My thoughts on the new Springsteen DVD

Now that the excitement has died down, I've gotten to thinking about the upcoming release. It's the first full show featuring the band in like six years, with the previous one being the Barcelona show from the Rising Tour. Well, it's not exactly full because if you notice the setlist, you'll realise Rosalita is missing. Seriously, I got no idea why that is. Why the fuck would management wanna take that out?? For those of us who were there, Bruce and the band didn't stop after Born To Run, and immediately went into Rosalita. They didn't leave the stage after that, and went straight into the encore, beginning with Hard Times. I really do hope it's just a typo on the DVD, because that was one hell of a fun song.

UPDATE: Rosy is indeed on the DVD after all!!! Management fucked up this time.

Now, for the 'not so good' part. Many fans have been complaining about this release, because the London show didn't best represent the entire 2009 tour, mainly due to the fact that it was a festival gig, and Bruce's voice was worn out, having played the epic Glastonbury show the previous night. For the record, I thought his voice had a lotta soul and was mostly spot-on, despite bump notes here and there. Also, fans think it's just a lazy-ass attempt (by Jon Landau, if I may add) to make a quick buck by putting something out there that's already been filmed and some of the songs broadcast on TV. Now we know for a fact that the legendary final Giants Stadium shows were filmed, and many of us at BTX thought those full album shows would see the light of day.

But now with the release of this show instead, I fear the Jersey shows might never come out. We know that management will never put out two different DVDs from the same tour back to back. I have a feeling that they thought those Jersey shows wouldn't sell as much as the London one, because the setlists catered to the more hardcore crowd. And this is actually true. But why film something when you know you're not gonna put it out for the public to see? So there goes another 'wasted' effort, another bunch of shows filmed and then thrown into the vaults. And while I'm on this subject about live releases, I've always wondered why the hell don't they follow Pearl Jam's business model and just put out officially every live show they've played? Being in the Ten Club for a quite a while already, I know that it's bigger than the Springsteen fan base, but seriously, PJ isn't releasing all these official bootlegs mainly for the money, cause they know they aren't gonna make a lot. It's a fact that PJ (and other official bootleg bands like Phish & The Dead) have been really good to their fans, and I can't see why Bruce's management can't do the same, selling all their future live shows, in pristine sound quality.

But with that being said, I'm still pretty pumped for this DVD. It's even more special for me since I was there, and I can again witness the majesty of Racing In The Street and Jungleland. I just hope they don't fuck up the surround sound like they did with the Barcelona one. With this out of the way, the next thing to look forward to is the Darkness On The Edge Of Town box set, which I foresee will be released during the X'mas period. This release will pretty much save my summer -- at least now I'm not so sad that I can't go to London for another round of Hard Rock Calling......

......but I still got my sights on U2!!! The Australian leg of the 360 tour is definitely on, but I'll be even happier if they do it this November instead of next March. June should be the right time for a tour announcement. Besides, I still gotta think of a Tom Petty & The Heartbreakers show in 2011 :)


P.S. I really really can't get enough of The Gaslight Anthem and that American Slang!!!!

EV & Coco

London Calling: Live In Hyde Park DVD

OH MY FUCKING GOD!!!!! IT'S FUCKING TRUE!!!!

OFFICIAL PRESS RELEASE:

COLUMBIA RECORDS TO RELEASE BRUCE SPRINGSTEEN & THE E STREET BAND'S 'LONDON CALLING: LIVE IN HYDE PARK' CONCERT FILM ON JUNE 22

RELEASE MARKS FIRST SPRINGSTEEN OUTDOOR CONCERT FILM AND FIRST FROM A FESTIVAL SETTING

On June 22, Columbia Records will release Bruce Springsteen & The E Street Band's 'London Calling: Live In Hyde Park' concert film on one Blu-Ray disc and as a two DVD set. Captured in London at the Hard Rock Calling Festival on June 28, 2009 in HD, the 163-minute film documents 26 tracks of live Springsteen that begin in daylight and progress through a gorgeous sunset into night.

'London Calling: Live In Hyde Park' conveys both the experience of being on-stage and the vast crowd experience of the festival environment. Viewers are able to see Springsteen spontaneously directing the E Street Band and shaping the show as it evolves.

The set list spans from 'Born To Run' era to 'Working On a Dream' and includes rare covers such as The Clash's "London Calling," Jimmy Cliff's "Trapped," The Young Rascals' "Good Lovin'," and Eddie Floyd's "Raise Your Hand." Springsteen also performs fan favorite "Hard Times (Come Again No More)," written by Stephen Foster in 1854. Brian Fallon from The Gaslight Anthem joins the band as a guest vocalist on Springsteen's own "No Surrender."

The concert earned rave reviews. The London Times called it "epic" and "a revved-up three-hour power drive through Springsteen's America." The Independent concurred, "He awed the 50,000-strong crowd. Drenched in sweat by the second number, tossing his guitars to the roadies with the vigour of a frontman a third of his age and jogging down a walkway to meet his fans and take their requests, Springsteen's intensity was staggering from first powerful vocal to final thrashed-out chord."

GRAMMY and Emmy Award-winning producer and editor Thom Zimny and director Chris Hilson, both members of Springsteen's video team dating back over a decade, oversaw the film. Audio was mixed by Bob Clearmountain.

Bonus material includes stunning footage of "The River" from Glastonbury, June 27; and the full music video for "Wrecking Ball," filmed at New Jersey's Giants Stadium.

BRUCE SPRINGSTEEN & THE E STREET BAND
LONDON CALLING: LIVE IN HYDE PARK

1. London Calling
2. Badlands
3. Night
4. She's The One
5. Outlaw Pete
6. Out In The Street
7. Working On A Dream
8. Seeds
9. Johnny 99
10. Youngstown
11. Good Lovin'
12. Bobby Jean
13. Trapped
14. No Surrender
15. Waiting On A Sunny Day
16. Promised Land
17. Racing In The Street
18. Radio Nowhere
19. Lonesome Day
20. The Rising
21. Born To Run
22. Hard Times (Come Again No More)
23. Jungleland
24. American Land
25. Glory Days
26. Dancing In The Dark
27. Music under end credit sequence: Raise Your Hand

BONUS MATERIAL:
The River: Glastonbury Festival, 2009
Wrecking Ball: Giants Stadium, 2009

UPDATE: More details to come soon.