Beck Cruises Through Catalog at 'Surprise' San Francisco Show

Misha Vladimirskiy/ http://butchershopcreative.com

Is a "surprise show" packed with several hundred people that much of a surprise? Not really, but that's how Beck's gig was billed at Bimbo's last night in San Francisco. In town for the massive Outside Lands festival in Golden Gate Park this weekend, the singer squeezed in a show here at the last minute, and tickets sold out after going on sale at noon with little warning.

The show was a semi-surprise, but for the most part, the set list was not. It's been four years since Beck's last album, and in the absence of new material, the 90-minute performance drew from songs spanning most of his career, from his 1994 breakthrough Mellow Gold to 2008's Modern Guilt. The mild surprise these days lies not so much in what he'll play as in what order he'll play it. Most of his concerts, including this one, make room for favorites like the set-opening "Black Tambourine," "Girl," "Where It's At" (with a brief puzzling keyboard riff quoting Fleetwood Mac's "Rhiannon") and "Think I'm in Love," even if he did tease things out by waiting until the first encore to unleash the inevitable "Loser" (and, refreshingly, refrained from doing "Devil's Haircut" at all).

Even the most offbeat offering, a barely recognizable thumping blues-rock cover of Bob Dylan's "Leopard Skin Pill Box Hat," found release in 2009 on the War Child Presents Heroes benefit compilation. A little oddness peeped out elsewhere as well, with "Bad Blood" (from a soundtrack album to the HBO True Blood series) receiving only its second live performance. Oddest of all, the band tried out Neil Young's "Barstool Blues"without even having rehearsed it, as they cheerfully admitted onstage.

But if the mostly younger-than-Beck crowd was impatient to hear evidence of more recent original material, they didn't show it. The crowd's mood was made merrier by clouds of marijuana smoke, the contact high reaching the stage when the band stumbled over lyrics on "Lost Cause" and had to start over (and then launched into the second verse). "Don't hold it against us if we're playing these a little slower than usual," advised the unruffled star, sporting a natty black hat as he delivered his catalog with calm assurance.

Misha Vladimirskiy/ http://butchershopcreative.com

While the five-man lineup Beck now fronts can't replicate all the sampling and miscellaneous special effects that give his studio work much of its exoticism, it also frees him to deliver a more straightforward sound unfettered by gimmickry. Few bands are as adept at combining rock and funk in equal measures, chest-thumping bass deftly supporting squealing rock guitar heroics. "Hotwax" mixed country blues (courtesy of Smokey Hormel's slide guitar), Steve Wonder and hip-hop without coming off as the forced genre-blender it would have sounded like in almost anyone else's hands.

And when Beck exchanged his electric guitar for an acoustic model for a sequence of rootsier songs in the middle of the evening, you almost wondered whether he might have missed his calling as a more sensitive country-blues-flavored singer-songwriter. He hit his most comfortable stride on the chorus of the most lilting of these, "Sunday Sun." Almost as if to make sure the crowd didn't get as comfortable as Beck, however, Hormel and bassist Justin Meldal-Johnsen concluded the song with some ear-piercing, amp-humping feedback.

Indeed, Meldal-Johnsen was more animated than the bandleader, leaping onto the drum riser at a couple points. Beck himself rarely strayed more than a few feet from his microphone. Only occasionally did he utter droll asides to the audience, enigmatically announcing, "We have come to tell you about the rhythms of . . . Glendale" before launching into the title cut from Modern Guilt. No comments were forthcoming on his just-announced December 2012 "album" Beck Hansen's Song Reader, featuring 20 songs and "existing only as individual pieces of sheet music, never before released or recorded." Perhaps actually playing them in concert might have been spoiling the fun, at least before those buying the album have the chance to play the tunes themselves.

Beck did have one more genuine surprise to unveil, however, before the evening was over. Barely had the second encore, "Mutherfuker," gotten off the ground before he brought it to a halt, finding it not "grooving" enough for a Thursday night San Francisco audience. Revving up their engines again, the band launched into a far faster and funkier version, somewhat along the lines of how Sly & the Family Stone might have played it. "Okay, that's enough dancing," Beck barked after a few minutes, ever the contrarian. "Stop!"

Misha Vladimirskiy/ http://butchershopcreative.com To read the new issue of Rolling Stone online, plus the entire RS archive: Click Here

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Beck Cruises Through Catalog at 'Surprise' San Francisco Show

Misha Vladimirskiy/ http://butchershopcreative.com

Is a "surprise show" packed with several hundred people that much of a surprise? Not really, but that's how Beck's gig was billed at Bimbo's last night in San Francisco. In town for the massive Outside Lands festival in Golden Gate Park this weekend, the singer squeezed in a show here at the last minute, and tickets sold out after going on sale at noon with little warning.

The show was a semi-surprise, but for the most part, the set list was not. It's been four years since Beck's last album, and in the absence of new material, the 90-minute performance drew from songs spanning most of his career, from his 1994 breakthrough Mellow Gold to 2008's Modern Guilt. The mild surprise these days lies not so much in what he'll play as in what order he'll play it. Most of his concerts, including this one, make room for favorites like the set-opening "Black Tambourine," "Girl," "Where It's At" (with a brief puzzling keyboard riff quoting Fleetwood Mac's "Rhiannon") and "Think I'm in Love," even if he did tease things out by waiting until the first encore to unleash the inevitable "Loser" (and, refreshingly, refrained from doing "Devil's Haircut" at all).

Even the most offbeat offering, a barely recognizable thumping blues-rock cover of Bob Dylan's "Leopard Skin Pill Box Hat," found release in 2009 on the War Child Presents Heroes benefit compilation. A little oddness peeped out elsewhere as well, with "Bad Blood" (from a soundtrack album to the HBO True Blood series) receiving only its second live performance. Oddest of all, the band tried out Neil Young's "Barstool Blues"without even having rehearsed it, as they cheerfully admitted onstage.

But if the mostly younger-than-Beck crowd was impatient to hear evidence of more recent original material, they didn't show it. The crowd's mood was made merrier by clouds of marijuana smoke, the contact high reaching the stage when the band stumbled over lyrics on "Lost Cause" and had to start over (and then launched into the second verse). "Don't hold it against us if we're playing these a little slower than usual," advised the unruffled star, sporting a natty black hat as he delivered his catalog with calm assurance.

Misha Vladimirskiy/ http://butchershopcreative.com

While the five-man lineup Beck now fronts can't replicate all the sampling and miscellaneous special effects that give his studio work much of its exoticism, it also frees him to deliver a more straightforward sound unfettered by gimmickry. Few bands are as adept at combining rock and funk in equal measures, chest-thumping bass deftly supporting squealing rock guitar heroics. "Hotwax" mixed country blues (courtesy of Smokey Hormel's slide guitar), Steve Wonder and hip-hop without coming off as the forced genre-blender it would have sounded like in almost anyone else's hands.

And when Beck exchanged his electric guitar for an acoustic model for a sequence of rootsier songs in the middle of the evening, you almost wondered whether he might have missed his calling as a more sensitive country-blues-flavored singer-songwriter. He hit his most comfortable stride on the chorus of the most lilting of these, "Sunday Sun." Almost as if to make sure the crowd didn't get as comfortable as Beck, however, Hormel and bassist Justin Meldal-Johnsen concluded the song with some ear-piercing, amp-humping feedback.

Indeed, Meldal-Johnsen was more animated than the bandleader, leaping onto the drum riser at a couple points. Beck himself rarely strayed more than a few feet from his microphone. Only occasionally did he utter droll asides to the audience, enigmatically announcing, "We have come to tell you about the rhythms of . . . Glendale" before launching into the title cut from Modern Guilt. No comments were forthcoming on his just-announced December 2012 "album" Beck Hansen's Song Reader, featuring 20 songs and "existing only as individual pieces of sheet music, never before released or recorded." Perhaps actually playing them in concert might have been spoiling the fun, at least before those buying the album have the chance to play the tunes themselves.

Beck did have one more genuine surprise to unveil, however, before the evening was over. Barely had the second encore, "Mutherfuker," gotten off the ground before he brought it to a halt, finding it not "grooving" enough for a Thursday night San Francisco audience. Revving up their engines again, the band launched into a far faster and funkier version, somewhat along the lines of how Sly & the Family Stone might have played it. "Okay, that's enough dancing," Beck barked after a few minutes, ever the contrarian. "Stop!"

Misha Vladimirskiy/ http://butchershopcreative.com To read the new issue of Rolling Stone online, plus the entire RS archive: Click Here

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Green Day Play New Songs at Surprise Gig

Green Day Play New Songs at Surprise GigBand performs 'Nuclear Family,' two other cuts at Echoplex in L.A. $(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

Green Day hit the stage at Echoplex in Los Angeles last night for a surprise set filled with cuts from their upcoming album trilogy, ¡UNO! ¡DOS! ¡TRÉ!, Green Day Authority reports. You can check out the pop-punk thrasher – laced with organ, no less – "Nuclear Family" above, along with two other new cuts: "Kill the DJ" and "Wild One." ¡UNO! is set for release September 25th, ¡DOS! will follow November 23rd and ¡TRÉ! is due January 15th, 2013.

"We're changing the guitar sound. We're not going with the big Marshall amp thing," frontman Billie Joe Armstrong recently told Rolling Stone about the trilogy. "We wanted something punchier, more power pop – somewhere between AC/DC and the early Beatles. . . . If you listen to it, it feels grand. But it also feels like a garage band."

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Green Day Play New Songs at Surprise Gig

Green Day Play New Songs at Surprise GigBand performs 'Nuclear Family,' two other cuts at Echoplex in L.A. $(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

Green Day hit the stage at Echoplex in Los Angeles last night for a surprise set filled with cuts from their upcoming album trilogy, ¡UNO! ¡DOS! ¡TRÉ!, Green Day Authority reports. You can check out the pop-punk thrasher – laced with organ, no less – "Nuclear Family" above, along with two other new cuts: "Kill the DJ" and "Wild One." ¡UNO! is set for release September 25th, ¡DOS! will follow November 23rd and ¡TRÉ! is due January 15th, 2013.

"We're changing the guitar sound. We're not going with the big Marshall amp thing," frontman Billie Joe Armstrong recently told Rolling Stone about the trilogy. "We wanted something punchier, more power pop – somewhere between AC/DC and the early Beatles. . . . If you listen to it, it feels grand. But it also feels like a garage band."

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Bruce Springsteen Makes Surprise Appearance at Austin Music Awards

Bruce Springsteen at a surprise appearance in New Jersey.Griffin Lotz for RollingStone.com

Bruce Springsteen opened his SXSW blitz a night early, making a surprise appearance on lead guitar and occasional vocals during Alejandro Escovedo's closing set at the 30th annual Austin Music Awards, at the Austin Music Hall on March 14th. "We need one more guitar player," Texas singer-songwriter Joe Ely declared after performing "The Highway Is My Home" with Escovedo and his band the Sensitive Boys. Springsteen – scheduled to own the town the next day, with a highly anticipated keynote speech and an evening concert with the E Street Band – walked on in a black-and-white checked shirt, with a modest grin, to a roar of delight from the audience. Ely immediately kicked into "The Midnight Train," a song by his Flatlanders bandmate Jimmie Dale Gilmore, with Springsteen taking a pair of meaty feedback-laden guitar solos.

Escovedo told a story about his own guest shot at a Springsteen gig, in Houston a couple of years ago, and "how it changed my life," before reprising the song the two played at that show, "Always a Friend," from Escovedo's 2010 album, Street Songs of Love. Ely, Escovedo and Springsteen then alternated verses and harmonized in the traditional pilgrim's song, "Goin' Down the Road Feeling Bad," with Springsteen firing dirty-metal lead-guitar breaks.

Springsteen was about to leave the stage when Escovedo called, "One more!", and brought out one of his earlier guests, New York singer-songwriter Garland Jeffreys, for a version of the Rolling Stones' "Beast of Burden." Jeffreys handled lead vocals, but Springsteen played tart fills, like a New Jersey-born Keith Richards, and took a howling turn in the song's signature litany: "Am I hard enough/Am I rough enough/Am I rich enough/I'm not to blind to see."

Reggae Meets Zeppelin
Springsteen was not the only superstar on the prowl. At a private party, under the stars at the Hotel St. Cecilia, reggae singer and Rock and Roll Hall of Famer Jimmy Cliff was introduced by ex-Led Zeppelin vocalist and current Austin resident Robert Plant. Before Cliff's set, the two reminisced in one of the hotel rooms about their first encounters in Britain, during one of Cliff's early tours there. Cliff's show was a magical, low-key affair: the singer on acoustic guitar, with a second guitarist and conga player, performing on a lawn, with bare-minimum lighting at their feet, as if they were seated at a fire in the Jamaican hills. Cliff, in undiminished voice, performed almost nothing but hits, including "The Harder They Come," "Many Rivers to Cross," Sitting in Limbo" and a repurposed version of his 1970 anti-war single "Vietnam," now titled "Afghanistan" with timely references to Syria, Libya, Israel and Iraq. Cliff also sang his opening track from the 1972 soundtrack, The Harder They Come, "You Can Get It If You Really Want," which could easily double as a new anthem for SXSW hopefuls. "You must try, try and try/Try and try," Cliff warned, before finishing the chorus with the good news: "You'll succeed at last."

The Doctor is In
Dr. John's current renaissance – fueled by his new album, Locked Down, produced by Dan Auerbach of the Black Keys – hit another high with his March 14th set at La Zona Rosa, during which he previewed much of that record's heated sticky gumbo – including "Locked Down," "Revolution" and the Afro-beat of "Ice Age" – with his road band. Dr. John also played guitar, a rarity, and reached back into his catalog for "Loop Garoo," from 1970's Remedies, and the acid-era voodoo of "I Walk on Guilded Splinters" on 1968's Gris-Gris. He finished with Professor Longhair's "Big Chief," notably playing it on organ instead of piano. It was a typical New Orleans finish, rendered with fresh relish.

SXSW has another three evenings to run, with thousands of acts appearing at more than 90 venues. But the first big night belonged to the veterans and experts. 

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

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Bruce Springsteen Makes Surprise Appearance at Austin Music Awards

Bruce Springsteen at a surprise appearance in New Jersey.Griffin Lotz for RollingStone.com

Bruce Springsteen opened his SXSW blitz a night early, making a surprise appearance on lead guitar and occasional vocals during Alejandro Escovedo's closing set at the 30th annual Austin Music Awards, at the Austin Music Hall on March 14th. "We need one more guitar player," Texas singer-songwriter Joe Ely declared after performing "The Highway Is My Home" with Escovedo and his band the Sensitive Boys. Springsteen – scheduled to own the town the next day, with a highly anticipated keynote speech and an evening concert with the E Street Band – walked on in a black-and-white checked shirt, with a modest grin, to a roar of delight from the audience. Ely immediately kicked into "The Midnight Train," a song by his Flatlanders bandmate Jimmie Dale Gilmore, with Springsteen taking a pair of meaty feedback-laden guitar solos.

Escovedo told a story about his own guest shot at a Springsteen gig, in Houston a couple of years ago, and "how it changed my life," before reprising the song the two played at that show, "Always a Friend," from Escovedo's 2010 album, Street Songs of Love. Ely, Escovedo and Springsteen then alternated verses and harmonized in the traditional pilgrim's song, "Goin' Down the Road Feeling Bad," with Springsteen firing dirty-metal lead-guitar breaks.

Springsteen was about to leave the stage when Escovedo called, "One more!", and brought out one of his earlier guests, New York singer-songwriter Garland Jeffreys, for a version of the Rolling Stones' "Beast of Burden." Jeffreys handled lead vocals, but Springsteen played tart fills, like a New Jersey-born Keith Richards, and took a howling turn in the song's signature litany: "Am I hard enough/Am I rough enough/Am I rich enough/I'm not to blind to see."

Reggae Meets Zeppelin
Springsteen was not the only superstar on the prowl. At a private party, under the stars at the Hotel St. Cecilia, reggae singer and Rock and Roll Hall of Famer Jimmy Cliff was introduced by ex-Led Zeppelin vocalist and current Austin resident Robert Plant. Before Cliff's set, the two reminisced in one of the hotel rooms about their first encounters in Britain, during one of Cliff's early tours there. Cliff's show was a magical, low-key affair: the singer on acoustic guitar, with a second guitarist and conga player, performing on a lawn, with bare-minimum lighting at their feet, as if they were seated at a fire in the Jamaican hills. Cliff, in undiminished voice, performed almost nothing but hits, including "The Harder They Come," "Many Rivers to Cross," Sitting in Limbo" and a repurposed version of his 1970 anti-war single "Vietnam," now titled "Afghanistan" with timely references to Syria, Libya, Israel and Iraq. Cliff also sang his opening track from the 1972 soundtrack, The Harder They Come, "You Can Get It If You Really Want," which could easily double as a new anthem for SXSW hopefuls. "You must try, try and try/Try and try," Cliff warned, before finishing the chorus with the good news: "You'll succeed at last."

The Doctor is In
Dr. John's current renaissance – fueled by his new album, Locked Down, produced by Dan Auerbach of the Black Keys – hit another high with his March 14th set at La Zona Rosa, during which he previewed much of that record's heated sticky gumbo – including "Locked Down," "Revolution" and the Afro-beat of "Ice Age" – with his road band. Dr. John also played guitar, a rarity, and reached back into his catalog for "Loop Garoo," from 1970's Remedies, and the acid-era voodoo of "I Walk on Guilded Splinters" on 1968's Gris-Gris. He finished with Professor Longhair's "Big Chief," notably playing it on organ instead of piano. It was a typical New Orleans finish, rendered with fresh relish.

SXSW has another three evenings to run, with thousands of acts appearing at more than 90 venues. But the first big night belonged to the veterans and experts. 

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

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Read more »

Bruce Springsteen Makes a Surprise Appearance at New Jersey Fundraiser

Bruce Springsteen with Tony Amato from Boccigalupe and The Bad Boys in Asbury Park.

Bruce Springsteen took the stage at a small club in Asbury Park for a surprise appearance on Saturday night.

The Press Room was holding a fundraiser for the family of Springsteen's longtime personal trainer, Tony Strollo, who died earlier this month at the age of 40. When Strollo's brother, singer-songwriter Michael Strollo performed at the event, Springsteen played backup acoustic guitar behind him for several songs.

Springsteen then played a six-song set, including "Rosalita," "Soul Man," "634-5789," "Detroit Medley," "Hold On, I'm Coming" and "10th Avenue Freezeout." He was backed by event headliners Boccigalupe and the Bad Boys, a Jersey-based band that Springsteen has often played with. 

Reporting by Griffin Lotz

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

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Bruce Springsteen Makes a Surprise Appearance at New Jersey Fundraiser

Bruce Springsteen with Tony Amato from Boccigalupe and The Bad Boys in Asbury Park.

Bruce Springsteen took the stage at a small club in Asbury Park for a surprise appearance on Saturday night.

The Press Room was holding a fundraiser for the family of Springsteen's longtime personal trainer, Tony Strollo, who died earlier this month at the age of 40. When Strollo's brother, singer-songwriter Michael Strollo performed at the event, Springsteen played backup acoustic guitar behind him for several songs.

Springsteen then played a six-song set, including "Rosalita," "Soul Man," "634-5789," "Detroit Medley," "Hold On, I'm Coming" and "10th Avenue Freezeout." He was backed by event headliners Boccigalupe and the Bad Boys, a Jersey-based band that Springsteen has often played with. 

Reporting by Griffin Lotz

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

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Bruce Springsteen Plays Surprise Set at New Jersey Benefit Concert

Bruce Springsteen performs during the Light of Day Concert Series at the Paramount Theatre in Asbury Park, New Jersey.

To someone passing by the Paramount Theater in Asbury Park last night, the sight of fans standing in the freezing cold, desperately pleading with complete strangers for extra tickets probably seemed a little odd. After all, the biggest names on the bill for the Light of Day Parkinson's benefit were David Bromberg, Garland Jeffreys and Southside Johnny. They'd probably be even more shocked to learn that the face value of tickets ranged from $47 to $381, and the show sold out in seconds. 

The vintage Bruce Springsteen shirts that some of the fans were wearing would be a good clue as to what was going on. Anyone who lives in New Jersey knows that anytime any artist plays anywhere near Asbury Park rumors start flying that Bruce might show up. Usually he doesn't - but the Light of Day is a different story. He's been to nearly every one since the benefit shows began in 2000, and since the concerts got upgraded from tiny clubs to the Paramount Theater a few years ago, Springsteen's presence has pretty much been a guarantee. Some fans actually travel in from Europe for the show. I imagine that they did not leave disappointed. 

The night began with sets by local acts RockNRoll Chorus and Lisa Bouchelle, though I didn't get to my seat until shortly before Joe D'Urso & Stone Caravan began to play around 7:45 PM. Like many acts on the bill, D'Urso is a regional artist with a long history of playing on the Jersey Shore, but not a lot of national recognition. His energetic set featured his original composition "Noisy Guitars," which he mashed up with The Ramones' "I Wanna Be Sedated." He wrapped it up with a lovely rendition of the Steve Van Zandt-penned "All I Needed Was You," which Southside Johnny recorded on his 1991 disc Better Days. 

Next up was Garland Jeffreys, a New York songwriter who cut a series of acclaimed albums in the 1970s, but never moved beyond a cult audience. His set focused on material from his new LP The King of In Between, though at the end he did break out a great cover of "96 Tears" by Question Mark & The Mysterians. "I have a special guest in from the country," Jeffreys said shortly before wrapping up his thirty minute set. "I'd like to invite him onstage…Mr. Bruce Springsteen!" The crowd instantly jumped from their seats like they'd been electrocuted, and out came a ludicrous number of cellphone cameras. Springsteen added some tasty guitar licks to Jeffreys' most famous song "Wild In The Streets," which was memorably covered by the Circle Jerks in the early 1980s. You could feel the collective sigh of relief from everyone who dropped $381 on a ticket with the (well-placed) hope that Springsteen was going to show up.

John Eddie - yet another longtime Jersey Shore rocker who never quite made it big - had the difficult task of following that up. Eddie started in the 1980s recording Springsteen-like songs (even working with the E Street Band at the behest of his label), but his recent work has shifted more toward country rock. Kid Rock covered his song "Lowlife" on his mega-hit album Rock N Roll Jesus in 2007. "For the first time in my life, my rent was paid on time," Eddie said to the crowd before playing his own rendition of the tune. Eddie deserved that windfall. He's a great performer, and his ode to alcohol "I'm Gonna Drink You Pretty" had the entire crowd laughing and singing along.

Folk icon David Bromberg was originally billed as the headliner of the show, but after the schedule was laid out he wound up playing fourth to last. He had the challenge of doing a quiet acoustic set accompanied only by a poorly-amplified trombone player to a crowd growing increasingly impatient to see Springsteen come back out. He won them over with his incredible fingerpicking, and his mash-up of "Bring It With Me When You Come" with "Wooly Bully." 

After some filibustering by by the show's host, Vincent "Big Pussy" Pastore, the curtain lifted and Willie Nile and his band began a blistering set. At the risk of sounding repetitive, Nile is another critically acclaimed New York rocker who released a series of well-regarded albums in the early 1980s but never managed to reach a wide audience. His original song "Cell Phones Ringing In The Pockets of the Dead" and a great punk medley of "Blitzkrieg Bop/California Sun/Sheena Is A Punk Rocker" had the entire crowd on their feet, and just when they were about to sit down, his close friend Bruce Springsteen came out to play guitar and sing background vocals on the Nile-original "One Guitar." Nile often comes onstage at the end of Springsteen concerts, so it was nice to see Bruce return the favor. 

Southside Johnny's new group Southside Johnny And The Poor Fools were a late addition to the bill. Featuring E Street Band violinist Soozie Tyrell, the group performs stripped-down, acoustic versions of songs from Southside Johnny's vast catalog. Classics like "Love On The Wrong Side Of Town," "This Time It's For Real" and "I Don't Want To Go Home" have been performed countless times in Asbury Park, but they never sounded this quiet and mournful. Tyrell took over on vocals for a cover of the Lucinda Williams tune "Can't Let Go," and they wrapped up with "Trapped Again." Springsteen co-wrote that song, but he stayed backstage during the entire set by his good buddy. Maybe Southside wanted to showcase his new band without the whole thing being overshadowed by Bruce.

The curtain rose for the final act of the night to reveal Bruce Springsteen standing alone with an acoustic guitar. For only the second time in his career, he played "Incident On 57th Street" solo acoustic. A wonderful moment like that often gets swallowed up in a giant arena, but in a tiny theater it was absolutely spellbinding. The crowd sang along to every word, and was clearly savoring every moment of the long, beautiful song. Bruce then went back into the wings and gave the stage to Joe Grushecky and the Houserockers. Joe's story is very different from many of the previous night's performers. Yes, he released a series of beloved albums in the early 1980s and was pegged as the "next big thing," only to get dropped from his label and fade into obscurity. Yes, he's a friend of Bruce Springsteen. But he's not from New York or New Jersey. He's from Pittsburgh. (For more on Grushecky, check out this article.)

After bringing out David Bromberg for a blues number, Grushecky kicked off his set with "East Carson Street." It's a wonderfully powerful song that explains why he never left Pittsburgh. "Please understand," he sang. "The roots they run deep. I can feel this town breathe. I can feel its heart beat…It's where I had my best times. Where I want to grow old." It's hard not to admire a guy who never gave up on his rock and roll dreams. He has a full-time job as a special education teacher in Pittsburgh, but he's out playing bars and clubs whenever his schedule allows. About twice a year, however, he gets to play with arguably the single biggest rock star in the country. 

The camera phones came back out when Springsteen walked onstage to join Grushecky and the Houserockers for "Darkness On The Edge of Town." This is the seventh time that Springsteen has performed with this group since the last E Street Band tour ended in late 2009, and by this point they have the routine down cold. Bruce and Joe take turns leading the band as they alternate between Springsteen classics and songs that Joe and Bruce wrote together in the 1990s. Special attention was played to Darkness On The Edge of Town, with the group breaking out "Adam Raised A Cain" and the recently resurrected outtake "Save My Love." 

The highlight of the entire set may have been the back to back Nebraska songs "Atlantic City" and "Johnny 99." Both are stark, depressing songs about men with "debts no honest man can pay" who are reduced to crime. But they played them both like party anthems, with Springsteen jumping on top of the drum riser, teasing the crowd with false endings and guitar solo after guitar solo. It was absolutely incredible. If the much-fabled electric Nebraska actually exists, they really should release that thing one day. The world needs a Bruce Springsteen Bootleg Series. 

Before kicking into "Because The Night," Bruce called Willie Nile, John Eddie and Garland Jeffreys back to the stage. By this point it was well past 1:00 AM and much of the crowd had been there since the show began at 6:30 PM. Nobody seemed to mind in the least, though there must have been some babysitters in New Jersey last night making a killing on overtime pay. Springsteen dove into the crowd to lead a sing-along on "Waiting On A Sunny Day," and after the Grusecky original "Pumping Iron," Max Weinberg ran onstage and took over on drums for the concert's theme song "Light of Day." Every performer from the night came out of the wings to sing along, and they stuck around for a chaotic "Promised Land." 

It was now 2:00 AM and that sure seemed like a closer, but Bruce called out for "Twist and Shout" that went for a predictably long time. Big Pussy got in on the fun, walking to the center of the stage and breaking out some dance moves. Even the Bruce hardcores seemed drained at this point, but Springsteen was still a beam of energy. Someone brought out a birthday cake for Light of Day founder (and Parkinson's sufferer) Bob Benjamin, and Bruce shared some hysterical memories of how he met Bob at the opening date of the Darkness On The Edge of Town tour in Buffalo in 1978. "I was stalking you," Benjamin admitted. 

The night ended with a sing-along version of "Thunder Road." Like at last year's Light of Day, the crowd managed to almost completely drown out Springsteen. I've heard the song countless times, but it always takes on a special meaning at events like this. The song may be about a man trying to flee a "town full of losers," but last night it was about that town coming together to battle a horrible disease and throw a giant party. It was Springsteen's first appearance of 2012, and hopefully the kick-off of a busy and productive year. 

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Bruce Springsteen Plays Surprise Set at New Jersey Benefit Concert

Bruce Springsteen performs during the Light of Day Concert Series at the Paramount Theatre in Asbury Park, New Jersey.

To someone passing by the Paramount Theater in Asbury Park last night, the sight of fans standing in the freezing cold, desperately pleading with complete strangers for extra tickets probably seemed a little odd. After all, the biggest names on the bill for the Light of Day Parkinson's benefit were David Bromberg, Garland Jeffreys and Southside Johnny. They'd probably be even more shocked to learn that the face value of tickets ranged from $47 to $381, and the show sold out in seconds. 

The vintage Bruce Springsteen shirts that some of the fans were wearing would be a good clue as to what was going on. Anyone who lives in New Jersey knows that anytime any artist plays anywhere near Asbury Park rumors start flying that Bruce might show up. Usually he doesn't - but the Light of Day is a different story. He's been to nearly every one since the benefit shows began in 2000, and since the concerts got upgraded from tiny clubs to the Paramount Theater a few years ago, Springsteen's presence has pretty much been a guarantee. Some fans actually travel in from Europe for the show. I imagine that they did not leave disappointed. 

The night began with sets by local acts RockNRoll Chorus and Lisa Bouchelle, though I didn't get to my seat until shortly before Joe D'Urso & Stone Caravan began to play around 7:45 PM. Like many acts on the bill, D'Urso is a regional artist with a long history of playing on the Jersey Shore, but not a lot of national recognition. His energetic set featured his original composition "Noisy Guitars," which he mashed up with The Ramones' "I Wanna Be Sedated." He wrapped it up with a lovely rendition of the Steve Van Zandt-penned "All I Needed Was You," which Southside Johnny recorded on his 1991 disc Better Days. 

Next up was Garland Jeffreys, a New York songwriter who cut a series of acclaimed albums in the 1970s, but never moved beyond a cult audience. His set focused on material from his new LP The King of In Between, though at the end he did break out a great cover of "96 Tears" by Question Mark & The Mysterians. "I have a special guest in from the country," Jeffreys said shortly before wrapping up his thirty minute set. "I'd like to invite him onstage…Mr. Bruce Springsteen!" The crowd instantly jumped from their seats like they'd been electrocuted, and out came a ludicrous number of cellphone cameras. Springsteen added some tasty guitar licks to Jeffreys' most famous song "Wild In The Streets," which was memorably covered by the Circle Jerks in the early 1980s. You could feel the collective sigh of relief from everyone who dropped $381 on a ticket with the (well-placed) hope that Springsteen was going to show up.

John Eddie - yet another longtime Jersey Shore rocker who never quite made it big - had the difficult task of following that up. Eddie started in the 1980s recording Springsteen-like songs (even working with the E Street Band at the behest of his label), but his recent work has shifted more toward country rock. Kid Rock covered his song "Lowlife" on his mega-hit album Rock N Roll Jesus in 2007. "For the first time in my life, my rent was paid on time," Eddie said to the crowd before playing his own rendition of the tune. Eddie deserved that windfall. He's a great performer, and his ode to alcohol "I'm Gonna Drink You Pretty" had the entire crowd laughing and singing along.

Folk icon David Bromberg was originally billed as the headliner of the show, but after the schedule was laid out he wound up playing fourth to last. He had the challenge of doing a quiet acoustic set accompanied only by a poorly-amplified trombone player to a crowd growing increasingly impatient to see Springsteen come back out. He won them over with his incredible fingerpicking, and his mash-up of "Bring It With Me When You Come" with "Wooly Bully." 

After some filibustering by by the show's host, Vincent "Big Pussy" Pastore, the curtain lifted and Willie Nile and his band began a blistering set. At the risk of sounding repetitive, Nile is another critically acclaimed New York rocker who released a series of well-regarded albums in the early 1980s but never managed to reach a wide audience. His original song "Cell Phones Ringing In The Pockets of the Dead" and a great punk medley of "Blitzkrieg Bop/California Sun/Sheena Is A Punk Rocker" had the entire crowd on their feet, and just when they were about to sit down, his close friend Bruce Springsteen came out to play guitar and sing background vocals on the Nile-original "One Guitar." Nile often comes onstage at the end of Springsteen concerts, so it was nice to see Bruce return the favor. 

Southside Johnny's new group Southside Johnny And The Poor Fools were a late addition to the bill. Featuring E Street Band violinist Soozie Tyrell, the group performs stripped-down, acoustic versions of songs from Southside Johnny's vast catalog. Classics like "Love On The Wrong Side Of Town," "This Time It's For Real" and "I Don't Want To Go Home" have been performed countless times in Asbury Park, but they never sounded this quiet and mournful. Tyrell took over on vocals for a cover of the Lucinda Williams tune "Can't Let Go," and they wrapped up with "Trapped Again." Springsteen co-wrote that song, but he stayed backstage during the entire set by his good buddy. Maybe Southside wanted to showcase his new band without the whole thing being overshadowed by Bruce.

The curtain rose for the final act of the night to reveal Bruce Springsteen standing alone with an acoustic guitar. For only the second time in his career, he played "Incident On 57th Street" solo acoustic. A wonderful moment like that often gets swallowed up in a giant arena, but in a tiny theater it was absolutely spellbinding. The crowd sang along to every word, and was clearly savoring every moment of the long, beautiful song. Bruce then went back into the wings and gave the stage to Joe Grushecky and the Houserockers. Joe's story is very different from many of the previous night's performers. Yes, he released a series of beloved albums in the early 1980s and was pegged as the "next big thing," only to get dropped from his label and fade into obscurity. Yes, he's a friend of Bruce Springsteen. But he's not from New York or New Jersey. He's from Pittsburgh. (For more on Grushecky, check out this article.)

After bringing out David Bromberg for a blues number, Grushecky kicked off his set with "East Carson Street." It's a wonderfully powerful song that explains why he never left Pittsburgh. "Please understand," he sang. "The roots they run deep. I can feel this town breathe. I can feel its heart beat…It's where I had my best times. Where I want to grow old." It's hard not to admire a guy who never gave up on his rock and roll dreams. He has a full-time job as a special education teacher in Pittsburgh, but he's out playing bars and clubs whenever his schedule allows. About twice a year, however, he gets to play with arguably the single biggest rock star in the country. 

The camera phones came back out when Springsteen walked onstage to join Grushecky and the Houserockers for "Darkness On The Edge of Town." This is the seventh time that Springsteen has performed with this group since the last E Street Band tour ended in late 2009, and by this point they have the routine down cold. Bruce and Joe take turns leading the band as they alternate between Springsteen classics and songs that Joe and Bruce wrote together in the 1990s. Special attention was played to Darkness On The Edge of Town, with the group breaking out "Adam Raised A Cain" and the recently resurrected outtake "Save My Love." 

The highlight of the entire set may have been the back to back Nebraska songs "Atlantic City" and "Johnny 99." Both are stark, depressing songs about men with "debts no honest man can pay" who are reduced to crime. But they played them both like party anthems, with Springsteen jumping on top of the drum riser, teasing the crowd with false endings and guitar solo after guitar solo. It was absolutely incredible. If the much-fabled electric Nebraska actually exists, they really should release that thing one day. The world needs a Bruce Springsteen Bootleg Series. 

Before kicking into "Because The Night," Bruce called Willie Nile, John Eddie and Garland Jeffreys back to the stage. By this point it was well past 1:00 AM and much of the crowd had been there since the show began at 6:30 PM. Nobody seemed to mind in the least, though there must have been some babysitters in New Jersey last night making a killing on overtime pay. Springsteen dove into the crowd to lead a sing-along on "Waiting On A Sunny Day," and after the Grusecky original "Pumping Iron," Max Weinberg ran onstage and took over on drums for the concert's theme song "Light of Day." Every performer from the night came out of the wings to sing along, and they stuck around for a chaotic "Promised Land." 

It was now 2:00 AM and that sure seemed like a closer, but Bruce called out for "Twist and Shout" that went for a predictably long time. Big Pussy got in on the fun, walking to the center of the stage and breaking out some dance moves. Even the Bruce hardcores seemed drained at this point, but Springsteen was still a beam of energy. Someone brought out a birthday cake for Light of Day founder (and Parkinson's sufferer) Bob Benjamin, and Bruce shared some hysterical memories of how he met Bob at the opening date of the Darkness On The Edge of Town tour in Buffalo in 1978. "I was stalking you," Benjamin admitted. 

The night ended with a sing-along version of "Thunder Road." Like at last year's Light of Day, the crowd managed to almost completely drown out Springsteen. I've heard the song countless times, but it always takes on a special meaning at events like this. The song may be about a man trying to flee a "town full of losers," but last night it was about that town coming together to battle a horrible disease and throw a giant party. It was Springsteen's first appearance of 2012, and hopefully the kick-off of a busy and productive year. 

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