Good to see you back, RossK.
Very professional, intelligent piece from Bruce.
Did he put a plug in during his concert gig in Vancouver?
Probably not good to mix politics with concerts, though. Just ask the Dixie Chicks, my personal faves . . . .
Practically sets off the Oprah imprimatur in the political-culture sweepstakes. One of the more promising aspects of Obama -- recent gaffe aside) -- is that he's able to speak to something more than an aggregation of demographics and identities to be pitted against Teh Ohter. That said, I think he still has to learn to address the frustrations of blue-collar workers who've seen some modest goals (getting a house, building a life an family) evaporate with no practical replacement. What he has is the ability to learn and adapt. That's better than ever-refined triangulation.
Guess I'm saying that I've gotten kinda OK with Obama; were I a Democrat in the U.S., I'd be backing him, but I still have reservations.
(I tended first toward Richardson, then to Edwards -- for whatever the opinions of a grouchy Canadian are worth.)
Recent gaff Ian - I don't think so - has telling the truth become a liability?
Yeah, but you KNOW he was an Edwards man before he dropped out... (See also: Mellencamp, John Cougar) His last album made that more than clear.
Most Dems backed Obama after Edwards dropped out: he's closer to that ideal than Clinton, and is a solid shot for VP. Still, whoever wins it's gonna be fun to watch McCain try gearing up to war status after a winner is finally decided on the Dems' side. He's been on cruise control for way too long.
I've always like Springsteen now I damn well admire him.
Crap.
The Phantom just passed away.
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Bob- ya he plugged here - but only a bit with words....instead, he let the set list do most of the talking.....
GW and Ian-- I think the points you both raised are exactly what Mr. Springsteen was saying re: what he really think is important in Mr. Obama's core message.
Doug- Ya, pretty hard not to go where the real hope is, eh?
Apologies for the short-shrift posting recently - swamped at real work.
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OK, now I like Springsteen even better. Treating Canada as a distinct country rather than an extension of America (as too many Yanks on either side of the political fence do) is respectful and classy. Good man. Come back any time.
Ian--
He even slagged us a little, saying we were 'The Shame of British Columbia' when we did a lousy job of singing along to the somewhat obscure 'Waiting For A Sunny Day' halfway through Set #1
Now, this was not really such a bad thing because, as has clearly happened so many times before, a lackadaisical crowd just made him work that much harder.....24 songs including a never before played by the full E-Street line-up rendition of 'None But The Brave' from the BornInUSA sessions (but never released and dedicated to a VietnamEra Vet who had been following the Circus all around the Continent). Then there was a five song encore packed with the usual AND a scorching 10th Avenue Freezout b/w Rosalita.
He also slipped the River back into the set and dedicated to his son!
On the 'Revival Tent' side of things he also just killed with a wicked mouth organ-synthed 'Reason To Believe'. When he stood stone cold at the front of the stage and the folks in the Pit reached up to give him the Power it kind of queased my wife C. out. Of course, the concert beat guy from The Province pegged as 'Johnny 99' which is nothing if not par for the course.
Heckfire, uncompressed you can't get anywhere close to making a memory version of the set's tunes on one CD.
Instead, I made the two E's a 15 song compressed version....my personal favorite piece is The 1975 Hammersmith Odeon version of 'She's The One!' that I slapped on the thing. littler e loves it too. Interestingly, Bigger E is really digging the new album instead - go figure......
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