HomeOn the Scene: Bruce Springsteen live on 'Today'
Sep 28, 2007, 06:31 PM | by Chris Schonberger
Categories: Music, On the Scene
This morning I woke up at the crack
of dawn to snag a spot at the Today show's free Bruce Springsteen
concert in Rockefeller Plaza.
Aside from a fresh cup of coffee, nothing says "jump on the day" like
the Boss, the E Street Band, and some light political rabble-rousing on morning
television.
To promote Tuesday's release of Magic, Bruce and the band took part in NBC's early morning concert series, though they seemed to be given significantly more play time than earlier guests. No offense to the likes of James Blunt and Queen Latifah, but c'mon, he's the Boss. I doubt anyone waited from 7 a.m. the previous day to get toe head of the line for Rihanna, as a few ladies from Cleveland had done this morning for Bruce and the E Streeters. Many others had camped out overnight as well, and I'm not just talking about young people — I'm talking about middle-aged people... with macrame'd long-sleeve tees declaring, "I love Springsteen!" Embarrassing? You be the judge.
Besides, many critics are saying the new disc justifies the hype — EW's Chris Willman gave it a solid A and called it Springsteen’s best album since The River in 1980. (Check back Monday for Willman's track-by-track breakdown of Magic.) Seeing him live for the first time in my life, I have to say the Boss exudes a legitimate rock star aura that I've rarely seen before. Even though he turned 58 last week (the adoring crowd actually broke into a round of "Happy Birthday" during one of the lulls in action), he still displayed glimpses of the moves that taught me what it is to be a man in the admittedly absurd "Dancing in the Dark" video. His voice sounded great on "My Hometown" and "Long Walk Home," and with the E Street Band back in business, it seems that a ticket to the tour (which begins tonight in New Jersey) would be money well spent.
Between some warm-up songs for the pre-daylight crowds and numerous encores, the E Streeters were on and off the stage for about three hours, but it was Magic's "Livin' in the Future" that caught my attention after Springsteen's half-jokey, half-sinister introduction:
"Good morning everybody," he began. "I really must want to sell some records bad to be up this early, singing these songs. It's a little desperate, but it's all right. But, uh, this is a song called 'Livin' in the Future,' but it's really about what's happening now, right now. It's kind of about how the things that we love about America, like cheeseburgers, french fries, the Yankees battling Boston, the Bill Of Rights, V Twin motorcycles, Tim Russert's haircut, trans fats, the Jersey Shore — we love all those things the way that the womenfolk love old Matt Lauer." With you on three out of eight, Boss...
He continued: "So now, in the last six years, we've had to add to the American picture: rendition, illegal wiretapping, voter suppression, no habeas corpus, the neglect of our great city of New Orleans and her people, an attack on the Constitution, and the loss of our best young men and women in a tragic war. This is a song about things that shouldn't happen here, happening here. And so right now we plan to do something about it, we plan to sing about it. I know it's early, but it's late..."
Standing in Rockefeller Plaza on a beautiful morning, surrounded by New Yorkers, Jersey girls, cross-country Springsteen zealots, and waving American flags, I wasn't sure what to make of this mini diatribe. On the one hand, the whole scene felt exceedingly patriotic to me, and Springsteen's casual style gave his words a sort of "palatable for talk-show" gloss. But at the same time, it was clear he really meant them, and I couldn't help but think back to Kanye West's emotional "President Bush does not care about black people" outburst (also on NBC) a couple years ago. West caught a lot of flak, but no one seemed to blink twice at the Boss. Are there certain platforms we concede to historically "political" artists like Springsteen? Did Kanye just get his timing wrong? Or am I just comparing apples and oranges? (By the way, it’s a great song.)
Anyway, PopWatchers, I’d be interested to hear your thoughts on Today show soap-boxing. And while you’re at it, let's hear who will be lining up for Magic on Tuesday and who's had enough already.
Comments