Bruce and the E Street Band live

Only two more days of waiting remain for Bruce Springsteen’s The Promise to hit stores. Because Bruce’s catalog of songs is so lengthy, every set list is completely different. Now, he can add hours of more material to his live show. His live performances are what defines him as a musician. He truly believes that concert goers should get their money’s worth.

He has been putting on four hour long shows since the early 1970s and has not slowed down in his old age. Although Bruce is now 61 years old, his stamina is unreal. He still runs around, crowd surfs and throws his guitars across the stage to his guitar tech. A concert rarely is shorter than 3 hours. His voice is still strong. And what’s more impressive, is that he still writes new material and adds it to his live show.

A huge part of his live performance is thanks to the E Street Band. The core members have been with Bruce since the beginning, when he was still an emerging artists on the Jersey Shore music scene. These are more than just bandmates, they are close friends. They have been influential to Bruce throughout his career. When a Springsteen album comes out that doesn’t feature the E Streeters, it’s just not the same. Of course, his solo work is fantastic. But, it reaches crazy-good levels with his trusty band.

He has been touring for the better part of the past decade, so currently he is taking some much deserved time off of wide scale touring. I’m sure soon enough he’ll be back on the road again though. When he comes back to Milwaukee, I’m pretty sure I’ll be in attendance. I’ve seen Bruce many times live, and he has yet to let me down.

The Promise

Bruce Springsteen has been an influential pop-culture figure for more than four decades. When he first hit the mainstream with Born to Run in 1975, he captured the very meaning of what it meant to live in America. His songs are relatable and often tell the stories that working class people live everyday. His latest release, The Promise, is set to hit stores on November 16th. The collection of songs were mostly written during the recording of his 1978 album, Darkness on the Edge of Town. Click here to hear the title track, “The Promise.”

While recording his masterpiece album, Darkness, Bruce wrote dozens of songs that went unreleased. The Promise contains two discs of many of the tracks that missed the cut for the album. The new release is also available in a box set, The Promise: The Darkness on the Edge of Town Story. The box set includes three CDs and three DVDs, along with an 80-page notebook and other trinkets for the diehard Springsteen fan. The set also includes a documentary on the making of Darkness.

HBO subscribers already had the opportunity to see the documentary last month. Everyone else will get the chance to see footage of Springsteen in his prime when The Promise is released next week. The New York Times wrote a favorable review of the documentary, which can be read here.

Many fans of “The Boss,” myself included, consider Darkness his greatest feat. I am looking forward to unwrapping the box set edition the minute it arrives at my house. Springsteen has changed my life in ways that I can’t explain. His spirit is unwavering and contagious. He can pick a guitar as good as anyone. His lyrics rival Bob Dylan’s. And his live performance is undeniably the best. Bruce’s Darkness era is as good as music can get. The world becomes a better place every time someone listens to Bruce Springsteen.