dougs digs

once in a while you get shown the light in the strangest of places if you look at it right

4.26.2005

Come On Up For The Rising Tonight


"Talking about music is like talking about sex.
Can you describe it? Are you supposed to?"

Even though VH1 premiered Bruce Springsteens Storytellers concert just 3 days ago, I have already seen it 5 times. I can't begin to put into words how unbelievable this performance was. I am a recent (5+ years) convert of Bruce’s and have begun to realize Bruce is unbelievable; therefore most everything he does is unbelievable. His depth, insight, and nakedness are so magnetizing. If you have a DVR, TiVo, VCR or any other recording device this is a must to record and save for eternity.

Springsteen talked about his influences, his loves and his frequent references to religion. “You can't write without pulling this stuff out of you," he said at one point.

Of all of the songs captured on this footage, there are three that punched me in the chest like a cannonball.

One of course being the definitive, "The Rising". . . enough said. The other two songs are from his new album, "Devils & Dust", which came out today.

The title track, "Devils & Dust" is one that is permanently tattooed in my consciousness.

The title song was written at the point when the U.S. went into Iraq. "I got the power of life and death, but I don't know who to trust," he said, reciting the lyrics.

"The unspoken subtext of the lyrics rest on a regular guy caught in the cross hairs," he explained.

"How much of this was I thinking about when I wrote it?" Springsteen said after extensively explaining the "Devils & Dust" words. "None of it. How much of it was I feeling? All of it."

The other song that is also permanently tattooed into my consciousness is the compellingly tune, "Jesus Was an Only Son" which is built around Jesus and his relationship with his mother, Mary, as his death neared. Bruce said he wanted to write about the relationship between a parent and a child, and the desire to protect one's young.

I thought the explanation about the song and what was behind it, writing about Jesus as a son, from his mother's perspective, and how that relates to his feelings about his growing teenage sons was fantastic, given the role that the father-son dynamic has played as a theme and a catalyst in Bruce's work.

As one reviewer so eloquently described the performance . . .
" Springsteen's vision of the evening was beyond the usual scope of Storytellers, stretching out the night with not only candid stories but also Somerville-like line-by-line readings of his songs, stopping to explain his intent along the way. These ranged from enlightening to gut-busting to ambiguous; at times his explanations were more beguiling than the lyrics themselves. Even so, it felt as rare and entrancing as a magician slowing down his act to show you how a trick works -- and you still can't figure out how the hell he did it. "
|| doug, 20:22

1 Comments:

Funny... I thought "Devils and Dust" would be about vacuuming... Guess I was wrong. ;)
Blogger timsamoff, at 27/4/05 09:20  

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