# Grammy's Springsteen Performance **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [February 9, 2006, 5:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/grammys-springsteen-performance/343661 "2006-02-09T05:42:50Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 12\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![elelle](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/f0a364/32.png) [@elelle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/elelle)\ **Post date:** [February 9, 2006, 5:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/grammys-springsteen-performance/343661/1 "2006-02-09T05:42:50Z")
It was stark, heartfelt, very moving… He left the stage with a simple “Bring Em Home” A class act. No BS, no grandstanding, just sing a powerful song. I really admire Bruce. [Here are the lyrics](http://www.brucespringsteen.net/songs/DevilsDust.html) ---
**Author:** ![Eonwe](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/eonwe/32/240_2.png) [@Eonwe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Eonwe)\ **Post date:** [February 9, 2006, 7:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/grammys-springsteen-performance/343661/2 "2006-02-09T07:20:52Z")
I wasn’t home to watch, but as a lifelong Springsteen fan, I’m not surprised. These days he’s giving stellar performances, IMHO. ---
**Author:** ![Clothahump](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/51bf81/32.png) [@Clothahump](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Clothahump)\ **Post date:** [February 9, 2006, 3:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/grammys-springsteen-performance/343661/3 "2006-02-09T15:09:49Z")
> [@elelle](#): > > It was stark, heartfelt, very moving… > > He left the stage with a simple “Bring Em Home” > > A class act. No BS, no grandstanding, just sing a powerful song. I really admire Bruce. Were you watching the same thing others were? He sounded like a drunk Bob Dylan. ---
**Author:** ![furt](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/439d5e/32.png) [@furt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/furt)\ **Post date:** [February 9, 2006, 3:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/grammys-springsteen-performance/343661/4 "2006-02-09T15:53:04Z")
> [@Eonwe](#): > > I wasn’t home to watch, but as a lifelong Springsteen fan, I’m not surprised. These days he’s giving stellar performances, IMHO. I sure hope you’ve seen the current tour. Awesome. ---
**Author:** ![raindog](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/2bfe46/32.png) [@raindog](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/raindog)\ **Post date:** [February 9, 2006, 4:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/grammys-springsteen-performance/343661/5 "2006-02-09T16:02:29Z")
I miss the raggedy kid on the front of **Thunder Road**. What happened to him? Bruce is fantastic, and he has every right to experiment and indulge his musical passions. But his Woody/Arlo Guthrie phase is getting tiring for me. I hated the whole **Ghost of Tom Joad** CD. I want the old Bruce back. I didn’t see the grammys, or this performance, but I’ve had my fill of him doing the Arlo Guthrie meets Tom Waits thing. I’ll take a spirited rendition of **Badlands** any day. ---
**Author:** ![Not\_A\_Tame\_Lion](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/e36b37/32.png) [@Not\_A\_Tame\_Lion](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Not_A_Tame_Lion)\ **Post date:** [February 9, 2006, 4:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/grammys-springsteen-performance/343661/6 "2006-02-09T16:54:42Z")
> [@the raindog](#): > > I miss the raggedy kid on the front of **Thunder Road**. What happened to him? > > Bruce is fantastic, and he has every right to experiment and indulge his musical passions. But his Woody/Arlo Guthrie phase is getting tiring for me. I hated the whole **Ghost of Tom Joad** CD. > > I want the old Bruce back. I didn’t see the grammys, or this performance, but I’ve had my fill of him doing the Arlo Guthrie meets Tom Waits thing. > > I’ll take a spirited rendition of **Badlands** any day. I concur on _Tom Joad_, with a few exceptions (the title track and “Youngstown” are really good songs; the latter is particularly good in its live performance). But it sounds like you never checked out _The Rising_. It was specifically because I was so disappointed with _TGOTJ_ that I wasn’t expecting much from _The Rising,_ and then I was totally blown away. There’s still a lot of experimentation on that disc, but a lot of _The Rising_ is very much in line with Bruce’s earlier output. Give it a listen. And while \*Devils & Dust \*is kind of hit or miss, as far as the Guthrie/Waits thing goes, it does have some really good songs. “Leah” for one is one of my all-time favorite Springsteen tunes, and it’s not in that “I Ain’t Got No Home” vein. Bottom line: even if Springsteen is fixed on doing honor to his musical heritage, he’s still producing quite a few gems. ---
**Author:** ![RancidYakButterTeaParty](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/53a042/32.png) [@RancidYakButterTeaParty](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RancidYakButterTeaParty)\ **Post date:** [February 9, 2006, 5:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/grammys-springsteen-performance/343661/7 "2006-02-09T17:54:11Z")
> [@Clothahump](#): > > Were you watching the same thing others were? He sounded like a drunk Bob Dylan. I thought he sounded like Dylan too, and sort of looked like him on that dark stage with the black hair everywhere. However, Dylan-sounding or not, he was the best act of the night. Why do we have to have these incredibly gimcrack performances where 4 or 5 different acts combine for some super rendition of a song? Bruce came out with a guitar and harmonica as his backup and blew the rest of those jokers away. I like the new Springstein just fine. ---
**Author:** ![raindog](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/2bfe46/32.png) [@raindog](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/raindog)\ **Post date:** [February 9, 2006, 7:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/grammys-springsteen-performance/343661/8 "2006-02-09T19:00:23Z")
> [@Not A Tame Lion](#): > > I concur on _Tom Joad_, with a few exceptions (the title track and “Youngstown” are really good songs; the latter is particularly good in its live performance). But it sounds like you never checked out _The Rising_. It was specifically because I was so disappointed with _TGOTJ_ that I wasn’t expecting much from _The Rising,_ and then I was totally blown away. There’s still a lot of experimentation on that disc, but a lot of _The Rising_ is very much in line with Bruce’s earlier output. Give it a listen. > > And while \*Devils & Dust \*is kind of hit or miss, as far as the Guthrie/Waits thing goes, it does have some really good songs. “Leah” for one is one of my all-time favorite Springsteen tunes, and it’s not in that “I Ain’t Got No Home” vein. > > Bottom line: even if Springsteen is fixed on doing honor to his musical heritage, he’s still producing quite a few gems. I’ll take your advice and pick up **The Rising**. You’re right, I hadn’t listened to it—partly because I was disappointed in **TGOTJ** , and the stuff I was seeing on TV led me to believe that he was in a kind of dark and brooding Folk kind of phase. I haven’t heard D&D either. Don’t get me wrong—Bruce is fantastic and he remains one of my favorite, if not my favorite, performer. And, I like his darker, brooding stuff. But there are times I really miss the earlier, high energy stuff. ---
**Author:** ![Not\_A\_Tame\_Lion](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/e36b37/32.png) [@Not\_A\_Tame\_Lion](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Not_A_Tame_Lion)\ **Post date:** [February 9, 2006, 7:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/grammys-springsteen-performance/343661/9 "2006-02-09T19:20:31Z")
> [@the raindog](#): > > I’ll take your advice and pick up **The Rising**. You’re right, I hadn’t listened to it—partly because I was disappointed in **TGOTJ** , and the stuff I was seeing on TV led me to believe that he was in a kind of dark and brooding Folk kind of phase. I haven’t heard D&D either. Don’t get me wrong—Bruce is fantastic and he remains one of my favorite, if not my favorite, performer. And, I like his darker, brooding stuff. But there are times I really miss the earlier, high energy stuff. Definitely give both the last two discs a listen. There really is a lot of good stuff there. I like _The Rising_ better, and that has more high energy songs on it, so you may like that one better too. (But let’s give the man a break–he’s over 50 now! He’s lucky he can get out of bed.) ---
**Author:** ![Frostillicus](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/e9bcb4/32.png) [@Frostillicus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Frostillicus)\ **Post date:** [February 10, 2006, 12:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/grammys-springsteen-performance/343661/10 "2006-02-10T00:49:32Z")
> [@Not A Tame Lion](#): > > Definitely give both the last two discs a listen. There really is a lot of good stuff there. I like _The Rising_ better, and that has more high energy songs on it, so you may like that one better too. (But let’s give the man a break–he’s over 50 now! He’s lucky he can get out of bed.) \*\*Worlds Apart \*\* and \*\*Further on Up the Road \*\* (both from **The Rising** ) are two of Springsteen’s best songs ever, IMO. ---
**Author:** ![silenus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/silenus/32/166_2.png) [@silenus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/silenus)\ **Post date:** [February 10, 2006, 12:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/grammys-springsteen-performance/343661/11 "2006-02-10T00:52:34Z")
> [@Frostillicus](#): > > \*\*Worlds Apart \*\* and \*\*Further on Up the Road \*\* (both from **The Rising** ) are two of Springsteen’s best songs ever, IMO. I concur. I also agree that the material from TGoTJ is better live, “Youngstown” especially. ---
**Author:** ![Billdo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/billdo/32/315_2.png) [@Billdo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Billdo)\ **Post date:** [February 10, 2006, 5:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/grammys-springsteen-performance/343661/12 "2006-02-10T05:30:03Z")
I also agree. I like _The Ghost of Tom Joad_ album, but I saw him live on the tour at the Beacon Theater in New York and thought it was one of the best concerts I’ve ever been to. Just him on stage in a small theater with a guitar and harmonica. Amazing.