Bruce Springsteen and The E Street Band to headline at Glastonbury

Bruce Springsteen and The E Street Band are to headline the world famous Glastonbury Music Festival at Worthy Farm on Saturday June 28th. This will be Springsteen's first ever Festival Performance in the UK, and comes a day before the already sold out show in Hyde Park London.

The Glastonbury festival attracts crowds close to 100,000 and tickets for the 3 day showcase are now sold out. Festival promoter Micheal Eavis said "He's one of the all-time rock legends and I'm confident that this will be one of our best shows ever,"

London Calling...........Springsteen to play London's Hyde Park

Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band will headline Hard Rock Calling, in London's Hyde Park on Sunday 28th June, this following a highly rumoured first ever performance at the Glastonbury Music Festival scheduled for 27th June.

Festival shows are forming part of the European Tour, with other shows in Netherlands and France already on the list.

All 45,000 tickets for Hyde Park are reported as sold out.

Best Rock Song Grammy for 'Girls in their Summer Clothes'

A somewhat surprising nomination, but its another Grammy for Springsteen. Girls in Their Summer Clothes, is a deft pop song from Springsteen's 2007 album Magic

Ticketmaster issue Apology on ticket fiasco

Ticketmaster have issued the following apology in light of the recent fiasco, and anger felt by both artist and fans.

An Open Letter of Apology to Bruce Springsteen, Jon Landau, and the Entire Springsteen Tour Team, received from Ticketmaster CEO Irving Azoff and reprinted in its entirety:

While we were genuinely trying to do the right thing for fans in providing more choices when the tickets they requested from the primary on-sale were not available, we clearly missed the mark. Fans are confused and angry, which is the opposite of what we hoped to accomplish. We sincerely apologize to Bruce, his organization and, above all, his fans.

We recognize that we need to change our course. We have committed to Bruce and state publicly here that we have taken down all links for Bruce’s shows directing fans from Ticketmaster to TicketsNow. This redirection only occurred as a choice when we could not satisfy fans’ specific search request for primary ticket inventory, but to make sure there is no misunderstanding in the future, we also publicly state that we will never again link to TicketsNow in a manner that can possibly create any confusion during a high-demand on-sale. Specifically, we will not present an option to go to TicketsNow from Ticketmaster without the consent of the artist and the venue, both of whom work together to bring the joy of live entertainment to millions of fans.

If any fans inadvertently purchased tickets in the resale marketplace believing in error they were purchasing from the initial on-sale, we will refund the difference between the actual purchase price and the face price of the ticket. (Please don’t abuse this good faith gesture – we did not give brokers any preferential access to tickets.)

We are committed to helping deliver the most transparent and best live entertainment experience to fans. We will do better going forward.

Sincerely,
Irving Azoff, CEO, Ticketmaster Entertainment

Grab your ticket? Springsteen slams Ticketmaster

In response to the anger felt by fans, after recent ticketmaster sales for Springsteen's US Tour, diverted fans to secondary market ticket sellers, Bruce Springsteen has slammed ticket organisation Ticketmaster, perceiving the matter to be a breaking of trust and a conflict of interests. In an unprecedented move, Springsteen has issued a letter on his website, detailing just how both he and his management feel about the recent sales.

A Letter to Our Fans:

We know there was much confusion regarding Ticketmaster and TicketsNow during last Monday's on-sale dates. We were as confused as you were, as we were given no advance notice of the major changes in the Ticketmaster-TicketsNow world. (Bear in mind that we are not clients of any ticketing company, and that all those arrangements are between venues and ticketing companies.)

Last Monday, we were informed that Ticketmaster was redirecting your log-in requests for tickets at face value, to their secondary site TicketsNow, which specializes in up-selling tickets at above face value. They did this even when other seats remained available at face value. We condemn this practice.

We perceive this as a pure conflict of interest. Ticketmaster is there to ensure that we have a good, fair sale of our tickets at their face value plus normal ticketing charges. TicketsNow is supposed to be a secondary site where people who already have tickets may exchange, trade, and, unfortunately, speculate with them. We have asked this redirection from Ticketmaster to TicketsNow cease and desist immediately and Ticketmaster has agreed to do so in the future and has removed its unwanted material from their and our site.

We know the many cynical arguments some make in favor of the Ticketmaster system: There are rumors that some artists or managers participate in Ticketmaster charges--we do not. There are rumors that some artists or managers are receiving a percentage of the amount above face value at secondary outlets like TicketsNow--we do not. Some artists or managers may not perceive there to be a conflict between having the distributor of their tickets in effect "scalping" those same tickets through a secondary company like TicketsNow--we do.

While many of you have sent notes to us and your local promoters, you may also send accurate informational letters to Albert Lopez of Ticketmaster [Albert.Lopez@ticketmaster.com] and he will try to address your questions.

A final point for now: the one thing that would make the current ticket situation even worse for the fan than it is now would be Ticketmaster and Live Nation coming up with a single system, thereby returning us to a near monopoly situation in music ticketing. Several newspapers are reporting on this story right now. If you, like us, oppose that idea, you should make it known to your representatives.

The abuse of our fans and our trust by Ticketmaster has made us as furious as it has made many of you. We will continue to do our utmost now and in the future to make sure that these practices are permanently curtailed on our tours.

Bruce Springsteen, Jon Landau and the entire Springsteen Tour Team

American Tour in Support of Working on a Dream Announced

Bruce Springsteen and The E Street Band have announced dates in the United States, to beogn in April.

Full dates here

Apr 1 San Jose, CA HP Pavilion at San Jose
Apr 3 Glendale, AZ Jobing.com Center
Apr 5 Austin, TX Frank Erwin Center
Apr 7 Tulsa, OK BOK Center
Apr 8 Houston, TX Toyota Center
Apr 10 Denver, CO Pepsi Arena
Apr 15 Los Angeles, CA LA Memorial Sports Arena

Apr 16 Los Angeles, CA LA Memorial Sports Arena
Apr 21 Boston, MA TD Banknorth Garden
Apr 22 Boston, MA TD Banknorth Garden
Apr 24 Hartford, CT XL Center
Apr 26 Atlanta, GA Philips Arena
Apr 28 Philadelphia, PA Wachovia Spectrum
Apr 29 Philadelphia, PA Wachovia Spectrum

May 2 Greensboro, NC Greensboro Coliseum
May 4 Hempstead, NY Nassau Veterans Mem. Col.
May 5 Charlottesville, VA John Paul Jones Arena
May 7 Toronto, ONT Air Canada Centre
May 8 University Park, PA Bryce Jordan Center
May 11 St. Paul, MN Xcel Energy Center
May 12 Chicago, IL United Center
May 14 Albany, NY Times Union Center
May 15 Hershey, PA Hersheypark Stadium
May 18 Washington, DC Verizon Center
May 19 Pittsburgh, PA Mellon Arena
May 21 E. Rutherford, NJ Izod Center
May 23 E. Rutherford, NJ Izod Center

Springsteen achieves 8th UK Number 1 Album

Working on a Dream has debuted at No1 in the UK Album Chart, giving Springsteen his 8th career No 1 Album in the UK, and his 4th in this decade alone. Elsewhere in Europe, Springsteen has repeated success, as the album reaches No 1 in 15 other European Countries.

The album has recieved mixed critical reviews, but this has not deterred Springsteen fans from turining out in force in the opening week of sales.

I have seen the future of Half Time Entertainment....

Bruce Springsteen and The E Street Band have performed as the half time entertainment at the Superbowl in Tampa. After years of saying no, Springsteen gave way in late 2008, and this performance has been perhaps the most highly anticipated in Superbowl history.

Set
Tenth Avenue Freeze Out
Working on a Dream
Born to Run
Glory Days

The Passage of Time - Working on a Dream Review

In 1988, when Springsteen released Tunnel of Love, one line from that deeply personal album stood out. At the end of the bittersweet Brilliant Disguise, Springsteen sang ' God have Mercy on a Man who doubts what he's sure of'.

The Tunnel of Love album was shrouded in regret, remorse, and in truth was the writing of a failed man, not through his career, but in his personal life. Fast forward 21 years, and Springsteen nearing 60, is somewhat of a reborn individual. The last decade has been good to him, his records still carry resonance, and the name on a concert ticket still excites, even at this late stage of his career.

The key to the themes of time passing, the joys of life, and the feeling of it all been worth it, are summed up perhaps best, not in any of the songs contained on WOAD, but in the eulogy that is written for Danny Federici, 'Life does not separate you, Time Does not separate you, animosities do not separate you, Death does not separate you'

With this album, the central theme of time, relationships, and love, are consistent throughout the album, whether it be the sheer luck of it all (My Lucky Day) or the passing of a friend (The Last Carnival, there is a warmth to these songs, upbeat as they are, and entirely written in a pop genre, that Springsteen has to the most part steered away from since 1992's Human Touch.

Working on a Dream is as diverse an album that Springsteen has ever recorded, and is heavilly influenced by Springsteen's introduction to Music in the 1960's. There are moments here when Roy Orbison, The Byrds and the Beach Boys all mingle, and the acoustic introduction to The Last Carnival, wouldnt seem out of place on those acoustic numbers that Led Zeppelin wrote in the 1970's.

Springsteen offers insight into the album ' its about the past always been the present'. And this album does indeed reflect the passing of time. The album has glorious dedications all over it, My Lucky Day a blistering up tempo rock number, and perhaps most poignantly on 'This Life' where Springsteen beams 'this life, this life and the next, with you I have been blessed'.


There's room for a touch of country (Tomorrow Never Knows) some Bluses on the heaviily influened by Reason to Belive (Good Eye) and an 8 minute somewhat drawn out rocker Outlaw Pete.

The title track is pure Pop, and its damn well catchy, and acts as a reminder to those who forget the Pop Classics in Springsteen's repertoire. For Working on a Dream, think Hungry Heart, Dancing in the Dark, and Waiting on a Sunny Day.

Lyrically there are moments of simplicity, sun shining, cold winds blowing, black elms and tree's. However on The Last Carnival, Bruce takes us back to the fairground, and the circus, in a glowing farewell to long time band member, Danny Federici. Its here that loss, and the passing of time resonate the most. This is poignant, sad, and is nothing short of brilliant.

Elsehwere there is a clear dedication to his wife Patti Scialfa, Kingdom of Days, is about getting through, and getting to the finish line, beautifully performed, with rich arrangements, Springsteen has never sounded as happy and content as this, he sings 'and i count my blessings that your mine for always, we laugh beneath the covers and count the wrinkles and the grays'

As a bonus track, Springsteen has added the song 'The Wrestler' the Golden Globe winning theme to the much heralded Mickey Rourke film of the same name. Its a touch out of place, but is a bruising tale of fragility in the human form, its touching refrain of 'tell me friend, can you ask for anything more' detailing brilliantly the sacrifices that the character has made.

The songs were largely written around the same time as Springsteen's previous release 'Magic' (2007), and once again Brendan O Brien has been trusted with production.

Working on a Dream 8/10.

Standout Tracks - The Last Carnival, Kingdom of Days, This Life, Queen of the Supermarket.

Press

'these 13 songs offer not even the most oblique of references to public affairs. The best of them concentrate on states of the heart, but with an openness and an optimism that seem unclouded by wider doubts and fears, as if in recognition of a need for consolation'

Richard Williams The Guardian

European Tour set for the Summer of 2009

Bruce Springsteen and The E Street Band will return to their European fans in the Summer of 2009. A number of shows in Sprinsgteen heartlands such as Stockholm and Dublin have already been announced. As a departure from previous tours, festival shows are also on the Itinerary, with Holland's Pink Pop Festival already on the list.

From the Nations Capital

At a specially arranged concert featuring a number of world famous music stars, Bruce Springsteen has opened the We Are One Concert, from the site of the Lincoln Memorial in Washington DC, A concert scheduled as part of the upcoming Inaugauration of Barack Obama.

Backed by a gospel choir, Bruce chose the Title track from his much heralded 2002album 'The Rising'. Bruce also performed 'This Land is your Land' with folk hero and inspiration behind 2005 album 'We Shall Overcome' Pete Seeger.

Everything Got Broken

In a major interview with Mark Hagan, for the Observer Music Monthly, Springsteen has given an insight into the Bush Regime, and the joys of Supermarket Shopping.

Read the Interview here

http://www.guardian.co.uk/music/2009/jan/18/bruce-springsteen-interview

Bruce's Golden moment. Springsteen wins Golden Globe

Bruce Sprinsgteen has recieved the Golden Globe for original song, for the magnificent 'The Wrestler' for the Mickey Rourke same title film. Bruce was joined by his wife, and sat with the 'Wrestler' team, including Mickey Rourke who was also awarded the Golden Globe for best actor.

Bruce Speech from the Golden Globes

This is the only time I'm gonna be in competition with Clint Eastwood [laughs]. Felt pretty good, too!

Anyway, Mickey called me in Ireland and he asked me for some music.He told me a little bit about the character; he said some people invest themselves in their pain, and they turn away from love and the things that strengthen and nurture their lives. He said this was a guy that hadn't figured that out. So I said, "Well, I know a couple of those guys...." And so, the song.

First and foremost, I'd like to thank Mickey -- without the call I wouldn't have written the song, without his inspiration -- thank you, brother, for a beautiful performance, thank you for thinking of me!

I'd like to thank Darren and all the folks involved with the film, for letting me be a small part of their picture -- thank you.

Love to my strong and lovely wife Patti; hello to Evan, Jess and Sam at home; happy birthday, Big Man Clarence Clemons!

Bruce Springsteen at the Hope Benefit Concert in Red Bank

No holiday shows this year, but Bruce has bestowed some Christmas fun in Red Bank.
Along with Bobby Bandiera, and Jon Bon Jovi, as well as Southside Johnny, a number of Jersey Musicians, gave of their time in support of the Hope Benefit



Run, Run Rudolph (w/ JBJ)
Merry Christmas, Baby
Santa Claus is Coming to Town (w/ SSJ)
634-5789
Tenth Avenue Freeze-out (w/ JBJ)
Havin' a Party (w/ SSJ, Bonds)

Happy New Year!! Bruce Springsteen new album 'Working on a Dream' set for January release

Bruce Springsteen's new album Working On A Dream has been set for a January 26 release on Columbia Records. Working On A Dream was recorded with the E Street Band, and features 12 new Springsteen compositions, plus two bonus tracks. It is the fourth collaboration between Springsteen and Brendan O'Brien, who produced and mixed the album.

Bruce Springsteen said, "Towards the end of recording 'Magic', excited by the return to pop production sounds, I continued writing. When my friend, producer Brendan O'Brien, heard the new songs, he said, 'Let's keep going.' Over the course of the next year, that's just what we did, recording with the E Street Band during the breaks on last year's tour. I hope Working on a Dream has caught the energy of the band fresh off the road, from some of the most exciting shows we've ever done. All the songs were written quickly, we usually used one of our first few takes, and we all had a blast making this one from beginning to end."

Working on a Dream is Bruce Springsteen's twenty-fourth album and was recorded and mixed at Southern Tracks in Atlanta, GA with additional recordings in New York City, Los Angeles, and New Jersey.

Working on a Dream Song Titles:

1. Outlaw Pete
2. My Lucky Day
3. Working on a Dream
4. Queen of the Supermarket
5. What Love Can Do
6. This Life
7. Good Eye
8. Tomorrow Never Knows
9. Life Itself
10. Kingdom of Days
11. Surprise, Surprise
12. The Last Carnival

Bonus tracks:

The Wrestler
A Night with the Jersey Devil

Live from the Town Hall in New York City

Bruce Springsteen has perfomed in the Town Hall in New York City, in aid of the Bob Wondruff Family Fund for wounded soldiers, the second Stand up For Heroes benefit show. Well liked British Comedian Ricky Gervais was also in attendance.

Set List

The Promised Land
Thunder Road (with Patti Scialfa)
The Rising

A New Dawn.....Barack Obama elected 44th PresIdent of the United States

Barack Obama has been elected the 44th Presedent of the United States of America, becoming the first African American to do so. He gained 364 electoral college votes to Republican Challenger John McCain's 162.

Barack Obama's rise to the highest Political Office in the world is unprecedented, being virtually unknown 2 years ago. Raised by a single mother and granparents in Kansas, he gained a law degree from Harvard University in 1991, and would become State Senator of Illinois.

At a campaign Party in Chicago on the evening of Novenber 4th 2008, Presedent Elect Barack Obama gave this speech

'If there is anyone out there who still doubts that America is a place where all things are possible; who still wonders if the dream of our founders is alive in our time; who still questions the power of our democracy, tonight is your answer.


It's the answer told by lines that stretched around schools and churches in numbers this nation has never seen; by people who waited three hours and four hours, many for the very first time in their lives, because they believed that this time must be different; that their voice could be that difference.


It's the answer spoken by young and old, rich and poor, Democrat and Republican, black, white, Latino, Asian, Native American, gay, straight, disabled and not disabled - Americans who sent a message to the world that we have never been a collection of Red States and Blue States: we are, and always will be, the United States of America.


It's the answer that led those who have been told for so long by so many to be cynical, and fearful, and doubtful of what we can achieve to put their hands on the arc of history and bend it once more toward the hope of a better day.


It's been a long time coming, but tonight, because of what we did on this day, in this election, at this defining moment, change has come to America.


I just received a very gracious call from Senator McCain. He fought long and hard in this campaign, and he's fought even longer and harder for the country he loves. He has endured sacrifices for America that most of us cannot begin to imagine, and we are better off for the service rendered by this brave and selfless leader. I congratulate him and Governor Palin for all they have achieved, and I look forward to working with them to renew this nation's promise in the months ahead.


I want to thank my partner in this journey, a man who campaigned from his heart and spoke for the men and women he grew up with on the streets of Scranton and rode with on that train home to Delaware, the Vice President-elect of the United States, Joe Biden.


I would not be standing here tonight without the unyielding support of my best friend for the last sixteen years, the rock of our family and the love of my life, our nation's next First Lady, Michelle Obama. Sasha and Malia, I love you both so much, and you have earned the new puppy that's coming with us to the White House. And while she's no longer with us, I know my grandmother is watching, along with the family that made me who I am. I miss them tonight, and know that my debt to them is beyond measure.


To my campaign manager David Plouffe, my chief strategist David Axelrod, and the best campaign team ever assembled in the history of politics - you made this happen, and I am forever grateful for what you've sacrificed to get it done.


But above all, I will never forget who this victory truly belongs to - it belongs to you.


I was never the likeliest candidate for this office. We didn't start with much money or many endorsements. Our campaign was not hatched in the halls of Washington - it began in the backyards of Des Moines and the living rooms of Concord and the front porches of Charleston.


It was built by working men and women who dug into what little savings they had to give five dollars and ten dollars and twenty dollars to this cause. It grew strength from the young people who rejected the myth of their generation's apathy; who left their homes and their families for jobs that offered little pay and less sleep; from the not-so-young people who braved the bitter cold and scorching heat to knock on the doors of perfect strangers; from the millions of Americans who volunteered, and organized, and proved that more than two centuries later, a government of the people, by the people and for the people has not perished from this Earth. This is your victory.


I know you didn't do this just to win an election and I know you didn't do it for me. You did it because you understand the enormity of the task that lies ahead. For even as we celebrate tonight, we know the challenges that tomorrow will bring are the greatest of our lifetime - two wars, a planet in peril, the worst financial crisis in a century. Even as we stand here tonight, we know there are brave Americans waking up in the deserts of Iraq and the mountains of Afghanistan to risk their lives for us. There are mothers and fathers who will lie awake after their children fall asleep and wonder how they'll make the mortgage, or pay their doctor's bills, or save enough for college. There is new energy to harness and new jobs to be created; new schools to build and threats to meet and alliances to repair.


The road ahead will be long. Our climb will be steep. We may not get there in one year or even one term, but America - I have never been more hopeful than I am tonight that we will get there. I promise you - we as a people will get there.


There will be setbacks and false starts. There are many who won't agree with every decision or policy I make as President, and we know that government can't solve every problem. But I will always be honest with you about the challenges we face. I will listen to you, especially when we disagree. And above all, I will ask you join in the work of remaking this nation the only way it's been done in America for two-hundred and twenty-one years - block by block, brick by brick, calloused hand by calloused hand.


What began twenty-one months ago in the depths of winter must not end on this autumn night. This victory alone is not the change we seek - it is only the chance for us to make that change. And that cannot happen if we go back to the way things were. It cannot happen without you.


So let us summon a new spirit of patriotism; of service and responsibility where each of us resolves to pitch in and work harder and look after not only ourselves, but each other. Let us remember that if this financial crisis taught us anything, it's that we cannot have a thriving Wall Street while Main Street suffers - in this country, we rise or fall as one nation; as one people.


Let us resist the temptation to fall back on the same partisanship and pettiness and immaturity that has poisoned our politics for so long. Let us remember that it was a man from this state who first carried the banner of the Republican Party to the White House - a party founded on the values of self-reliance, individual liberty, and national unity. Those are values we all share, and while the Democratic Party has won a great victory tonight, we do so with a measure of humility and determination to heal the divides that have held back our progress. As Lincoln said to a nation far more divided than ours, "We are not enemies, but friends... though passion may have strained it must not break our bonds of affection." And to those Americans whose support I have yet to earn - I may not have won your vote, but I hear your voices, I need your help, and I will be your President too.


And to all those watching tonight from beyond our shores, from parliaments and palaces to those who are huddled around radios in the forgotten corners of our world - our stories are singular, but our destiny is shared, and a new dawn of American leadership is at hand. To those who would tear this world down - we will defeat you. To those who seek peace and security - we support you. And to all those who have wondered if America's beacon still burns as bright - tonight we proved once more that the true strength of our nation comes not from our the might of our arms or the scale of our wealth, but from the enduring power of our ideals: democracy, liberty, opportunity, and unyielding hope.


For that is the true genius of America - that America can change. Our union can be perfected. And what we have already achieved gives us hope for what we can and must achieve tomorrow.


This election had many firsts and many stories that will be told for generations. But one that's on my mind tonight is about a woman who cast her ballot in Atlanta. She's a lot like the millions of others who stood in line to make their voice heard in this election except for one thing - Ann Nixon Cooper is 106 years old.


She was born just a generation past slavery; a time when there were no cars on the road or planes in the sky; when someone like her couldn't vote for two reasons - because she was a woman and because of the color of her skin.


And tonight, I think about all that she's seen throughout her century in America - the heartache and the hope; the struggle and the progress; the times we were told that we can't, and the people who pressed on with that American creed: Yes we can.


At a time when women's voices were silenced and their hopes dismissed, she lived to see them stand up and speak out and reach for the ballot. Yes we can.


When there was despair in the dust bowl and depression across the land, she saw a nation conquer fear itself with a New Deal, new jobs and a new sense of common purpose. Yes we can.


When the bombs fell on our harbor and tyranny threatened the world, she was there to witness a generation rise to greatness and a democracy was saved. Yes we can.


She was there for the buses in Montgomery, the hoses in Birmingham, a bridge in Selma, and a preacher from Atlanta who told a people that "We Shall Overcome." Yes we can.


A man touched down on the moon, a wall came down in Berlin, a world was connected by our own science and imagination. And this year, in this election, she touched her finger to a screen, and cast her vote, because after 106 years in America, through the best of times and the darkest of hours, she knows how America can change. Yes we can.


America, we have come so far. We have seen so much. But there is so much more to do. So tonight, let us ask ourselves - if our children should live to see the next century; if my daughters should be so lucky to live as long as Ann Nixon Cooper, what change will they see? What progress will we have made?


This is our chance to answer that call. This is our moment. This is our time - to put our people back to work and open doors of opportunity for our kids; to restore prosperity and promote the cause of peace; to reclaim the American Dream and reaffirm that fundamental truth - that out of many, we are one; that while we breathe, we hope, and where we are met with cynicism, and doubt, and those who tell us that we can't, we will respond with that timeless creed that sums up the spirit of a people:


Yes We Can. Thank you, God bless you, and may God Bless the United States of America.'

Pulling into Cleveland to win.......Bruce's final stand for Barack Obama

To a crowd of around 80,000 people, Bruce Springsteen has played his last campaign rally for Democratic Presedential Candidate Barack Obama in Cleveland, swing state Ohio. Almost 4 years had passed since Springsteen played similar shows in support of John Kerry who was unsuccessful in his bid to become President.

The acosutic performance includes a duet with wife Patti Scialfa, and a world premier of a new song 'Workin' on a Dream, which is rumoured to be featured on a brand new Springsteen album scheduled for release in January 2009.

Bruce Springsteen gave this speech

Hello Cleveland

It's great to be here today among friends. I'd like to thank Senator Obama and his folks for inviting me. I've been here many times since 1973, but never on a day as glorious as this one. We are at the crossroads.

I've spent 35 years writing about America and its people. What does it mean to be an American? What are our duties, our responsibilities, our reasonable expectations when we live in a free society? I saw myself less as a partisan for any particular political party, than as an advocate for a set of ideas. Economic and social justice, America as a positive influence around the world. Truth, transparency and integrity in government. The right of every American to a job, a living wage, to be educated in a decent school, to a life filled with the dignity of work, promise, and the sanctity of home. These are the things that make a life, that build and define a society. These are the things we think of on the deepest level, when we refer to our freedoms. Today those freedoms have been damaged, and curtailed by eight years of a thoughtless, reckless, and morally adrift administration.

I spent most of my life as a musician measuring the distance between the American dream and American reality. For many Americans who are today losing their jobs, their homes, seeing their retirement funds disappear, who have no health care, or who have been abandoned in our inner cities, the distance between that dream and their reality has never been greater or more painful. I believe Senator Obama has taken the measure of that distance in his own life and work. I believe he understands in his heart the cost of that distance in blood and suffering in the lives of everyday Americans. I believe as president he would work to bring that dream back to life, and into the lives of many of our fellow Americans, who have justifiably lost faith in its meaning.

In my job, I travel around the world, and occasionally play in big stadiums, just like Senator Obama. I continue to find everywhere I go that America remains a repository for people's hopes and desires. That despite the terrible erosion of our standing around the world, for many we remain a house of dreams. One thousand George Bushes and one thousand Dick Cheneys will never be able to tear that house down. That is something only we can do, and we're not going to let that happen.

This administration will be leaving office, dumping in our laps the national tragedies of Katrina, Iraq, and our financial crisis. Our house of dreams has been abused, looted, and left in a terrible state of disrepair. It needs defending against those who would sell it down the river for power, influence or a quick buck. It needs strong arms, hearts and minds. It needs someone with Senator Obama's understanding, temperateness, deliberativeness, maturity, pragmatism, toughness and faith. But most of all it needs us. You and me. All a nation has that keeps it from coming apart is the social contract between its' citizens. Whatever grace God has deemed to impart to us resides in our connections with one another, in honoring the life, the hopes, the dreams, of the man or woman up the street, or across town. That's where we make our small claim upon heaven. In recent years that contract has been shredded and as we look around today, it is shredding before our eyes. But today we are at the crossroads.

I'm honored to be here on the same stage as Senator Obama. From the beginning, there has been something in Senator Obama that has called upon our better angels, I suspect, because he has had a life where he has so often had to call upon his. We're going to need all the angels we can get on the hard road ahead. Senator Obama helped us rebuild our house big enough for the dreams of all our citizens. For how well we accomplish this task will tell us what it means to be an American in the new century, what's at stake, and what it means to live in a free society. So I don't know about you, but I want my country back, I want my dream back, I want my America back. Now is the time to stand together with Barack Obama and Joe Biden and the millions of Americans that are hungry for a new day, roll up our sleeves and come on up for the rising


SET LIST

LAKESIDE AVENUE, CLEVELAND, OH
NOVEMBER 2 2008



1. The Promised Land
2. Youngstown
3. Thunder Road
4. Working On A Dream
5. This Land Is Your Land
6. The Rising

Light of Day 9 from Asbury Park

2 days of Light of Day Benefit concerts have taken place in Asbury Park, the brainchild of Parkinson's Disease sufferer Bob Benjamin. The concerts featured local shore bands, together with Joe Gruschecky, and Jesse Malin at the Paramount Theatre, and the Stone Pony Club in Asbury Park

The Boss and The Piano Man in New York City

Bruce Springsteen joined with New Yorker Billy Joel, for a Change Rocks Show in New York City, for Democrat Presedential candidate Barack Obama. Also on the bill were soul man John Legend, and India.Arie. Bruce perfomed with Legend and Arie, as well as an acoustic performance featuring The Promised Land and This Hard Land. Billy Joel's band toghether with E Streeter Roy Bittan provided the backing band for an electric set, which included classics from both superstars repertoire.

HAMMERSTEIN BALLROOM, NEW YORK, NY
16 OCTOBER 2008
With BILLY JOEL & his band

"CHANGE ROCKS" benefit for BARACK OBAMA


1. The Promised Land (Solo Acoustic)
2. This Hard Land (Solo Acoustic)
3. Tenth Avenue Freeze Out
4. Movin' Out
5. Thunder Road
6. A Matter Of Trust
7. Spirit In The Night
8. Allentown
9. The Rising
10. New York State Of Mind
11. River Of Dreams/A Hard Days Night
12. Glory Days
13. Born To Run
14. People Get Ready
15. Signed, Sealed, Delivered