gawking at a new motorcycle, a time when I had very little awareness of anything that was going on in the world at large, let alone anything to do with war, lost limbs, life and death.

Standing in that hallway Monday night, there was no mistaking this for history. These guys are my age, these guys are far younger. This is my generation and practically the next, still fighting and suffering in a war many of us don't understand, and on their faces were some of the same looks I saw on the faces of the vets in Preston's photos -- smiles that say they've seen much more than I have, and they've got a better handle on it all than I feel like I ever could. Like that soldier right across the hall from me, in the wheelchair, the one with the kid. I mustered up the courage to strike up a conversation, remarked on his T-shirt, muttered something with "thanks" in it, but really, I didn't know what to say.

Bruce did. Soon there he was, making his way down the hall and lighting it up as he went, posing for snapshots, talking and listening... what was said, I'm not sure. It was mostly a buzz, and being the fly on the wall that I was, I was constantly mindful of not wanting to intrude. But there were smiles all around, and a few times as Springsteen hunkered down in that same familiar squat, his hand on the arm of a wheelchair, making a connection, the years collapsed. Here's Springsteen a quarter-century later, doing it all again -- it's both wonderful and tragic. Muller, too, is still extremely active, as president of what is now Veterans for America, and this scene made me think of something else that Muller told us about that Night for the Vietnam Veteran in '81:

"This wasn't a one night, wham-bam, thanks goodbye. The fact that [Bruce] maintained a relationship, the fact that he kept an eye on how we were doing and stepped up several times, quietly, sometimes not being asked, just to give us continuing support, is remarkable. It was done very quietly and privately."

The night before, Springsteen had dedicated "The Promised Land" to some folks from Bethesda Naval Hospital; on this night it'll go out for Walter Reed. Was there the same scene backstage the night before? How many other times has Bruce done that without Neal Preston there to capture the moment?

During the Monday night show, there are those same guys in wheelchairs off to the side of the stage. Fewer mustaches, and no riser, but a strikingly similar scene to the L.A. Sports Arena, if more discreet. And there's Springsteen, heading over to stage left with a huge grin on his face, pointing with the neck of his guitar and playing his heart out for these soliders, making sure they're having a good time. He sends out "Devil's Arcade," with its depiction of a hospital ward surely much like what he saw that day at Walter Reed, simply "for Veterans Day." After some final bows, Bruce dashes over to the side of the stage and gives that soldier's son his harmonica. It's a small, quick gesture, and it's not like he didn't have enough to remember the night by, but the look on the boy's face is priceless.

Backstage before the show, as he was signing the boy's shirt, Springsteen said, "Hey, I'm glad you made it!" His response: "I'm glad you made it too, Bruce."

You and me both, kid.

NEW YORK, NY
Wednesday, October 17

Harmonica Wail

by Biba Milioto

Magical moments are bountiful during an E-Street Band show -- for me the magic usually comes in the form of harmonica notes blasting through the energy-buzzing, packed arena. Lucky for me that Bruce had one close at hand all night on 10/17 at the Garden, and most magical of all was to go from the exhilaration of old favorites (Promised Land being my all-time harmonica dream) to songs from the new album that have that crystalline brand-new feel and are just as exciting to hear. Gypsy Biker's searing opening harmonica cut laser-like through the air and it immediately became a classic. What fun to hear and feel Magic in 3-D, and how reassuring to hear the new tracks join the ranks of the classics that are really like old friends -- you smile when you hear them because they bring such pleasure to your ears and your heart.

Visit backstreets.com, by fans, for fans.