Bruce

Birdies are telling us that recording has been underway at Springsteen’s home studio, including Nils Lofgren in from Arizona. We’ll let you know if/when the squawking gets louder. In the meantime, let’s play catch-up on some other goings-on:

Save the Wonder Bar! In Asbury Park, walls continue to come tumblin’ down, with the recent demolition of part of the boardwalk Casino, where portions of the “Tunnel of Love” and “Lonesome Day” videos were filmed [before and after photos by Mike Black]. And just down the street, Lance & Debbie’s Wonder Bar — a rare component of Asbury’s resurgence that’s actually working — could be in danger of meeting the same fate. Along with the Baronet Theatre and the Fast Lane, the Wonder Bar was bought by Asbury Partners this week, and Gary Wien of Upstage Magazine tells us that “its future is very much in doubt.” Upstage has started an online “Save the Wonder Bar” petition, to show support for keeping the club alive. Read and sign the petition here.
On the Case: If you missed last year’s all-Bruce episode of Cold Case, titled “8 Years,” you’re in luck: it re-airs this Saturday, January 20, at 8 p.m. ET/PT on CBS. Songs used: “No Surrender,” “Bobby Jean,” “Brilliant Disguise,” “Glory Days,” “I’m on Fire,” “Drive All Night,” “Stolen Car” “Atlantic City,” and “One Step Up.”
Here comes The Sun: We’re not the only magazine publishing Springsteen stories here in Chapel Hill… Our esteemed neighbor, The Sun, has a great story in their latest issue called “My Friend and Bruce Springsteen,” by Jane Schapiro. You’re probably familiar with the legendary story Bruce told about coming home with a fan, after a movie, to meet the fan’s parents… this is a follow-up that’s well worth reading. Pick up the January 2007 issue at a newsstand near you, or from their website at www.thesunmagazine.org.
Play it again, Sam: From the Bergen Record, an update on Seeger Sessions violinist Sam Bardfeld, with a series of dates of his own lined up. “I decided I’m interested in music that is about stories,” Bardfeld tells the Record, “because, to me, all music, like Seeger or Springsteen or anything else, is essentially about stories.” See our Concert Calendar for a list of Sam’s upcoming shows.
Wouldn’t bet on the movie being good, though: Two Springsteen songs — scratch that, a pair of Springsteen songs — will be on the soundtrack to the forthcoming poker flick Lucky You: “The Fever” and “Lucky Town.” As Billboard reports, “the latter… is heard during the title sequence and the movie’s trailer.” Nothing unreleased from Bruce, but there is a new Dylan tune on the soundtrack, “Huck’s Tune.”
Practice, practice, practice: Late last year, at a Music For Youth benefit tribute to Bob Dylan, it was announced that the next benefit show would be a tribute to Bruce Springsteen, at Carnegie Hall. No specifics yet, but that show is scheduled for April 5, and here’s a page to watch for the line-up and other details.
Last, and okay, probably least: another reason to think that 2007 is gonna be a good year, as the Washington Post reports that “Beatlesesque” is out, and “Springsteenesque” is in.
-January 19, 2007

Info from
www.backstreets.com