Springsteen tribute show planned at Carnegie Hall
Bruce Springsteen is set to get the tribute treatment from the musical community on April 5 at Carnegie Hall in New York. If you were lucky enough to click on the ticket sale website on January 31, then you may have already snagged yourself a pair of tickets (in what concert producer Michael Dorf is calling a “premature leak.” Those are always a bit embarassing). Tickets legitimately went on sale Monday (and seem to be sold out) with the proceeds benefitting the Music For Youth program, as with previous tributes to Dylan & Joni Mitchell.
The benefit show will feature appearances from Badly Drawn Boy, Pete Yorn, Steve Earle, Chris Isaak and Josh Ritter, among others. I can’t find any recordings of Isaak ever covering Springsteen (some fan correct me if I am wrong), and same for Ritter (although there is plenty of press likening him to Springsteen’s songwriting). But here’s some hints of what the night may sound like . . .
Thunder Road – Badly Drawn Boy
Dancing In The Dark –> Murray (live) – Pete Yorn
State Trooper (live) – Steve Earle
And if I may, how awesome would it be to see these humble suggestions added to the lineup?
Hungry Heart – Jesse Malin
For You – The Format
No Surrender (live 9/30/05) – Eddie Vedder
(yeah, I’ve posted this before, but it’s one of my absolute favorites)
Name: Heather Browne
I sure wish I could get tickets for that.
It’s kind of funny how things happen when you are open to things.
You just posted a Jesse Malin cover (sounds great by the way!). I had not even heard of him before yesterday, when I came across a blog post on him. Now, he’s quickly becoming someone that I need to find out a lot more on! He’s got a singer-songwriter vibe to him while not tipping too far into folk music…
Thanks!
Steve — February 8, 2007 @ 12:06 pm
Patti Smith’s missing from your wishlist?!?!
Lubenow — February 8, 2007 @ 1:08 pm
Hey – I finally got to hear that version of ‘no retreat no surrender’, at last and I loved it.The word that comes to mind is ‘innocence’.The innocence of a lost age , you can kind of hear echoes of the Bryds “i am going back’ in their somewhere, and the innocence that lies within all of us despite everything.The vulnerability at the end is so bloody touching too – reminds me of Springsteen own ‘humming’ or ‘yearning’ at the end of the track ‘Darkness on the Edge of Town’ where dreams and the prices we pay for them ache within.There’s no other way to put it.Great song,Heather!
russell — February 8, 2007 @ 4:56 pm
Thanks russell-
I have always said that I love Vedder’s version of No Surrender because of its purity (and innocence would be a sufficient synonym as well) – just that wavering simplicity of the song, the way Vedder pours himself into it and you can feel that he **feels** the song. It’s a great tune to begin with, but that is a knockdown awesome version of it, eh?
heather — February 8, 2007 @ 5:26 pm
great cover of No Surrender, agreed. i’m also rather partial to their version of One Step Up from the ’88 demos.
stephen o'grady — February 8, 2007 @ 6:38 pm
I remember an Uncut compilation CD a few years back with loads of Bruce covers, my favourite of which was probably Heather Nova singing I’m On Fire. It really was an amazing version.
Matthew — February 9, 2007 @ 3:05 am
I have all of the aforementioned Uncut CD’s. Will try and upload them *somewhere* over the weekend and leave a link
Anonymous — February 9, 2007 @ 3:49 am
Springsteen is one of my all-time favorite artists, and generally I eschew covers of his tunes because I love his versions so very much!
That being said, that Badly Drawn Boy version of Thunder Road is an absolutely breathtaking cover of what is probably my favorite Springsteen song – Gough’s reverence for “The Boss” is readily apparent. And Eddie Vedder continues to blow my hair back – I really think he’s some kind of idiot savant.
Sybil — February 9, 2007 @ 5:51 am
It my continuing efforts to promote counting crows, they have in the past covered thunder road and atlantic city, all be it at times as part of another song. And a little fun fact for friday. Counting Crows have released two limited edition bootlegs from their website in the past. One was titled “Face the Promise land” Adam Duritz admits he got the lyrics wrong in Thunder Road,it should be “Case the promise land”
Kevin
kevinstl — February 9, 2007 @ 8:09 am
Thanks, Kevin. I do love Counting Crows’ covers of Springsteen songs, I’ve got both of the ones you mention.
heather — February 9, 2007 @ 8:11 am
can you PLEASE find the Little Wings version of Downbound Train?!?!?!?!?!>!
Anonymous — February 13, 2007 @ 7:08 pm
then there’s this…
http://popsheep.com/2007/02/cover-sortie.html
kinda strange but I love the concept…
it’s Boss!
Anonymous — February 16, 2007 @ 6:54 am
If they are ready, willing and able, not having Patti Smith, Graham Parker and Robert Gordon (even any of the Pointer Sisters or Manfred Mann) on board would be a travesty of epic sorts. At least for the more dignified aspects of the honoree’s catalogue, as well as Third Party or Third Person recognisability (through another’s covering of the work), and, chart success.
A lot of people thought Manfred Mann’s penned Blinded By the Light etc. and other than on a cult-like level, the majority of attendees have no idea who Jesse Malin is. This is a good opportunity for more to find out, given the sacred yet status-quo ground that is Carnegie Hall, and its subscription base.
For me, getting Donna Summer to sing “Protection” would be the Coup de Grace to, what is thus far a sub-par line-up.
Then again, it’s no surprise that Dylan’s Tribute roster was (and likely shall remain) the stellar of what will have been three such gigs come post-April 9th (The other two having been and being Joni Mitchell and Bruce Springsteen, obviously.)
My hope, is, there will be a healthy mix of the established, esoteric, and middle ground to mix things up.
Oh, and get Living Colour in to play American Skin: this line-up has the makings of a campfire singalong, and Springsteen’s music was meant to whisper in a scream.
Anonymous — February 19, 2007 @ 7:47 am