By Magnus LaugloThis fall, being the true Bruce geek that I am, I took on a substantial “listening project.” I decided to listen to all of Bruce’s albums, some studio outtakes and a bunch of live shows in chronological order. I started a month or so ago, with some choice Steel Mill boots, and worked my way to Greetings and Wild & Innocent, by way of bootleg favorites like “Forgotten Songs” and “Smalltown Boy.” Listening to a couple of shows per tour (I.... Read more

   

Well, the Seeger Sessions Tour has ended and everybody is holding their breath in anticipation of what will be next. Or perhaps more important, when the next thing will happen. Because Bruce already pretty much declared that the next project will be with the E Street Band, and although nothing is written in stone when it comes to Bruce's projects until they actually happen, I think it's a pretty safe bet that the E Streeters will be called out for another round in the foreseeable future..... Read more

   

What exactly is up with that? Like anybody who's anybody, Bruce now has an official profile on MySpace. Actually, it seems he's had it for a while, but it hasn't gathered too much attention from the fan community. Maybe because it leaves everybody completely puzzled, including me. Is this thing really official? Does Bruce himself have anything to do with it? I can't answer the first question, but the second one must be "no". Bruce is described in third person and you don't see any personal.... Read more

   

A few days ago I launched a new section on Greasy Lake. It can be found under the Songs section of Drop the Needle and features chords to just about all released Springsteen songs. The section is actually the much celebrated Springsteen Chords site which from now on will be part of Greasy Lake. Springsteen Chords has for a long time been praised as the most extensive collection of Bruce chords anywhere and it's been featured in Greasy Lake's link collection under Top Sites along with such .... Read more

   

It's almost time for the annual Light of Day benefit shows supporting the Parkinson's Disease Foundation. The three shows will take place on December 1, 2, and 3 at the Starland Ballroom in Sayreville, NJ. There will even be shows in Europe this time around. You can read the press release here for more information. If you're unable to attend the shows, dont' fret. You can still support the good cause and get something nice back: a real stunning calendar with pictures of some of the artists who.... Read more

   

You know that feeling after a concert you walk out knowing that you've just seen the best show ever? Well, I feel that way after about every third Bruce show I go to. Whether it actually is the best show ever is impossible to say, but that's not the point. The point is that as long as Bruce can continue to give me that feeling I'm not going to write him off.Anyway, the last time I got this feeling was this last Saturday when Bruce had just finished his Seeger Sessions show in Copenhagen. And.... Read more

   

While Bruce is attracting thousands of people all over Europe playing American traditionals, his old buddy Southside Johnny is on a more low-key tour of the old world with his Asbury Jukes. Last week I was fortunate enough to catch them in what has become an annual tradition, their show at Amager Bio in Copenhagen. Southside is doing what he's been doing for as long as I think anyone can remember: playing his unmistakable rock 'n' roll/blues/soul mixture, horns blasting, guitar screaming,.... Read more

   

Well, the first week of European shows is over, and we have in fact seen what seems like a new trend in the setlists. It seems Bruce is more willing to try out new things with the Seeger Sessions Band than before, and it seems he's more willing to dig into his own material. "The River", "Fire", "Growin' Up" and "Bobby Jean" all made their first appearances with the Seeger Sessions Band this past week, and traditionals like "This Little Light of Mine" and "Samson and Delilah" also made their way.... Read more

   

Starting today Bruce's Seeger Sessions circus tour is back on the road. Tonight he kicks off his new European tour with a show in Bologna, Italy. It will be the first of no less than seven Italian shows, which is unprecedented for him. Unfortunately the show in Caserta has been moved from the beautiful Ciardini Della Reggia castle to a small indoor arena called Palamaggio. After spending 1½ weeks in Italy the tour will continue in the rest of Europe where it will end on November 21.But for now.... Read more

   

There hasn't been a whole lot of news in the last few weeks while I was on vacation, and whatever there was, you probably found elsewhere. On the 17th Bruce performed for parents and teachers at the Ranney School in what used to be the Rumson County Day School benefit, but which has now been changed to the Ranney School benefit. I don't know if his kids changed schools or what. Whatever the case, you can see the setlist and more details here if you haven't already. In other news, there will be.... Read more