I probably won't be able to go down to Oakland to see the show on October 26th. I'd be driving. At that time of the year, the Siskyou Pass can get hit with snow. That would make my 10 or 11 hour drive that much longer. I will definitely see him on the more thorough run-through of the States. In the meantime, I may be seeing Neil Young in Portland on October 22nd. There's a rumor one of his shows for Chrome Dreams II is going to be there.
BTW, I'm awfully happy that Soozie Tyrell is also a part of this upcoming tour. She's been a slendid addition to the E-Street Band.

I'm most likley going to see them on the 2008 half of the tour as well. I have that feeling it's going to be a great tour. I'm hoping he brings the "20 minute" break back as well.

Mark did you like those breaks? I found that they sapped the energy out of the show, and it took a while for the band (and the audience) to re-energize.

I don't have an issue with the 20 minute break if it means a return to 4-hour shows. What I'd REALLY love to see is the shows starting closer to on time. The stated time of 7:30 PM almost always ends up being somewhere in the 8:15-8:30 PM range, which I find a bit obnoxious. Tell people you're starting on time and then start on time.

Marv,

I didn't see Bruce with the "other band" in the early 90's, but when I did see him with the E Streeters and he took the break, he would usually come back with a slow start and work his way back up. In the 70's, they had alot of energy and always started back with a rocker and kept going. Maybe he doesn't take that break for that reason alone...since they're up there in age. Since the 1999/200 Tour...his breaks between main set and the encores has been minutes. They go off after the last song and then come right back.

I'm hoping he brings out songs we haven't heard in a while. They have played alot of songs on the last few tours and really dug into the catalog with many surprises.

Mark

Most of the fans know when it says 7:30, he isn't hitting the stage until that time anyway. We're used to it Walter.

I travelled from Calgary to NJ to see the "other band." As much as they get panned, I enjoyed the show.

As far as the breaks go, I don't think he's taken them since the "BItUSA" tour. I know for sure that he was taking them during 'The River" tours. I guess if he wants to go back to the 3 1/2 - 4hr show, then the breaks will come in. As you said, age is certainly a factor and playing from 8:00 - 11:00, is a different game now.

He did take them on the Tunnel of Love Tour in 1988. I liked the "other band" as well and I liked the music. It was different and the music seemed to be missing something.

I'm sure the shows will be great.

Over the last 30+ years, I've missed out on the "Tunnel", "Devils" and "Sessions" shows. Would have loved to seen them.

Yeah...I'm used to it too...it's been a regular thing at the 50+ shows I've seen over the years, particularly the recent tours. That doesn't mean that I like it. I'd rather they start on time and either play longer or get done earlier. I'm not as young as I used to be.

That doesn't make it right, Mark.

I agree with Walter. If Bruce wants to start the shows at 8.30pm, why the hell doesn't he just announce that as the starting time?

What does Bruce gain by having his fans waste an hour of their time?

I missed the "Sessions" shows and that I regret...

I snagged a single seat for the Sessions concert at MSG and was very glad I did. It was something special. Who but Bruce could pull off a certified hootenany in the middle of Manhattan?

I was also at that show, but I didn't have as good a time, thanks to some overpaid underworked yuppie scum I had the misfortune to be seated near who got on my case every time I stood up... obviously they'd never been to a Springsteen show before... but it's a testimony to the music that by the end of the show, I was able to enjoy myself (and it helped that the overpaid underworked yuppie scum had left early).

Bruce is one of the few performers who has fans that will follow him where ever he goes musically. It took me a while to appreciate the Seeger music, but I am really behind it now. I feel bad that I missed the shows, but I have the Dublin DVD and CD to enjoy.

I don't know about that, at least in my case... I just couldn't get into Devils and Dust.

I enjoyed that CD and the tour that followed. I like him better with the full E Street Band, but I appreciate stuff like this also. I like when he interprets his own songs in different ways and the D&D Tour really did that. Although, I hated when he sand thru a bullett mic. I took my 9 year old daughter to that show and she loved it.

Marvin,
He took the break during the Tunnel of Love Express Tour. I don't know which shows you've seen over the years, but I've never been disappointed with the 2nd Set openers for any E-Street Band Tour. I'm like Walter. If he goes back to 4-hour shows, I'd gladly take the break to go with it. The only Springsteen shows I was ever disappointed with were the two that I went to from the Human Touch/Lucky Town Tour. Those shows had a break as well.
When I witnessed my first show of his that I ever went to back in 1980 up in Portland, there had been a terrible car accident on I-5 as you headed to the show. Between that and the fact that Bruce had changed some of the sound equipment around to make the sound better in the bass-heavy Coliseum (and which also allowed my Obstructed View ticket to become one right over the railing looking directly down at the stage with nobody in front of me the whole night ticket), the Portland show must have started at about almost 9:00. It didn't stop him from making me feel like I had been hit by a freight train after the almost 4 hour show. It's a matter of perception.

Even though I got into Bruce during the BITUSA Tour, my favorite albums and tours have been for "The River" and "Darkness on The Edge of Town". I'm hoping for a Darkness anniversary celebration in 2008.

Steve these are the shows I've seen:

"Darkness" - 1
"The River" - 1
"BiTUSA" - 4
"HT / LT" - 2
"Ghost" - 1
"Reunion" - 2
"Rising" - 2

I'd gladly take the 4hr shows again, but I really can't see it happening anymore. The question now is, with new songs to sell / promote, how many of them make it into the show, and how many of the 'standards' get cut?

Marv

Standards?? That's the great thing about Springsteen shows, particularly when he's playing with the band. When it comes to anything beyond the most recent release, it's usually fairly unpredictable choices, which is what makes going to multiple shows necessary.

By "standards", I mean the obvious songs that he almost has to play. There's nothing predicatable about a Springsteen show, but you know that you're going to hear "B2R", "Badlands", "Promised Land" and probably a couple of others 'standards.'