Springsteen at Jazz Fest 2006

This is another post from my other blog altjiranga mitjina from last year. It also may seem to miss the point of this site, providing a place to promote those that needs promoting. Mr. Springsteen needs little in the help of promotion. But this site is called "Voices to hear" and while it is intended mainly to give those that need a push that push, we dont' want to ignore something just because it comes from a Big Name. Plus this post talks about why music is so important and what it can mean to us.

It's been almost a week since the end of last week's Jazz Fest. I'm sure most of you have heard about Springsteen's appearance at the Fest. In Springsteen lore there are tales of his legendary concerts: the appearance at Bottom Line where Jan Landau came up with the future of rock and roll quote, his first London show, and others. These are the shows that his fans talk and write about, the ones that every Springsteen fan wishes he had been present at. Now you can add another one to that list.

I've seen Springsteen a few times over the years and he always gives a good concert. He puts on a good show, he knows how to play to the crowd. He doesn't stint on his time, he puts it all out there for his fans to see. But no show by Springsteen that I've seen comes close to this show. In fact I'm trying real hard to think of any show that I've seen that can compare to this one.

I talked in a previous post about the importance of this Jazz Fest to the city of New Orleans. In this one concert Springsteen shows he understands what is important and delivers on it. I'm not a religious person and I have never gotten what such a person gets from going to church, until this show. This might be the closest I have come to finding my religion. I've always thought music was the closest I've come to following a religion and today I was in church.

Springsteen opened with a rocking version of "Mary, Don't You Weep" and continued with his versions of the songs off his newest cd "The Seeger Sessions." He added "What's A Poor Man To Do", a song originally wrote in 1929 after the crash of the banks that eventually lead to the Depression. He kept the first verse, but wrote his own second and third verses to fit the destruction and aftermath of Katrina. And he dedicated it to President Bystander.

But the most moving moment came during his own song, "City in Ruins." This song started with him alone on his guitar. As he sang the lyrics it was obvious that this song could have been written for New Orleans after Katrina. And than when the band kicked in with the chorus of "Rise UP!" Hands went in the air, waving back and forth. But many of these hands kept returning to faces, to wipe away the tears. I don't know if I've ever been moved to tears at a concert, but I found myself wiping my own eyes.

Springsteen ended with his version of "When the Saints Come Marching Home." He sang it almost as a hymn. It was one of the most beautiful versions of the song I have ever heard.

This concert went from joy to despair, from laughter to tears. Springsteen made the truth of the importance of the Jazz Fest on this day.

Will Hoge at Bonnaroo

This review originally appeared on my blog altrjiranga mitjina on July 1, 2005:


Most people have heard of the famous quote about Bruce Springsteen...."I have seen the future of rock and roll and its name is Bruce Springsteen." Now I'm not going to argue that point. But I will say that if there is a future for rock and roll it will be due to people like Will Hoge.

Will played what they called the cafe tents at Bonnaroo. These were small tents set up that sold beer or coffee. They had tables set up and probably held a hundred people if everyone was jammed together. From what I gather this was the first year they did this. The state of Tennessee was pushing Bonnaroo to feature more local acts. So Bonnaroo decided to use these cafe tents to showcase some of the local acts. Will is from Nashville and got the call to come play. He played two shows at the fest.

Will played the first show like his life depended on it. He played as if this was going to be the last show he ever played and decided to go out in a blaze of glory. This was the third time I've seen Will play and all times he's given a great show, but there was something about this one that was more intense. He played with an intensity that most performers never exhibit.

All the shows I saw at Bonnaroo were great, but Will played more with his soul and heart than almost anyone else there. (I have to say Joss Stone gave a soulful show also.) It's hard to decribe, but you know what it is when you've been to one of those shows. You can walk out of a show and think it's great, but than every now and than if you get lucky you walk out of a show and feel like you've been beat up, as exhausted as the singer, like the singer has taken your life and just looked inside it and told you secrets that you never imagined. That was what this show was.

Will knows his rock history. He dedicated Bye Bye Johnny to Johnnie Johnson, the pianist that played with Chuck Berry and helped shape the future of rock and roll. He always throws in a few covers that work great. My only complaint is that normally he ends his show with no instruments or backups at all. He steps away from the microphone and just sings, with nothing but his voice powering the lyrics. It's a great ending, this time he didn't. But it still was a great show.

The first time I saw Will he opened for John Hiatt, during John's acoustic tour. Will perfomed with just his guitar and no band. Normally opening acts aren't worth listening to, but he was great. After his show he stayed around selling copies of his cds and signing autographs and talking to anyone that wanted to talk.

Will and his band travel all over performing. They've released a couple cds, their newest one is a live cd. Go to WillHoge.com and check him out.

It's nice to know that there is still a future for rock and roll.