Bruce Insta-Poll
Posted: February 1st, 2009 | Filed under: Bruce | 94 Comments »
Have lots of thoughts about Bruce’s halftime for tomorrow, but for now …
1. Working on a Dream sounded better than I thought it would. Choir helped.
2. Got the right songs, but thought for sure he’d go out with Born To Run.
3. Witsh they hadn’t shot off fireworks in rhythm with Born To Run. Somewhere in there seemed a line that was crossed.
4. I’m willing to go all the way with Bruce … but having the fake referee go out there to throw a flag, yeah, bad.
5. Of course, in the end, I loved it.
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The show I really want to see is the assembly and disassembly of the halftime stage. Maybe next year.
Not the biggest Springsteen fan, but had to come here and see what you thought. You’re my BS source, Joe.
I’m glad you posted this, Joe. I was just about to text you to see what you thought. Everyone in the room with me is about 18 years too young to appreciate Bruce at all, so I needed your thoughts.
Glad you liked it!
Go Cardinals!
Between Prince last year and Springsteen this year, I’m really happy*. I’m really glad to hear Tenth Avenue Freezeout, but I agree about the ref bit.
The best moment was probably the power slide into the camera.
*That and between the Tyree catch and the Harrison return, two all time great Super Bowl plays.
Rob–
I guess Tom Petty was pretty forgettable!
I guess I don’t get the whole Bruce Springsteen thing. The intro an outro were painful. Born in 1979, I come from the generation where Max is Conan’s band leader and Little Stevie is Silvio on the Sapranos.
Oh, that’s right. I liked Petty but I’m a casual fan of Petty and I’ve always been a huge fan of Prince and lately this year really gotten into Springsteen.
Either way, that fact ruins my point.
Liked it a lot. Only reservation was that Working On a Dream seemed too short. Joe, do you know if Bruce chose four songs (as opposed to three) or had it forced upon him?
Yes the referee was a bit lame, but this was all about Bruce and the boys having fun and rocking the house for 12 minutes and leaving a few million people anticipating when he’s coming to their town. Mission accomplished.
The look on his face after he slid into the camera was priceless.
The lyric changes I’m glory days were cheesy. He could throw a hail Mary, make you look a fool? Ugh
My response: eh. It was Bruce, no doubt, he clearly was playing at 11, which he always does — but this was just not his forum and it showed. The fireworks were borderline over the top; the ref was stupid; the lyrics change unnecessary…I don’t know. I love Bruce, and this wasn’t a disaster ny any means — probably better than most halftime shows — but Prince is still the king of the genre.
mike, by the way: I believe I read a couple of JoePo posts ago that Bruce said at his press conference that the Boss decides what’s played, end of story.
He actually cut out a few verses from Born to Run. Not good.
One thought on Twitter. I appreciate it, but the reason I loved blogs is because it encourages people to write, and that’s a beautiful thing. Now with Twitter, people can voice their thought into one sentence, and it’s usually, “In Traffic. Sucks. Saw cop riding horse. Struck by irony.”
So instead of a funny, great post on a guy stuck in traffic with a cop riding a horse, you get that.
You are too good of a writer, Joe, to have your thoughts be reduced to that. Don’t do it.
Never having paid much attention to Springsteen’s music before, my reaction to the halftime show was this: can Bruce actually sing and hold a tune? (Could he ever?) That may have been rock and roll, but it wasn’t terribly musical.
He should have played Long Walk Home … or Holmes …
Bruce was not mixed well. AT ALL. The vocals were terrible, plus there was definitely some delay. For those of you snobs doubting that the man with the back catalog that he has can “actually sing,” how about I give you a live show where he goes note to note with Sam Moore (that is, of course, if you actually know who Sam Moore is, which I’ll doubt).
This was taking four songs and putting them into 12 minutes. This was fun, people, remember fun? If you saw the press conference, he tells the story about what he was trying to do, that he was trying to take what is normally a 2:45 live show and condense all of the energy and the emotional arc into 12 minutes. So all of the stuff he crammed into the 12 minutes normally gets spread out over a couple of hours.
He cut verses. He borrowed some tricks from Bono (and Jerry Lee Lewis, and Elvis, and Joe Strummer, and Ronnie Spector… oh wait, most people won’t know who they are, either). I understand why they cut the 2d verse of 10th Avenue but the verse they cut from BTR is the verse with the line that sums up the entire theme of his entire career.
Glory Days was last because if they had to cut it short, they could.
The new song sounded awesome with the horns and the choir.
Having thought about this a lot, and talked about it way too much, finally getting to watch it happen, with the pyro and the crowd and the camera shots and the whole over-the-top of it, well, if you’re going to play the Superbowl, then PLAY THE SUPERBOWL. You’re playing for a couple of million people. Stand up straight. Play it like you mean it. Give it all you got. This isn’t the time to stand and mumble and strum an acoustic guitar.
This is the guy who sings about believing in the love and the faith and the hope. If you think that is corny or old fashioned or stupid or something your mom and dad would like, then yeah, you don’t get it, and that’s okay.
The press conference was revelatory to me, because I got it. I got why he was doing it. Because it’s coming to the end of the line, and he’s got one of the best bands in the world and puts on one of the best rock shows in the world (I guess it’s not “musical” but I don’t quite know who is – is Arcade Fire musical? Is/was Dylan ‘musical’? Was Elvis ‘musical’? not getting that), and he wants everyone to know it. He is proud of the band. He is proud of his work with the band. I know that to hipsters and what have you, being proud of what you do is not au courant, caring is uncool, but I just think that’s sad.
I find it stunning that anyone thinks that anyone could force Bruce Springsteen to do anything. It’s like the people who still think Eddie Vedder is the evil mastermind of Pearl Jam.
It was pretty good, but I can’t hardly wait for Paul Westerberg next year.
I’m not a fan, but my woman is so…I thought it was brilliant!!!!
The lyric changes in Glory Days were unacceptable pandering. I found it hard to ‘buy’ any of the performance. The patter between Bruce and Stevie was forced and lame. Your hero made a mistake in doing this at all, I’m afraid.
So Bruce is not only a sellout, give him the biggest audience he’s ever had and he turns into an all out cheese fest. He should have retired in ‘85
The Super Bowl halftime shows are always bad… at least this wasn’t as bad as the Shania Twain appearance.
I was never a big Bruce guy, until I discovered the Ghost of Tom Joad, which is an absolute masterpiece – the title track, Youngstown, The Line, Across the Border, Highway 29, Sinaloa Cowboys… all songs of depth, conflicted stories and rich lyrics. It gave me a real appreciation for everything he has done since, and even his older stuff.
Watching him prance around like a high school cheerleader tonight, I couldnt believe it is the same guy.
It was full of energy, it was fun, it wasn’t Up With People, and you can hear Glory Days with the original lyrics any time you want.
I enjoyed it. Good game, too.
It was okay; not as good as Prince or Tom Petty, but pretty good. He was a little bit off on Born To Run, which sucks since it was the best song he played, but everything else sounded good. The ref bit and changing the lyrics to Glory Days was kinda cheesy, but the badass powerslide into the camera almost made up for it.
Watching the same with my very-casual Bruce fan friends, they were like “Whoa, he’s really throwing himself into this.” Little do they know that this is Bruce’s only way of doing a live show.
As Tina said it, “simply the best”. Springsteen exceeded my venue and site expectations, and the teams exceeded my hope. Great 4th quarter. Thoroughly enjoyable TV entertainment.Top notch all the way
Kudos on getting all four songs, Joe. Hardly anyone on backstreets did.
Bruce and the band obviously made it a fun gig. There’s no doubt they still have it in a way hardly any other band does. Most of the complaints miss the point. Even the ref bit was kind of funny since it was so unique for the band shoehorn their performance into such a short, rigid timeframe.
As a big fan, I would have loved to hear a couple of different songs. But they made the most of what they had to work with, and my guess is the reaction of casual listeners was very positive.
My thoughts on the halftime show are:
A. He sounded terrible — possibly the sound man’s fault
B. The lyric changes — Lame
C. The stage slide was nice until he crashed into the camera with his crotch which made the slide ridiculous
D. He was paid to sing and put on a show not talk to his band
E. The ref gag — LAME…
Overall impression — Lame and I had such hopes too – Why does the halftime show invariably suck-eggs?
Born To Run should have been last but Caryn’s explanation makes sense. Can you see Bruce going “Everybody’s out on the run tonight but there’s no place left–GOOD NIGHT!”
I did know all the people Caryn mentioned, though I admit I had not seen Sam’s last name before. Then again I’m within 10 years of Bruce’s age.
Great game. Greatest game? I voted for a different one in Joe’s newest poll. But you could make a convincing case for most of them (as well as Patriots-Panthers, which wasn’t in there).
Kevin, thanx for reminding us all how bad halftime shows can be… Thank God and Greyhound that we haven’t been stuck with Up With People as the halftime show since Super Bowl 20.
A little too hammy, but it was fun. You couldn’t hear any of the guitars, though–that was by far the weakest part. Too much brass and keyboard. Wasn’t a big fan of Workin on a Dream, either. Song’s a bit hokey and the choir wasn’t mic-ed very well. Overall, a pretty good show.
You know, I thought it was pretty okay. I mean, do you really expect transcendence from a 12 minute show? It was a little cheesy, sure, but it was fun. Springsteen definitely has a cheesy/fun side and that’s what tonight was about. The only halftime show I recall enjoying more was Prince. It made me laugh and smile and not in a “I can’t believe how terrible this is” way. I felt like I was laughing with the band, not at them. I think that’s about all you can ask from a halftime show.
Well … I think he tried a little too hard to cram all the concert “staples” (guitar throw, piano jump, stage slide, guitar sling) into 12 minutes … the ref was campy.
But, Bruce took the halftime show and made it FUN. What’s wrong with that?
And everyone complaining about the “Boss Time” banter at the end … that’s been a part of “Glory Days” for several years now.
I gotta say I’m still bored by Bruce’s music, but he has a stage presence and energy that makes it exciting. I liked the part where he did the patented rock move “power slide on knees” and went straight into the camera. Cheesy end to the set, but overall, I’d say he was better than the Stones and Tom Petty.
Twitter is horrible. I took a buddy to a concert at the new Midland downtown, and he barely watched the show as he was on his phone twitting the whole time. The messages you get shouldn’t be called tweets, they should be called twits, because that’s what the people are that send them. I don’t really need to know what you are doing right now, if I wanted to know I’d call.
Neither of the 49ers-Bengals Super Bowls made the list?
Really lame. Springsteen has a million apologists but there was no hiding his hypocrisy tonight (you know I’m right, Joe). Says he’s not a football fan, then tries to force football into his act. Petty and Prince were cool while staying true to themselves.
Caryn, I get it, but don’t worry about the younger generation — this is a group of folks who don’t even R.S.V.P. to events — they cannot committ. Why would they get Bruce? (But yes, for a band that appreciates sound quality, I thought the first two songs were really off, but it got better toward the end. “Working on a Dream” with the choir was the best.)
AND pokerpeaker please know that I am trying everything in my power to get my husband to write less. Twitter fits the bill. For LESS time updating the BLOG means more time for family or listening to Bruce or something………
It was cool. Born to Run absolutely should have been the finisher. Just so much energy and the crowd was into it. Shouldn’t have cut out the first few verses, either. Eh.
I think anyone hating the halftime show is misguided.
If you think Bruce sold-out because he’s playing halftime, you probably thought he sold out years ago.
He gave the most fun super bowl experience I’ve ever seen. Sure, only 12 minutes long. What’s he gonna do play Mary’s Room and then walk off stage. Sure I’d love that, but it doesn’t work that way.
It was over the top and I loved it. I thought the referee thing was completely lame, but I laughed because it was awesome in the self-parody sort of way.
If you didn’t like it, you just hate life. It was up beat and fun, the kind of thing we all want to experience.
There’s always a little bit of snobbery about how he didn’t do this or play the verse I wanted him to, but I got to watch Bruce perform for 12 minutes for free in HD. I’ll take that every time and never complain or say he’s doing it wrong.
People complaining about the lyric changes are simply being foolish. Bruce changes lyrics depending on where he is all the time.
Those “silly New York girls” become “silly Los Angeles girls” or whatever. You’re acting like he changed a verse in the Bible. Calm down.
I wish he hadn’t done the game because I liked the fact they he was holding out. But he did it and he did a good job beyond the silly referee thing.
Outside of the sliding crotch vs. camera shot, absolutely incredible!
Even if the new “hail Mary” lyric came out weird, the original line in Glory Days about a “speedball” should have been changed 25 years ago.
Band nerds don’t know anything about sports.
Gotta say I liked it. I mean, sure it was a bit cheesy and goofy and over-the-top, but he was wedged in between horses falling in love and Danica Patrick taking a shower and the big gladiator show at the center of it all. It ain’t church, folks. It’s the carnival, and Bruce played it as such. I mean, the powerslide where he nearly slid off the stage? I laughed. The ref gag? A little dumb, but I smiled. Are laughing and smiling really that bad?
Don’t get me wrong–I love serious, introspective Springsteen, but my copy of Nebraska is right next to my stereo, and I can listen to it whenever I want. If you don’t have a copy, I’m relatively certain your nearest Best Buy can hook you up. And I like all the verses of “Born to Run”, but someday Bruce will come back to my town and I’ll be able to hear them. Tonight was supposed to be fun and over the top, and it was. I agree with the folks who thought that Prince’s halftime show was a little better, but bear in mind that Prince has it easier–no one expects Prince to be anything other than fun and over-the-top. The whole Prince persona guarantees that no one would ever call Prince a “sell-out.” How can a guy who emerged from the womb in a purple suit with ruffles be a sell-out? Springsteen’s gift is that he has a lot of different faces, but the problem with that is that when he doesn’t wear the particular face some fans want to see that night, people get pissed.
M–the facebook generation is actually very big on constantly RSVPing for menial “events.”
Yeah, don’t talk about younger generations if you’re going to bad mouth them. It always comes across as old and out of touch. ;p
Some of the defenders here are so over-the-top self-righteous, it’s making me a bit nauseous (starting with brilliant reader Caryn in post #17). Bruce Springsteen is not a deity – no musician is – and he shouldn’t be treated as such.
I’ve never really been exposed to Springsteen in the past, but I like pretty much all kinds of music, I play several instruments to a reasonably fair standard, and (to my great detriment) I have perfect pitch. Why do I need to know who Ronnie Spector is to pass judgment upon whether or not Bruce’s performance *last night* was tuneful? It had a number of positive qualities – it was energetic, it was fun, and it was very “rock and roll” in a good way – but I didn’t hear a lot of melody, at least until Glory Days. He mostly seemed to be mumbling at high volume rather than singing, if that makes sense. If that isn’t what all of his music and each of his performances is like (and there were honest problems with the sound mixing), then fair enough. But please: don’t just say “It was the Super Bowl, what did you expect?” The performance can be examined on its merits, and nothing about that performance made me any more likely to buy my first Springsteen album than I was before I heard it.
Bruce may have made it to #3 of a bad lot:
#1 – U2
#2 – Prince
#3 – Bruce
…and a 40-way tie for last. Really.
OK, it was forced at the beginning and, let’s face it, jumping on pianos at 60 needs about an hour warm up before attempting. It got better and better as it went on and by the end, it was classic Springsteen schtick. I laughed out loud at the “I’m going to Disneyland” shout at the end. Most players never get to a Super Bowl. Bruce got his tonight.
I don’t know about any one else, but I found that part of him, his best friend and the woman he loves, sharing the moment was particularly poignant. Steve has been with him since they dreamed of, maybe, playing the Garden someday. Patti has seen the side we never see. Somehow, I think, that’s something special.
As to over the top, $55 million is expected to be expended on Super Bowl food alone, not counting the betting. 40% of the audience who watch are not football fans at all. So fireworks and gospel choirs, hell why no? At least he didn’t wear a white Vegas jumpsuit-now THAT would have been something!
Not bad, but Prince still reigns supreme. Of course, Prince is a much better musician than Bruce, so that makes sense, and Bruce isn’t used to having to compress his performances this much. My parents are huge Bruce fans, and I’m fond of him because I grew up with him in my house, but I have to admit I’ve always been more of a fan of his Nebraska/Tom Joad introspective side. I enjoy Born to Run and its ilk, but it’s always struck me as cheesy and over the top.
I loved his enthusiasm, which as always, seemed genuine. Great song selection. Put overall, it just wasn’t quite what I hoped for. Part of it was not playing full songs. Part of it was the silliness–the ref, band banter. Still nice to see him play.
In my opinion, the best halftime show, by far, was the Stones. They played three full songs, the guitars were miced properly, and they flat-out rocked. Sure, Jagger acted like an idiot but he always does and the beauty of the Stones is not Jagger. U2 was good as well.
I’m not a Springsteen fan. Last night didn’t change that. Sorry.
not the biggest bruce fan (too young) but i went to college about 5 mins from the stone pony so i know/appreciate the effect he has on people. i thought the show was pretty enjoyable. i thought even the corniest was done with the right tongue in cheekness. i thought it was pretty cool. i liked petty too.
i consider myself worldy, the time i spent studying abroad was the time of my life, but i think it means more in a game like this when an american does it (even though you say he doesnt like football). but still there has been a lot of mccartney/u2/rollingstones in these situations. but certainly no “hello super bowl” moments like mccartney.
I was lucky to be in the stadium last night and I thought that in the building Bruce’s set came off exceptionally well. I haven’t seen it yet on TV and I can see where the cheesy but fun referee stunt would have played much worse on television than it did live.
I hope I don’t come off as a snob but I think people who didn’t enjoy that set are missing something essential about Bruce. To me, the truth of Bruce is that life is pain, which we can briefly escape through the healing power of music, and sometimes that catharsis is corny and cheesy and just unapologetically stupid fun. You have to give into it. It ain’t no sin to be glad you’re alive and all that.
I’ve never had more fun in my life than I had last night and I wish evry regular reader of this blog could have been there. An unforgettable night.
There are already rumors that Bob Dylan will play next year’s Super Bowl halftime show. Who said the baby boomers don’t control America?
Re: twitter.
Why don’t you just start walking around wearing a sandwich board? You’ll reach more people and you won’t look like an egomaniac.
Bruce isn’t the best singer/guitarist. He’s a great performer and songwriter. Although cheesy, (“I’m goin to Disneyland!”) the show was epic.
And, at least, Katy Perry wasn’t involved…
I’m a big Bruce fan. Seen he and the E Street on two continents and in several cities. Watched and read several interviews before the halftime and voted in polls on which songs he’d play. I loved the halftime show. Did he sell out? What was his reason to Costas for playing? “I just put out an album”. I smiled because that’s the “Dude, because I can” answer. Were the songs played the greatest? I’m a major biased fan, I can’t tell. Did I enjoy it? Hell, yea! The referee? Bruce specifically mentioned they were going to have trouble getting off the stage in 12 minutes. Do you think the NFL execs trusted him to do so? I wouldn’t have. Now how over the top am I for Bruce? I own all of his albums and several underground recordings – but, I don’t own the last album and probably won’t buy the new one. He’s gotten too political. And it wouldn’t matter to me if he was stumping with Rushbaugh instead of Obama. I’m not letting a rock-and-roller try to convince me they’re understanding of political systems and methodology. But I do wish I was there last night.
“I find it stunning that anyone thinks that anyone could force Bruce Springsteen to do anything. It’s like the people who still think Eddie Vedder is the evil mastermind of Pearl Jam.”
you’re saying Hollywood Vedder put Bruce up to this?
Can I just add, quickly, that I was born in 1980 an absolutely get Springsteen. I know lots of people my age and younger who do. We’re out there.
I like Bruce, I’ve seen him in concert, but I am not Bruce-obsessed. He’s on my ipod, more than any other artist, but I don’t have catagories like “Bruce for Rainy Days”, “Mellow Bruce”, or anything like that.
Having said that as a full disclosure, I do not get the comments of “sell out” or “lame” or “cheese”. It’s HIS music. If he wants to go play the Super Bowl, great. Go nuts. If he wants to change the lyrics to Glory Days, OK. Have a refree come on stage? It’s your call, brother. Clown around with Little Steven? No problem.
Bruce doesn’t owe me a thing. It’s his art, he’s earned the right to present it where and when and in the manner he wants.
Darren, #47 — thanks for being the voice of reason.
I love Bruce. I’ve seen him live several times, and each has been exceptional — his shows speak to my soul. But I think I can still “understand” him and not be blown away by last night’s performance. It was good, but not mind blowing.
I’m also pretty sure Bruce would be OK with the fact that there are people out there with intelligence and good taste who nonetheless aren’t fans of his. I’d like to think that all the readers and posters here have that same maturity.
I ate my chicken fingers and turned the tv down. Prince and Petty kicked Bruce’s ass.
Is “Working On A Dream” going to be famous? If so I’m gonna learn it for karaoke. Nothing else older and classic is available…
First I have to say that I was born (1980) well after the BS era. I really have almost no idea who he is other than the skit that Adam Sandler did on SNL making fun of Dancing in the Dark with Courtney Cox (which was hilarious).
So I have to say to Joe and all the BS fans out there that this was absolutely terrible from an outsider’s perspective. Probably the cheesiest and all around worst super bowl entertainment I can think of, at least since Janet Jackson. I’ve been reading all of Joe’s posts about BS and I really wanted to like him but when I saw that…….I was just thinking it seemed like the kind of entertainment you’d see in Branson.
Would it really be so bad if they had modern entertainment? The White Stripes, Taylor Swift, or even Joe’s beloved Gnarls Barkley
. I mean come on I’m almost 30 and even I’ve never heard of most bands that perform on super bowl half time shows.
At last! The football season is over…thought it would never end, great game, great halftime show but now is the time for Pitchers and catchers to get in their cars and get on down to Arizona and Florida
Play ball!
Matt, if you’re the same age as me and haven’t heard of most of the bands that play the Super Bowl, then I have to think you’re not much of a music fan. Most of the (good) groups that are from “our” generation will give interviews at some point where they talk about how important Prince or Springsteen or Petty or the Stones or whoever was to them when they started playing music. I may not love or even like all of the bands that play the Super Bowl, but I know who they are. Also, it is unreasonable to judge anyone based on a half time show. You want to know what Bruce is really like? Go listen to Born to Run (the album), or even Magic (his last album, I’m not sold on the brand new one yet). There’s always Nebraska, which is just straight acoustic.
I was born in ‘79 and I’d like to respectfully disagree with everything written in #66. I remember only one thing from my senior year Forensics class. My teacher quizzed the class regarding the #1 radio station among males 18-25 in Kansas City. Everyone guessed 98.9, 103.3, 107.3, etc. I even guessed 105.9–I loved the LAZR before it sold out. Finally, I chimed in meekly with 101.1. I was sure that the Fox wasn’t #1 because that’s what I listened to and I was decidedly uncool, but lo and behold that was it. The #1 radio station amongst guys my age in 1997 was a classic rock station. This really proves nothing of course, but I have to believe that the vast majority of the nation, regardless of age, knows Bruce and that most of us like him. And Taylor Swift? Did I miss something? I must be completely out of touch with my own generation.
Little frustrates me more than calling a band/musician a sellout. They are all sellouts – they get paid to make music. That being said, the entire performance made me cringe. To see Bruce act so contrived and boy band cheesy was just painful. And legacy damning – for me anyway. From the Steven Tyler phallic symbol mic stand thingy at the beginning to the referee bit at the end, it was a complete train wreck outside of the actual, you know, music.
“I’m going to Disney World.” Really? Just awful.
How ridiculous was Clarence’s outfit? Love it!
For those who didn’t, watch some of his previous live shows. He’s done most, if not all, of that stuff before…including the cheesy dialogue with bandmates, the mic stand ‘thingy’, and changing words to songs. He was just having fun and you could tell!
Not a Bruce fan here. Never really understood why people love him so much. Glory Days is good, but there’s a lot of his other “great” songs which I could go the rest of my life without listening to.
As far as last night’s halftime show, there were two times I thought, and even said outloud, “He’s going to regret this tomorrow.” First: the whole talking to the camera, put down your nachos blathering at the beginning… what was that about? Second: the referee thing was horrible. There’s no way he watches a play back of the show and doesn’t realize that it was a bad idea. Finally, “I’m going to Disneyland” was really cheesy. And really stupid if you take it literally; Disney World was about 40 miles away, so why would he go across the country to go to the inferior Disney theme park.
Goofy. Last night, in one word. I love Bruce and recently saw him again in Ft. Lauderdale. I “get” Bruce and have since I was a little kid listing to Thunder Road. I hope I get to see him again, despite the mic-stand, referee, nachos, etc. The best part, by far, was Born to Run. The band and the song only. Nothing cheesy or cringe-worthy. Otherwise, a smorgageboard of contrivance….
The fireworks were a little silly, but that’s the type of thing they do in concerts during that break in Born To Run. Usually it’s just stadium lights but for the Super Bowl I guess they felt like they had to (BAM!) kick it up a notch.
It’s too bad they didn’t have time to work in Badlands and/or Rosalita.
I liked all the cheesy stuff. Bruce has always done that kind of thing in concert “in some fashion.” The referee was similar to his ’70s James Brown schtick of pretending to collapse and being “revived” by nurses. He used to do the same dialogue with Little Steven during “Ramrod” on the Rising shows, and he’s always goofed around with Clarence, slid across the stage, and so forth, though this is probably the first time he implored an audience to put down their guacamole. It was a fun, over-the-top performance with a lot of joy and energy. I’m not sure he could’ve done much more in only 12 minutes.
Would I prefer a more substantial performance, and full versions of his songs? Sure. I ordered tickets for a real concert this morning. But for a Super Bowl show, it was fine. I still liked Prince better, but I’d give Bruce a solid B+.
I think I get Bruce as well…or maybe not.
Is it possible Bruce was involved in some type of parody or satire? Between the phallic mic stand, the crazy stage dive, the ref throwing the flag (mocking the fact that he has to do a “show” in 12 minutes), the Disney World comment, all the comments about “we got to hurry up and get off stage”….etc.
Bruce loves his fans and music too much to “mail it in” so the songs themselves were still strong and full of life and energy. I just wonder if all the other shenanigans had a purpose behind them.
In response to 68 adn 69, ok so saying I’ve never heard of them is an exaggeration but I’ve never heard any of their music. Why is it that people think younger generations HAVE to know older music? Just because music is ‘important’ doesn’t mean I have to know it? Do you know anything about any music on the Billboard top 10 in the 30s? If not I’m sure my grandpa thinks you can’t possibly be a music fan since he thinks that music is very important
.
Music is entertainment. I guess I’m not enough of a ‘music fan’ to study it like a history lesson. Strangely I just listen to what I like.
“And really stupid if you take it literally; Disney World was about 40 miles away, so why would he go across the country to go to the inferior Disney theme park.”
Disneyland is a better park than any of the Walt Disney World parks. Walt Disney World is a much better resort overall, but as far as the individual parks go, Disneyland has them beat.
It’s fascinating to read the comments and see how many people really care about this. I don’t mean that in an offhand or disrespectful way – it’s just that, well, I think you have to realize that it’s the Super Bowl we’re talking about here, which is a very different venue than the Inauguration, or Farm Aid (don’t know if he played it, it’s just an example) or the dedication of the Zakim Bridge in Boston, which he did appear at and which was extremely moving.
What I’m saying is, the Super Bowl is a party. And I think that’s how Bruce approached it – he said, hey, it’s a party, there’s 150 million people at the party, and we’re the band…only we just get 12 minutes between the trained elephants and the contortionists. So cheesy? Definitely. But I don’t mind saying I’m relieved that the Boss has a chessy side…and I don’t think he’s going to wake up this morning regretting anything.
Bottom line: yes, there were some goofy and cheesy parts in the halftime show. But … it was fun. It was Bruce and his buddies having a blast on stage, doing what they do best – entertain. All the people who criticize every little move (the guacamole, the referee), seriously, who cares!
Have some fun for a change, if only for 12 minutes.
I haven’t read all of the comments, so maybe some one else as said this. But all I can say is I’m glad I wasn’t still wearing my 3-D glasses when Bruce came crotch first at the camera.
Larger number of people-The E Street Band, or the 3rd Infantry Division?
Bruce, Mr. Working Class Hero, has clearly had some serious work done on his face. They could’ve used it as a snare drum.
Lil’Steven looks like total crap. I loved him in “The Sopranos” but it looks like he spent the night in a homeless shelter sleeping under a newspaper.
Clarence Clemmons-nice mumu.
Steve: Not just Born to Run, he cut out verses from every song. I’d rather have heard 3 (or even 2) entire songs than shortened versions of 4.
Springsteen’s cheesy halftime show… still better than anybody else’s cheesy halftme show. Now let’s get pitchers and catchers into camp and get baseball season started!!
Re: #81
I dont think anyone is against the idea of him doing an upbeat, lighthearted power show. It was the execution that was the problem.
I’m watching that pandering hypocrite all over again on my DVR today and striking all supercilious music critics from my list for Super Bowl XLIV party invitations.
One thing always remains the same on website comments boards.
People love to parade their ignorance for others to see. “Look at me! I’m almost 30 and I have never heard of them!”
“Disney World was about 40 miles away, so why would he go across the country to go to the inferior Disney theme park.”
Maybe he wants to go on Mr. Toad’s Wild Ride? :-p
“One thing always remains the same on website comments boards.
People love to parade their ignorance for others to see. “Look at me! I’m almost 30 and I have never heard of them!—
To be fair, that’s balanced out by the “everyone under 30 is a total idiot and does not have have the brain power to comprehend music the way my enlightened mind does” posts.
I’m tiring of this particular dialogue, but I will say this, I don’t really consider people who base their listening off the Billboard charts to really be music fans. In my experience, people who care about that stuff tend to listen to whatever is presented to them on the radio, being a fan of anything, I think, requires that you put a certain amount of effort into learning about it. I am 28 and I love music. I started with more contemporary stuff, but I would hear other artists mentioned and explore and then I started to find out about all this stuff that was around before I was born that I really like. And, for the record, Matt, my record collection goes back to the 20’s (Duke Ellington and Louis Armstrong), so I could probably talk to your grandpa about music, and to people my parents age and people my age and the high school students I currently teach English to. I realize I am the extreme, but I think you have to display some curiosity, don’t you? I mean, I don’t especially like the Stones, but I know what they sound like. Also, for the record, I like Gnarls Barkley, The White Stripes are good, but not my thing, and I think Taylor Swift is an affront to everything good about music.
Also, you don’t have to learn about older music if you don’t want to, but keep in mind that their are a lot of football fans over 40, and they aren’t obligated to learn about what you listen to either.
Re. #83 – The E Street Band was actually supplemented in yesterday’s show by members of the Max Weinberg 7. Though to be fair the E Street Band itself is one of the larger groups out there, with four guitars, two keyboards, bass, sax, drums and violin.
Little Steven is almost 60 years old, how do you expect him to look? And the stuff with the headband and the wardrobe has always been his style.
So you rip on Bruce for taking care of his appearance by looking like he’s had work done (for what it’s worth, I’m not convinced he has, since by all accounts he’s a serious health nut – take a look at the riders on one of the band’s contracts on Smoking Gun to see what I mean), and then you rip on Little Steven for not doing so?
As for Clarence Clemons, that was certainly an odd wardrobe choice but he’s almost 70 and recently had hip replacement surgery and is still out there touring, so as far as I’m concerned he can wear whatever he’s comfortable in.
Dave E, I can’t say that I mind admitting that I am ignorant of BS. I didn’t realize that not sharing your taste in music was so shameful.
Matt, I was quoting another poster, not saying it myself.