Weekly Live Stash Vol. XXV, August 26, 2022

Every Friday at 5 pm ET, nugs.net founder Brad Serling hosts “The Weekly Live Stash” on nugs.net radio, SiriusXM channel 716. Tune in to hear his selections of the best new live music, and check out this week’s playlist below featuring soundboard recordings from Goose’s Red Rocks debut, John Mayer’s Rise for the River Benefit, Billy Strings, Gov’t Mule and more.

  1. The Empress of Organos
    Goose
    8/18/22 Morrison, CO
  2. Free
    Trey Anastasio
    8/19/22 New York, NY
  3. Buckets Of Rain
    John Mayer
    8/21/22 Livingston, MT
  4. Wise River
    Kitchen Dwellers
    8/8/22 Livingston, MT
  5. Keep On Growing
    Greensky Bluegrass (w/ The Wood Brothers)
    8/20/22 Raleigh, NC
  6. Rosa Lee McFall
    Billy Strings
    8/9/22 Bonner, MT
  7. Rent
    Pigeons Playing Ping Pong
    8/19/22 Thornville, OH
  8. Offshoot
    Pigeons Playing Ping Pong
    8/19/22 Thornville, OH
  9. The Catapillar
    Twiddle
    7/29/22 Westport, CT
  10. Come On Into My Kitchen / Gonna Send You Back To Georgia
    Gov’t Mule
    8/19/22 Fishers, IN
  11. Making Flippy Floppy
    Umphrey’s McGee (w/ The Disco Biscuits)
    8/21/22 Pelham, TN

Weekly Live Stash Vol. XXIV, August 19, 2022

Every Friday at 5 pm ET, nugs.net founder Brad Serling hosts “The Weekly Live Stash” on nugs.net radio, SiriusXM channel 716. Tune in to hear his selections of the best new live music, and check out this week’s playlist below featuring soundboard recordings from Widespread Panic, Jack White’s European tour, Greensky Bluegrass and more.

  1. Bird Song
    Widespread Panic
    8/13/22 Atlanta, GA
  2. A Tip From You To Me
    Jack White
    7/20/22 Paris, France
  3. All Along The Way
    Jack White
    7/20/22 Paris, France
  4. Atlas Dogs
    Goose
    8/13/22 Columbia, MD
  5. Chest Fever
    Eggy
    8/5/22 Woodstock, NY
  6. Beautifully Broken / Breakdown / Beautifully Broken
    Gov’t Mule
    8/13/22 New Haven, CT
  7. Dancing in the Dark
    Greensky Bluegrass
    8/13/22 Seaside Heights, NJ
  8. Atlantic City
    Greensky Bluegrass
    8/13/22 Seaside Heights, NJ
  9. Fluffhead
    Phish
    8/13/22 East Troy, WI

Goose: The Road To Red Rocks and Beyond

Goose’s journey from small-town venues to sold-out arenas may seem like it’s happened overnight but here at nugs.net it’s been a long time coming. The band’s rise to fame during the pandemic has clearly been rooted in modern day ‘taper’ culture, with sell out shows across the country throughout 2022 despite never having played most markets. From YouTube premieres to nightly soundboards on nugs.net, over the last 5 years Goose not only tapped into the jamband community but have made their mark as one of the industry’s most unique talents. Nearly 200 high-definition soundboards from Goose are streaming on-demand in the nugs.net app with shows that date back to 2018! In honor of their sold-out, debut & headlining performance at Red Rocks Amphitheatre, here are highlights from our favorite Goose moments on nugs.net.

02/02/18 Octave, Covington, KY

LISTEN NOW: February 2nd, 2018 Octave, Covington, KY
This show may be the first Goose soundboard on nugs.net but it packs a punch. At only 1 set and 8 songs – Madhuven, Wysteria Lane, Creatures, Crosseyed and Painless & So Ready all ring in over 10 minutes long! This venue capped at 200 people so if you got to witness this intimate but rockin’ show – good for you.

12/08/19 Old Town Pub, Steamboat Springs, CO

LISTEN NOW: December 8th, 2019 Old Town Pub, Steamboat Springs, CO
A two set show that features a Widespread Panic cover AND a Michelle Branch cover?! This setlist actually features tons of phenomenally executed covers making it an easily shareable soundboard, but also comes along with a great story of how Peter was rescued from a snow bank and consequently dedicated “Everywhere” by Michelle Branch to his rescue squad.

06/19/20 Goose Community Rec Center Night 1, Bingo Tour, CT

LISTEN NOW: June 19, 2020 Goose Community Rec Center – Bingo Tour
Goose may be one of the few bands that absolutely thrived during 2020. The band executed some epic livestreams & drive-ins that year but what brought them national news coverage was their conceptually unique ‘Bingo Tour’ in Summer 2020. Livestreaming from an undisclosed indoor location, the band had commentators, hosts and interactive digital bingo cards for viewers. Prompts such as “No Drums” or “20+ minute Jam” were pulled and magic was made. This show also marks the debut of Jeff Arevolo as Goose’s official percussionist & 2nd drummer.

07/09/21 Sculpture Park, Denver, CO

LISTEN NOW: July 9th, 2021 Sculpture Park, Denver, CO
The July 2021 Sculpture Park shows sold out quickly & marked the largest audience the band had played to at this point in their career – 5000 fans! Antics included a costume contest & getting their manager to play drums on stage.

06/25/22 Radio City Music Hall, New York, NY

LISTEN NOW: June 25, 2022 Radio City Music Hall, New York, NY
As if a sold out run at Radio City Music Hall wasn’t epic enough, jam-icon Trey Anastasio and indie-icon Father John Misty performed as special guests on the 6/25/22 show. Little did we know that this would soon lead to an ENTIRE TOUR of Trey Anastasio Band x Goose in Fall 2022!

WATCH NOW: August 18th, 2022 Red Rocks Amphitheatre, Morrison, CO
Check out Goose’s debut performance to a sold-out crowd at the legendary Red Rocks Amphitheatre! nugs.net subscribers can watch the full show on-demand for a limited time at nugs.net/goosestreams.

Want to catch Goose live? Check out upcoming tour dates here.

Chasing Ghosts With The White Stripes At Sloss Furnaces

LISTEN NOW: Sloss Furnaces, Birmingham, AL – July 30, 2007

By Ben Blackwell

The fact that the word “penultimate” exists exclusively as an adjective for next-to-last situations feels almost egregious. I mean, did we really need an eleven letter word to describe this scenario when a three-word combination totaling ten letters does the job just perfectly?

Because let’s face it…second-to-last things are kinda just whatever. All the penumbra and history and tall tales sprout effortlessly from every last whisper about the LAST of something, the finality, the never-again crushing darkness of an abyss of nothingness for the rest of eternity. 

So for me to roll in and tell you just how good the White Stripes were in their penultimate live show…I understand the urge to call bullshit. But honestly, truthfully, with all personal bias removed from shading of opinion here…this show is phenomenal.

Visits to an Original House of Pancakes, a record store and some antique shops all replay as relatively ordinary for daytime activities. If anything, my memory of the day sticks out as being oppressively hot. With afternoon highs in the 90s, temps at Sloss Furnaces – the supposedly haunted turn-of-the-century pig iron producing blast furnace turned concert venue – would hover into the 80s well into the Stripes performance that night. Factor in the crush of 2400 bodies crammed into the rudimentary shed-like structure with unforgiving open air walls and my recall of the event is overwhelmingly punctuated by the feel, smell and general annoyance of sweat.

Add in the decrepit, rusted, tetanus-y surroundings of the rest of the campus and the knowledge that the number of workers who died there was rumored to be in the hundreds, their falling or being pushed into the red hot fires of the furnaces only to be instantly incinerated and the unshakable pall that casts on a spot even some five decades after the last flames there were extinguished…needless to say it didn’t feel like an ordinary show by any means.

Opener Dan Sartain would play in front of the biggest hometown crowd of his career and the highlight for me (playing drums for him on this leg) was his inquiry to the crowd “So…how many genuine Alabama rednecks we got here tonight?” After a strong response from the crowd, Dan replied “Well, you made my life a living hell for 26 years. Thank you.”

Just…perfect in every way.

The show kicks off with “Dead Leaves And The Dirty Ground” and finds Jack taking liberties (for the better) in a song where he usually did not. The particularly gnarly first note of feedback curves into some choice guitar syncopations. As the most-frequent set opener across the band’s career, it feels odd that this would be the last time the Stripes ever started a show with “Dead Leaves” as their final gig would begin with a cover “Stop Breaking Down.”

“Icky Thump” rolls into the fray wildly. To hear the assembled crowd, without prompting, perfectly nail the patter of twelve “la’s” sung in rapid succession at the end of the second verse, all mere weeks after the song’s release…it is a great reminder as to how WIDE this record reached so quickly upon deployment. 

Leading into “When I Hear My Name” Jack, particularly chatty this evening, says “Meg and I knew we was Alabama bound!” and despite any hammy undertones, it ultimately comes off as sincere and heartfelt. Leading out from there, “Hotel Yorba” hits as particularly vivacious, Meg’s accompanying vocals both vivid and spot-on. 

Jack’s unusual beginning to “The Denial Twist” and the improvised divergent lyrics in the second verse, which seem to say “It’s the way you rock and roll!” leave the Stripes’ final performance of this song as striking. 

While the extended, elegiac intro to “Death Letter” stands strongly as a haunting slice of slide guitar, Jack’s improvised lyrics on the third verse delight. Similar to his moves earlier in “Dead Leaves”, taking a specific part of a song that, to my memory, was seldom if ever switched up, and reworking it on the spot, it all feels significant. Especially in light of the fact that the song would essentially run out of its evolutionary runway in another 24 hours. So for him to sing…

It looked like ten thousand

Women around my front porch

Didn’t know if I’d listen to ‘em

Or keep on lookin’ north

I’m just reminded of the fact that no song should ever be considered complete or finished or beyond reinterpretation. 

Acolytes of St. Francis of Assisi may be surprised to catch Jack’s in-the-moment name drop of Brother Sun, Sister Moon in the midst of an extended rant toward the end of “Do.” Though it may bear repeating that “Little Bird” and its “I wanna preach to birds” lyric is explicitly inspired by the 13th century saint, it should require no leap of faith to imagine the 1972 Franco Zeffirreli film depicting the life and times of Francis being viewed by Jack as a prepubescent altar boy. Eschewing his wealthy upbringing for a life of piety and monasticism, Francis would become patron saint of Italy, the first documented stigmatic and the creator of the first live nativity scene. If there’s a Catholic Hall of Fame, St. Francis of Assisi is definitely a first-ballot shoe-in.

Nuggets like Jack’s borderline goofy drunk introduction of Meg for “In The Cold, Cold Night” with “Miss Meg White takes center stage!” belies a truly stellar performance while brief, blink-and-you-missed-it riff inversions on both “Astro” and “Little Cream Soda” are delicious little surprises to revel in. And I’ll be damned if the organ-driven take on “I Want To Be The Boy To Warm Your Mother’s Heart” is a welcome reminder that every last live version of this song is worth listening to. It never fails disappoints, it always satisfies.

But the juiciest plum in this set is the unexpected, abrupt abandonment of “Seven Nation Army” a mere ninety seconds into the song. When Jack says “I don’t know if we should play this song in America anymore…I guess it doesn’t translate well…lost something in the translation” he says so without knowing it’d be the last time that he and Meg ever played the song together.

I remember this happening that night, but at the time I never mentioned it or thought to bring it up.

But 15 years later I had to. 

So in an email with the subject line “dumb white stripes question” I reached out to Jack for clarity on the situation. His response…

oh i think i was just joking because it had become such a soccer chant at the time and that europeans loved it “more” than americans for a minute there

and they weren’t singing any english lyrics just saying “po po po po” in Italy, so i was joking that americans didn’t understand the “foreign language” of “po po po po po po po”

That reads nicely. 

But I cannot help being reminded that in 2007 George W. Bush was still in office and folks were still wildly pissed about his mere existence AND the ongoing overseas US military boondoggles. That year would see a total of 904 American armed forces casualties in Iraq alone, the single highest yearly total in the entirety of said occupation.

So in Alabama, I dunno…a bunch of self-identifying, sweat-soaked rednecks chanting along…it had just the faintest twinge of jingoistic misappropriation originating from the crowd…that basso ostinato chopping along with the sinister Dorian mode overtone. It sounds ominous. “Army” is in the title. I mean, it’s not a stretch.

At the time I remember just having half the half-second thought along these confused political lines and then literally have not thought about it since. The only contemporaneous review I can find of the show, written by Andy Smith, attributes the scuttled “Seven Nation Army” as an effort to prevent “the righteous and violent rigor of the lyrics (to) be misinterpreted as condoning an unrighteous war.”

So even if we do take Jack at his word here (which I think we should), what he says his intention was, it’s worth noting that the perceived notion in the air that night, at least to some, was of an entirely different tone. These are the shortcomings of interpretation. They will never rectify themselves.

So for Jack to switch the opening “Ball and Biscuit” lyrics to be…

Yes I am the Third Man, woman

But I am also the seventh son

…to me it reads as almost stentorian “LET ME SPELL IT OUT FOR YOU”-level of painting a picture just perfectly clear in light of the supposed confusion or misinterpretation of anything earlier in the set. With gusto.

Yet the impromptu lyrics on “300 MPH Torrential Outpour Blues” are deadly…

There’s all kinds of emotions that a phone call ain’t gonna fix

You took me to the brink woman, took me everywhere I didn’t want to go but I went anyway        I never want you to question where I was headed, yes that’s where my head is nowadays

The complexity and grasp of human condition displayed in an off-the-top-of-the-head exclamation, deftly cramming all those syllables into precise meter and landing on the rhyming couplet, all while giving off the impression that the severity and pathos contained therein surely must’ve been labored over intensely for hours, days, weeks even…well, isn’t that just the way to knock us all over?

Ending with “Boll Weevil” just a short trip up I-65 from the actual boll weevil monument in Enterprise, Alabama, and some on-mic praise of Sartain is a perfect way to put that specific, local, “we know exactly where we are” stamp on the entire evening. When Jack implores the crowd to not go looking for any ghosts on the property after the show, you have half a mind to respect those wishes. 

We in the touring party would not respect those wishes. After the show, a bunch of us (including Meg, but not Jack) climbed the stairs, single-file, to a precarious perch overlooking the vast, murky stretches of the complex. From above the entirely insufficient artificial light dappled the tiniest spots and failed to make a dent in the existentially overpowering void. 

Even more dread-inducing was the spectre of a pitch-black decommissioned railroad tunnel. From entry to exit, the path we were led to couldn’t have been more than 200 yards at most. But I do not exaggerate when I say there was a complete absence of any outside illumination in this stretch. Pure, unadulterated emptiness. Cannot see your own hand in front of your face insanity. The shit that so many horror film plots are predicated on and has kept the night light business booming since the passing of the torch from candle to light bulb.

We got our hands on a single, meager flashlight, yet between the 8 of us (or so) that were on the endeavor…it felt wildy inadequate to the point of palpable, impending fear.

But there’s a funny little thing that happened within this little group of friends upon venturing into the ghastly, haunted space. We were all still buzzy from the after effects of such a stunning live concert in such unconventional environs. Simply put…we laughed our fucking asses off. Hysterically. The entire time. What took us maybe five minutes to traverse passed in seemingly five seconds. No one seemed like they could even be bothered with being scared. In the face of the uncertain, of the overwhelming chasm…one light and each other was all we needed to lead the way. To illuminate. To get us to the desired destination. 

In the end, we’re all just chasing ghosts, looking for something to get us through.

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Setlist
Dead Leaves and the Dirty Ground
I Think I Smell a Rat
Icky Thump
When I Hear My Name
Hotel Yorba
The Denial Twist
Death Letter
Do
I’m Slowly Turning Into You
In The Cold, Cold Night
I Want To Be The Boy To Warm Your Mother’s Heart
Seven Nation Army
Astro
Jack the Ripper
Encore Gap


Encore
Little Cream Soda
A Martyr For My Love For You
One More Cup of Coffee (Valley Below)
300 M.P.H. Torrential Outpour Blues
We’re Going To Be Friends
I Just Don’t Know What to Do With Myself
Ball and Biscuit / Cool Drink of Water Blues
Boll Weevil

Recap: The Black Keys at Red Rocks

by Jonathan Cohen

For most bands, the third show of a major tour is a time when they’re still finding their footing on stage, especially when its their first extended run of concerts in three years. Throw in a venue as formidable as Red Rocks Amphitheatre outside Denver, and you have the makings of an up-and-down night of live performance. But on July 13, these challenges were quickly overcome by The Black Keys during a 21-song set that hit all the high points of the Akron, Ohio-reared rock duo’s two-decade career.

The group’s 2022 tour ostensibly comes in support of its new album, “Dropout Boogie,” but on this night, only two songs were played from it. Instead, vocalist/guitarist Dan Auerbach and drummer Patrick Carney gave a major tip of the hat to their Mississippi hill country blues influences by covering songs by R.L. Burnside, Junior Kimbrough, John Lee Hooker, John Fahey and Richard Berry, many of which were included on their surprise 2021 release “Delta Kream.”

Those tunes were made all the more thrilling by the presence of guest guitarist Kenny Brown, who played with Burnside for years and is an acknowledged master of the slide guitar. “Definitely without a doubt there would be no Black Keys without this man here on guitar,” Auerbach said of Brown before the musicians launched into Hooker’s “Crawlin’ Kingsnake.” Indeed, an 18-year-old Auerbach once drove from Ohio to Mississippi to see his blues idols in person, and what he learned from them remains readily apparent in both his playing and singing to this day.

At Red Rocks, it could be heard during Keys tracks like the new album’s “It Ain’t Over,” which featured an excellent solo, and “Wild Child,” which delighted with its thick, screaming riffs. Show opener “I Got Mine” and the stomping “Your Touch” were also nice nods to the Keys’ early days emerging from an Akron basement and into a professional studio for the first time. They were also the oldest original songs on the set list, which omitted any non-covers from the Keys’ first three albums.

That left classics such as “Tighten Up,” “Howlin’ for You,” “Gold on the Ceiling” and “Lonely Boy” to carry the lion’s share of the show, which they did with aplomb thanks to backing by the Keys’ trusty touring band of keyboardist Ray Jacildo and guitarists/bassists Andy and Zach Gabbard. Encore opener “Little Black Submarine” offered a momentary change of pace from the down-and-dirty rock’n’roll, with Auerbach starting the song alone on acoustic guitar before the band kicked back in. The mournful “Ten Cent Pistol” also demonstrated the band’s well-honed dynamics, with Auerbach emoting under a lone spotlight prior to the tune’s final chorus.

Although the Keys traditionally play a similar set list from night to night, the group had something very special in its back pocket after “Little Black Submarine” when it paid tribute to close friend and collaborator Richard Swift, who died in 2018. With surprise guest Nathaniel Rateliff handling most of the vocals, the Keys covered Swift’s “Broken Finger Blues” for the first time ever (longtime Denver resident Rateliff also worked closely with Swift on his first two albums with The Night Sweats). The performance upped the emotional quotient of a show that had already rocked quite hard, proving that The Black Keys can hit you in the head just as well as the heart.

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Stream The Most Recent Drop of Exclusive Bruce Springsteen Shows

Start listening today with a free trial. The Live Bruce Springsteen catalog is available exclusively on nugs.net.

by Erik Flannigan, Bruce Springsteen Archivist

More classic Bruce Springsteen concerts come to nugs.net this August with the arrival of Long Branch, the third of five monthly drops bringing Bruce’s Live Archive catalog to the streaming platform. 

Long Branch adds 33 concerts circa 1980 to 2017, starting with six extraordinary nights on the 1980-81 River tour. These include Bruce and the E Street Band’s famed three-show stand at Nassau Coliseum in Uniondale, NY, culminating with a 38-song set on New Year’s Eve 12/31/80. From Summer ‘81, there are striking performances at Wembley Arena in London on June 5 and Brendan Byrne Arena in E. Rutherford, NJ on July 9.

Explore the Live Bruce Springsteen concert catalog

The Long Branch drop also showcases five gigs from 2009’s Working On A Dream tour, including three special sets that featured full-album performances of The Wild, The Innocent & The E Street Shuffle (Madison Square Garden 11/7/09), The River (MSG 11/8/09) and Greetings From Asbury Park, NJ (Buffalo 11/22/09). The 2012-13 Wrecking Ball tour is represented by eight concerts, including tour kickoff at the legendary Apollo Theater in Harlem, March 9, 2012; a birthday special at MetLife stadium September 22, 2012 (which didn’t end until the wee hours of September 23, Bruce’s actual birthday); and the Springsteen’s longest concert ever at Olympiastadion in Helsinki, Finland on July 31, 2012, which lasted over four hours. Long Branch wraps with Australia/New Zealand 2017, the E Street Band’s last 14 shows to date ahead of their return to arenas and stadiums in 2023.

Erik Flannigan’s Long Branch Compilation Album

  1. “Stolen Car” Nassau Coliseum, December 28, 1980
  2. “Point Blank” Nassau Coliseum, December 29, 1980
  3. “Night” Nassau Coliseum, December 31, 1980
  4. “Follow That Dream” Wembley Arena, June 5, 1981
  5. “Loose Ends” Wachovia Spectrum, October 20, 2009
  6. “New York City Serenade” Madison Square Garden, November 7, 2009
  7. “Restless Nights” HSBC Arena, November 22, 2009
  8. “The E Street Shuffle” Apollo Theater, March 9, 2012
  9. “Frankie” Ullevi, July 28, 2012
  10. “Be True” Olympiastadion, July 31, 2012
  11. “Secret Garden” First Direct Arena, July 24, 2013
  12. “My Love Will Not Let You Down” Perth Arena, January 25, 2017
  13. “This Hard Land” AAMI Park, February 4, 2017
  14. “Long Time Comin’” Brisbane Entertainment Centre, February 16, 2017
  15. “None But The Brave” Hope Estate Winery, February 18, 2017

Note: These concerts are only available to U.S. and Canada subscribers, and can be streamed now with a free trial to nugs.net.


Erik Flannigan is a music archivist, producer, author and manager. He has been writing about Bruce Springsteen’s live performances and recordings for more than 30 years.

Learn more about the previous exclusive Bruce Springsteen audio drops

For audiophiles, we also offer a HiFi tier that allows you to enjoy 24-bit MQA streaming, as well as select Springsteen recordings in immersive 360 Reality Audio. Start your free trial and delve in.

Weekly Live Stash Vol. XXIII, August 12, 2022

Every Friday at 5 pm ET, nugs.net founder Brad Serling hosts “The Weekly Live Stash” on nugs.net radio, SiriusXM channel 716. Tune in to hear his selections of the best new live music, and check out this week’s playlist below featuring soundboard recordings from Bobby Weir and John Mayer at the Rise for the River Benefit Show, Umphrey’s McGee at Salmonfest, Santana and more.

  1. Uncle John’s Band
    Bobby Weir and John Mayer
    8/8/22 Livingston, MT
  2. Dark Star / Smokestack Lightning
    Gov’t Mule
    8/9/22 Portland, ME
  3. Toussaint L’Overture
    Santana
    8/3/22 Noblesville, IN
  4. Porch
    Pearl Jam
    7/8/22 London, GB
  5. The Remedy
    Spafford
    8/6/22 Hamilton, OH
  6. All In Time
    Umphrey’s McGee
    8/7/22 Ninilchik, AK
  7. If You’re Ever In Oklahoma
    Yonder Mountain String Band
    7/24/22 North Plains, OR
  8. Stash
    Phish
    8/10/22 Toronto, ON

Weekly Live Stash Vol. XXII, August 5, 2022


Every Friday at 5 pm ET, nugs.net founder Brad Serling hosts “The Weekly Live Stash” on nugs.net radio, SiriusXM channel 716. Tune in to hear his selections of the best new live music, and check out this week’s playlist below featuring soundboard recordings from Joe Russo’s Almost Dead and Twiddle at High Sierra Music Festival, Gov’t Mule, Phish and more.

  1. Cortez The Killer
    Gov’t Mule (w/ Micah Nelson)
    7/31/22 Burgettstown, PA
  2. Mama Tried
    Hiss Golden Messenger
    2/25/22 Seattle, WA
  3. Stress Dreams
    Greensky Bluegrass
    7/31/22 Snohomish, WA
  4. I’d Probably Kill You
    Kitchen Dwellers (w/ Paul Hoffman)
    7/23/22 North Plains, OR
  5. Shakedown Street
    Joe Russo’s Almost Dead
    7/3/22 Quincy, CA
  6. Slippin’ In The Kitchen
    Twiddle
    7/2/22 Quincy, CA
  7. Isosceles
    Ghost Light
    7/22/22 North Plains, OR
  8. Free
    Phish
    8/2/22 Cuyahoga Falls, OH

Bruce Springsteen in East Rutherford, New Jersey, 8/19/1984

ARCHIVE RELEASE: Bruce Springsteen & the E Street Band, Brendan Byrne Arena, E. Rutherford, New Jersey, August 19, 1984

A Beacon Calling Me In The Night

by Erik Flannigan

As measured by cultural impact and mass popularity, Bruce Springsteen’s 1984-85 World Tour was the apex. Considering its stunning scale, playing multi-night stadium stands, it’s easy to forget that 1984 was a rebirth of sorts, the start of a new era as much as a continuation of what came before it. On the biggest tour of his career, Springsteen was rebuilding the engine while the plane was flying.

Synthesizers like the Yamaha CS-80 had been part of Springsteen’s sonic signature since The River tour, albeit in a subtle manner that was more about background tones and mood. With Born in the U.S.A., synths moved front of the mix (playing lead, so to speak) on the title track and the smash single “Dancing in the Dark.” Fun fact: Did you know a CS-80 tips the scales at over 200 pounds?

When the tour kicked off at the St. Paul Civic Center in June 1984, Springsteen hadn’t performed a proper concert in nearly three years, but he had released two new albums, including Nebraska, his first-ever solo and acoustic effort. How would those songs work on stage with the E Street Band?

There were moves on that Street too, with longtime foil Steven Van Zandt exiting stage left to pursue his own solo career. Nils Lofgren stepped in stage right to take his place, bringing fresh energy and new textures to the band’s already evolving sound, bolstered further by the addition of backing singer Patti Scialfa, restoring E Street’s gender diversity first established by violinist Suki Lahav in late 1974.

The Live Archive series already features the first two shows and the final night of Bruce and the band’s ten-show stand at Brendan Byrne Arena in New Jersey. With the addition of 8/19/84, the penultimate show of the run, we get perhaps our clearest picture yet of Springsteen flying live without a net when the stakes were highest.

While he doesn’t come in for praise as often as other band members given his position in the sonic landscape, Garry W. Tallent is the anchor of the E Street sound, and he stands out especially loud and proud in Jon Altschiller’s new multitrack mix of August 19. His playing is thicker than ever in “Born in the U.S.A,” especially the bridge before the final breakdown, and Garry and Max carry a powerful “Atlantic City” that’s as good as any captured on tape.

ARCHIVE RELEASE: Bruce Springsteen & the E Street Band, Brendan Byrne Arena, E. Rutherford, New Jersey, August 19, 1984

Bruce’s own guitar strumming in the opening verse of “Atlantic City” is crystalline crisp. His vocals here and throughout the night are in peak form, a model of power and total control. Tallent’s bass part in the song’s final verse and chorus is sinewy, moody, and, as always, flawless. There’s also fine work from Danny Federici on organ as Bruce sings, “Put on your stockings, babe, ’cause the night’s getting cold.” Lastly, Lofgren’s background vocals in the final chorus ring true just before Bruce yells, “Draw blood!” They crushed it.

The 8/19/84 Nebraska mini-set offers two other striking turns. “Reason to Believe” is the one track from this show featured on Live/1975-85, but it gains additional meaning heard here in context immediately after “Atlantic City” in a different mix that again spotlights Garry Tallent’s superb bass arrangement.

Then there’s “My Father’s House,” in only its second performance ever and one of but five on the entire tour. Bruce introduces the song with a short anecdote about sneaking through the woods at dusk, “and then I had to get home and get by my old man…Sometimes that was scarier.”

In what might be the vocal highlight of the entire show, Bruce sings “My Father’s House” with vivid frankness, backed by the sympathetic support of Tallent on bass, Lofgren on mandolin, Weinberg on brushes, and Bittan on synth. When Springsteen’s rich voice rises with the line, “It stands like a beacon, calling me in the night” you’ll feel the chills. The solo acoustic “My Father’s House” from the Christic benefit show performed in 1990 and released in the Live Archive series is excellent, but this rare band arrangement is stunning.

The rest of the first set remains true to form for the period, with a nice stretch of BIUSA songs coming out of the Nebraska trio and classics like “Badlands” and “Thunder Road”  leading into the break. It’s worth noting that 8/19/84 offers notable readings of “Darkness On the Edge of Town” in the first set and “Prove It All Night” in the second. Both benefit from Springsteen’s stirring vocals and guitar work, and, in Van Zandt’s absence, Lofgren steps up. You can feel him meshing with Bruce, resulting in refreshed performances of two Darkness stalwarts.

The second set is as good as the first, and momentum is building. After the playful trio of “Hungry Heart,” “Dancing in the Dark” and “Cadillac Ranch” coming out of intermission, Bruce taps the Miami Horns for the first time since 1977 on “Tenth Avenue Freeze-Out,” in a preview of their appearance on closing night 24 hours hence. The horns add much joy and vigor to the song, and while he was already having a good night, Clarence Clemons seems to take it up a notch, too.

A tender, solo “No Surrender” is next, then the aforementioned “Prove It All Night” and a stellar, crowd-pleasing version of “Fire.” The crowd certainly knows this one, singing along in full voice, and as good as the Big Man’s saxophone playing is, boy does his baritone voice sound sweet. He and Bruce milk “Fire” for all its worth. “Growin’ Up” keeps the sweetness and local landmarks flowing, complete with Jim the Dancing Bear (who wasn’t done for the night) and massive cheers for “Route 9” and “Toms River” in a tall tale about the early days of Bruce and Clarence on the shore.

Riding in on the emotional nostalgia of “Growin’ Up,”, “Bobby Jean” has heart to burn — and it resonates in a way it hasn’t consistently in recent times, as a standalone song in the encore. Bruce sings it as if Little Stevie were listening (maybe he was in the crowd that night, ahead of his appearance the next evening) and the Big Man lands the solo masterfully.

The set turns back to Darkness again for a pacey “Racing in the Street,” the coda for which is always a showcase for Bittan and Federici, with Bruce adding subtle guitar texture to their interplay. A long, loose “Rosalita” closes the set with extended and particularly funny band intros (e.g. “You may have read [Bittan’s] study of the lost tribes of Hoboken”), and this new model E Street Band is soaring — and most importantly, having fun doing it.

The encore moves from “Jungleland” (with Lofgren stepping up to fill one of Van Zandt’s best-known solos) to “Born to Run” (Federici’s glockenspiel rings out thrillingly) before the Miami Horns return to punctuate “Detroit Medley” and “Twist and Shout – Do You Love Me?” to cap the evening.

Nine nights into a homecoming stand for the ages, 8/19/84 captures Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band sounding different than ever before but every bit as good, their confidence rightly rising on the strength of outstanding performances by the individual players coalescing at the start of a new era.

Why Live Music Streaming is the Best Spotify Alternative

man in black leather jacket playing guitar

When we think about the future of music, it’s hard to imagine a world without Spotify. It is the most popular alternative to purchasing physical albums and using other platforms that could only offer so much access and quality.

The problem with Spotify is that it doesn’t actually allow you to connect with the artist. This can be a bit disappointing if you want to feel like they are singing just to you while also offering an intimate performance format. Live music streaming offers a remedy for the social disconnect many people suffer from when enjoying their favorite playlists on Spotify or other platforms.

Live music streaming allows you to listen in on some of the most talented musicians in the world as they play their hearts out in front of an audience. You can hear them improvise, experiment with different sounds and styles, and even talk about their creative process as they go along!

Live Music Streaming as a Remedy for Social Disconnect 

Live music streaming is a great way to connect with other people, especially if you don’t live near them. Not only do you get to hear the music you love, but live music streaming can help you build relationships with people who share your community values and musical taste.

No longer will being an introvert prevent you from attending a show; with live music streaming, you can still experience all the best parts of those events. Watching acts like The Rolling Stones perform in their heyday from the comfort of your home is a great way to experience a concert while being connected.

Same format as a live show

Live music streaming is a lot like a live show. It brings you closer to your favorite artists and allows them to connect with their fans, no matter how far away from each other they may be. With one platform, you have access to numerous artists who stream their shows on the same day as their performance. You can even see what songs are coming up next in their setlist so that you don’t miss anything important!

It brings you closer to your favorite artists

Live music streaming is the ultimate Spotify alternative because it brings you closer to your favorite artists. With live music streaming, you can interact with artists, ask questions, see them perform in real-time and in a more intimate setting.

Nothing beats the atmosphere of a live music performance. It’s something that you can’t get anywhere else, and it’s often what makes the difference between an average show and a great one. When we talk about the atmosphere of a concert, there are several things at play:

  • The sensation of being part of the audience
  • A sense of community
  • Excitement about being part of something special
  • A feeling of belonging to something bigger than yourself

Live music is more accessible than ever before. Since most virtual concerts are streamed online and don’t require a ticket purchase, anyone with an internet connection can tune in—no matter where they live or how much money they earn.

Enjoy improvisational styles the way they were meant to be

Live music streaming services are the best way to experience improvisational styles. One art form that many musicians have been practicing is improvisational. You’ll find it in many genres, including jam, jazz, and classical music. Live music streaming is the best Spotify alternative for anyone who loves improvisational styles and wants to hear improvisational music the way it was meant to be.

The beauty of live music is that it’s always evolving and changing, so you never know what you’ll get when you listen to it. You might hear a cover of your favorite song, or an entirely different take on something familiar. That’s why we think live music is so special. It’s spontaneous and unpredictable, which makes each performance totally new and exciting. And that’s why we think live music streaming is the best Spotify alternative!

Live music streaming is the ultimate Spotify alternative.

Live performances are intimate and interactive, allowing you to enjoy improvisational styles as they were meant to be. Live music streaming is a remedy for social disconnection in our modern world; it will enable you to connect with other people while enjoying an immersive experience that only exists in real life.

So, to sum it up: live music streaming is a fascinating and thrilling new way to experience music. We’re still in the early days of this emerging genre, but we can already see how it’s changing the landscape of music as we know it. The best thing about live streams is that they allow musicians to connect with their top fans and build more personal relationships, which can benefit everyone involved. So, if you’re looking for something new and exciting in your life (and you love music), then why not give live-streaming a try? You won’t regret it! Check out nugs.net for a complete list of live concert streams coming to a screen near you