Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band Break Out Classics and Fresh Tracks at Benefit Rehearsal Gig

Last night Bruce Springsteen and the E Street band played the first of three benefit rehearsal shows at Asbury Park's oceanfront Convention Hall. Springsteen, who took the stage around 8:30 PM in black jeans and a black T-shirt, welcomed the 3,000 lucky fans in attendance with, "We're going to run through some things, some new things, some old things. There may be some mistakes -- but I doubt it." The band played twenty-one songs in two hours, including "Born to Run," "Candy's Room," "No Surrender" and new single "Radio Nowhere," off Springsteen's newest album Magic, which hits stores next week. The Asbury Park shows (there's another one tonight followed by a third at New Jersey's Continental Airlines Arena on Friday) are a tradition for Springsteen, as he generally warms up for major tours in the New Jersey town that's served as inspiration for much of his work over the years; he and the E Street Band will embark upon their first tour together in four years October 2nd in Hartford, CT.

For photos of Springsteen and Co. in action last night, check out our photo gallery.

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Song Stories

“1999”

Prince | 1982

“I don’t consider myself a great poet,” Prince told Rolling Stone. “I just know I’m here to say what’s on my mind.” In the case of the apocalyptic party anthem “1999,” he was worried about then-president Ronald Reagan’s foreign policies. The song’s melody is based on a riff borrowed from the Mamas and Papas’ “Monday, Monday,” and Prince originally envisioned the first verse with three-part harmony but later split the vocals between himself and members of the Revolution. Because Warner Bros., with whom Prince was locked in a contractual battle, owned the original’s masters, Prince rerecorded the song and appropriately released that version in 1999.

More Song Stories entries »

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