Wilco show @ Keyspan Park (more by Eric Townsend)

"Municipal Credit Union (MCU) and the Brooklyn Cyclones today announced a new name for the team's Coney Island ballpark MCU Park. In addition to the naming rights, MCU and the Cyclones entered into a comprehensive 11-year marketing partnership that launches the Cyclones' 10th season in Brooklyn." [PR Newswire]

Bruce Springsteen @ last Giants Stadium concert (more by Tim Griffin)

"The demolition of Giants Stadium in New Jersey started this morning. A crane with a claw gingerly took a bite out of a pedestrian ramp this morning in east Rutherford. The new stadium is already in place, with more than 82,000 seats and 222 luxury suites. Giants Stadium stood for 34 years, hosting football, soccer, concerts, and other events. The new stadium will be the third largest in the NFL, and a concert by Bon Jovi will officially open it in May." [NBC]

U2 @ Giants Stadium (more by Tim Griffin)

U2's multi-leg, multi-year 360° tour continues into 2010 with a new set of dates and a new set of stadiums. After playing some of the last shows in Giants Stadium in 2009 (Bruce Springsteen played the very last), U2 will return to Jersey next summer to play one of the first shows at the new Meadowlands stadium on July 19th. Bon Jovi will play the very first concerts at the new stadium in May.

Pre-sales through U2.com begin on Tuesday at 10am (11/3).

"With a cylindrical video system of interlocking LED panels, and a steel structure rising 150 feet from the floor over a massive stage with rotating bridges, the band has truly created an intimate 360º experience for concert goers. In keeping with the concept that this tour is more about a unique staging configuration with excellent sight-lines, tickets for the U2 360° 2010 tour will once again be scaled so that 85 percent of the tickets are priced at less than $95.00, general admission floor tickets at $55.00 and at least 10,000 tickets per venue priced at $30.00."

General sale for tickets TBA. More dates and cities TBA too. All dates below....

Continue reading "U2 announce 2010 tour dates (New Meadowlands Stadium)"

photos by Tim Griffin

"Giants Stadium heard its last sha-la-las -- at least, the amplified kind with tens of thousands of voices singing along -- on Friday night, when Bruce Springsteen played the final concert before the stadium is demolished. During the three-hour set, sha-la-las filled this year's "Working on a Dream," the 1984 song "Darlington County" and Tom Waits' "Jersey Girl," the finale that Mr. Springsteen called the stadium's "last dance." It was Mr. Springsteen's 24th performance, dating back to 1985, at Giants Stadium, where the audiences are his most fervent fans: fellow New Jerseyans.

So in a way, Mr. Springsteen could identify with the place, and he did -- at least half-seriously -- in "Wrecking Ball," a robust, guitar-strumming song he wrote to start off each of his five final concerts at the stadium. (A video performance is at brucespringsteen.net.)

It may be the only song ever to make Giants Stadium itself the narrator, "raised out of steel in the swamps of Jersey." It remembers games played and blood spilled, and envisions the stadium's fate, when "all this steel and these stories, they drift away to rust/and all our youth and beauty's been given to the dust." Typically, Mr. Springsteen was thinking about work, mortality, and a sense of place, on his way to a chorus where everyone could join in.

He wasn't overly sentimental. Later, he pointedly called Giants Stadium "the last bastion of affordable sports seating."

At each of the Giants Stadium concerts, Mr. Springsteen played one of his albums all the way through, and the one he chose for Friday was his 1984 blockbuster, "Born in the U.S.A." Before he started the title track, he said it was "the song we started out with the first time we entered this arena."... [NY Times]

I already posted all five Giants Stadium setlists (first four shows & Friday night). More pictures from the final show, below...

Continue reading "Bruce Springsteen @ Giants Stadium for the last time - pics"

the show ended with fireworks

Concertgoers were welcomed with a pre-show message on a huge video screen hanging over the stage: "Tonight is the last concert at Giants Stadium. October 9, 2009. Thank you New Jersey!"

Springsteen and his E Street Band announced, ahead of time, that they planned to play their "Born In the U.S.A." album in its entirety at last night's show. They have played one of their classic albums at each show on the stand: "Born To Run" on Sept. 30 and Oct. 8, "Darkness On the Edge of Town" on Oct. 2, and "Born In the U.S.A.," for the first time, on Oct. 3.

Springsteen and the band also will perform at Madison Square Garden in New York on Nov. 7 and Nov. 8. But last night's show could be the last home-state E Street appearance for quite a while.

Last month, guitarist Steven Van Zandt said in a conference call with reporters that after the current tour ends, Nov. 22 in Buffalo, the band will be off for "I don't know how long -- a year, year and a half, two years."

In his new book "Big Man: Real Life and Tall Tales," E Street saxophonist Clarence Clemons wrote that after the current tour, the band plans to have "a long, long recovery period."

This was the 24th show by Springsteen and the band at Giants Stadium. They also performed there six times in 1985, 10 times in 2003, and three times last year. [Star Ledger]

Despite crazy Internet rumors, Bruce Springsteen & the E Street Band's final show at Giants Stadium last night (10/9) (it was the last show at the venue) (not Bruce's last show ever) did not feature any special guests, not even Bon Jovi. More pictures coming soon HERE. Setlist below...

Continue reading "Bruce Springsteen & The E Street Band played the final show @ Giants Stadium in NJ (with NO guests) - setlist "

Bruce Springsteen @ Giants Stadum last night (Melanism.com)

"A very nice show by Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band on Thursday night, the fourth of their five-night stand at Giants Stadium.

Unfortunately, I was not able to attend the show, but looking at the setlist, it maybe had the best four-pack of request songs this tour, as well as the U.S. premiere of "Fouth of July, Asbury Park (Sandy)" to kickoff the encores.

"Sandy" has only been played one other time this tour, on July 5 in Vienna, Austria.

This was the second Giants Stadium show and third time this tour that Bruce played the entire "Born To Run" album

For me, what makes this show standout is the requests of "Hard To Be A Saint In The City," "My Love Will Not Let You Down," "Because The Night" and "Human Touch." Four songs that haven't played that often this tour.

It was the second U.S. performance of "My Love Will Not Let You Down" this tour (it was played at the Aug. 19 show at the Comcast Theatre in Hartford - thank you to the reader for the correction - and played several times in Europe this summer) and only the second time "Human Touch" was played this tour, the other time was on May 2 in Greensboro, N.C.

Patti Scialfa was at the show, her first show with the band since the May 21 show at the Izod Center.

First time this tour, outside of the first Asbury Park rehearsal show on March 23, that "The Promised Land" was not played."
[Star Ledger]

The fifth and final Bruce Springsteen show at Giants Stadium this tour, which is also the final show at Giants Stadium EVER, happens tonight (10/9). Bruce and band will be performing 'Born In The USA' in its entirety. Rumored special guests include Bon Jovi, Mick Jagger, Eric Clapton, and Southside Johnny.

UPDATE: There were NO special guests at all! Setlist for Night Five HERE.

Check out the setlists from the four previous nights (where special guests included Willie Nile and Curt Ramm), and some videos, below...

Continue reading "Bruce Springsteen plays the LAST show @ Giants Stadium tonight (w/ VERY special guests?) + setlists from nights 1-4"

Brent at work (at Pop Montreal) (run comrade)

Pop Montreal kicked off last night (9/30). It's not too late to drop everything and take a car over the border. I haven't been in a few years, but non-stop show hopping in a great foreign (but so close) city was a great experience. Plus, if you get there by tonight (10/1), you can check out the BrooklynVegan showcase featuring Micachu & The Shapes, Clues & Slim Twig! Other highlights of tonight include Think About Life, Fever Ray (who just completed a two-night run at Webster Hall), Mono (who also just played two NYC shows), Screaming Females (who are on tour and played Death by Audio Saturday), Loudon Wainwright III (who just had his family join him for a show at Highline Ballroom), Butthole Surfers (also on tour), The Intelligence (recently in NYC), and Sister Suvi (played Sycamore on Tuesday).

Last night's Pop Montreal schedule highlights included sets by Amy Millan (touring to NYC soon), Matt & Kim (playing a Halloween show with Weezer), The Phenomenal Handclap Band, and Jay Reatard...

"Usually arriving 20 minutes late to a Pop Montreal show makes you right on time. But I biked up to La Sala Rossa near 1 a.m. Thursday morning to find a crowd spilling into the street. Not a good sign. "Is it over?" I asked some friends, referring to Memphis punk upstart Jay Reatard's 12:30 set. Yup, came the reply. "Did he start early?" Nope. "But it was proper," said Ninja Tune's Jeff Waye. "Twenty-minute set - there's not many bands I want to see for more than 20 minutes."" [The Gazette]

To be more specific, last night's Jay Reatard show in Canada was the third stop on Jay's Shattered Records tour. The fourth stop on the tour is TONIGHT (10/1) at Le Poisson Rouge in NYC (11pm doors). Also on the bill (last night and tonight) are Shattered Records artists Nobunny, Hunx & His Punx, Box Elders, and Useless Eaters. All dates and the tour poster below.

The Phenomenal Handclap Band (pictured to the right) were set to play with Man Man and Brazilian Girls at The Beach on Governors Island Friday night (10/2), but that show has been canceled.

Shows in NY and Boston cancelled!!
This is really sad for us to announce, but the shows in NY and in Boston, OCt 2nd and 6th had to be cancelled, due to immigration issues. its a real drag, but we promise we'll play there soon, trying to make it before the end of the year.

we'll keep you posted. - Brazilian Girls

Immigration issues?

The Phenomenal Handclap Band are still opening for Chromeo at Irving Plaza on October 16th though, and they just announced their first big headlining show. It's December 11th at Bowery Ballroom, and tickets are now on AmEx presale with general sale beginning Friday at noon. No openers are listed yet. All dates below.

Meanwhile, Bruce Springsteen kicked off his five-night run at Giants Stadium last night. It was one of two shows that he'll perform the entire "Born to Run" album at.

A good night of Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band for the first of five shows at Giants Stadium on Wednesday night. A 29-song show that lasted 3 hours and 14 minutes, one of the longest shows timewise of this tour.

It was nice to have the show start off with a new song. I believe it's the first time Bruce has played a unreleased song (not including Working On A Dream which he played at a political rally last year) since debuting "Long Walk Home" with the Sessions Band in London in November of 2006.

Of course the highlight of the evening was hearing the entire "Born To Run" album from start to finish as well as a classic 1978-style story in the middle of "Growin' Up." [Star Ledger]

Willie Nile came out and joined the band for a few songs during the encore. The tour continues Friday night when the E Street Band will play all of "Darkness on the Edge of Town". If you're going consider all transportation options. Video of the now-60 Bruce Springsteen discussing the birthday-related story (nightmare) in the middle of "Growin' Up", and other videos, below...

Continue reading "Pop Montreal (now), Bruce Springsteen (setlist), Man Man (canceled), Phenomenal Handclap Band, Jay Reatard (tonight)"

What fans need to know:
1. The #351 Special Event Express Bus Service from the NY Port Authority Bus Terminal to the Meadowlands WILL operate for the Springsteen concerts. First bus will depart NY Port Authority (board from "Area X" located at 41st Street and 8th Avenue street level) at 4:30 PM. Roundtrip fare is $10 (all customers must purchase roundtrip tickets). After the concert, buses will depart frequently for up to 90 minutes or until all bus customers are accommodated.

2. The new rail line gives New Jersey fans statewide rail access to the Meadowlands Sports Complex with connections at Hoboken Terminal and Secaucus Junction. Fans coming from NYC connect through Penn Station New York.

3. Trains will operate between Hoboken, Secaucus Junction and the Meadowlands Rail Station beginning at 3:30 PM. There will be no dedicated event mass transportation to the Meadowlands Sports Complex prior to 3:30 PM.

4. The Meadowlands Train Station is located near Gate B at Giants Stadium

5. Return rail service begins immediately after the concert ends and will continue to operate for up to 2 hours after the event

Those are just some of the tips you learned if you took a look at the document linked in Monday's Bruce Springsteen post. That's the same post that lists which album The Boss will be playing in its entirety each night of the Giants Stadium run that kicks off tonight (9/30).

As NBC reminds us, "Nearly 85,000 turned out for the U2 event last week -- the largest crowd in Meadowlands history -- and the massive delays getting to and from the stadium (up to three hours each way from New York) caused some fans to swear off NJ Transit altogether." NJ Transit is hoping to avoid those problems tonight.

Continue reading "Don't forget about the Boss bus to Giants Stadium "

In advance of Bruce and the band's upcoming five-night extravaganza at Giants Stadium, our friends at the New Jersey Sports & Exposition Authority have prepared a fantastically informative document detailing public transportation (yes, the buses will be running as well as the new rail system), parking, ticket sales, will call and reservations, entry procedures, general admission line with Pit information, permitted and prohibited items, admission policies, tailgating, smoking, and information on the Community Food Bank of New Jersey and how you can win access to the Pit by donating canned food at the Stadium.

Please download and read the document (PDF, Word) and share with your friends who are also attending the shows...we can't wait to see you and bring the building down in style!

It sounds like they want to avoid the mess some U2 fans were faced with last week.

And like The Drones, The Feelies, Dirty Three, Suicide and many others have done before (especially in the past few years) (and like he did recently in Chicago) (and like he did in Red Bank in 2008), and as the title of this post suggests, Bruce Springsteen (now 60 years old) is jumping on the full album show bandwagon. Tickets for those five NJ shows and for the two he's playing at MSG in November are on sale. A list of which albums he'll play at each Giants Stadium date, and all tour dates, below...

Continue reading "Bruce Springsteen to perform full albums @ Giants Stadium during his 5-night run (which starts Wednesday)"

photos by Tim Griffin

"This [U2] concert [at Giants Stadium] was originally scheduled for 25 September 2009 and was only announced after strong ticket sales for the show on the 24th of September. It was moved to the 23rd so that the stadium would be free to host a rescheduled New York Jets game.

During Muse's opening set, frontman Matthew Bellamy plays a snippet of U2's The Fly at the start of Uprising.

U2 change the setlist position of No Line On The Horizon: previously always second in the 360° Tour setlist, it is played tenth while Magnificent slots in at second. Breathe returns as the opener after missing the previous gig entirely. Unknown Caller misses a 360° Tour gig for only the third time. It's Bruce Springsteen's birthday, and although he does not join U2 on stage, the band play a medley of his song She's The One and their own Desire early in the main set; due to technical limitations, Desire is listed as a snippet. This is Desire's first appearance on the second leg, nearly two months since it was last played." [U2 Gigs]

Newsday also points out that "Bono dedicated "It's a Beautiful Day" to Quincy Jones, somewhere in the crowd, by blending that song with Michael Jackson's "Don't Stop 'Til You Get Enough.""

NY Times adds that, ""Walk On" was dedicated to Aung San Suu Kyi, the opposition leader and Nobel Peace Prize laureate who has long been under house arrest in Myanmar, and dozens of her supporters paraded onstage with her photograph."

The Star Ledger says, "It was the biggest concert in the stadium's history. More than 82,000 tickets were sold, and though an attendance figure was not immediately available, it didn't look like there were many empty seats."

82,000 tickets should help U2 come close to paying for what the concert actually costs to put on (though nothing about it will help pay back what it's doing to the environment... 200 trucks... 82,000 commuters...)

Speaking of commuters...

It went from cheers to jeers for throngs U2 fans as they tried to make their way to and from last night's concert at Giants Stadium -- and many warned those headed to the final show tonight to be prepared to wait at the train station.

Some New Jersey Transit riders say they waited for up to two hours for a train and that it turned a wonderful night into a nightmare.

Concertgoer Andrea Giantonio tells 1010 WINS what should have been a 20 minute trip home to Hoboken took over two hours.

NJT officials say there were plenty of trains, but there were too few ticket machines to accommodate the throngs of people.

And they do it all again tonight (9/24). The rest of the pictures from last night, and the setlist, below...

Continue reading "U2 played Giants Stadium - pics, reviews, the setlist & lots of angry people stuck waiting in train stations"

Billboard: So you feel good about the live part of U2's business?

U2's manager, Paul McGuinness: Absolutely, because in a way there's a memory in the audience. They've always known that when you come to a U2 show -- even when we were doing theaters -- we would do as much production as we could afford. Once we got into arenas, we loved it -- we always played in the round in the arenas -- so this seems natural to be in the round in the stadiums.

The engineering problems are enormous and costly. We had to find a way for it to be aesthetic and figure out a way of doing video. That cylindrical screen we have -- that didn't exist, we had to get somebody to invent that. We had to design this four-legged thing (the claw) -- and build three of them.

Billboard: How long will it take to get into the black?

McGuinness: When do we hit the break-even point? We haven't hit it yet. But we will sometime between now and the end of this leg.

Billboard: So next year is gravy?

McGuinness: Not exactly gravy, because whether we're playing or not, the overhead is about $750,000 daily. That's just to have the crew on payroll, to rent the trucks, all that. There's about 200 trucks. Each stage is 37 trucks, so you're up to nearly 120 there. And then the universal production is another 50-odd trucks, and there are merchandise trucks and catering trucks.

U2, along with opener Muse, will spend the next two nights (9/23-24) at Giants Stadium in East Rutherford, NJ. Tonight's show (9/23) was originally supposed to happen Friday.

Bono and The Edge will be back in NYC on October 4th for a benefit at Carnegie Hall. All U2 dats below...

Continue reading "U2's expensive 360 show reaches NJ (tonight & Thursday)"

Hello, this is Ticketmaster Customer Service with an important alert for your upcoming event.

U2 360° Tour, scheduled at the Giants Stadium on Friday, September 25, 2009, at 7:00PM, has been rescheduled. The new date is Wednesday, September 23, 2009, at 7:00PM. The U2 performance on Thursday, September 24th will proceed as scheduled. The change was necessitated by the rescheduling of the New York Jets football game later that week. We regret the inconvenience to U2 fans.

Original tickets will be honored for the new date. If needed you may obtain a refund by following the instructions below for your applicable delivery method.

U2 are also playing MSG on October 30th as part of the Rock n Roll Hall of Fame 25th Anniversary show.

photos by Bao Nguyen

Anvil @ Giants Stadium

Last year's doc Anvil! The Story of Anvil made audiences fall in love with Toronto's hard-luck metal band, which never stops despite a list of misfortunes that would fill a book, including a European club owner who tries to pay the band in goulash. But last Tuesday the band - singer/guitarist Lips, drummer Robb Reiner and bassist Glenn Five - found itself playing for 40,000 people. Let Lips explain how it went:

"I was thanking him as he shook my hand saying "great show, great show!" He then shook my son's hand as he was being whisked away in his SUV. Wow! I had just met Angus Young, lead guitarist of the mighty AC/DC. It was such an honour to be able to thank him in person for his big heart and generosity for letting Anvil have an opening slot at the biggest and most meaningful show we've ever done in America.

It has been a whirlwind two years for Anvil. Since that first screening at the Sundance Film Festival two years ago, the movie has slowly gained momentum and notoriety, especially among celebrities.

We had met and received kudos from the likes of Keanu Reeves, Michael Moore, Dustin Hoffman, Coldplay's Chris Martin, and Green Day, along with actress Tilda Swinton, who coined the phrase "The Anvil Factor" after seeing the film. When I met her at the Cannes Film Festival I asked what she meant by "The Anvil Factor." She said it meant you never give up; you do what you love and get away with it! Anvil in a nutshell. With all these great people supporting the film it was likely to hit some of rock's royalty. Angus Young saw the movie and was compelled to help create an incredible epilogue to the Anvil Story by offering us three dates on the "Black Ice" tour. Again, Wow!...

...What a night! What a show! We so appreciate these kind of moments. It's been a long, hard road to this destination. Next stop, Giants Stadium in New Jersey!" [Lips in the Toronto Star]

That article was posted right before Friday's AC/DC/Anvil show at Giants Stadium in NJ (7/31), which, unlike All Points West which started much earlier in the day, managed to avoid the rain. It stopped right before the outdoor football stadium show started. Pictures and the AC/DC setlist below...

Continue reading "AC/DC & Anvil @ Giants Stadium in NJ - pics & setlist"

In response to overwhelming demand, Bruce Springsteen & The E Street Band have announced fourth and fifth shows at Giants Stadium, Thursday October 8 & Friday, October 9. The latter date will be the final concert ever at Giants Stadium.

Previously announced shows on September 30, October 2 & October 3 sold out briskly.

Be there for the final concerts in the 33-year history of Giants Stadium. Tickets go on sale Monday, June 8th at noon EST.

"Anonymous | June 4, 2009 10:17 AM" writes, "Must be a bunch of unhappy campers who thought they scored tix to 'the last show at Giants Stadium with the Boss!'" The new shows go on sale Monday at noon.

Continue reading "Bruce Springsteen adds 2 Giants Stadium shows, 1 = the last"

Izod Center during/before a Bruce Springsteen concert (more by Tim Griffin)

"Tickets for Springsteen's three concerts at Giants Stadium this fall sold out in minutes on Monday.", and according to the Associated Press, NY Senator Charles Schumer said that "more fans managed to buy face value tickets this time." Could this be true? Let's do the math. This time the Boss is playing three shows at Giants Stadium. Last time there were two at the Izod Center....

Giants Stadium capacity: 55,000 (via)
Izod Center capacity: 20,000 (via)

TOTAL Bruce tickets this time: 165,000
TOTAL Bruce tickets last time: 40,000

Hmm. You decide. That said, Schumer is not exactly congratulating Ticketmaster. He is still trying to reform them.

Tickets are on sale at 10:00 AM for the three shows Bruce Springsteen is playing at Giants Stadium. They will be the last concerts at the old Giants Stadium. Above is a picture of the new Giants Stadium.

Paul McCartney is rumored to be playing the first concerts at the new Shea Stadium - the real, new Shea Stadium, not the other new Shea Stadium (obviously).

Tickets are on sale for the Anvil show coming up in NYC.

Tickets are on AmEx presale for the Steely Dan album shows coming up at Beacon Theater.

Tickets are on sale for the Cult album show at Terminal 5.

Tickets are on sale for the Flamin' Groovies shows coming up at Maxwell's and Southpaw.

No advanced tickets available for June at The Stone.

"Bruce Springsteen announced from the stage last night at his Izod Center concert in East Rutherford, NJ that he and the "legendary" E Street Band will return as the final major musical act to play Giants Stadium on September 30, October 2, and October 3. Tickets go on sale June 1 at 10am Eastern. Springsteen holds the record as the number one selling artist at the Meadowlands (which includes Giants Stadium) in New Jersey, having sold out 56 concerts to date with the E Street Band.

Bruce plays the Izod Center again this Saturday night (5/23). This week's two NJ shows caused a lot of headaches, at least partially due to the way Ticketmaster was handling the sale.

Giants Stadium isn't just stopping having concerts. They are stopping having anything...

This season will be the last season the Jets and Giants play at the East Rutherford, N.J., field. The teams are building a new park adjacent to the current one.

The Giants have played in the stadium since 1976, the Jets, who used to call Shea Stadium home, have played there since 1984. While the teams have shared the park, the Giants, who also train in the area around the stadium, have always had more of a claim to the stadium than the Jets. [USA Today]

More Bruce dates HERE.

by Andrew Frisicano

"With sales this morning [March 30th] of over 82,000 tickets sold in New York, 72,000 in Boston and 65,000 in Chicago U2 360 Tour will set the largest single day attendance record in each city....

In New York at Giants Stadium, Muse will be the special guest at both [U2'S] September 24th [show] and now 2nd and final performance on September 25th."

Tickets for that second Giants Stadium show (on September 25th) will go on U2.com presale Tuesday morning (3/31) at 10am. General sale begins Monday, April 6th.

The newly announced dates include several two-night engagements in cities that, like the NYC-area Giants Stadium show, quickly sold out a first night. Those cities include Chicago, Toronto and Boston. U2's 360 Tour will run until fall 2010. The European leg begins at the end of June, and the North American string of shows start (as of now) on September 12th in Chicago. The band also undoubtedly has more announcements for the nearly two-year tour to come.

For the stadium-only show, the band will perform on a unique circular stage surrounded by the audience. U2.com's 360 tour site currently hosts a virtual mock-up of the stage (the flyer/logo above also bears a vague rendition indicating the stage's futuristic bent).

All tour dates below...

Continue reading "U2 announce more tour dates, 2nd Giants Stadium show "

BILLBOARD: How does it feel to have two years of touring laid out in front of you?

THE EDGE: We're very excited to go on the road with this album. It's an album that I think is going to translate so well to the live context. The songs we've tried in rehearsal are sounding fantastic, so that's got everyone really fired up.

Going on a long tour is always difficult at first to say goodbye to the family and get on the tour bus, so to speak. But the shows themselves are always what really makes it worthwhile. There's such a special thing that goes on between the band and the audience at a U2 show, and we never get tired of that. It's always unique; it's always really uplifting. It's like a kind of semi-religious experience for the band and I think for the audience, too. I couldn't begin to explain why; it's just always been that way.

I think it's all to do with the music, and we kind of go there ourselves to serve the music and people's connection with it. For a lot of people it's the soundtrack of their lives. It's not just the band they're applauding, it's themselves and their own history and their connection with the music.

It's a very personal thing.

That interview segment comes from the new Billboard Magazine U2 cover story. The "U2360" tour (that is sponsored by Blackberry)...

Commenting on the new relationship between U2 and BlackBerry-maker Research In Motion (RIM), Paul McGuinness added: "This tour announcement marks the first stage of a relationship and shared vision between RIM and U2 that we expect will lead to new and innovative ways to enhance the mobile music experience on the BlackBerry platform for U2 fans. We look forward to sharing more details as the relationship unfolds."

...hasn't been fully announced yet, but four North American dates were revealed and one of them is September 24th at Giants Stadium in East Rutherford, New Jersey. They also named a bunch of cities without exact dates or venues. All of that, below...

Continue reading "U2 - initial 2009 Tour Dates (Giants Stadium)"

photos by Eric M. Townsend

It was E Street Family Night at Giants Stadium on Monday.

Drummer Max Weinberg's 18-year-old son Jay substituted for his father on "Born to Run," pounding the skins with authority as the elder Weinberg watched from the side of the stage. Bruce Springsteen's 16-year-old daughter, Jessica, danced onstage during the show-closing "Twist and Shout," and even took a little rock-star leap at the end. Also, Springsteen led the crowd in singing "Happy Birthday To You" to his wife, E Street Band member Patti Scialfa. She turned 55 yesterday.

This was the second of three shows that Springsteen and the band will be presenting at Giants Stadium this week, and though it was slightly longer than Sunday's show, it still lasted more than three hours and featured 28 songs. [The Star Ledger]

The setlist, and more pics, from last night's show below...

Continue reading "Bruce Springsteen & E Street Band @ Giants Stadium - pics"