The Airborne Toxic Event Channel Bruce Springsteen on 'The Secret' - Song Premiere

Airborne Toxic Event frontman Mikel Jollett followed a simple philosophy while making the band's third album, Such Hot Blood. "I asked myself, 'What would Bruce Springsteen do?'" Jollett tells Rolling Stone. "If you want to do something that's important, you can't fake it. . . I watched the documentaries about making Born to Run and making Darkness on the Edge Of Town and there was a moment where Bruce says something along those lines."

The inspiration from this line was clear and immediate for Jollett. "I remember thinking, ‘You can do a lot more: you can learn to play piano for real, you can learn to sing for real, you can take what you know about songwriting and forget it and then remember it. You can learn other forms, you can rewrite your lyrics 20 times so they're exactly right," he says. "So yeah, it was a choice to try and grow and to push to grow."

Video: The Airborne Toxic Event Perform Live at Rolling Stone

Befitting an album crafted under the guise of Springsteen, the album's forceful opening track, "The Secret," is an anthemic, propulsive rocker that shifts tempos as smoothly as a Ferrari winding along the Pacific Coast Highway. You can listen to the song here in its exclusive premiere; it's also available on the four-song EP The Secret, out March 11th through Island Records.

The track was written in a bar after a night spent driving recklessly around L.A. "I pulled over to a bar somewhere 'cause I was driving along and I was trying to imagine what this song was about and I was like, 'It's about this, it's about this moment. It's about not knowing where I'm going, not knowing what the fuck I'm doing; it's about this moment of restlessness, feeling like I'm on this road and I don't know where it's gonna go and where it's gonna end."

That same exertion and euphoria is evident throughout the 10-song Such Hot Blood. It finds the band pushing themselves in a variety of directions, from the genteel opening of the sweet rocker "The Storm" to "Bride and Groom," an Irish-punk confessional that Jollett calls "maybe my favorite song I've ever written." "The Fifth Day" is ambitious and broad, a simple three-minute ditty that segues into four minutes of orchestration similar to U2's "40."

Regardless of what happens with the album, out this spring, Jollett is glad that Airborne stretched their abilities on it. "It'd be more terrifying to think that life would go on and you would say to yourself one day, 'Oh, I had this opportunity and I squandered it,'" he says. "At a certain point in my life, we had this band and this worldwide audience and there was a moment where you could've stood there and said the thing in front of everyone that you wanted to say and you didn't do it. That's scarier."

To read the new issue of Rolling Stone online, plus the entire RS archive: Click Here

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The Airborne Toxic Event Channel Bruce Springsteen on 'The Secret' - Song Premiere

Airborne Toxic Event frontman Mikel Jollett followed a simple philosophy while making the band's third album, Such Hot Blood. "I asked myself, 'What would Bruce Springsteen do?'" Jollett tells Rolling Stone. "If you want to do something that's important, you can't fake it. . . I watched the documentaries about making Born to Run and making Darkness on the Edge Of Town and there was a moment where Bruce says something along those lines."

The inspiration from this line was clear and immediate for Jollett. "I remember thinking, ‘You can do a lot more: you can learn to play piano for real, you can learn to sing for real, you can take what you know about songwriting and forget it and then remember it. You can learn other forms, you can rewrite your lyrics 20 times so they're exactly right," he says. "So yeah, it was a choice to try and grow and to push to grow."

Video: The Airborne Toxic Event Perform Live at Rolling Stone

Befitting an album crafted under the guise of Springsteen, the album's forceful opening track, "The Secret," is an anthemic, propulsive rocker that shifts tempos as smoothly as a Ferrari winding along the Pacific Coast Highway. You can listen to the song here in its exclusive premiere; it's also available on the four-song EP The Secret, out March 11th through Island Records.

The track was written in a bar after a night spent driving recklessly around L.A. "I pulled over to a bar somewhere 'cause I was driving along and I was trying to imagine what this song was about and I was like, 'It's about this, it's about this moment. It's about not knowing where I'm going, not knowing what the fuck I'm doing; it's about this moment of restlessness, feeling like I'm on this road and I don't know where it's gonna go and where it's gonna end."

That same exertion and euphoria is evident throughout the 10-song Such Hot Blood. It finds the band pushing themselves in a variety of directions, from the genteel opening of the sweet rocker "The Storm" to "Bride and Groom," an Irish-punk confessional that Jollett calls "maybe my favorite song I've ever written." "The Fifth Day" is ambitious and broad, a simple three-minute ditty that segues into four minutes of orchestration similar to U2's "40."

Regardless of what happens with the album, out this spring, Jollett is glad that Airborne stretched their abilities on it. "It'd be more terrifying to think that life would go on and you would say to yourself one day, 'Oh, I had this opportunity and I squandered it,'" he says. "At a certain point in my life, we had this band and this worldwide audience and there was a moment where you could've stood there and said the thing in front of everyone that you wanted to say and you didn't do it. That's scarier."

To read the new issue of Rolling Stone online, plus the entire RS archive: Click Here

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The Airborne Toxic Event Channel Bruce Springsteen on 'The Secret' - Song Premiere

Airborne Toxic Event frontman Mikel Jollett followed a simple philosophy while making the band's third album, Such Hot Blood. "I asked myself, 'What would Bruce Springsteen do?'" Jollett tells Rolling Stone. "If you want to do something that's important, you can't fake it. . . I watched the documentaries about making Born to Run and making Darkness on the Edge Of Town and there was a moment where Bruce says something along those lines."

The inspiration from this line was clear and immediate for Jollett. "I remember thinking, ‘You can do a lot more: you can learn to play piano for real, you can learn to sing for real, you can take what you know about songwriting and forget it and then remember it. You can learn other forms, you can rewrite your lyrics 20 times so they're exactly right," he says. "So yeah, it was a choice to try and grow and to push to grow."

Video: The Airborne Toxic Event Perform Live at Rolling Stone

Befitting an album crafted under the guise of Springsteen, the album's forceful opening track, "The Secret," is an anthemic, propulsive rocker that shifts tempos as smoothly as a Ferrari winding along the Pacific Coast Highway. You can listen to the song here in its exclusive premiere; it's also available on the four-song EP The Secret, out March 11th through Island Records.

The track was written in a bar after a night spent driving recklessly around L.A. "I pulled over to a bar somewhere 'cause I was driving along and I was trying to imagine what this song was about and I was like, 'It's about this, it's about this moment. It's about not knowing where I'm going, not knowing what the fuck I'm doing; it's about this moment of restlessness, feeling like I'm on this road and I don't know where it's gonna go and where it's gonna end."

That same exertion and euphoria is evident throughout the 10-song Such Hot Blood. It finds the band pushing themselves in a variety of directions, from the genteel opening of the sweet rocker "The Storm" to "Bride and Groom," an Irish-punk confessional that Jollett calls "maybe my favorite song I've ever written." "The Fifth Day" is ambitious and broad, a simple three-minute ditty that segues into four minutes of orchestration similar to U2's "40."

Regardless of what happens with the album, out this spring, Jollett is glad that Airborne stretched their abilities on it. "It'd be more terrifying to think that life would go on and you would say to yourself one day, 'Oh, I had this opportunity and I squandered it,'" he says. "At a certain point in my life, we had this band and this worldwide audience and there was a moment where you could've stood there and said the thing in front of everyone that you wanted to say and you didn't do it. That's scarier."

To read the new issue of Rolling Stone online, plus the entire RS archive: Click Here

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The Airborne Toxic Event Channel Bruce Springsteen on 'The Secret' - Song Premiere

Airborne Toxic Event frontman Mikel Jollett followed a simple philosophy while making the band's third album, Such Hot Blood. "I asked myself, 'What would Bruce Springsteen do?'" Jollett tells Rolling Stone. "If you want to do something that's important, you can't fake it. . . I watched the documentaries about making Born to Run and making Darkness on the Edge Of Town and there was a moment where Bruce says something along those lines."

The inspiration from this line was clear and immediate for Jollett. "I remember thinking, ‘You can do a lot more: you can learn to play piano for real, you can learn to sing for real, you can take what you know about songwriting and forget it and then remember it. You can learn other forms, you can rewrite your lyrics 20 times so they're exactly right," he says. "So yeah, it was a choice to try and grow and to push to grow."

Video: The Airborne Toxic Event Perform Live at Rolling Stone

Befitting an album crafted under the guise of Springsteen, the album's forceful opening track, "The Secret," is an anthemic, propulsive rocker that shifts tempos as smoothly as a Ferrari winding along the Pacific Coast Highway. You can listen to the song here in its exclusive premiere; it's also available on the four-song EP The Secret, out March 11th through Island Records.

The track was written in a bar after a night spent driving recklessly around L.A. "I pulled over to a bar somewhere 'cause I was driving along and I was trying to imagine what this song was about and I was like, 'It's about this, it's about this moment. It's about not knowing where I'm going, not knowing what the fuck I'm doing; it's about this moment of restlessness, feeling like I'm on this road and I don't know where it's gonna go and where it's gonna end."

That same exertion and euphoria is evident throughout the 10-song Such Hot Blood. It finds the band pushing themselves in a variety of directions, from the genteel opening of the sweet rocker "The Storm" to "Bride and Groom," an Irish-punk confessional that Jollett calls "maybe my favorite song I've ever written." "The Fifth Day" is ambitious and broad, a simple three-minute ditty that segues into four minutes of orchestration similar to U2's "40."

Regardless of what happens with the album, out this spring, Jollett is glad that Airborne stretched their abilities on it. "It'd be more terrifying to think that life would go on and you would say to yourself one day, 'Oh, I had this opportunity and I squandered it,'" he says. "At a certain point in my life, we had this band and this worldwide audience and there was a moment where you could've stood there and said the thing in front of everyone that you wanted to say and you didn't do it. That's scarier."

To read the new issue of Rolling Stone online, plus the entire RS archive: Click Here

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Flashback: Bruce Springsteen Surprises U2 Fans in 1987

U2 was nearly done with their set at Philadelphia's JFK Stadium on September 25th, 1987 when a roadie brought out another microphone stand. "Anybody else want to play my guitar?" Bono asked the crowd. "Would Bruce Springsteen like to play my guitar?" As Bono literally bowed down before Springsteen, the crowd went insane. "I guess you guys know him," Bono said. "Is he a local boy or something?" They proceeded to play "Stand By Me" (though it would have been far cooler if he'd come out for the previous song: U2's groupie ode "Trash, Trampoline and the Party Girl"). 

Bono had dislocated his shoulder during a Washington, D.C. show five days earlier, and he brought fans onstage over the next few days to play the guitar. It's unclear exactly why Springsteen was at the show that day, but Little Steven & the Disciples of Soul were opening up. It's quite possible he was catching up with his once and future bandmate and got coaxed into coming onstage.

This collaboration was filmed by filmmaker Phil Joanou for his U2 documentary Rattle and Hum, but it wound up on the cutting room floor. Somehow or another, many hours of raw footage from the film fell into the hands of fans, circulating in collector circles for years. (Maybe some day an industrious fan will edit it into a better movie.) 

In 2002, Bono returned the favor by joining Springsteen and the E Street Band for "Because the Night" at a Miami show. Three years later, Springsteen inducted U2 into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, duetting with them on "I Still Haven't Found What I'm Looking For." Springsteen went to MetLife Stadium in 2011 to check out U2's 360 tour, but he never made it onto the stage – though Bono did wrap up the show by reciting the lyrics to "Jungleland" as a tribute to the late Clarence Clemons. 

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Flashback: Bruce Springsteen Surprises U2 Fans in 1987

U2 was nearly done with their set at Philadelphia's JFK Stadium on September 25th, 1987 when a roadie brought out another microphone stand. "Anybody else want to play my guitar?" Bono asked the crowd. "Would Bruce Springsteen like to play my guitar?" As Bono literally bowed down before Springsteen, the crowd went insane. "I guess you guys know him," Bono said. "Is he a local boy or something?" They proceeded to play "Stand By Me" (though it would have been far cooler if he'd come out for the previous song: U2's groupie ode "Trash, Trampoline and the Party Girl"). 

Bono had dislocated his shoulder during a Washington, D.C. show five days earlier, and he brought fans onstage over the next few days to play the guitar. It's unclear exactly why Springsteen was at the show that day, but Little Steven & the Disciples of Soul were opening up. It's quite possible he was catching up with his once and future bandmate and got coaxed into coming onstage.

This collaboration was filmed by filmmaker Phil Joanou for his U2 documentary Rattle and Hum, but it wound up on the cutting room floor. Somehow or another, many hours of raw footage from the film fell into the hands of fans, circulating in collector circles for years. (Maybe some day an industrious fan will edit it into a better movie.) 

In 2002, Bono returned the favor by joining Springsteen and the E Street Band for "Because the Night" at a Miami show. Three years later, Springsteen inducted U2 into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, duetting with them on "I Still Haven't Found What I'm Looking For." Springsteen went to MetLife Stadium in 2011 to check out U2's 360 tour, but he never made it onto the stage – though Bono did wrap up the show by reciting the lyrics to "Jungleland" as a tribute to the late Clarence Clemons. 

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Bruce Springsteen Performs 'Atlantic City' With Eddie Vedder

Bruce Springsteen Performs 'Atlantic City' With Eddie VedderRockers join forces at Wrigley Field $(document).ready(function() { $('.socialActionsTop .pageActions .email-content').hover( function() { $('.socialActionsTop .bubble.email').show(); }, function() { $('.socialActionsTop .bubble.email').hide(); } ); $('.socialActionsTop .pageActions .print-page').hover( function() { $('.socialActionsTop .bubble.print').show(); }, function() { $('.socialActionsTop .bubble.print').hide(); } ); }); By

Bruce Springsteen brought Eddie Vedder out onto the stage at Wrigley Field on Friday night to join in a duet of "Atlantic City" on the Chicago stop of his Wrecking Ball world tour. Vedder took the stage relatively early into the marathon three-and-a-half-hour set, and later joined Springsteen again for the encores of "Tenth Avenue Freeze-Out" and "Twist and Shout." Springsteen was also joined by Tom Morello for those last two, as well as on "Death to My Hometown," "Jack of All Trades" and "Ghost of Tom Joad."

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Flashback: Bruce Springsteen Opens for Dr. Hook in 1973

Flashback: Bruce Springsteen Opens for Dr. Hook in 1973Watch a 23-year-old Springsteen perform 'Wild Billy's Circus Story' $(document).ready(function() { $('.socialActionsTop .pageActions .email-content').hover( function() { $('.socialActionsTop .bubble.email').show(); }, function() { $('.socialActionsTop .bubble.email').hide(); } ); $('.socialActionsTop .pageActions .print-page').hover( function() { $('.socialActionsTop .bubble.print').show(); }, function() { $('.socialActionsTop .bubble.print').hide(); } ); }); By

When Bruce Springsteen performed at the Ahmanson Theater in Los Angeles on May 1st, 1973, he was still largely unknown to the public. His debut LP Greetings From Asbury Park, N.J. hit shelves that January amid a flurry of "new Dylan" hype, but it failed to make much of an impact on the charts. CBS still believed he had huge potential, and that May they booked him at their "Week To Remember" Los Angeles concert series with many other artists on their roster. At this gig he opened up for New Riders of The Purple Sage and Dr. Hook & the Medicine Show – still riding high off the success of their recent hit "The Cover of the Rolling Stone." Springsteen and this then-nameless backing band didn't have time to perform their full set, but they made sure to break out their guaranteed show-stoppers "Spirit In The Night" and "Thundercrack." He also played a relatively new song called "Wild Billy's Circus Story," a tune he'd been tinkering with over the previous few months. Check out video of the performance above.

When Springsteen and the band got home from their California trip they began recording their second LP, The Wild, the Innocent & the E Street Shuffle. Bruce also decided it was time to expand the band, so he hired David Sancious to play keyboards. The newest member lived in Belmar, New Jersey, on E Street, which soon gave the band a long overdue name. His presence also created the organ/keyboard dynamic that's been a key part of the E Street sound these past 40 years.

Thankfully, CBS filmed the Los Angeles show in color so they could show some of the footage at their upcoming sales convention. It's a rare look at the original lineup of the group. They had another year of struggle in front of them, but everything was slowly coming together. 

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Flashback: Bruce Springsteen Opens for Dr. Hook in 1973

Flashback: Bruce Springsteen Opens for Dr. Hook in 1973Watch a 23-year-old Springsteen perform 'Wild Billy's Circus Story' $(document).ready(function() { $('.socialActionsTop .pageActions .email-content').hover( function() { $('.socialActionsTop .bubble.email').show(); }, function() { $('.socialActionsTop .bubble.email').hide(); } ); $('.socialActionsTop .pageActions .print-page').hover( function() { $('.socialActionsTop .bubble.print').show(); }, function() { $('.socialActionsTop .bubble.print').hide(); } ); }); By

When Bruce Springsteen performed at the Ahmanson Theater in Los Angeles on May 1st, 1973, he was still largely unknown to the public. His debut LP Greetings From Asbury Park, N.J. hit shelves that January amid a flurry of "new Dylan" hype, but it failed to make much of an impact on the charts. CBS still believed he had huge potential, and that May they booked him at their "Week To Remember" Los Angeles concert series with many other artists on their roster. At this gig he opened up for New Riders of The Purple Sage and Dr. Hook & the Medicine Show – still riding high off the success of their recent hit "The Cover of the Rolling Stone." Springsteen and this then-nameless backing band didn't have time to perform their full set, but they made sure to break out their guaranteed show-stoppers "Spirit In The Night" and "Thundercrack." He also played a relatively new song called "Wild Billy's Circus Story," a tune he'd been tinkering with over the previous few months. Check out video of the performance above.

When Springsteen and the band got home from their California trip they began recording their second LP, The Wild, the Innocent & the E Street Shuffle. Bruce also decided it was time to expand the band, so he hired David Sancious to play keyboards. The newest member lived in Belmar, New Jersey, on E Street, which soon gave the band a long overdue name. His presence also created the organ/keyboard dynamic that's been a key part of the E Street sound these past 40 years.

Thankfully, CBS filmed the Los Angeles show in color so they could show some of the footage at their upcoming sales convention. It's a rare look at the original lineup of the group. They had another year of struggle in front of them, but everything was slowly coming together. 

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Watch Bruce Springsteen and Paul McCartney Perform 'I Saw Her Standing There' and 'Twist and Shout'

Watch Bruce Springsteen and Paul McCartney Perform 'I Saw Her Standing There' and 'Twist and Shout'London officials pull plug on historic performance as it goes past curfew $(document).ready(function() { $('.socialActionsTop .pageActions .email-content').hover( function() { $('.socialActionsTop .bubble.email').show(); }, function() { $('.socialActionsTop .bubble.email').hide(); } ); $('.socialActionsTop .pageActions .print-page').hover( function() { $('.socialActionsTop .bubble.print').show(); }, function() { $('.socialActionsTop .bubble.print').hide(); } ); }); By

Last night's stunning Bruce Springsteen & The E Street Band concert at London's Hyde Park featured surprise guest appearances by John Fogerty, Tom Morello and Paul McCartney, who joined the group for the final two encores of "I Saw Her Standing There" and "Twist and Shout."  The show could have kept going, but they were past curfew by that point and the officials actually pulled the plug.

"The cops got nothing more important to do?" Steve Van Zandt wrote in a series of enraged Tweets after the show. "How about they go catch some criminals instead of fucking with 80,000 people having a good time? English cops may be the only individuals left on earth that wouldn't want to hear one more from Bruce Springsteen and Paul McCartney! We break curfews in every country but only English cops needs to 'punish us' by not letting us leave until the entire crowd goes."

With a clear head in the morning, Van Zandt walked back some of his anger. "There's no grudges to be held," he wrote.  "Just feel bad for our great fans. Hard Rock is cool. Live Nation is cool. It's some City Council stupid rule. Very proud of our association with Hard Rock Calling and Hard Rock in general and what they're doing for Rock music."

You can watch a (somewhat shakey) video of the final two encores here. Now, a question for you Beatle fanatics out there. "Twist and Shout" was sung by John Lennon, and McCartney avoids most of those songs in his concerts. When was the last time he performed "Twist and Shout?" Was it actually in 1965? 

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Watch Bruce Springsteen and Paul McCartney Perform 'I Saw Her Standing There' and 'Twist and Shout'

Watch Bruce Springsteen and Paul McCartney Perform 'I Saw Her Standing There' and 'Twist and Shout'London officials pull plug on historic performance as it goes past curfew $(document).ready(function() { $('.socialActionsTop .pageActions .email-content').hover( function() { $('.socialActionsTop .bubble.email').show(); }, function() { $('.socialActionsTop .bubble.email').hide(); } ); $('.socialActionsTop .pageActions .print-page').hover( function() { $('.socialActionsTop .bubble.print').show(); }, function() { $('.socialActionsTop .bubble.print').hide(); } ); }); By

Last night's stunning Bruce Springsteen & The E Street Band concert at London's Hyde Park featured surprise guest appearances by John Fogerty, Tom Morello and Paul McCartney, who joined the group for the final two encores of "I Saw Her Standing There" and "Twist and Shout."  The show could have kept going, but they were past curfew by that point and the officials actually pulled the plug.

"The cops got nothing more important to do?" Steve Van Zandt wrote in a series of enraged Tweets after the show. "How about they go catch some criminals instead of fucking with 80,000 people having a good time? English cops may be the only individuals left on earth that wouldn't want to hear one more from Bruce Springsteen and Paul McCartney! We break curfews in every country but only English cops needs to 'punish us' by not letting us leave until the entire crowd goes."

With a clear head in the morning, Van Zandt walked back some of his anger. "There's no grudges to be held," he wrote.  "Just feel bad for our great fans. Hard Rock is cool. Live Nation is cool. It's some City Council stupid rule. Very proud of our association with Hard Rock Calling and Hard Rock in general and what they're doing for Rock music."

You can watch a (somewhat shakey) video of the final two encores here. Now, a question for you Beatle fanatics out there. "Twist and Shout" was sung by John Lennon, and McCartney avoids most of those songs in his concerts. When was the last time he performed "Twist and Shout?" Was it actually in 1965? 

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Bruce Springsteen Releases Dates For Fall Stadium Tour, New Video

Bruce Springsteen performs at Madison Square Garden in New York.Dimitrios Kambouris/Getty Images

Bruce Springsteen has released a video for "Death to My Hometown," and announced dates for an eight-city stadium tour for August and September. The tour kicks off August 18th at Boston's Gillette Stadium and wraps up after a three-night stand at New Jersey's MetLife Stadium on September 22nd. Tickets go on sale later this month.

The Wrecking Ball tour formally kicked off March 18th in Atlanta. "Generally speaking, in the first half of the tour we usually emphasize the new album," E Street Band guitarist Steve Van Zandt recently told Rolling Stone. "The second half of the tour tends to loosen up a bit, get a little bit more spontaneous, a little bit crazier." The group wraps up the first leg of the tour May 2nd in Newark before heading to Europe for most of the summer.

The new video for "Death to My Hometown" features live performances of the song (featuring Rage Against the Machine guitarist Tom Morello) taped at New York's Apollo Theater, South By Southwest and the tour kick-off in Atlanta. It is the second video released from Wrecking Ball, following "We Take Care Of Our Own."

Here are the tour dates for the next North American leg of the Wrecking Ball tour.

 August 18 – Boston, MA – Gillette Stadium (on sale 4.28)

 August 24 – Toronto, ON , Canada– Rogers Centre (on sale 4.20)

 August 26 – Moncton, NB, Canada – Magnetic Hill (on sale 4.21)

 August 29 – Vernon, NY – Vernon Downs Raceway (on sale 4.28)

 September 2 – Philadelphia, PA – Citizens Bank Park (on sale 4.21)

 September 7 – Chicago, IL – Wrigley Field (on sale 4.21)

 September 14 – Washington, DC – Nationals Park (on sale 4.27)

 September 19 – East Rutherford, NJ – MetLife Stadium (on sale 4.20)

 September 21 – East Rutherford, NJ – MetLife Stadium (on sale 4.20)

 September 22 – East Rutherford, NJ – MetLife Stadium (on sale 4.20)

To read the new issue of Rolling Stone online, plus the entire RS archive: Click Here

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Bruce Springsteen Releases Dates For Fall Stadium Tour, New Video

Bruce Springsteen performs at Madison Square Garden in New York.Dimitrios Kambouris/Getty Images

Bruce Springsteen has released a video for "Death to My Hometown," and announced dates for an eight-city stadium tour for August and September. The tour kicks off August 18th at Boston's Gillette Stadium and wraps up after a three-night stand at New Jersey's MetLife Stadium on September 22nd. Tickets go on sale later this month.

The Wrecking Ball tour formally kicked off March 18th in Atlanta. "Generally speaking, in the first half of the tour we usually emphasize the new album," E Street Band guitarist Steve Van Zandt recently told Rolling Stone. "The second half of the tour tends to loosen up a bit, get a little bit more spontaneous, a little bit crazier." The group wraps up the first leg of the tour May 2nd in Newark before heading to Europe for most of the summer.

The new video for "Death to My Hometown" features live performances of the song (featuring Rage Against the Machine guitarist Tom Morello) taped at New York's Apollo Theater, South By Southwest and the tour kick-off in Atlanta. It is the second video released from Wrecking Ball, following "We Take Care Of Our Own."

Here are the tour dates for the next North American leg of the Wrecking Ball tour.

 August 18 – Boston, MA – Gillette Stadium (on sale 4.28)

 August 24 – Toronto, ON , Canada– Rogers Centre (on sale 4.20)

 August 26 – Moncton, NB, Canada – Magnetic Hill (on sale 4.21)

 August 29 – Vernon, NY – Vernon Downs Raceway (on sale 4.28)

 September 2 – Philadelphia, PA – Citizens Bank Park (on sale 4.21)

 September 7 – Chicago, IL – Wrigley Field (on sale 4.21)

 September 14 – Washington, DC – Nationals Park (on sale 4.27)

 September 19 – East Rutherford, NJ – MetLife Stadium (on sale 4.20)

 September 21 – East Rutherford, NJ – MetLife Stadium (on sale 4.20)

 September 22 – East Rutherford, NJ – MetLife Stadium (on sale 4.20)

To read the new issue of Rolling Stone online, plus the entire RS archive: Click Here

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Exclusive: The Complete Text of Bruce Springsteen's SXSW Keynote Address

Bruce Springsteen delivers his keynote address at SXSW in Austin, Texas.

Bruce Springsteen delivered the keynote speech at South By Southwest earlier this month. The event was streamed live on NPR, but here is the exclusive full text:

Good morning! Why are we up so fucking early? How important can this speech be if we're giving it at noon? It can't be that important. Every decent musician in town is asleep, or they will be before I'm done with this thing, I guarantee you. I've got a bit of a mess up here.

When I was invited to do the keynote speech of this year's conference I was a little hesitant because the word keynote made me uncomfortable. It seemed to suggest that there was a key note to be struck that sums up whatever is going on out there in the streets.

Five days of bands, hundreds of venues from morning till night, and no one really hardly agrees on anything in pop anymore. There is no key note, I don't think. There is no unified theory of everything. You can ask Einstein. But you can pick any band, say KISS, and you can go, "Early Theatre Rock proponents, expressing the true raging hormones of youth" or "They suck!"

You can go, Phish, "Inheritors of the Grateful Dead's mantle, brilliant center of the true Alternative community," or "They suck." You go, "Bruce Springsteen, natural–born poetic genius off the streets of Monmouth County, hardest – hardest working – hardest working New Jerseyian in show business, voice of the common man, future of Rock and Roll!", or "He sucks. Get the fuck out of here!"

You could pick any band, and create your own equation. It's fun. There was even a recent book that focused on the Beatles and decided, you got it, they sucked. So really, instead of a keynote speech, I thought that perhaps this should be a key notes speech, or perhaps many keynote speakers. I exaggerate for effect, but only a little bit. So with that as my disclaimer, I move cautiously on.

Still, it's great to be in a town with ten thousand bands, or whatever…anybody know the actual number? Come on, a lot of them, right? Back in late sixty–four when I picked a guitar that would have seemed line some insane, teenage pipe dream,  because first of all, it would have been numerically impossible.  There just weren't that many guitars to go around in those days. They simply hadn't made that many yet. We would have all have to have been sharing.

Guitar players were rare. Mostly, music schooled bands were rare, and, until the Beatles hit, played primarily instrumental music. And there wasn't that much music to play. When I picked up the guitar, there was only ten years of Rock history to draw on. That would be, like, all of known Pop being only the music that you know that's occurred between 2002 and now.

The most groups in one place I had ever seen as a teenager was twenty bands at the Keyport Matawan Roller Dome in a battle to the death. So many styles were overlapping at that point in time that you would have a doo wop singing group with full pompadours and matching suits set up next to our band playing a garage version of Them's "Mystic Eyes," set up next to a full thirteen–piece soul show band. And still that's nothing minutely compared to what's going on, on the streets of Austin right now.

So, it's incredible to be back. I've had a lot of fun here in Austin since the '70s, and Jim Franklin and the Armadillo World Headquarters. It's fascinating to see what's become of the music that I've loved my whole life. Pop's become a new language, cultural force, social movement. Actually, a series of new languages, cultural forces, and social movements that have inspired and enlivened the second half of the twentieth century, and the dawning years of this one. I mean, who would have thought that there would have been a sax–playing president, or a soul–singing president, you know?

When we started, thirty years old for a Rock musician was unthinkable. Bill Halley kept his age a relative secret. So when Danny and the Juniors sang "Rock and Roll is Here to Stay," they didn't have a clue as to how terrifyingly, fucking right they were going to be. When I look out from my stage these days, I look into the eyes of three generations of people, and still popular music continues to provide its primary function as youth music, as a joyous argument–starter, and as a subject for long booze–filled nights of debate with Steve Van Zandt, over who reigns ultimately supreme.

There are so many sub–genres and fashions, two–tone, acid rock, alternative dance, alternative metal, alternative rock, art punk, art rock, avant garde metal, black metal, black and death metal, Christian metal, heavy metal, funk metal, bland metal, medieval metal, indie metal, melodic death metal, melodic black metal, metal core, hard core, electronic hard core, folk punk, folk rock, pop punk, Brit pop, grunge, sad core, surf music,  psychedelic rock,  punk rock, hip hop, rap rock, rap metal, Nintendo core, huh?

I just want to know what an Nintendo core is, myself. But rock noir, shock rock, skate punk, noise core, noise pop, noise rock, pagan rock, paisley underground, indy pop, indy rock, heartland rock, roots rock, samba rock, screamo–emo, shoe–gazing stoner rock, swamp pop, synth pop, rock against communism, garage rock, blues rock, death and roll, lo–fi, jangle pop, folk music. Just add neo– and post– to everything I said, and mention them all again. Yeah, and rock and roll.

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Exclusive: The Complete Text of Bruce Springsteen's SXSW Keynote Address

Bruce Springsteen delivers his keynote address at SXSW in Austin, Texas.

Bruce Springsteen delivered the keynote speech at South By Southwest earlier this month. The event was streamed live on NPR, but here is the exclusive full text:

Good morning! Why are we up so fucking early? How important can this speech be if we're giving it at noon? It can't be that important. Every decent musician in town is asleep, or they will be before I'm done with this thing, I guarantee you. I've got a bit of a mess up here.

When I was invited to do the keynote speech of this year's conference I was a little hesitant because the word keynote made me uncomfortable. It seemed to suggest that there was a key note to be struck that sums up whatever is going on out there in the streets.

Five days of bands, hundreds of venues from morning till night, and no one really hardly agrees on anything in pop anymore. There is no key note, I don't think. There is no unified theory of everything. You can ask Einstein. But you can pick any band, say KISS, and you can go, "Early Theatre Rock proponents, expressing the true raging hormones of youth" or "They suck!"

You can go, Phish, "Inheritors of the Grateful Dead's mantle, brilliant center of the true Alternative community," or "They suck." You go, "Bruce Springsteen, natural–born poetic genius off the streets of Monmouth County, hardest – hardest working – hardest working New Jerseyian in show business, voice of the common man, future of Rock and Roll!", or "He sucks. Get the fuck out of here!"

You could pick any band, and create your own equation. It's fun. There was even a recent book that focused on the Beatles and decided, you got it, they sucked. So really, instead of a keynote speech, I thought that perhaps this should be a key notes speech, or perhaps many keynote speakers. I exaggerate for effect, but only a little bit. So with that as my disclaimer, I move cautiously on.

Still, it's great to be in a town with ten thousand bands, or whatever…anybody know the actual number? Come on, a lot of them, right? Back in late sixty–four when I picked a guitar that would have seemed line some insane, teenage pipe dream,  because first of all, it would have been numerically impossible.  There just weren't that many guitars to go around in those days. They simply hadn't made that many yet. We would have all have to have been sharing.

Guitar players were rare. Mostly, music schooled bands were rare, and, until the Beatles hit, played primarily instrumental music. And there wasn't that much music to play. When I picked up the guitar, there was only ten years of Rock history to draw on. That would be, like, all of known Pop being only the music that you know that's occurred between 2002 and now.

The most groups in one place I had ever seen as a teenager was twenty bands at the Keyport Matawan Roller Dome in a battle to the death. So many styles were overlapping at that point in time that you would have a doo wop singing group with full pompadours and matching suits set up next to our band playing a garage version of Them's "Mystic Eyes," set up next to a full thirteen–piece soul show band. And still that's nothing minutely compared to what's going on, on the streets of Austin right now.

So, it's incredible to be back. I've had a lot of fun here in Austin since the '70s, and Jim Franklin and the Armadillo World Headquarters. It's fascinating to see what's become of the music that I've loved my whole life. Pop's become a new language, cultural force, social movement. Actually, a series of new languages, cultural forces, and social movements that have inspired and enlivened the second half of the twentieth century, and the dawning years of this one. I mean, who would have thought that there would have been a sax–playing president, or a soul–singing president, you know?

When we started, thirty years old for a Rock musician was unthinkable. Bill Halley kept his age a relative secret. So when Danny and the Juniors sang "Rock and Roll is Here to Stay," they didn't have a clue as to how terrifyingly, fucking right they were going to be. When I look out from my stage these days, I look into the eyes of three generations of people, and still popular music continues to provide its primary function as youth music, as a joyous argument–starter, and as a subject for long booze–filled nights of debate with Steve Van Zandt, over who reigns ultimately supreme.

There are so many sub–genres and fashions, two–tone, acid rock, alternative dance, alternative metal, alternative rock, art punk, art rock, avant garde metal, black metal, black and death metal, Christian metal, heavy metal, funk metal, bland metal, medieval metal, indie metal, melodic death metal, melodic black metal, metal core, hard core, electronic hard core, folk punk, folk rock, pop punk, Brit pop, grunge, sad core, surf music,  psychedelic rock,  punk rock, hip hop, rap rock, rap metal, Nintendo core, huh?

I just want to know what an Nintendo core is, myself. But rock noir, shock rock, skate punk, noise core, noise pop, noise rock, pagan rock, paisley underground, indy pop, indy rock, heartland rock, roots rock, samba rock, screamo–emo, shoe–gazing stoner rock, swamp pop, synth pop, rock against communism, garage rock, blues rock, death and roll, lo–fi, jangle pop, folk music. Just add neo– and post– to everything I said, and mention them all again. Yeah, and rock and roll.

To read the new issue of Rolling Stone online, plus the entire RS archive: Click Here

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Weekend Rock Question: What Is the Best Bruce Springsteen Album?

Bruce Springsteen just released Wrecking Ball, the 17th album of a career stretching back to 1973. Springsteen has been remarkably consistent over the years, continuously pushing his creative boundaries and surprising his audience with brave artistic risks.

Our question for you this week is: What is the best Bruce Springsteen album? You can choose any of his studio records, plus any of his five live albums, including the classic Live/1975-85 set.

Photos: Random Notes

You can vote here in the comments, on facebook.com/rollingstone or on Twitter using the #weekendrock hashtag.

To read the new issue of Rolling Stone online, plus the entire RS archive: Click Here

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Bruce Springsteen Brings It Home at SXSW

Bruce Springsteen performs during SXSW at ACL Live at Moody Theatre in Austin, Texas.Michael Buckner/Getty Images for SXSWAt the end of his SXSW keynote address on March 15th, Bruce Springsteen left the thousands of aspiring songwriters and performers congregated in Austin, Texas for the conference and festival with this message: "Young musicians, learn to bring it live and bring it home, night after night after night. Your audience will remember you."

Eight hours later, Springsteen hit the Austin City Limits stage at the Moody Theater with his newly expanded E Street Band and an epic demonstration of that advice in action. "We need the encouragement," Springsteen cracked, soaking in the adoring applause after "Thunder Road," nearly two hours into the set. "This is only our second show." There was no cause for worry. He and the band – now 16 strong, including the late Clarence Clemons' nephew Jake on saxophone – sounded ready to kill, thrill and elevate.

Woody's Birthday Party
A running theme at this year's SXSW is the 100th anniversary of Woody Guthrie's birth. Springsteen cited Guthrie as a profound influence in his address and stopped by a Guthrie panel discussion that afternoon. He kept the celebration going by opening this show with Guthrie's 1938 portrait of the migrant worker's life, "I Ain't Got No Home." Springsteen sang it like church – armed with robust gospel harmonizing – but played it like folk-punk, banging at his acoustic guitar like he had a grudge against the strings, while the brass section blew hard and bright over drummer Max Weinberg's marching-army snare rolls.

The set list echoed the manic whirl of despair and bravado on Springsteen's new record, Wrecking Ball. He followed the Guthrie song with the shaming challenge of "We Take Care of Our Own," the delirious confrontation of the album's title track, and a leap back to the murderous rage of "Badlands" on 1978's Darkness on the Edge of Town – a blunt suggestion that nothing has changed in the stories he writes, except the state of emergency. "It's alright!" Springsteen crowed later in "Tenth Avenue Freezeout." But he took the audience – the smallest he's played to in this city since he appeared at the Armadillo World Headquarters in 1974 – through a whiplash of highs and hells, trials and light, along the way.

The Wrecking Crew
Springsteen played eight of the eleven songs on Wrecking Ball, a record built with loops and overdubs then lathered with a dizzying turbulence of horns, choirs and hootenanny instrumentation. The stage treatments were at once faithful – Springsteen opened "We Are Alive" as he does on the record, alone, like a 1962 Bob Dylan – and dramatic in their deviations. Steven Van Zandt led the segue out of " I Ain't Got No Home" into "We Take Care of Our Own" with an extended rough-staccato guitar lick that sounded like he was scratching a key across a newly painted car door. The chain-gang gait of "Shackled and Drawn" came with percussion and a propulsion closer to the Rolling Stones' version of Buddy Holly's "Not Fade Away." During the driving mid-section of "Wrecking Ball," Springsteen bent over his Telecaster and strummed it like his right hand was a jackhammer.

"My City of Ruins," from The Rising, also got a striking overhaul – rearranged with contrary vigor as a full-blooded soul-revue descendant of the Impressions' "People Get Ready." "Are we missing anybody?" Springsteen asked, perched on the lip of the Moody Theater, holding his microphone over the crowd as if awaiting names. It was an obvious reference to absent comrades – Clemons, Danny Federici. You could also hear the big space Springsteen left in there for others – lost, forgotten and suffering in the America of "Jack of All Trades" and "Rocky Ground."

The Guest List
The set included two debuts for this tour: a muscled grind through "Seeds" and "The Ghost of Tom Joad," the latter featuring guitarist Tom Morello of Rage Against the Machine (who also reprised his breaks in Wrecking Ball's "Death of My Hometown" and "Jack of All Trades"). There was no encore. That would have been anticlimactic. After wrapping up the meat of the night with "Land of Hope and Dreams," Springsteen opened the floor to a parade of friends and idols, starting with reggae singer Jimmy Cliff. A contagiously cheerful presence all over Austin this week, Cliff sang "The Harder They Come" with warning-bell clarity and hit the high notes in "Many Rivers to Cross" with such dignified anguish that Springsteen hung back behind Cliff, in the shadows, reluctant to be a distraction.

During his keynote speech, Springsteen went on at great length about his love of the British R&B combo, the Animals, and especially their bantam singer, Eric Burdon. Springsteen even played a verse and change of the band's 1965 hit "We Gotta Get Out of This Place," confessing "That's every song I've ever written." Unbeknownst to Springsteen, Burdon was in town for SXSW, heard about the complement and hit the "Twitter-verse," as Springsteen put it in his introduction tonight. The inevitable result: Idol and disciple met on stage, to the sound of Garry Talent hammering that single's immortal bass lick.

The night ended as it began, with Woody Guthrie, as Springsteen led the audience through a sing-along of "This Land Is Your Land," abetted by Morello; Joe Ely (back after his appearance with Springsteen the previous evening at the Austin Music Hall); Win Butler, Will Butler and Régine Chassagne of Arcade Fire; and the concert's opening acts, Alejandro Escovedo and the Low Anthem. "I need to hear every voice in this hall," Springsteen demanded. And he got 'em.

Springsteen's tour formally opens in Atlanta on March 18th. But this was no warm-up. It was that lesson – bringing it live, bringing it home, every night – taught by a master.

To read the new issue of Rolling Stone online, plus the entire RS archive: Click Here

Amazon Music and MP3 Center

Read more »

Bruce Springsteen Delivers South By Southwest Keynote

Bruce Springsteen delivers his keynote address at SXSW in Austin, Texas.Michael Buckner/Getty Images for SXSW

Right before Bruce Springsteen took the stage at 12:30 p.m. CDT Thursday for his keynote speech at South By Southwest, a half-hour later than expected, conference co-founder Roland Swanson joked, "That's why they call him the boss."

As Springsteen himself later said, when referencing a Danny & The Juniors hit, "Rock & Roll Is Here To Stay," "They had no idea how terrifyingly fucking right they were."

Working the crowd like a master performer who's spent well more than half his life on stage, Springsteen delivered what a few audience members on the way out called the greatest keynote they'd ever seen.

Dressed in jeans and a button down shirt, holding his speech like your coolest professor, Springsteen began with a comment about the hour of the speech. "Good morning, why are we up so fucking early? How important can this speech be if we’re getting up at noon," he joked to loud laughter. "Every decent musician in town is asleep, or they will be before I’m done with this."

As Springsteen also demonstrated during his recent Jimmy Fallon performance of LMFAO's "I'm Sexy And I Know It," the guy has shown a deft sense of humor on stage for years, with his cheerfulness and wit being a big part of the revival feeling of the live shows.

He used that very well during the keynote, poking fun at the dissension among music fans by pointing out you can take any band and having the following disagreement: "Bruce Springsteen – natural born voice of the common man, the future of rock and roll," or, "He sucks."

But like his Rock and Roll Hall Of Fame induction speeches, Springsteen used the occasion to celebrate the music he loves and school everyone in the crowd on rock history, often tying it into his own music.

For example, he explained how the music of the Animals infused his own Darkness On The Edge Of Town. "Youngsters watch this one," he said, playing a riff from "Don't Let Be Misunderstood," then immediately following with "Badlands." "It’s the same fucking riff, man."

He found a guitar and played several snippets of songs, including "Backstreets." But his full version of "We Gotta Get Out Of This Place," eyes closed, guitar held almost straight in the air, was transfixing.

And afterwards he again broke the place up. "That’s every song I’ve ever written," he said, "I’m not kidding, that’s all of ‘em."

Most of his revelations, though, were in talking about other musicians. "Underrated, still underrated," he said of James Brown, then shared a story of being brought on stage with Brown, which he animated by mimicking running.

When he wrapped up at 1:30 p.m., he took a bow, waved to the crowd and walked off stage to a deserved standing ovation.

To read the new issue of Rolling Stone online, plus the entire RS archive: Click Here

Amazon Music and MP3 Center

Read more »

Bruce Springsteen Delivers South By Southwest Keynote

Bruce Springsteen delivers his keynote address at SXSW in Austin, Texas.Michael Buckner/Getty Images for SXSW

Right before Bruce Springsteen took the stage at 12:30 p.m. CDT Thursday for his keynote speech at South By Southwest, a half-hour later than expected, conference co-founder Roland Swanson joked, "That's why they call him the boss."

As Springsteen himself later said, when referencing a Danny & The Juniors hit, "Rock & Roll Is Here To Stay," "They had no idea how terrifyingly fucking right they were."

Working the crowd like a master performer who's spent well more than half his life on stage, Springsteen delivered what a few audience members on the way out called the greatest keynote they'd ever seen.

Dressed in jeans and a button down shirt, holding his speech like your coolest professor, Springsteen began with a comment about the hour of the speech. "Good morning, why are we up so fucking early? How important can this speech be if we’re getting up at noon," he joked to loud laughter. "Every decent musician in town is asleep, or they will be before I’m done with this."

As Springsteen also demonstrated during his recent Jimmy Fallon performance of LMFAO's "I'm Sexy And I Know It," the guy has shown a deft sense of humor on stage for years, with his cheerfulness and wit being a big part of the revival feeling of the live shows.

He used that very well during the keynote, poking fun at the dissension among music fans by pointing out you can take any band and having the following disagreement: "Bruce Springsteen – natural born voice of the common man, the future of rock and roll," or, "He sucks."

But like his Rock and Roll Hall Of Fame induction speeches, Springsteen used the occasion to celebrate the music he loves and school everyone in the crowd on rock history, often tying it into his own music.

For example, he explained how the music of the Animals infused his own Darkness On The Edge Of Town. "Youngsters watch this one," he said, playing a riff from "Don't Let Be Misunderstood," then immediately following with "Badlands." "It’s the same fucking riff, man."

He found a guitar and played several snippets of songs, including "Backstreets." But his full version of "We Gotta Get Out Of This Place," eyes closed, guitar held almost straight in the air, was transfixing.

And afterwards he again broke the place up. "That’s every song I’ve ever written," he said, "I’m not kidding, that’s all of ‘em."

Most of his revelations, though, were in talking about other musicians. "Underrated, still underrated," he said of James Brown, then shared a story of being brought on stage with Brown, which he animated by mimicking running.

When he wrapped up at 1:30 p.m., he took a bow, waved to the crowd and walked off stage to a deserved standing ovation.

To read the new issue of Rolling Stone online, plus the entire RS archive: Click Here

Amazon MP3 Download Center

Read more »

Bruce Springsteen Brings It Home at SXSW

Bruce Springsteen performs during SXSW at ACL Live at Moody Theatre in Austin, Texas.Michael Buckner/Getty Images for SXSWAt the end of his SXSW keynote address on March 15th, Bruce Springsteen left the thousands of aspiring songwriters and performers congregated in Austin, Texas for the conference and festival with this message: "Young musicians, learn to bring it live and bring it home, night after night after night. Your audience will remember you."

Eight hours later, Springsteen hit the Austin City Limits stage at the Moody Theater with his newly expanded E Street Band and an epic demonstration of that advice in action. "We need the encouragement," Springsteen cracked, soaking in the adoring applause after "Thunder Road," nearly two hours into the set. "This is only our second show." There was no cause for worry. He and the band – now 16 strong, including the late Clarence Clemons' nephew Jake on saxophone – sounded ready to kill, thrill and elevate.

Woody's Birthday Party
A running theme at this year's SXSW is the 100th anniversary of Woody Guthrie's birth. Springsteen cited Guthrie as a profound influence in his address and stopped by a Guthrie panel discussion that afternoon. He kept the celebration going by opening this show with Guthrie's 1938 portrait of the migrant worker's life, "I Ain't Got No Home." Springsteen sang it like church – armed with robust gospel harmonizing – but played it like folk-punk, banging at his acoustic guitar like he had a grudge against the strings, while the brass section blew hard and bright over drummer Max Weinberg's marching-army snare rolls.

The set list echoed the manic whirl of despair and bravado on Springsteen's new record, Wrecking Ball. He followed the Guthrie song with the shaming challenge of "We Take Care of Our Own," the delirious confrontation of the album's title track, and a leap back to the murderous rage of "Badlands" on 1978's Darkness on the Edge of Town – a blunt suggestion that nothing has changed in the stories he writes, except the state of emergency. "It's alright!" Springsteen crowed later in "Tenth Avenue Freezeout." But he took the audience – the smallest he's played to in this city since he appeared at the Armadillo World Headquarters in 1974 – through a whiplash of highs and hells, trials and light, along the way.

The Wrecking Crew
Springsteen played eight of the eleven songs on Wrecking Ball, a record built with loops and overdubs then lathered with a dizzying turbulence of horns, choirs and hootenanny instrumentation. The stage treatments were at once faithful – Springsteen opened "We Are Alive" as he does on the record, alone, like a 1962 Bob Dylan – and dramatic in their deviations. Steven Van Zandt led the segue out of " I Ain't Got No Home" into "We Take Care of Our Own" with an extended rough-staccato guitar lick that sounded like he was scratching a key across a newly painted car door. The chain-gang gait of "Shackled and Drawn" came with percussion and a propulsion closer to the Rolling Stones' version of Buddy Holly's "Not Fade Away." During the driving mid-section of "Wrecking Ball," Springsteen bent over his Telecaster and strummed it like his right hand was a jackhammer.

"My City of Ruins," from The Rising, also got a striking overhaul – rearranged with contrary vigor as a full-blooded soul-revue descendant of the Impressions' "People Get Ready." "Are we missing anybody?" Springsteen asked, perched on the lip of the Moody Theater, holding his microphone over the crowd as if awaiting names. It was an obvious reference to absent comrades – Clemons, Danny Federici. You could also hear the big space Springsteen left in there for others – lost, forgotten and suffering in the America of "Jack of All Trades" and "Rocky Ground."

The Guest List
The set included two debuts for this tour: a muscled grind through "Seeds" and "The Ghost of Tom Joad," the latter featuring guitarist Tom Morello of Rage Against the Machine (who also reprised his breaks in Wrecking Ball's "Death of My Hometown" and "Jack of All Trades"). There was no encore. That would have been anticlimactic. After wrapping up the meat of the night with "Land of Hope and Dreams," Springsteen opened the floor to a parade of friends and idols, starting with reggae singer Jimmy Cliff. A contagiously cheerful presence all over Austin this week, Cliff sang "The Harder They Come" with warning-bell clarity and hit the high notes in "Many Rivers to Cross" with such dignified anguish that Springsteen hung back behind Cliff, in the shadows, reluctant to be a distraction.

During his keynote speech, Springsteen went on at great length about his love of the British R&B combo, the Animals, and especially their bantam singer, Eric Burdon. Springsteen even played a verse and change of the band's 1965 hit "We Gotta Get Out of This Place," confessing "That's every song I've ever written." Unbeknownst to Springsteen, Burdon was in town for SXSW, heard about the complement and hit the "Twitter-verse," as Springsteen put it in his introduction tonight. The inevitable result: Idol and disciple met on stage, to the sound of Garry Talent hammering that single's immortal bass lick.

The night ended as it began, with Woody Guthrie, as Springsteen led the audience through a sing-along of "This Land Is Your Land," abetted by Morello; Joe Ely (back after his appearance with Springsteen the previous evening at the Austin Music Hall); Win Butler, Will Butler and Régine Chassagne of Arcade Fire; and the concert's opening acts, Alejandro Escovedo and the Low Anthem. "I need to hear every voice in this hall," Springsteen demanded. And he got 'em.

Springsteen's tour formally opens in Atlanta on March 18th. But this was no warm-up. It was that lesson – bringing it live, bringing it home, every night – taught by a master.

To read the new issue of Rolling Stone online, plus the entire RS archive: Click Here

Amazon MP3 Download Center

Read more »