tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-196783402024-03-07T18:15:50.750-05:00Orel FamilyMatt Orelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16216172951304608707noreply@blogger.comBlogger305125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19678340.post-39674756672540486062023-10-30T17:23:00.002-04:002023-11-02T19:22:53.559-04:00The Wild, The Innocent and the E Street Shuffle at 50Bruce Springsteen with Robert Santelli, October 28, 2023On Saturday, The Bruce Springsteen Archives and Center for American Music held an all day symposium to celebrate the 50th Anniversary of Springsteen's 2nd album, "The Wild, The Innocent & The E Street Shuffle," at the Pollak Theater on the campus of Monmouth College. Previously this year, the Center held a successful event to Matt Orelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16216172951304608707noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19678340.post-86074800352298966902023-04-04T09:54:00.002-04:002023-04-05T13:10:40.105-04:00Springsteen & E Street Band: Brooklyn, April 3, 2023No Surrender. April 3, 2023It's been nearly 20 years since I've seen three consecutive Springsteen shows, and given the current dynamics of a) high prices and b) lack of shows near where I live, I'm unlikely to see 3 consecutive shows ever again. But there I was, last night, in the corner of the exalted GA pit at Brooklyn's Barclay's Arena, at my 3rd consecutive show, with my 5th family member.I Matt Orelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16216172951304608707noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19678340.post-39928874945064112722023-04-02T13:11:00.002-04:002023-04-05T13:06:24.638-04:00Springsteen & E Street Band: Madison Square Garden, April 1, 2023Bruce Springsteen salutes the crowd - April 1, 2023Inevitably, someone might ask me, approximately: "you just saw him in Detroit on Wednesday, why would you fly to New York to see more? Especially when it's so expensive?" As the hours slipped away on my weather-delayed flight yesterday, I could even entertain a rational point to those questions. Hell, just looking at a setlist that had Matt Orelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16216172951304608707noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19678340.post-62196949626509371262023-03-30T22:30:00.003-04:002023-04-02T20:14:56.858-04:00Springsteen & E Street Band: Detroit, March 29, 2023Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band, March 29, 2023, DetroitIt wasn't so long ago that Bruce Springsteen coming to Michigan to play was pretty much an annual event. Every year from 2002 through 2009, Bruce made at least one appearance in the Great Lakes State. But after Bruce infamously forgot where he was during that 2009 show at The Palace of Auburn Hills, his appearances here have been Matt Orelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16216172951304608707noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19678340.post-25273271535717762602023-03-21T20:41:00.001-04:002023-03-21T20:41:37.339-04:00The Day of One Million ImpressionsOn Sunday morning I was kicking back, killing a little time flipping through whatever popped up in my twitter feed. I saw a somewhat provocative post from journalist Matt Taibbi, with a somewhat vague (to me, anyway) accusation: "The worst thing you can do, if you want people to take a vaccine, is lie about it. You don’t realize it, and these people at Stanford may not, but what they massively Matt Orelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16216172951304608707noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19678340.post-63313685260945872642022-12-06T19:40:00.002-05:002022-12-06T19:40:24.658-05:00Different Realities, Part 4Three time previously, I have written about how different media outlets cover an event.
In May, 2018, it was coverage of protests in Gaza after the US opened its new embassy in Jerusalem.
In January, 2019, the topic was the end of the US government shutdown.In April, 2020, the divergence was over the COVID-19 pandemic.
Today, there are several things going on, including, most prominently a majorMatt Orelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16216172951304608707noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19678340.post-46941656006388573072022-10-19T20:54:00.016-04:002022-10-21T00:58:10.469-04:00Bruce Springsteen, Soul SingerApril 12, 2012. I was a day away from my 50th birthday, and I was preparing to see Bruce Springsteen's "Wrecking Ball" Tour for the first time. I got an early present from Backstreets Magazine: my first photo gig. For the first 3 songs of the show, I got to set up with the press photographers, bring professional grade equipment, and take as many photos as I wanted... so long as Backstreets Matt Orelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16216172951304608707noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19678340.post-56267713387475658912022-07-27T22:48:00.001-04:002022-07-27T22:52:27.494-04:00We Used to Take Care of Our OwnMay 15, 2005, a nice spring Sunday afternoon. I was helping to lead my son's Cub Scout troop on a hike on a local trail network. My cell phone buzzed. "Matt, this is Bobby, I have front row on my screen. Do you want them?" YES!!! 5 hours later we were at Wolstein Center in Cleveland, in the front row, for Springsteen's performance there that night.I've never met Bobby in person. He lives a coupleMatt Orelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16216172951304608707noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19678340.post-2236761216171345262022-07-20T22:08:00.004-04:002022-07-23T09:09:01.883-04:00Nobody Wins Unless Everybody WinsTickets went on sale this morning for several Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band shows for their next USA tour, starting next February. By the time of the first scheduled show at Tampa Bay's Amalie Arena on February 1st, it will have been more than 6 full years since his last US shows in September 2016. Since then, he's released an autobiography, gone on a book tour, made a western album, Matt Orelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16216172951304608707noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19678340.post-10924537690568049202022-06-28T23:10:00.000-04:002022-06-28T23:10:24.476-04:00Evolving Headlines at Fox News - June 28, 2022 Here is the front page of the Fox News web site, at 3 different times today.1) 4:59pm2) 5:27pm3) 11:02pmMatt Orelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16216172951304608707noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19678340.post-80326049377730885992022-03-28T22:42:00.002-04:002022-03-28T22:42:54.512-04:00Colin Hay at Royal Oak Music Theater, March 27, 2022Colin Hay at Royal Oak Music Theater, March 27, 2022"Waiting For My Real Life to Begin" seems like a suitable title for the past two years of pandemic life. COVID-19 isn't gone, but we're collectively doing our best -- some more than others -- to carry on as if it's no longer a defining factor.So when a friend called and said he had 7th row center seats staring back at him from a computer screen Matt Orelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16216172951304608707noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19678340.post-57599738208434767812021-12-14T11:11:00.009-05:002021-12-18T15:23:03.765-05:007th Annual John Henry's Friends Benefit (December 13, 2021)Bruce! Electric! Renew our days as of old!Last night was the 7th annual John Henry's Friends Benefit at The Town Hall in New York, to benefit the Keswell School, where Steve Earle's autistic son John Henry attends. The show featured Steve Earle and the Dukes, Willie Nile, Matt Savage, The Mastersons, Roseanne Cash, and, of course, Bruce Springsteen.It's been more than 5 years since I -- or nearlyMatt Orelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16216172951304608707noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19678340.post-73015724041079984622021-11-30T18:27:00.011-05:002021-11-30T20:23:18.436-05:00Get BackAt the start of 1969, things were rapidly deteriorating for The Beatles: Their 1968 recording sessions for "The White Album" had turned so sour that recording engineer Geoff Emerick quit in July, followed by Ringo Starr in August. Their manager Brian Epstein had died in 1967 from an accidental overdose of sleeping pills. They'd given up touring in 1966 to protect their own safety and sanity. Matt Orelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16216172951304608707noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19678340.post-38044781479647859202021-11-22T22:28:00.020-05:002021-11-24T14:34:01.403-05:00The Legendary 1979 No Nukes ConcertsSeptember, 1979. I'd just returned home from being in Israel for 6 weeks. Less than a week later, my grandmother suddenly died from a heart attack. Sometime in the immediate aftermath of the returning home to New Jersey from my grandparents' shiva house in Connecticut, the school year started, and I understood that Bruce Springsteen was going to be playing at two of the upcoming "Musicians for Matt Orelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16216172951304608707noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19678340.post-63836905989536124432021-06-27T03:16:00.002-04:002021-07-02T20:43:06.053-04:00Opening Night: Springsteen on Broadway, June 26, 2021The most important thing to note about Bruce Springsteen's Opening Night in his return engagement of Springsteen on Broadway, is that there was an opening night of Springsteen on Broadway, of anything on Broadway, of live music, of entertainment. As Bruce noted in his opening remarks, it was good to see people sitting next to each other, no masks, for his show. Over the past 15 months in theMatt Orelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16216172951304608707noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19678340.post-82954636786088682592021-03-14T19:05:00.009-04:002021-03-16T19:23:33.974-04:00COVID-19 Compilation: Part 50 - March 7-14, 2021March 14, 2020.On March 14th, 2020, I began posting COVID-19 updates to my facebook page, regarding the status of the COVID-19 pandemic. I have used data from worldometer as a primary source for daily and cumulative data, with frequent supplementation from various national and local sites.Notables this week:Cases outside the United States rose sharplyItaly announced new lockdowns to begin March Matt Orelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16216172951304608707noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19678340.post-41586694411819308142021-03-07T10:06:00.006-05:002021-03-08T18:07:52.272-05:00COVID-19 Compilation: Part 49 - February 28-March 6, 2021On March 14th, 2020, I began posting COVID-19 updates to my facebook page, regarding the status of the COVID-19 pandemic. I have used data from worldometer as a primary source for daily and cumulative data, with frequent supplementation from various national and local sites. Notables this week:the number of people in the United States receiving two vaccination doses now exceeds the number ofMatt Orelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16216172951304608707noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19678340.post-90088465712034484162021-02-28T16:28:00.006-05:002021-03-07T09:30:34.139-05:00COVID-19 Compilation: Part 48 - February 21-27, 2021On March 14th, 2020, I began posting COVID-19 updates to my facebook page, regarding the status of the COVID-19 pandemic. I have used data from worldometer as a primary source for daily and cumulative data, with frequent supplementation from various national and local sites. Notables this week:new cases went up worldwide and were flat in the USAthe world death total from COVID-19 surpassed Matt Orelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16216172951304608707noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19678340.post-34944848533072384102021-02-24T20:32:00.002-05:002022-03-29T17:16:44.957-04:00Barack and Bruce speakA couple of days ago, Spotify dropped the first two episodes of its podcast series featuring Barack Obama and Bruce Springsteen called "Renegades: Born in the USA." Recorded starting in late July, 2020, at Springsteen's home in New Jersey, the first episode largely covers their origin stories and how they met, while the 2nd focuses on race.The podcast is, in a word, terrific.
It starts withMatt Orelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16216172951304608707noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19678340.post-81107782392452770962021-02-21T19:02:00.005-05:002021-03-07T09:31:12.846-05:00COVID-19 Compilation: Part 47 - February 14-20, 2021On March 14th, 2020, I began posting COVID-19 updates to my facebook page, regarding the status of the COVID-19 pandemic. I have used data from worldometer as a primary source for daily and cumulative data, with frequent supplementation from various national and local sites. Notables this week:new cases and deaths continued to fall sharply in both the USA and worldwideThe weather catastropheMatt Orelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16216172951304608707noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19678340.post-86363396358946797242021-02-14T10:48:00.007-05:002021-03-07T09:30:54.342-05:00COVID-19 Compilation: Part 46 - February 7-13, 2021On March 14th, 2020, I began posting COVID-19 updates to my facebook page, regarding the status of the COVID-19 pandemic. I have used data from worldometer as a primary source for daily and cumulative data, with frequent supplementation from various national and local sites. Notables this week:new cases and deaths continued to fall sharply in both the USA and worldwideCalifornia surpassed Matt Orelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16216172951304608707noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19678340.post-23187566455670649192021-02-08T22:08:00.006-05:002021-02-10T16:50:51.357-05:00Springsteen's Middle
In April, 2016, Bruce Springsteen canceled a concert in Greensboro, North Carolina. He issued a statement explaining why: North Carolina just passed HB2, which the media are referring to as the 'bathroom' law. HB2... dictates which bathrooms transgender people are permitted to use. Just as important, the law also attacks the rights of LGBT citizens to sue when their human rights are Matt Orelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16216172951304608707noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19678340.post-76175171839999842562021-02-07T14:45:00.008-05:002021-02-08T17:54:44.313-05:00COVID-19 Compilation: Part 45 - February 1-6, 2021Somerset Mall, Troy, Michigan, February 6th, 2001
On March 14th, 2020, I began posting COVID-19 updates to my facebook page, regarding the status of the COVID-19 pandemic. I have used data from worldometer as a primary source for daily and cumulative data, with frequent supplementation from various national and local sites. Notables this week:new cases continued to fall sharply in both the Matt Orelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16216172951304608707noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19678340.post-32890613344510230342021-01-31T10:33:00.004-05:002021-02-07T14:16:48.381-05:00COVID-19 Compilation: Part 44 - January 25-30, 2021On March 14th, 2020, I began posting COVID-19 updates to my facebook page, regarding the status of the COVID-19 pandemic. I have used data from worldometer as a primary source for daily and cumulative data, with frequent supplementation from various national and local sites. Notables this week:new cases continued to fall sharply in both the USA and worldwidedeaths remained about the same Matt Orelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16216172951304608707noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19678340.post-59721044239238716032021-01-24T15:36:00.003-05:002021-01-31T10:24:37.349-05:00COVID-19 Compilation: Part 43 - January 18-23, 2021On March 14th, I began posting COVID-19 updates to my facebook page, regarding the status of the COVID-19 pandemic. I have used data from worldometer as a primary source for daily and cumulative data, with frequent supplementation from various national and local sites. Notables this week:death counts set new records worldwide but fell in the USAcases numbers declined sharply in both Matt Orelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16216172951304608707noreply@blogger.com0