What a performance last night from Bruce. The guy is just an amazing live performer. His voice has held up so well. As has his physical condition. I’m 35 and feel like I was beaten with an aluminum bat for three hours last night. And all I did was watch the show.
Some of the highlights …
- Show start time on the tickets was 7:30. At 8:30 Bruce got the party started with one of several primal screams of “Cleeeeeeevelaaaaaaand!” before opening with a high-charged version of “Badlands”. Good pick for the opener. Place was packed. The Q was filled to capacity. I waited in the East 4th valet line for half an hour. Didn’t even get in my car ‘till about 12:45 AM. And guess what, I didn’t care. I did a little this morning. J
- Several references to the Cleveland throughout the show. Bruce and this town have a lot of history, and Bruce always makes sure to remind Cleveland crowds of that.
- Two tributes to Clarence. One a little over a half hour in when introducing the band. And during the last song he played, “Tenth Avenue Freezeout”, mid-song, after the ‘when the big man joined the band’ line. Clarence’s nephew has taken over for him and more than held his own last night.
- Surprise old songs of the night for me were two I love from “The River” album. “Ties That Bind” and “Out On The Street”.
- Goosebump inducing versions of “Youngstown” and “Racing In The Street”. The latter may have been the highlight of the show.
- One of Bruce’s best live songs is “Waiting On A Sunny Day”, and last night was no exception. A 10 minute version where he paraded through the crowd, brought a little girl on stage to sing the chorus, then flung himself into the crowd and let the people down in the pit in front of the stage crowd surf him about 75 feet from the auxiliary stage to the main stage. It was impressive.
- Two really good stretches: one in the middle of the show where he went “The Promised Land”, “Racing In The Street”, “Because The Night”, and then “The Rising”. Then he ended with this quartet: “Out On The Street”, “Born To Run”, “Dancing In The Dark”, and finished with “Tenth Avenue Freezeout”.
- Three hours of non-stop rock. Not one break, not one band member even left the stage. 26 songs.
- And to prove Bruce knows Cleveland, he got his post concert grub on with a spread of food from Sokolowski’s! Stuffed cabbage, cabbage rolls, and kielbasa!
The Browns 2012 schedule is out. Here it is:
Week 1, Sept. 9: Philadelphia Eagles vs. Cleveland Browns, 1 p.m. ET, FOX
Week 2, Sept. 16: Cleveland Browns vs. Cincinnati Bengals, 1 p.m. ET, CBS
Week 3, Sept. 23: Buffalo Bills vs. Cleveland Browns, 1 p.m. ET, CBS
Week 4, Sept. 27: Cleveland Browns vs. Baltimore Ravens, 8:20 p.m. ET, NFL Network
Week 5, Oct. 7: Cleveland Browns vs. New York Giants, 1 p.m. ET, FOX
Week 6, Oct. 14: Cincinnati Bengals vs. Cleveland Browns, 1 p.m. ET, CBS
Week 7, Oct. 21: Cleveland Browns vs. Indianapolis Colts, 1 p.m. ET, CBS
Week 8, Oct. 28: San Diego Chargers vs. Cleveland Browns, 1 p.m. ET, CBS
Week 9, Nov. 4: Baltimore Ravens vs. Cleveland Browns, 1 p.m. ET, CBS
Week 10, Nov. 11: BYE
Week 11, Nov. 18: Cleveland Browns vs. Dallas Cowboys, 1 p.m. ET, FOX
Week 12, Nov. 25: Pittsburgh Steelers vs. Cleveland Browns, 1 p.m. ET, CBS
Week 13, Dec. 2: Cleveland Browns vs. Oakland Raiders, 4:15 p.m. ET, CBS
Week 14, Dec. 9: Kansas City Chiefs vs. Cleveland Browns, 1 p.m. ET, CBS
Week 15, Dec. 16: Washington Redskins vs. Cleveland Browns, 1 p.m. ET, CBS
Week 16, Dec. 23: Cleveland Browns vs. Denver Broncos, 4:05 p.m. ET, CBS
Week 17, Dec. 30: Cleveland Browns vs. Pittsburgh Steelers, 1 p.m. ET, CBS
More analysis on the schedule and the Indians resurgence in the days to follow.
Quote of the Day …
“Cloud nine gets all the publicity, but cloud eight actually is cheaper, less crowded, and has a better view.” ~ George Carlin
Insane Fact of the Day …
The Ohio driver’s education manual states that you must honk the horn whenever you pass another car.
Market …
Stocks went nuts yesterday. The Dow jumped a whopping 194 points to shoot pass the psychological barrier of 13,000 to close at 13,116. Here’s why …
- The latest from the Europe soap opera – European stocks had their best day in four months after Spain, the latest focal point in the European debt crisis, attracted strong investor interest at an auction of two-year debt.
- Earnings releases – First-quarter results have begun to pour in from companies, and traders have been impressed so far. On Tuesday, Coca-Cola said its first-quarter profit was better than Wall Street analysts had forecast. Goldman Sachs and Johnson & Johnson also posted strong results.
- Light trading volume – Makes market rallies more violent when they do happen.
- Domestic economic data – Monday’s retail sales # was encouraging, as was the building permit data we got yesterday.
- Fed backing – Evidence by the fact that treasury and mortgage bonds didn’t totally tank in the wake of yesterday’s stock rally, the market finally has confidence that the Fed is ready and waiting to unleash a third round of quantitative easing if the economy stalls.
We’re likely to see a little retreat from stocks today after yesterday’s insanity. Some big companies release earnings today – that will be the primary driver of all financial markets.
Tomorrow is a big day for economic releases. Here’s what’s on tap for Thursday:
8:30 AM EST – First time jobless claims
10:00AM EST – Existing Home Sales – March
10:00 AM EST – Leading indicators – March
10:00 AM EST – Philly Fed Index
News …
~ Mortgage Applications Jump on Higher Refinance Demand
http://www.cnbc.com/id/47083182
~ Obama to Visit Ohio Today to Praise Job Programs
http://www.cleveland.com/open/index.ssf/2012/04/president_obama_will_praise_oh.html
~ Bank of NY Mellon’s Profit Drops on Forex Hit
http://www.cnbc.com/id/47074722
~ Sputtering Economies to Curtail Earnings Horizon
http://www.cnbc.com/id/47082824
~ Not “If, But When” for Spanish Bailout Experts Believe
http://finance.yahoo.com/news/not-spanish-bailout-experts-believe-055825755.html
~ Springsteen’s Concert in Cleveland Includes Tribute to Clarence Clemons
http://www.cleveland.com/entertainment/index.ssf/2012/04/bruce_springsteens_concert_in.html
Comments