Welcome to the Church of Springsteen. Testify!

My knees hurt, my abs are killing me and my voice is strained. But it’s just the side effects of seeing Bruce Springsteen live. If you don’t feel like this after the non-stop, three-hour long set, you’re not doing it right. And as worn out as I feel right now, Bruce and the boys were working 10 times harder. Bruce got a little sentimental about the impending demolition of the Spectrum — saying old arenas that don’t waste space on luxury boxes are the great equalizers for music fans. Everyone can hear and see. That is, if you and everyone around you isn’t screaming out the lyrics at the same time. It was the first arena the E Street Band sold out and last night’s show marked their 31st Spectrum sell out (47 in total for Philadelphia) so give the guy a break.

The setlist (see full list below) drew most from Darkness on the Edge of Town and The River and, of course, the recently released Workin’ on a Dream (a word the uninitiated: The best way to fall in love with a new Springsteen album is to hear the songs smattered amongst the classics. It’s how I warmed up to Magic and Dream, which I was lukewarm about, sounded different today during my morning commute). For the most part, he avoided Born to Run (until the encore at least) and took nothing from Born in the U.S.A. A bold move because of their inherent popularity, but considering how the band tailors their set list to the current national tone and the themes and song structures of those albums (the desire to become a man and detached narratives, respectively) it made sense in the long run.

So, highlights? The onslaught of the first four songs — especially opening with the always crowd-pleasing “Badlands” (”It ain’t no sin to be glad your alive”) straight through to “Spirit in the Night” hurt it was so good. “Johnny 99″ was transformed from a Suicide-ish, menacing four-tracker from the flawless Nebraska to a country barn burner, with the help of Soozie Tyrell’s fiddlin’ and Nils Lofgren’s slide, which he produced by taking by jutting out his pelvis and resting his ax on it. Because Bruce and baseball have been linked in my mind recently, I’ll call Nils the Shane Victorino of the E Street Band. He’s a goofy, not a superstar but, man, he should be. If you are a Springsteen diehard and haven’t checked out any of Nils’ solo stuff, get thee to a record store. It’s way better than Van Zant alone, trust me. Speaking of Lil’ Stevie, he lived up to my expectations of looking like a retired pirate. And that’s all a girl can hope for.

And that’s when shit went crazy. Bruce collected fan signs from the crowd, which is the only way to get a song request in (yelling out your favorite tune over the roar? Sweetheart, not gonna happen). The first sign he placed in front of the camera? “London Calling: Did it stump E Street?” Bruce was pissed and threw the crumpled sign into the crowd. And that’s when rock ‘n’ roll’s future colluded with the only band that matters. And it was glorious.

Every Springsteen show has a Patti moment. They’re in love and all so she generally gets a solo jaunt. It’s also when most people take their beer/bathroom break because she’s not a stellar singer and her song is usually boring. But, this was Patti’s triumphant return to the stage after “falling off a horse” (hmmm … hard to believe?). But instead of turning the mic over to Patti, Bruce sang “Red Headed Woman,” possibly the romantic song about going down on a woman (”Your life’s been wasted / ’til you’ve got’ down on your knees and tasted / A red-headed woman, a red-headed woman.”).

Then you have a song like “Thundercrack,” which before the Magic tour, was non-album (it’s on Tracks) song that they hadn’t played since the ’70s. How many bands do you know that have a non-album track that every single goddamned fan knows the words to? That’s why going to see Bruce Springsteen isn’t like going to see normal bands. “Thundercrack” went into “Hungry Heart,” where Bruce hopped into the crowd and grabbed an old lady (not like middle-aged old, like super old) from the crowd so she could sing along. “Aw, someone brought their mom!” I thought. That is until Bruce said, “Sing it, Ma!” that I figured out it was Bruce who brought his mom. All together now: Awwwww!

Jay Weinberg took over for dad Max on drums, who will have to bow out of the tour early to take his place as the head of the Tonight Show band. This kid’s got power and if he’s not neck deep in cougar pussy by the end of the tour, there’s frankly something wrong with him. On the other side of the spectrum (ha!), you have Clarence Clemons — the one, the only Big Man. He could hardly walk, sitting for most of the show and having roadies fix his hair mid-song when it got too unwieldy. But he’s still the last one introduced at the end, and he’s still the only band member who can elicit Bruce-level cheers. He was wearing long black robes, a fedora and a gold-sequined sparkly scarf. He looked like a cosmic space pimp (you read that right). It was the most appropriate outfit I’ve ever seen.

Bruce ended the show with “Kitty’s Back,” from The Wild, the Innocent and the E Street Shuffle (The biggest mistake amateurs make is thinking they’re Bruce fans and not owning this album. Paired with Welcome to Asbury Park, N.J., I could talk for at least an hour and 15 minutes about how these albums accurately chart the rest of the band’s career. But I won’t. Just go listen). I used to hate this song. It’s a little too long and the keys solo in the middle takes it down a notch. But those handclaps! They just got to me after awhile and I became a convert. There’s a reason this song took it all home:

The best song for me? “Thunder Road.” Bruce dedicated it to Harry Kalas, playing a clip of HK announcing Bruce coming up to the plate and hitting a grand slam. I live for this song. I think its the most perfectly written rock song of all time. I think its opening line says more than most other bands can accomplish in their entire careers. I think its lyrics capture a time and a feeling better than any other song in the pop canon. I had never heard the full band play “Thunder Road.” I cried. Just a little, though.

Setlist (via Backstreets.com):
Badlands
The Ties That Bind
Outlaw Pete
Spirit in the Night
Working on a Dream
Seeds
Johnny 99
Youngstown
Raise Your Hand
London Calling
Red Headed Woman
Thundercrack
Hungry Heart
The Promised Land
Streets of Philadelphia
Kingdom of Days (w/ Jay Weinberg)
Radio Nowhere (w/ Jay Weinberg)
Lonesome Day (w/ Jay Weinberg)
The Rising (w/ Jay Weinberg)
Born to Run (w/ Jay Weinberg)
* * *
Hard Times (w/ Jay Weinberg)
Thunder Road (w/ Jay Weinberg)
Tenth Avenue Freeze-out (w/ Jay Weinberg)
Land of Hope and Dreams (w/ Jay Weinberg)
American Land (w/ Jay Weinberg)
Kitty’s Back (w/ Jay Weinberg)

by Molly Eichel for Critical Mass, 2009. | Permalink | 12 comments | Add to del.icio.us
Categories: Last Night, Music, Show, The 1-Upper
Post tags: bruce springsteen, e street band

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So, yesterday, the WHO – those of the infectious diseases, not the Magic Bus – raised the pandemic level of swine flu to 5. In order to celebrate, I bring you Pandemic 2, which lets you create a disease (viral, bacterial, or parasite) to wipe out the entire world.

Once you name your little microbe, you’ll start with one infected person in one of the world’s regions. As your disease evolves, you’ll get points to spend on modes of transmission and symptoms that make it spread faster (coughing, vomiting) and more deadly (liver failure, hemorrhaging), with the tradeoff being it becomes more noticeable. If your super bug is killing off loads of people, expect other countries to shut down their borders, airports, and shipyards. The trick is to find the right balance of invisibility and contagiousness, and then, once the world is infected, crank up the lethality and unleash your maniacal cackle.

It’s all very fun in a mad scientist sort of way. I hope you’ll be playing from your secret island fortress.

Go have fun here.

by dominic mercier for Critical Mass, 2009. | Permalink | One comment | Add to del.icio.us
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This edition of the 1-Upper really only applies if you’re 25 and over and you had a Tandy computer in your basement. Otherwise, you’ll probably have no idea what I’m talking about.

Finally, someone made one of my dreams come true and put a bunch of the old Sierra text-based adventure games online to play for free. Sarien.net hosts Flash-based versions of the first Space Quest, Police Quest, and Leisure Suit Larry games, but they’ve done something a bit strange … As you play, you’ll see what other people – who are playing at the same time – are doing, resulting in a whole bunch of Roger Wilcos and Larry Laffers appearing on screen along with yours. You’ll see the weird commands they input (”look around,” “talk to bum,” “take a crap”) and they’ll see yours, creating this weird multiplayer hint system.

It’s a great bit of nostalgia, and it reminds me of when my dad used to take the Oldsmobile up to Radio Shack to get the newest game. But that daydream was totally shattered when another player kept running around and typing in all caps “OMG IT BURNS!!!! IT BURNS!!!” for no reason.

Go play here.

by dominic mercier for Critical Mass, 2009. | Permalink | One comment | Add to del.icio.us
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ROARRRRRR!

Please just look at the title. My dreams just came true.

If you can’t appreciate and play the bejesus out of this, then please don’t ever consider trying to talk to me. I won’t be your friend. You probably like Laser Cats or something.

Go play here.

by dominic mercier for Critical Mass, 2009. | Permalink | Add the first comment | Add to del.icio.us
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The secret ingredient is space horse

In space, things are apparently much more neon-hued and bouncy. Instead of fighting off giant worms and space pirates, most aliens spend their days blowing up incoming pink, blue, and green orbs. Or so Glue FO2 would have you believe.

The concept and play is quite similar to the classic Asteroids, save for it feeling much more happy and there being no trackball (unless you use a trackball, in which case you’re a dork). You just pilot your little ship around, collecting tiny orbs and firing them at the bigger ones. All is fine and dandy until the other little bastard UFOs show up. They do the same thing, except the orbs are fired at you. I’m not sure what we did to them, but they sure seem pissed.

This simple game is actually deceptively tough. I whizzed through the first five levels only to find it getting tougher and tougher as they went on. Once things start blowing up all over the place, good luck keeping your eyes uncrossed.

Go play here.

by dominic mercier for Critical Mass, 2009. | Permalink | Add the first comment | Add to del.icio.us
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Chrissy Tashjian of Philly’s dangerous dance rock band Dangerous Ponies — the subject of a recent John Vettese interview — filed this report from GayBiGayGay, a queer music festival in Austin. Her bandmate Sarah Green took all the great photos and did the video, too.

Dear Friends and Readers,

Five days ago my band, Dangerous Ponies, and our good friend and acoustic performance artist Dave End, embarked upon what will total a seven-day/eight-night tour to play GayBiGayGay, Austin’s queer spin-off of SXSW. After playing four very different and exciting shows, breaking bread with new and old friends, seeing America shift from sparse, chilly and green, to plush, warm and mountainous, then balmy/flat and flowery we left our show in New Orleans to pull a sleepy eyed coffee filled-all nighter through the marsh lands of Louisiana.

After our 10-hour overnight drive in our overly stuffed, underly comfortable 1993 tour van (Mama Cass) we found ourselves on the front steps of Hazey Fairless’ Ranch home in Austin Texas where they were preparing for a mighty festivus of a day.

Walking into the backyard we passed four hot pink OUT houses, which really set a precedent for the day. The stage was set up and decked out in plaid and spraypaint, put together with various found objects including fencing, and golden branches. To the right of the stage was a bands-only garage for equipment, and next to that some fabulous volunqueers were setting up a station for grilled pizza, 4 kegs of local beer, and an espresso shot stop for refueling. A porch containing the merch of queer bands from all over the country was attached to the back of the house, and a face and body painting table was being readied where your imagination was the only limit to your body decoration. So far this festival was screaming of what it really means to be a well-organized D.I.Y-ER.(...)
Read the rest of Scene Report: GayBiGayGay (468 words)

by chrissy.tashjian for Critical Mass, 2009. | Permalink | Add the first comment | Add to del.icio.us
Categories: Last Night, Music, Philly Bands, Show, The 1-Upper, The Showdown, Uncategorized
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And we’re back …

Sorry to be away for so long, folks, but the 1-Upper bought a house and started referring to himself in the third person. I’ve been spending my days installing storm doors and not helping you waste your precious time.

Anyhoo, I give you Don’t Look Back this week. Doing throwbacks seems to be all the rage these days, what with Mega Man showing up in all his 8-bit glory on the next generation consoles and new franchise entries like Street Fighter (which I used to play in the arcade) outselling everything else by miles. Don’t Look Back does exactly the opposite of its name and looks and plays like it strolled right out of the Atari 2600.

A straight-forward platformer, which you don’t see often enough, the game is simple to play. Arrow keys move you and make you jump, spacebar makes you shoot your little rectangle of a pistol. It’s a little like Pitfall meets Super Mario Brothers. Just watch out for the darkness.

Play it here.

by dominic mercier for Critical Mass, 2009. | Permalink | 2 comments | Add to del.icio.us
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Annie Leibovitz read excerpts from her new book, At Work, last night at the Free Library. She recalled with fondness the concert
the Stones played at the Spectrum on June 29, 1975. She was on tour
for Rolling Stone when
someone told her to come out from backstage and hear the performance.
They both thought it was the best show they’d heard the band play.

“When
I think of Philadelphia, it seems all the best shows were there, I
remember that concert well.”

She told the crowd she brought her tennis
racket on tour thinking she’d be able to play during the day.

“I realized after the first show I wouldn’t see the light of day.”

The story ran on the cover of Rolling Stone, July 17, 1975.

by mike regan for Critical Mass, 2008. | Permalink | Add the first comment | Add to del.icio.us
Categories: Music, Photos, The 1-Upper
Post tags: annie leibovitz, rolling stone, rolling stones

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You sunk my Scrabbleship

Don’t let the fancy name fool you, it’s Battleship on the computer. Have fun and happy Veteran’s Day. I’ll warn you that it’s a little buggy, so it might be a good idea to refresh in between games.

Go play here.

by dominic mercier for Critical Mass, 2008. | Permalink | Add the first comment | Add to del.icio.us
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Yahtzee!

Alright, let’s clear the air … I love Yahtzee! If there was one game to sustain my sanity were I to be shipwrecked, it would be rolling multiple dice and screaming that word after landing five of a kind. But I’ve got say that Zilch gives Yahtzee a run for its money, mostly because it involves taking more risks. The premise is similar, but the scoring is slightly different and you need to bank your points. Each round, you need to bank 300 points for any to count toward your total, but you can keep rolling to see if you can get more. There’s the risk, though. If you don’t land any scoring dice, you get zilch and lose all of your points for that round. Get zilch three times in a row, and it knocks 500 off of your accumulated total. The total you need to reach to win depends on your difficulty setting, but the middle of the road is 10,000. It’s a bit tricky, but the game’s got a good tutorial to get you up and running.

I only played against the computer, but you can play online or against a friend sitting next to you. It’s supposed to be completely random, but it looks to me like the computer gets some lucky bounces.

Check out Zilch here.

by dominic mercier for Critical Mass, 2008. | Permalink | Add the first comment | Add to del.icio.us
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