Orel Family

I Played the Fool The first time I saw Southside Johnny and the Asbury Jukes , I hadn't yet seen my first Springsteen concert. It was May, 1980, I was a high school senior in New Jersey, and the Great Adventure Amusement Park had an event called "senior night" aimed at us on warm Friday evening. Mt. St. Helens had recently erupted , and as the volcanic ash drifted eastward we'd get glorious sunsets unlike anything we'd ever seen. After school that day we wedged many of us in to two small cars and headed down the New Jersey Turnpike to exit 7A, and eventually to the amphitheater, which was basically a round concrete slab with a stage on one side. Southside performed 3 shows that evening, though we went only to the first. The band featured the famed horns, as well as "The Girls," decked out in spandex suits. So I can say that I saw Patti Scialfa perform live before I saw Bruce Springsteen perform live. That first show, I couldn't even persuade...

(It's My Birthday Too, Yeah!) This review originally appeared at http://www.backstreets.com/setlists.html Friday night, Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band completed the back end of the Detroit/Buffalo two-pack. Thursday evening's show in Auburn Hills set a pretty high bar, with classics such as "Incident on 57th Street" complementing flawless versions of new songs such as "Rocky Ground." Friday's show at the First Niagara Center in Buffalo cleared the bar, with room to spare. Let's get one thing straight: These shows aren't possible. I just don't know how else to put it. Yes, as Bruce puts it in the main set's penultimate song, our bodies may betray us in the end. And, I get it: he can't promise us life everlasting. But he is delivering life, right now. He's on that hill with everything he's got. And the really good news is, he's got a lot. The E Street Band is tighter than ever. Max Weinberg ...