Bruce Springsteen - As Dreams Don't Mean Nothing - A Night For the Vietnam Vets - Los Angeles (August 20th, 1981)

Big bussinessmen and political leaders failed to rally behind us," said Vietnam veteran Bobby Muller, speaking to about 15,000 remarkably attentive rock fans on August 20th at the Los Angeles Sports Arena. "And now it ultimately turns out to be the symbol of our generation – rock & roll – that brings us together. . . . This is the first step in ending the silence that has surrounded Vietnam."

To deafening applause, Muller, sitting center stage in a wheelchair, turned over the spotlight to Bruce Springsteen, the first of several rockers to play benefits for the veterans. Minutes earlier, Springsteen had introduced Muller with his own, terse, eloquent speech; now, he led the E Street Band into a dark, swelling melody and stepped to the mike to sing, "Long as I remember, the rain's been falling down. . . ." Creedence Clearwater Revival's eleven-year-old "Who'll Stop the Rain" was transformed into a majestic call to arms, and the next two songs deepended the mood: "Prove It All Night" was stripped of its usual joy, and Springsteen came down hard on the lines "If dreams came true, oh wouldn't it be nice/But this ain't no dream we're living through tonight." Then, without pause, he turned toward the two stage-side platforms full of veterans in wheelchairs and no crutches and ripped into "The Ties That Bind": "You been hurt and you're all cried out you say/You walk down the street pushing people out of your way."

All proceeds from the show – the first in a six-night stand for Springsteen at the Sports Arena – will be split between the Vietnam Veterans of America (VVA) – the organization Muller heads – and the Los Angeles Mental Health Clinic (the VVA will receive seventy-five percent of the estimated $100,000 take). Shortly after Springsteen announced his benefit, other musicians came to the aid of the veterans: Pat Benatar's September 20th Detroit performance will benefit the VVA, and Charlie Daniels will give the organization proceeds from a Warner Amex cable TV concert filmed in Saratoga Springs, New York, on September 4th. "I feel that the Vietnam veterans have been the most mistreated and most ignored people I can remember in my lifetime," said Daniels, "and this is the third war I've been through. It's time they were looked after and respected in the way they deserve."

Springsteen became interested in the veteran's plight through his friendship with disable vet Ron Kovic; he asked his manager, Jon Landau, to research the various veterans organization to determine which is the most effective, and he decided to do the show after meeting with Muller and VVA vice-president Michael Harbert earlier this summer.

"These are people of our generation – Bruce's, mine," said Landau. "I think Bruce saw a lot of his high-school friends go to Vietnam. It sounds corny, but these people we're trying to help could have been us if the circumstances had been a little different." Landau said he expects Springsteen to continue working for the veterans in different ways; an official Springsteen poster is already for sale, with all proceeds going to the VVA.

Backstage after the Springsteen show, Muller was ecstatic about the support his group is suddenly getting. "We tried everything," said Muller of his three-year-old organization. "Corporations, foundations, direct mail. We got thirty-five editorials in the Washington Post in 1978, but we didn't realize a single legislative objective. You can't push costly benefit programs through Congress with good arguments. You need political strength, and that means numbers."

With only 8000 members, the VVA does not have that strength. But after years of maneuvering, the group finally obtained a list of 1 million Vietnam veterans, and money from the concerts will go towards a direct-mailing operation aimed at those vets. Muller said that a goal of 50,000 members by spring and another 100,000 by the end of 1982 is realistic.

"People don't like to think about the Vietnam vets, because everything about the war was negative," he said. "We shouldn't have been fighting, we lost. . . . But Bruce has publicly aligned himself with the lepers of our society and taken us out of the shadows."

Springsteen made his commitment clear in his speech introducing Muller in Los Angeles. "It's like when you're walking down a dark street at night, and out of the corner of your eye you see somebody getting hurt in a dark alley," he said slowly. "But you keep walking on because you think it don't have nothing to do with you and you just want to get home. Vietnam turned this whole country into that dark street, and unless we can walk down those alleys and look into the eyes of those men and women, we're never gonna get home."

This story is from the October 1st, 1981 issue of Rolling Stone.



Read more: http://www.rollingstone.com/music/news/springsteen-others-rally-to-help-vets-19811001#ixzz3yryqESss
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After Party - Late Night Saturday - 80s Dance (Jan 31st, 2016)

Mick Smiley, Magic (Ghostbusters Soundtrack, 1984)

John Carpenter, Escape From New York (Main Theme, 1981)

Bruce Springsteen - Wreck On The Highway (1.19.16)

United Center, Chicago, IL.

So The River, I,...the {ah} thing I wrote about was time...I was sitting with a friend of mine last night and he said, ' Time comes to us all.' And The River was about the ticking of that time and how we each have finite amount of it - to do our jobs, to raise our family, to do something good....

That's The River.

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

"We got some more left..."

Night
No Surrender (Take 2, Take 3)
Cover Me
She's The One
Human Touch
The Rising
Thunder Road

Grateful Dead - April 22, 1978

Nashville Municipal Auditorium, Nashville, TN.

Set 1
Bertha->
Good Lovin'
Candyman
Looks Like Rain
Tennessee Jed
Jack Straw
Peggy-O
New Minglewood Blues
Deal

Set 2
Lazy Lightning->
Supplication
It Must Have Been The Roses
Estimated Prophet (Weir: "The rhythm section...")
Eyes Of The World (no-good-coked out super-fast '78 version)
Rhythm Devils-> (full-on jungle chanting ritual sacrifice)
Not Fade Away
Wharf Rat
Sugar Magnolia

Encore
One More Saturday Night 


Notes: Another Saturday night with the Grateful Dead. Blazing Bertha->Good Lovin' combo to open the show. Rockin'. Focused. Jerry is on point. This is a really good 1st set with a delicate Candyman.  looks like rain, and down home Jed with a mighty visit from Jack Straw. please please me peggy-o.

Off to watch the History of the Eagles again. Glen Frey is such an asshole. And maybe Horace & Pete (Louis C.K.'s new show that was unexpectedly released today).

Turner Classic Movies with One Flew Over The Cuckoo's Nest.

CATS - Original Broadway Cast - Tony Awards (1984)

CATS - Shiki Theater Company - Japansese Cast (2013)

S

Inherent Vice, 2013 (Venice, California)

Fiona Apple - Best New Artist MTV (1997)

"This world is bullshit."
A 20-year old who wrote Sleep To Dream, Criminal, & Shadowboxer.

http://www.mtv.com/videos/misc/101582/fiona-apple-best-new-artist-1997.jhtml

LIz Phair - Sessions at West 54th w/ David Byrne (1998)

Polyester Bride & 6'1".
The real thrill is David Byrne (wearing designer fatigues) as the interviewer on PBS.

Liz Phair - Fuck & Run (1995)

I had a crush on her in high school & I watched the X-Files. 20 years later, I still have a crush on her and the X-Files is back on television. (Hail, Hail Chicago)

Risky Business (Paul Brickman, 1983)

The original/director's ending.

In The Air Tonight (Phil Collins, 1981) / Risky Business (Paul Brickman, 1983)

Going to the grocery in the frigid dark, this popped on the radio.
Highland Park. High School. And Saturday Nights.

Phish - Feb. 15th, 2003

Thomas & Mack Arena, Las Vegas, NV.
Set 1
Llama
Wolfman's Brother
Reba
Life On Mars (David Bowie)
46 Days
It's Ice
Frankie Says
Run Like An Antelope

Set 2
Waves>
Bug>
Ghost>
Free
Harry Hood

Notes:
Attended the previous night/ the tour opener on Valentine's Day at The Forum, Los Angeles.  First show of the tour after the hiatus. And that was all. People were looking for Vegas tix in the lot. Beginning of a journey.
From the opening Llama through Reba. Powerhouse. Dig on the Frankie Says & Antelope. Second set melts and flows. (Ghost has that little jingle reminiscent from Twist 6.14.00 & Ghost 5.22.00).

The Darjeeling Limited (Wes Anderson, 2007)

(shout out to the kinks lola versus powerman and the moneygoround.) gimme darjeeling over fantastic mr fox moonrise kingdom grand budapest hotel.

Bruce Springsteen & The E-Street Band - Nov. 5th, 1980

tempe, az. badlands/thunder road.
woke up in a half-dream that this happened. we'll be back with a whole 'nother set.

Siskel & Ebert - Casino (Martin Scorsese,1995)

was so excited. the long chronic fatigue of junior year of high school. took the train down to Chicago (mid-november) to meet my Dad on a Wednesday night to see a "sneak preview" before it officially opened. (Pipers Alley?) people walked out from the house of the rising sun.

heat opened the next week on thanksgiving weekend.

Siskel & Ebert - Hard Eight (Paul Thomas Anderson, 1996)

high school in the mid-90s. suburbs of chicago. saturday at 6:30pm on ch. 2.

Siskel & Ebert - Boogie Nights (Paul Thomas Anderson, 1997)

On point. Back in my freshman year of college, seeing it down at the Canal Street Theater, it felt like great style over substance. I left the theater feeling empty. I'd seen this before -- Scarface, Goodfellas, Casino, etc.

Time changes.

Siskel & Ebert - The Doors (Oliver Stone, 1991)

These guys are so great. They love movies, in such a pure way. Glad they are from Chicago.

Ricky Nelson - Garden Party (1972)

On October 15, 1971, Richard Nader's Rock 'n Roll Revival concert was given at Madison Square Garden in New York City. Ricky wrote this about that concert. The garden was Madison Square Garden.

State Of The Union Address - Jan. 12, 2016

President Obama's final State of the Union Address. Here's the closing passage:

Our brand of democracy is hard. But I can promise that a year from now, when I no longer hold this office, I’ll be right there with you as a citizen — inspired by those voices of fairness and vision, of grit and good humor and kindness that have helped America travel so far. Voices that help us see ourselves not first and foremost as black or white or Asian or Latino, not as gay or straight, immigrant or native born; not as Democrats or Republicans, but as Americans first, bound by a common creed. Voices Dr. King believed would have the final word — voices of unarmed truth and unconditional love.
They’re out there, those voices. They don’t get a lot of attention, nor do they seek it, but they are busy doing the work this country needs doing.
I see them everywhere I travel in this incredible country of ours. I see you. I know you’re there. You’re the reason why I have such incredible confidence in our future. Because I see your quiet, sturdy citizenship all the time.
I see it in the worker on the assembly line who clocked extra shifts to keep his company open, and the boss who pays him higher wages to keep him on board.
I see it in the Dreamer who stays up late to finish her science project, and the teacher who comes in early because he knows she might someday cure a disease.
I see it in the American who served his time, and dreams of starting over — and the business owner who gives him that second chance. The protester determined to prove that justice matters, and the young cop walking the beat, treating everybody with respect, doing the brave, quiet work of keeping us safe.
I see it in the soldier who gives almost everything to save his brothers, the nurse who tends to him ’til he can run a marathon, and the community that lines up to cheer him on.
It’s the son who finds the courage to come out as who he is, and the father whose love for that son overrides everything he’s been taught.
I see it in the elderly woman who will wait in line to cast her vote as long as she has to; the new citizen who casts his for the first time; the volunteers at the polls who believe every vote should count, because each of them in different ways know how much that precious right is worth.
That’s the America I know. That’s the country we love. Clear-eyed. Big-hearted. Optimistic that unarmed truth and unconditional love will have the final word. That’s what makes me so hopeful about our future. Because of you. I believe in you. That’s why I stand here confident that the State of our Union is strong.

Grateful Dead - October 12, 1984

Augusta Civic Center, Augusta, Maine

Set 1

Feel Like A Stranger

It Must Have Been The Roses

On The Road Again

Jack-a-Roe

It's All Over Now

Cumberland Blues

The Music Never Stopped

Set 2

Cold Rain & Snow

Lost Sailor>

Saint of Circumstance

Don't Need Love

Uncle John's Band>

Drums>

Space>

Playing In The Band>

Uncle John's Band

Morning Dew

Encore

Good Lovin

Notes:

Listened to it while watching the wild Steelers/Bengals (18-16) big ben seperated shoulder, burfict dirty hit, pacman fiasco of a game. Funky Stranger opener, UJB>Drums, and Morning Dew as highlights. rough around the edges field recording

Grateful Dead -- May 3rd, 1986

Cal Expo Amphitheater, Sacramento, California

Set 1
Cold Rain & Snow
The Race Is On*
They Love Each Other
C.C. Rider
High Time
Beat It On Down The Line
Promised Land
Deal

Set 2
Scarlet Begonias>
Fire On The Mountain
Man Smart, Woman Smarter
Goin' Down The Road Feeling Bad
Drums>
Space>
The Other One
Comes A Time
Sugar Magnolia

Notes: timeless. the good ol' grateful dead. somehow on this day, that "80s" sound so recognizable on the keys, guitar, vocals has vanished. clean. country. western. honky. rock. a perfect little gem.

*Bob: "We're missing the Derby." (Assuming it was an afternoon start time)

Queimada (Burn!) (Ennio Morricone, 1969)

Abolição

Simple Twist of Fate (1975)

I never really understood this song, until listening to it right now. But then again, there's a lot I didn't realize, or understand, until recently. (Guess it's time to give Blood On The Tracks a full spin with fresh ears.)

Let Me Roll It (1973)

Paul McCartney & Wings, Band On The Run.

Lonesome & A Long Way From Home (December 11th, 1977)

Jerry Garcia Band. Recreation Hall, Penn State University. State College, PA 

New Years' Resolutions (Woody Guthrie, 1942)