The Hope Concert IV

Monday night was another great night at The Count Basie Theater.  Bobby Bandiera's 4th Edition of The Hope Concert was set to feature himself, Gary US Bonds, Southside Johnny, and Jon Bon Jovi among others.  However, a special guest made the night one to remember.

The night started, as most Basie nights do, at Juanito's for Mexican food.  Around 8, we made our way over to The Basie.  Sammy and I hung in the hallway with Jeff Kazee as we weren't that intersted in the opening acts, no offense.  About 15 minutes in to the conversation, Jeff told us all of our boys were in the house tonight.  Going to the show, I had no expectations that Bruce woul

d show up, but needless to say, I was pretty psyched.

So we're still standing in the hallway and all of a sudden, Jon Bon Jovi is standing next to us.  I couldn't help but say hi and remind him of our conversation from last year which was described in previous blog posts.  Both of us questioned Tom Coughlin as the coach of the Giants and both of us weren't convinced that Eli was the right QB to lead the team.  I said, thank God we were both wrong and wished him Happy Holidays.

Sammy and I took our seats during Bobby's set.  The show had great pace with quick sets.  After Bobby, Gary US Bonds did a quick set, and then Southside.  At the end of Southside'

s set, JBJ came out to join him for This Time It's For Real.  JBJ was wearing a Southside Johnny and The Asbury Jukes tshirt circa 1976 from The Stone Pony.  Afterwards, he was asked where he got the shirt.  He said it was an original and had been in his closet since the 70's.  He's really a true Southside fan.   

At the end of JBJ's set, he brought out Bruce for Run Run Rudolph.  Bruce hung back, sang back up vocals, but did step forward for an amazing guitar solo.  Sammy and I had been sitting in row Z, but as soon as Bruce took the stage, we moved up and ended up even with the 2nd row.

After Rudolph, Bruce and Bobby's band ran through Merry Christmas Baby and Santa Claus is Coming to To

wn.  During Santa, Bruce brought down La Bamba to sing Clarence's part, but he didn't realize that La Bamba was recently in a car accident and was on crutches.

With an eight person horn section, Bruce and the band then played the Wilson Pickett tune 634-5789.   Believe it or not, this is the first time I have seen Bruce play th

is song.  Cross another off of the list.  Bruce then called JBJ back on stage for 10th Avenue Freeze Out, which was a lot of fun.  As you can see here (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Sg7UcfguwKM) Bruce almost took a spill because there was some give in the mic stand.  Funny stuff.

The show closed with Havin A Party...and we were.  This was another great night of music with great friends, both on stage and off.  Hopefully, this is a tradition that will continue and we will see The Hope Concert V next year.

"It ain't no sin to be glad you're alive..."

JN

Long time no see...

I know it's been a while, but I guess there's been a lot going on...and then again, not a lot that has inspired me to sit down and write a blog entry.  So, this entry will be a catch up on what's going on and what I'm thinking.  I have some other posts that I want to get to, so hopefully I will have some time this week.

- More important than anything else going on right now, Avery took her first two steps today.  She continues to amaze me every day.

- A very happy 35th to my cousin Noel.  Rumor has it that all he really wanted for his birthday was to be left alone.  Maybe next year.

- I hope I am wrong about AJ Burnett.  I was very much against the Yankees signing him to a contract.  He has had two good years in his career, both of which were contract years.  His agent says that he has figured it out.  I sure hope so.  If he is another Carl Pavano, I won't be surprised, but will be disappointed.

- I hope CC Sabathia can mix in a salad once in a while over the next seven years.

- Speaking of the Yankees, kudos to the ticket department for taking care of my unhappiness with my initial seat assignment.  While it wasn't easy, persistence paid off and I can't wait for Opening Day.

- Is that Facebook thing cool or what?

- I am really enjoying the NBA so far this year but that may have something to do with the fact that I have LeBron on my fantasy team.  I just hope the Cavs stop blowing people out so LeBron can stop sitting out the 4th quarter.

- For anyone considering a new cell phone, DEFINITELY get the iPhone.

- Wouldn't it be great to see a roundtable discussion between Michael Vick, Plaxico Burress, and OJ Simpson?  Pete Rose could be the moderator, or he could be on the panel and Bob Costas could moderate.  Costas would ask the tough questions that would make it really interesting.

- Finally, for all that knew Patrice Decker, she will be really missed.  For those that didn't get a chance to know her, you missed out.  Patrice's energy was always positive, always contagious, and she always hugged you like she really meant it.  We know she is in a better place...and her light is shining on those that she loved already.

"It ain't no sin to be glad you're alive..."

JN

Avery turns 1

My daughter, Avery Song Neuer, celebrated her first birthday today. Wow.  In some ways, it seems like just yesterday that Christine went in to labor and 18 hours later (this amount of time will grow as the years go by...no?), there she was.  In other ways, I can't remember life without her.

I say it all the time...she is a funny kid.  She loves to laugh, clap her hands, and be silly.  She has a great personality, more Christine's than mine, and she is extremely adaptable to just about any situation.  Rather than extole all of her virtues (I am a VERY proud father...this could go on forever), I will simply list some things about Avery's first year that I hope to never forget:

- Avery sitting on my lap during the Giants' Super Bowl win.  She wore her lucky Eli Manning jersey (thanks Keith and Nancy) all throughout the playoffs.  During the winning 4th quarter drive, I wouldn't let anyone take her off of my lap in fear that it would jinx the drive.

- When she is tired, she pulls her ear.  When she is really tired, she pulls them both.

- When she sleeps in her crib, she tends to either sleep with her legs completely underneath her or with her butt in the air. Either way, it's pretty cute.

- The first few months, she loved ceiling fans.

- She has a seat that she sits in to watch Baby Einstein.  About two weeks ago, she crawled in to the seat and pointed to the tv.  She has no trouble letting us know what she wants even though she isn't talking yet.

- She LOVES books.  She will climb on to my lap and will turn the pages as we read a book.

- I don't think there is anything better than nap time on the weekends. She will lay on my lap and nap.  It's about the most relaxing thing in the world.

- She LOVES her mother, and it's completely impossible for Christine to love her more than she does.

- This week, I taught her how to put change in to my change bank.  It might be the only thing I can take sole credit for teaching her.

- When you ask her where her nose is, she scrunches it and breathes through her nose.  When asked about her ear, mouth, or foot, she points.

- She loves bellybuttons.  The Korean word for bellybutton is "becko" and that may be her first word.

- She likes waving to people...even in the supermarket.  She just likes people.

- When she was first born, she really liked Jackson Browne.  Now, I think she leans more towards The Beatles.

- She goes crazy for her jumper.

- When she hears music, she does a little dance with her shoulders and torso. Sooo cute.

- More than anything else, she changed the way I look at the world.  

I can't wait to watch her continue to grow.  I know there will be bumps along the way, but the first year was truly amazing.  Happy Birthday Ms. Munchkin.

"It ain't no sin to be glad you're alive..."

JN

A few baseball thoughts

The Yankees have missed the postseason for the first time since 1993.  The 1994 postseason was cancelled due to a labor conflict and in 1995, the Yankees qualified as the first wild card team. Since then, it's been an amazing run, and hopefully, they can start a new run next year.  The Yankees finished six games behind the Red Sox for this year's wild card.  Here are my thoughts on what went wrong this year:

- They didn't trade for Johan.  In the long run, I think this is the right move.  The cost was high both in players and money.  Even though the players that were rumored to be involved in the deal had down years, the long term remains to be seen.  However, for this year, if they had Johan, they make the playoffs.

- Health.  It's not an excuse, especially when you have a payroll in excess of $200m, but Darrell Rasner was third on the team in games started.  Sidney Ponson started the same number of games as Chien-Ming Wang.  Losing Matsui meant losing one of the few guys on the team that understands situational hitting.  Losing Posada meant losing a proven clubhouse leader.

- The manager.  Joe Girardi wasn't my choice.  However, by choosing Girardi over Don Mattingly, ownership was sending a message that they wanted to change things up.  Donnie would have been too similar to Joe Torre.  In my opinion, Girardi struggled heavily when it came to dealing with the players.  When things were going bad, it seemed that his intensity was causing them to press.  His intensity ruled the clubhouse rather than the calm confidence that exuded from Torre's clubhouse. He didn't communicate well with the players, and I don't think his in-game management was aggressive enough.

- No one stepped up.  They needed someone to step up and carry the team offensively.  They needed big hits.  They didn't get them.  Aside from Jason Giambi and Johnny Damon, I don't remember anyone having an explosive week where they carried the team.  ARod finished with great numbers, but they were pretty empty.  Again...they pressed in big spots.

- The kids.  This is the last year that I will consider Cano a kid.  He missed Larry Bowa kicking him in the ass and keeping him focused.  He completely regressed and might have punched his ticket out of town.  Melky, Hughes, Kennedy, and Shelley Duncan all disappointed, and that's an understatement.

If Cashman is back, and I think he should be, he has a lot of work to do in the off-season.  They get some help in that Wang should be back and healthy.  They will have a full year of Xavier Nady, and hopefully by June a healthy Posada.  There are lots of questions, and it will be interesting to see how he shapes next year's team.

Some other thoughts on the season:

- The Mets lose to Florida on the last day of the season and it costs them a playoff spot for the second year in a row.    They lost a 3.5 game lead with 17 games to go.  Johan was amazing on Saturday and Oliver Perez was good, but the bullpen did them in as it had so many times this year.

- CC Sabathia pitches Milwaukie in to the playoffs.  He is the jewel of the free agent crop this off-season, and he made himself a lot of money down the stretch.  He went 11-2 with a 1.65 ERA for the Brewers and should get some MVP votes.

- Manny Ramirez also deserves some MVP votes after hitting .396 with 17 HR's and 53 RBIs in 53 games. However, he is still a jerk for the way he left Boston.

- I am rooting for Joe Torre to win the World Series.  However, if Lou Pinella leads the Cubs to their first title in 100 years, that would be great too.

- I am really rooting for the White Sox to win their make up game with Detroit tomorrow.  That will cause the Twins and White Sox to play a one-game playoff on Tuesday to determine the Central Division winner.  Is there anything better than the one-game playoff?

- The Twins traded Johan and lost Torii Hunter to free agency and are still in the hunt.  Impressive.

One final note...it was 10 years ago that the baseball world was swept up in the chase to break Roger Maris' single season home run record by Mark McGwire and Sammy Sosa.  Roger Clemens won the pitching triple crown leading the league in wins, ERA, and strikeouts and capturing yet another Cy Young Award.  While that season and those players certainly helped bring baseball back from the disaster of 1994, McGwire and Clemens are now baseball outcasts. It's a shame.  It's also hard to believe that it was 10 years ago.

"It ain't no sin to be glad you're alive"

JN

The Farewell

Settle in...this is a long one.

Sunday night, we said goodbye to Yankee Stadium. I had a lot of emotions during the week leading up to last night's game. I was pretty upset. I have long called Yankee Stadium "my most special place on the planet". Unfortunately, I was focused on the fact that I would never get to walk up the tunnel again and see the green grass, the blue seats, and peer around The Stadium and remember all of the great memories. After last night's celebration, I am now able to focus on all of the great memories I have, savor them, and look forward to The New Stadium.

My father first took me to Yankee Stadium in 1980. I remember going with my Uncle Steven, and the car broke down on the way there. I remember being worried about missing the National Anthem. Since then, there have been hundreds of games and countless memories. Some of the great memories are:

- Two games in the Division Series in 1981 against the Brewers (caused by the strike).

- One game in the ALCS against the A's in 1981. My Uncle Steven took me. He doesn't like baseball, but exemplifies what it means to be an uncle.

- Game 2 of the 1981 World Series. I kept score, Tommy John was perfect through 3 innings, I still have the scorecard.

- Old Timer's Day 1984 where I met Catfish Hunter in the stands.

- Countless doubles in to the right field corner by Donnie Baseball in the 80's.

- Too many losses in the early 90's. I got my driver's license just before the season started in 1991. They lost 91 games that year, but we went to a lot of games. Me, Katz, Gideon, Pilch, Jeremy Kaufman...lots of games. We could get there right before the first pitch and buy tickets right near the scouts behind home plate.

- In 1992, the guys wanted to go to the game, but I was pitching that afternoon against Essex Catholic, the best team in the conference. We made a deal that if we won, we would go. I hit a walk off single in the bottom of the 7th. We celebrated all the way back to the locker room and as we were changing, we looked at each other and said..."We're going to the game!".

- Reggie Jackson Day in 1993 with Jon Geller. We caught a ball each during BP. I gave mine to a young kid, probably 3 years old, as a souveneir of his first game.

- Game 2 of the Division Series in 1995. Donnie Baseball's last game at The Stadium. He hit one out. Jared and I sat in the front row of the loge...ran in to Keith before the game. Yelled "Run Jorge, Run" even though we didn't know who Jorge was when Ruben Sierra hit one off the top of the wall to tie the game. Went crazy when Jim Leyritz' ball cleared the wall in right in the 15th inning and just said "Jimmy F*$&ing Leyritz" 100 times on the way home. Incidentally, the winning pitcher in that game was Mariano Rivera.
- Opening Day 1996 in the snow. The debut of the YMCA and they gave us free tickets for...
- Doc Gooden's no-hitter. It was the week in between finals and graduation. I drove up from Trenton State. Our seats were in the corner of the upper deck, but we watched from behind home plate. So far, my only n0-hitter in person.

- All of the home playoff games in 1996. The Jeffrey Maier game...when Derek tied it up, and then Bernie won it. When Bernie hit that home run, Michael Levine and I felt the upper deck shake.

- Going to all six World Series games in 1996. It was bleak when I left for Atlanta, but when I got back, we were on the verge. Girardi's triple, Jared catching a foul ball, Mariano to Wetteland, Charlie Hayes' catch...the first championship that I was old enough to experience...nothing is sweeter.

- The brawl against the Orioles in May 1998 when Benitez drilled Tino after Bernie took him deep. Strawberry led the charge out of the dugout and GLloyd came from the bullpen throwing punches. When it spilled in to the O's dugout, it got really interesting.

- The Chuck Knoblauch game in 1998.

- Game 2 of the World Series in 1998. The second pitch was a foul ball right off of my hand. If I wasn't keeping score, I would have had it.

- The clinching game in 1999. Keith and I were in the second to last row at the top of The Stadium. The guy in front of us was passing a bottle that he snuck in. The guy two seats over from him took his seat apart with a ratchet set before the game even started. We snuck down in the late innings and sat with Scott and the boys. We didn't leave until they kicked us out.

- The Clemens/Piazza game in 2000. I was on my way upstairs and stopped to see Mike, Ross, and Sivin on my way. No one had any idea what was happening.

- All three games of the 2001 World Series at The Stadium. The President throwing out the first pitch of Game 3, Tino and Jeter Game 4....Brosius AGAIN! Game 5. For Game 5, I was with Gideon...it was all about the lucky jacket.

- Watching Barry Bonds hit the longest home run I had ever, and have ever, seen off of Ted Lilly in 2002. All I could do was clap. It was that impressive.

- Game 7 in 2003 with Keith yelling "Boo!" to all of the Sox fans on the way in. "Do you hear the ghosts?" They were there. Mussina bailing out Clemens, Giambi's two homers, Jorge's big hit, Pedro's meltdown, Mariano throwing 3 innings, and then...Aaron Boone (who didn't start the game). Mike, Keith, Ross and I yellling when the ball sailed past us. Seeing Mariano collapse on the mound.

- My father and I were there the night Jeter dove in to the stands against the Sox in 2004. John Flaherty won the game in extra innings.

- April 2005 we saw ARod hit a three run homer, a two run homer, and then a grand slam in his first three at-bats off of Bartolo Colon. I was with Jeff Garibaldi in his seats...sixth row in the center of the Yankee dugout. It's a shame that he won't have the same seats in The New Stadium.

- Countless Opening Days.

- Countless Playoff Games.

- Two World Series clinchers.

- Taking my daughter to her first game...June 21 against the Reds. Carrying her as we past The New Stadium. Watching her and Christine walk up the tunnel towards the field. I will miss the tunnels in The New Stadium.

- The Home Run Derby with balls flying all over the place. Josh Hamilton put on an amazing show.

- The All Star Game with Jared...the Hall of Famers in the pregame ceromony were worth the price of admission alone, but we got an amazing game also. We were rooting hard for DJ or Mo to be the MVP, but with the game going to extra innings, it wasn't to be.

- This past Tuesday night...seeing Jeter get his hit to pass Lou Gehrig. Jared and I took our fathers for one last trip. On the way out, we talked about a lot of the games I mentioned above. Such great memories.

- And the last one...Sunday night...with my dad...who took me to my first game.

Sunday night was a celebration of everything that came before it. All 85 years. They introduced many of the Yankee greats, including many members of the teams that meant so much to us the last few years. The last to be introduced was Bernie...for his first trip back since he stopped playing. The ceremony lasted for an hour...and then the game started.

The Yankees won 7-3. I kept score. Pettitte came through when he had to. The bullpen was great. Damon and Molina hit home runs. Giambi got a hit that was aided by the ghosts when the 3rd baseman and shortstop looked at each other while the ball dropped. Enter Sandman played for the last time in Yankee Stadium (see the video below...it's a new multimedia wrinkle) and Mariano emerged from the left centerfield wall. Next year, the bullpen moves back to rightfield, so it will be odd seeing Mo emerge from the other side of the outfield.

After two outs, Girardi pulled DJ so he could get one last standing ovation...one last curtain call.

After Mariano closed it out, the team poured on to the field, and Sinatra sang New York, New York. It was almost as if they won the World Series. They gathered around the mound, and then Derek Jeter, our captain, delivered an amazing speech, thanking us, the fans.

The players then did a lap around the warning track, similar to 1996. I was looking for someone on a horse! We soaked it in a while longer, watched the players take pictures with their families on the mound, and then almost simultaneously, my father and I decided it was time to go.

I am not upset that I will never get to see The Yankees again in The House That Ruth Built. I have my memories, and I look forward to new memories in The New Stadium. I will make those memories with my friends and my family, and I can only hope that Avery (and any future offspring) feel half as connected to The New Yankee Stadium as I am to The Yankee Stadium.

If you read this far...thanks. Please feel free to leave a comment with your favorite Yankee Stadium moments. You'll be surprised just how much fun it is.

Hope springs eternal...see you in the Bronx...April 16th. It's a date. Memory #1.

"It ain't no sin to be glad you're alive"

JN

What's better than a great tailgate?

There are a few things better than a great tailgate.  However, when you are in the moment of the tailgate, the sun is shining, your friends are all around, the beer is cold, the music is on, and the food is great, there isn't any place you would rather be.  Thursday night, the Giants opened their season after winning last year's Super Bowl with a prime time game against the Redskins.

The tailgate started a little later than we wanted it to.  Our intention was to get there around 11:30, but we found out around 11 that they would be enforcing the new rule that opened the parking lot five hours before game time.  Some of the guys camped out at Scott's, but Jared and I stayed local so we could make sure we were at the gate when it opened.  We drove back to the Meadowlands after getting some lunch around 1:30.  There were many people already lined up when we got there, but got a strategic spot on the shoulder and when they opened the gates, we were able to get our spot in lot 18C.

There is something special about the first game of the season, and it was more special in light of the Super Bowl win.  There are some people at the tailgate that I only see in the parking lot at Giants games, so many I haven't seen since December.  Guys like Al, Young Craig, Frank, Richard, and Andrew to name a few.  It's great to catch up and while every group has some guys that no one likes, it's a really great group. Then of course, there is the core of the group that I do see in the off season and great to see them as well.  Seeing Scott, Keith, Hank, Fresh, Strauss, Strauss (unrelated), and of course Jared...it's the best.  If I missed anyone, I apologize in advance.

The tailgate menu has had very few changes and that's because it works.  Clams with hot sauce, wings, steak, and sausage and peppers.  Lots of beer, and many of the boys are partial to Guiness these days.  If that sounds good to you, please stop by before any Giants game.

So after a great tailgate with most of the day being over 90 degrees, I changed my shirt and went in to the game.  Strahan popped out of a 20 foot Super Bowl trophy with the real thing and hyped up the crowd.  The Giants played great in the first half, but settled for field goals and gave up a late TD so they led 16-7, which ended up being the final.  A very workman like victory over a team that they should have beat.  A good start to the season, but more important...another great day with friends in the parking lot.

"It ain't no sin to be glad you're alive..."

JN

Old friends...new kids

It's great to catch up with old friends. It's even better when they have new children that they bring along. Today, I was lucky enough to have a house full of friends and kids and it was great.

Ken and Carrie along with their five month old son Owen were on their way to a bbq in Northern NJ and stopped by on their way. Soon after they arrived, the Ira and Aly walked over from next door and Abby and Noah. Not too long after, Andy and Lisa arrived with Will and their baby girl, Ellie. All the while, my nephews Nicholas and Anthony were helping with the food and with Avery as they stayed over last night. At one point, it was eight adults and eight kids in the house.

We hung out, ate, played outside, played inside, and just caught up. It was abundantly obvious that my friends are enjoying being parents as much as I am. At the end of the day, I thought about just how long I have been friends with Ken, Andy and Ira. Ken and I met in 1992 as we lived in the same dorms and had some classes together. He had a Bruce concert shirt that he wore, so we hit off immediately. Andy and I met in 1993, his freshman year, my sophomore year as Joe Lewin told me that Andy had some Bruce bootlegs that he might let me borrow so I could copy them. Ira and I went to Israel together in the winter of my junior year 1994/1995, which was his senior year. I don't normally quote the Grateful Dead, but..."What a long strange trip it's been."

To still be friends with people 14, 15, 16 years later...it's very special. That we are all in the same place in our lives right now, married with small children, certainly makes it easy to relate to what each other is going through.

Later in the day, my sister Sari and brother-in-law Jeff came over for dinner. As I mentioned in my last blog entry, Sari is pregnant. She and Christine spend time talking about pregnancy and parenting. I am really excited in a lot of ways, but I am very much looking forward to Sari and Jeff joining the parenthood club.

Five years ago tonight I was at Giants Stadium for the 10th Bruce show at Giants Stadium. I attended all 10, and many more that summer. I went with Ira. After the show, Ira went home to his wife and daughter. I went straight down the shore...it was the last night ever at The Tradewinds. I started drinking immediately as I was crashing locally. I was on stage with Brian Kirk and the Jirks as the last song ended and spent the rest of the night drinking on the beach. While I am still attending Bruce shows, I couldn't be further from that place in my life right now. I wouldn't change it for anything...and if I had to bet, neither would Ken, Andy, or Ira.

"It ain't no sin to be glad you're alive..."

JN

Amazing Happenings

Some might think that with the end of the Bruce tour and the apparent demise of the Yankees season that I might have the end of summer blues. NOT SO! There are some amazing happenings to report, so I am happy to share...

MY SISTER SARI IS PREGNANT! My brother-in-law Jeff and sister Sari are expecting their first child which is due April 11, 2009. I can't welcome them in to the best club I have ever been lucky enough to be a member of. Parenthood. They are both truly two of my favorite people and I couldn't be happier for them and my entire family.

While everything after that is completely secondary, there is one other piece of good news. The basement project is finally done in my house. We started the project a few months ago, and I could not be happier with the outcome. All of the credit goes to my wife Christine as she picked everything except the TV. The general contractor was Steve Garguilo of Garguilo Builders and he did an amazing job. This week, The Media Room of Montville installed the TV, surround sound, etc. They also did a tremendous job in designing the set up, recommending the TV, and executing the plan. Christine is calling it The Man Cave, so if I am missing, you can look for me there.

And if that wasn't enough, Avery is getting cuter and cuter every day. She's crawling now so she is all over the place, but loves to smile and clap her hands. She's just amazing!

"It ain't no sin to be glad you're alive!"

JN

Random thoughts...

Just a few thoughts...

- It's good to know that when things are tough, Hank Steinbrenner will give up and make excuses. Of course, he said he is not giving up on 2008, but when you are looking ahead to next season with over 25% of this season left, what does that say to the fan base? Here's one of the quotes, "We're going to win it next year. If we need to add a top veteran pitcher, we'll do that. We'll do whatever we need to do. Next year we'll be extremely dangerous." Does that mean that I shouldn't watch or go to any more games this year? Will I get a refund from Hank for the remaining games? Maybe he should take a page out of his father's book and try to inspire the team...not make excuses for them.
- Has anyone noticed that Joe Torre's Dodgers are pretty much tied for first place in the NL West? Looks like I might have a rooting interest in October after all. Somehow, I think Joe would have had the Yankees in the hunt this year...or at least playing with some heart. Heck...he got Manny to cut his hair. The guy can do anything.
- Today marked the end of an era. WFAN officially announced that Chris "Mad Dog" Russo will be released from his contract. There will be no last show. Mike and The Mad Dog are officially over. Mad Dog is rumored to be heading to Sirius, while Mike might be looking for a new partner. While I know that they haven't been getting along, after 19 years, they should have had one last hurrah.
- Brett Favre's a Jet, which is great news for the Giants. Nothing like winning the Super Bowl and being under the radar in your own city.
- Good luck to Michael Phelps. Six down...two to go.

That's all for this week. "It ain't no sin to be glad you're alive..."

JN

Summertime Bruce

There are certain things that, for me, are just right. My daughter taking a nap on my lap, October baseball in the Bronx, Friday night dinners at my parents' house, and Bruce in the summertime. Some would argue that for me, any time is a good time for Bruce. However, there is something special about the summertime. Bruce played Giants Stadium three times this week, perhaps for the last time.

First, let me talk about the tailgate. Because of the construction of the new Giants Stadium, the parking lots have been reconfigured in the last year, forcing us to move our tailgate from Lot 17A to Lot 18C for Giants games, and for Bruce shows also. We tailgated Sunday and Thursday...and took Monday off. I have to work sometimes...right? The attendance for the tailgates was stellar. It was a great mix of people I see often, people I don't see enough, people I just see at Bruce shows, and people I haven't seen in a long time. The roll call for both Sunday and Thursday included my sister Sari, brother-in-law Jeffrey, Dave and Jodi Katz, Spider, Fresh, Greg S, Jeff Koko, and my partner in crime for Bruce...Sammy. It was also great to see Greg V. and his new wife, the rest of the Koko Family, the Nugget King Rob Fisher, Gordon, Greg, Jen C and her 8+ month pregnant sister Adrienne, Back Nine Schein, and of course, Beckerman. If I missed anyone...I am sorry...but I am typing pretty late. The menu was WindMill hot dogs, burgers, a special recipe of bites of a steaks that Spider likes to call Steak Tips, and of course....a lot of cold beer.

The tailgates started at 3:30 both days and lasted until about 8. Great weather, great food, great friends, and great music. Oh by the way...afterwards, there were concerts.

As for the shows, they were tremendous. I can't really judge which of the three I enjoyed more. One didn't stand out from the rest like some of the other epic stands. Of the 55,000 people there each night, I am confident that no one had a better time than me. Some might have had an equally good time, like my sister Sari on Thursday, but no one had a better time. Over the course of the three nights, Bruce played 53 different songs. Each show was over 3 hours, and there was a great mix of hits, old, new, obscure, etc. I always say when I head in to a show that I want to hear something I have never heard before. This stand, I heard four songs I have never heard before: Held Up Without A Gun (played for only the third time ever), I'll Work For Your Love (one of my favorites off of the new album), Summertime Blues (a great cover), and Drive All Night (I had heard it solo, but never with the band...amazing).

The musical highlights were many. Jungleland (twice), Drive All Night, Incident, Held Up Without A Gun, Cadillac Ranch, Badlands, etc. As good as the music was, Bruce was better. He was working the crowd, taking sign requests, and connecting with people. Sitting near the front all three nights, it was great to see Bruce interacting with the fans, especially the small children. Being a father now, that stuff really hits home for me. The first night, he played Growin Up for a 10 year old fan named Rosie. Also that night, he sang a verse of Girls in their Summer Clothes to a young fan in the front row while holding her hand and looking right at her. Monday night he gave his harmonica from Promised Land to a 7 year old fan with a sign asking for the harmonica. He was great.

There was a lot of anticipation for these shows since they went on sale in December, and it lived up to everything we hoped it would be. If you were there with me, thanks for contributing to a great time. If you weren't...I hope you can join us next time.

"It ain't no sin to be glad you're alive..."

JN

All Star Week

Sorry that it's taken me a week to get to this, as I know you are all chomping at the bit for my next blog entry (ha ha). Last week, Yankee Stadium played host to the All Star Game and all of the related festivities. It was one of the most enjoyable baseball experiences of my life.

I started the experience Monday afternoon at All Star Fan Fest with my brother-in-law Jeff. He's a great person to hit an event with as he always seems to have a good time. We met up outside the Javitz Center and when we walked in, it was a little intimidating. There was a map, but we ignored it and just started near the front door. Easy enough, right?

The first area we visited was the ongoing live auction. They were auctioning some of the coolest items I have seen, and they were all on display in glass cases. They had the private collections of both Whitey Ford and Thurman Munson that they were auctioning. Whitey's collection included a lot of items that he had collected during his career, as well as afterwards. Autographed pictures of Billy, Mickey, and many other Yankees were abundant. They were also auctioning the jackets that they gave Whitey when he threw out the first pitch at recent World Series games. Thurman's collection was all of his awards, contracts, trophies, etc. Included was his two World Series rings, as well as the World Series trophy they gave him as Captain of the 1978 Yankees. He also had a picture of Mickey and Joe D that was signed by both, to Thurman.

The rest of the Fan Fest was a series of batting cages, pitching cages, kids stuff, and lots of stuff to buy. All I bought was a poster, which is a miracle. I was surprised that it was so Yankees oriented, with very little Mets stuff anywhere.

I then met up with my business partner Joe at Ben Benson's. We had a quick drink and then walked to the subway on our way to the Home Run Derby. We each had a baseball glove as we were sitting in home run territory, and Joe brought his new camera. This camera has a great zoom feature and takes amazing pictures.

As we left the subway, I noticed a man that looked a lot like Bob Watson. As I approached, I noticed he had an MLB lapel pin. When I got even closer, I noticed he was wearing a Yankees World Series ring. I asked, "You're Bob Watson...right?" He said he was. I explained that one of my earliest Stadium memories was him hitting a foul ball near me and my father. I think I was seven years old. It was a hard line drive in to the loge, and my father grabbed me. I remember asking my father why he didn't catch it. After all, he had my glove. Watson replied, "He caught you instead".

We went to grab something to eat across the street from the Stadium and we noticed how many random shirts there were. People were wearing Pirates shirts, and Cardinals shirts, and Brewers shirts...it was not a typical Yankees crowd.

We made our way inside, grabbed our seats, and batting practice was still going on. It was cool to see all of the kids on the field wearing their father's jerseys playing in the outfield.

There really is only one thing to say about the Home Run Derby. Josh Hamilton was AWESOME. Even though he didn't win, he should have. He hit 28 home runs in the first round, which was a record. His 71 year old high school coach was his pitcher and he crushed balls all over the park, including one off of the back wall. He obviously got tired, so Justin Mourneau won by hitting five home runs in the finals.

On the way back, I bumped in to Fresh on the subway, which is always a treat.

Tuesday, I met up with Jared for the All Star Game itself. We met at the Meadowlands and took one car in. We made it to the Bronx in about 20 minutes. We met up with Scott, Rob, Sam, and Mike in the parking lot and then went for something to eat. On the way in, I bumped in to the Francis Family. It was a who's who. When we got in to the Stadium, we decided to go see Jared's friend Bobby. One problem, we were in right field and he was in left. No problem because we had plenty of time. During the walk, we bumped in to Strauss, as well as the Denis and his family.

Once they started the pre-game festivities, it was obvious that rightfield wasn't going to be a good spot for photos, so I started wandering the Stadium near the infield. The introductions were amazing. They brought out many living Hall of Famers and they stood near their positions. They introduced the Hall of Famers at each position, and then the starting All Star from each team ran out to join them as they were introduced. It was very cool. Willie Mays was the only centerfielder. They switched it up at the end and introduced the starting catchers first, and then introduced the Hall of Fame catchers, Gary Carter....and Yogi Berra. Rightfully so, Yogi was the last one introduced.

Then, it was time for the ceremonial first pitch. It all happened so fast. They introduced the principle owner of the New York Yankees...GEORGE STEINBRENNER. I don't think George has ever been introduced at Yankee Stadium. He was driven out in a golf cart with his family and delivered the balls for the first pitch. He was visibly crying and moved by the experience. He delivered four baseballs for the four Yankee Hall of Famers, Reggie, Goose, Whitey and Yogi. They threw the pitches to Girardi (there as a coach), and the three Yankee All Stars, ARod, Jeter, and Mariano. It was amazing. All of this...and the game hadn't started yet.

The game was a low scoring affair, which ended up going 15 innings. We left at the end of the 10th, but there were a lot of highlights. Jeter getting a hit and stealing a base, Papelbon getting booed mercilessly and the fans chanting "Mariano" as he pitched and blew the save. Billy Wagner blowing the save was funny too. The biggest highlight of the game for me was Mariano coming in to the game to his signature song, Enter Sandman and pitching 1 2/3 scoreless innings. After the AL failed to score in the bottom of the 10th with the bases loaded and no outs, we decided to leave as it was just after midnight.

All in all...an amazing experience with great friends. Here's a link to the photos. Enjoy.

All Star Week Photos

"It ain't no sin to be glad you're alive..."
JN

The First "Best Concert I Ever Saw"

Today is the 15th anniversary of the first show that I considered, "The Best Concert I Ever Saw". While I guess the fact that it was 15 years ago makes me feel a little old, I am comforted by the fact that the tshirt still fits and it was only a bit over a month ago that I saw the latest, "Best Concert..." In fact, I wore the tshirt from 1993 to the Count Basie last month.

June 24, 1993 - Bruce Springsteen finished his 1992-93 tour with two shows in the US after an extended run in Europe. The first of the two was a benefit for World Hunger Year and The Community FoodBank and would be held at (still called) the Brendan Byrne Arena. Two nights later, Bruce would finish the tour at Madison Square Garden and in between, he would play the last Letterman on NBC. I was 19 years old, had recently finished my first year of college and was set to work at the JCC camp in Flanders. I don't think camp had started yet, but I was also playing baseball in the Essex County league that summer also.

I was hanging out with a lot of my high school friends in the beginning of the summer, and went to the show with Anna Scalora. This was well before the days of having "Bruce friends" and believe it or not, I was kinda scrambling to find someone to go with. Everyone else that I knew at the time that liked Bruce already had a ticket to the show. Needless to say, at the time, I didn't know that many Bruce fans.

I sat behind the stage...even early on in my Bruce concert career, I loved sitting behind the stage to see the interaction with the band. Also keep in mind, this was before the internet, and tracking set lists, so I had no clue what to expect. The show opened with Bruce and his back up singers trading vocals on I Ain't Got No Home, a Woody Guthrie song. I had never heard it before, but it was great. Then Bruce did an acoustic set, Seeds, Adam Raised A Cain, and a song that I had never even heard of before, This Hard Land, which he played for Steven.

The band then joined Bruce on stage and launched in to Better Days. Bruce had opened with this when I saw my first show and from the first minute, even though I was sitting as far away as I could possibly get, I was hooked. When he sang the line..."and it feels like I'm coming home," I thought the roof was coming off of the arena.

The other highlight of the first set (there were still intermissions at Bruce shows back then) was Leap of Faith. When Bruce jumped in to the crowd, someone stole one of his boots. He came back on stage minus a shoe! The woman with the shoe eventually was allowed on stage to give it back to Bruce. A truly hysterical moment.

The second set opened with Bruce on the acoustic again, this time joined by Roy for Does This Bus Stop at 82nd Street?. The acoustic songs, in hindsight, were a precursor to Bruce's next tour. The second set just rocked thereafter. I listened to the bootleg of this set probably 1000 times and it never gets old. Because The Night, Brilliant Disguise (with Bruce and Patti dancing together at the end), Human Touch, The River, Who'll Stop The Rain, Souls of the Departed, Living Proof (still one of my favorites), Born in the USA, and Light of Day. WOW. And we really haven't hit any of the highlights yet. While it might look like a pedestrian set list on paper, at the time, I was completely blown away.

Then the encores started. Bruce brought out his friend Joe Ely to sing his song Settle for Love, which is a great country rocker. After that, Little Steven came out for Glory Days. Sitting behind the stage, I noticed that after Glory Days, Steven sat down on the drum riser...he didn't leave the stage. The other time I saw Steven play with Bruce on this tour, he played one song and left. This was getting interesting. Bruce then played an acoustic Thunder Road. He then invited out Southside Johnny and the Miami Horns. They went right in to a great version of It's Been A Long Time. The song was relatively new at that point, and the three friends, Bruce, Steven, and Johnny were having a great time recreating what they had recently recorded.

After It's Been A Long Time, Southside left the stage and Bruce walked around flashing ten fingers at the band. I thought he was saying "Stay" to Southside, but he was saying "Ten" to the band...as in 10th Avenue Freeze Out. The Miami Horns launched in to their parts...and Bruce was cooking. When they got to the bridge, Bruce looked backstage and started waving his arm. As he sang the line, "Well they made that change uptown and The Big Man joined the band" Clarence came running on to the stage and hit his solo right on cue. I thought the building was going to explode it was so loud. Having never seen the E Street Band, this was amazing. Clarence stayed on stage for the next song, which Bruce introduced as follows, "Can't have The Big Man here and not do this one...it's the Jersey set." With that, he counted off "1-2" and they launched in to Born To Run. Clarence was having a bit of trouble with his mic, so for his solo, Bruce took his mic and put it inside Clarence's sax so everyone could hear the solo. This was just amazing.

Bruce then quieted it down a bit with My Beautiful Reward, which gave us a chance to catch our breath a bit and followed it up with Old Dusty Road, again with Joe Ely and a future E Street Band member, Soozie Tyrell. little Steven, Southside and The Miami Horns then came back out for Havin' A Party, which was followed by Jersey Girl, with a guest appearance from Mighty Max Weinberg. They closed the show with Southside, The Miami Horns, and Little Steven joining Bruce for It's All Right...and it was.

You know an experience is truly great when you look back 15 years and you can still see the images in your head...and they give you goosebumps. I really consider myself a lucky person because I have a lot of those moments to look back on,...and I know...many more to come.

"It ain't no sin to be glad you're alive..."

JN

RIP George Carlin

In the past few weeks, we have lost three giants: Bo Diddley, Tim Russert, and now, George Carlin. Bo was one of the founding father's of Rock N Roll and the creator the Bo Diddley beat. With Tim Russert's passing, we immediately became less informed as he helped us shape our opinions, never inflicting his agenda. And of course, he was a big Bruce fan. With Carlin, the world is less funny today, and also less honest.

The following appeared in today's NY Times and is posted here without permission. I thought it was worth sharing.

Op-Ed Contributor
Dying Is Hard. Comedy Is Harder.

http://www.nytimes.com/2008/06/24/opinion/24seinfeld.html

By JERRY SEINFELD
Published: June 24, 2008
THE honest truth is, for a comedian, even death is just a premise to make jokes about. I know this because I was on the phone with George Carlin nine days ago and we were making some death jokes. We were talking about Tim Russert and Bo Diddley and George said: “I feel safe for a while. There will probably be a break before they come after the next one. I always like to fly on an airline right after they’ve had a crash. It improves your odds.”

I called him to compliment him on his most recent special on HBO. Seventy years old and he cranks out another hour of great new stuff. He was in a hotel room in Las Vegas getting ready for his show. He was a monster.

You could certainly say that George downright invented modern American stand-up comedy in many ways. Every comedian does a little George. I couldn’t even count the number of times I’ve been standing around with some comedians and someone talks about some idea for a joke and another comedian would say, “Carlin does it.” I’ve heard it my whole career: “Carlin does it,” “Carlin already did it,” “Carlin did it eight years ago.”

And he didn’t just “do” it. He worked over an idea like a diamond cutter with facets and angles and refractions of light. He made you sorry you ever thought you wanted to be a comedian. He was like a train hobo with a chicken bone. When he was done there was nothing left for anybody.
But his brilliance fathered dozens of great comedians. I personally never cared about “Seven Words You Can Never Say on Television,” or “FM & AM.” To me, everything he did just had this gleaming wonderful precision and originality.

I became obsessed with him in the ’60s. As a kid it seemed like the whole world was funny because of George Carlin. His performing voice, even laced with profanity, always sounded as if he were trying to amuse a child. It was like the naughtiest, most fun grown-up you ever met was reading you a bedtime story.

I know George didn’t believe in heaven or hell. Like death, they were just more comedy premises. And it just makes me even sadder to think that when I reach my own end, whatever tumbling cataclysmic vortex of existence I’m spinning through, in that moment I will still have to think, “Carlin already did it.”

Jerry Seinfeld is a writer and a comedian.

Avery's First Trip to The Stadium

Yankee Stadium has a lot of nicknames. To me, it's always been one of my most special places on the planet. Today, I got to take my daughter Avery, now seven months old, to her first game, Yankees vs. Cincinnati Reds, June 21, 2008 at 1:05 pm.

The day started with a little more preparation than a normal trip to the Bronx. After all, I am usually not bringing a diaper bag. We left around 11:30, stopped for gas, some lunch for my wife Christine, and we were over the bridge in plenty of time to make to for the first pitch. Walking past the new stadium, I pointed and told Avery, "that will be yours...today we are going to mine."

We made our way through the line, and entered The Stadium through the Sidewalk Cafe, not too far from our seats in right field. I admit, I was pretty nervous. I wasn't sure how she would react to all of the people, the cheering, etc. As we walked down the tunnel, I hung back and watched Christine and Avery enter and snapped a picture. All I could think about was Billy Crystal's story about his first time in Yankee Stadium. He described the colors, having never seen them before as he watched games on black and white television. Even though I knew my daughter would have no recollection of this day, everything seemed a bit brighter to me.

We sat in our seats as the first pitch was thrown. Everyone in our section asked if this was her first game, commented on how cute she is, and then were amazed at how well behaved she was. She ate her lunch, looked at all of the people, smiled, sat on my lap, sat on Christine's lap, and took it all in.

With Dan Giese (NYY) and Daryl Thompson (CIN) both making their first major league starts, I didn't expect a pitchers duel. However, that's what we got. I decided we should leave after six innings to beat the traffic a bit and not have to deal with the crowds on the way out. The score was 0-0 when we left. Considering the Yankees gave up four runs in the top of the 7th, and ended up losing 6-0, I would say we left at the perfect time.

I truly can't think of a better way to spend an afternoon than with my wife and daughter, in one of my favorite places on the planet. Today...was perfect.

"It ain't no sin to be glad you're alive"

JN

Memorial Day Weekend

This past Memorial Day Weekend featured some great family events which I thought were worth mentioning.

The weekend started with the 2nd Annual All-In For A Cure on Long Island. A benefit for the NephCure Foundation which is run by my cousins Ross and Michael Levine and Brian Sivin, it is a Texas Hold 'Em Tournament which had over 300 entrants this year. While it's always fun to see The Long Island Levines (as I call them), I actually had some success in the poker tournament.

I never play, but learned a few tricks last year from Fresh. The highlight for me was a big pot when there were about five tables left. I had pocket aces and three other players went all in before it was my turn to bet. I also went all in and we flopped our cards. Cousin Brad had pocket 10's and I don't remember the other two hands. Brad drew a third 10 on the flop. Without a third ace, I would be out of the tournament. There was probably 30,000 in chips in the pot, if not more and there was a nice crowd watching our table. The turn didn't help me, but the player to my left said, "you'll get it on the river". Sure enough, the dealer turned over an ace! What a rush. Lots of clapping and back slapping.

I ended up coming up 16th, losing at the second to last table. It was a great event, and I am working on the 2nd Annual All-In for New Jersey.

Sunday, we celebrated my cousin Scott Rosen's 50th Birthday. The weather was amazing and Scott and Deb have a great house for entertaining. Again, it was great to see all of the guys, and everything was amazing. The Rosen Family adopted me years ago as we really aren't related. Keith married my cousin Nancy, but through Giants games, Yankees games, and concerts, we have become very close and Scott, Keith and Fresh are more like older brothers than friends or cousins.

Bringing my daughter Avery to a party is a lot of fun. She is such a happy baby and loves to smile. Everyone really got a kick out of her and she is very engaging. We really are amazingly lucky to have such a great/happy baby.

Anyone who knows me knows that family is very important. This Memorial Day Weekend was all about family. Aside from the events above, I also got to spend time with my parents, grandparents, siblings, close friends, and most important, my wife and daughter. A truly great weekend.

"It ain't no sin to be glad you're alive..."

JN

"It ain't no sin to be glad you're alive"

On Wednesday May 7, Bruce Springsteen played a benefit for the Count Basie Theatre, which is a 1500 seat theater in Downtown Red Bank and one of my favorite places to see a show. Joined by the E Street Band, this was possibly the best show I have ever seen. If it wasn't the best, it was in the top three.

Before I speak about the show, I need to mention my wife. I offered to take her with me, but she selflessly stepped aside, which allowed me to attend the show with my boys, Fresh and Sammy. We met at The Dublin House along with Rich, and many others for pre-show drinks and dinner. The weather was great, we sat outside, and talked about what we expected to see. There was a rumor that Bruce was going to play the entire Darkness on the Edge of Town and Born in the USA albums. I was pretty unhappy with this rumor as I thought the idea was a bit hokey, and there are plenty of songs on Born in the USA that I wouldn't be that excited to hear. Well, the rumor was partially correct.

After several introductory speeches, Bruce and the band took the stage. Bruce talked about his history with the theater dating back to the 70's and how he wanted to do something special. So, the band was going to do something they have never done before and probably never do again. They were going to play the entire Darkness album and the entire BORN TO RUN album. He said that they would play Darkness first as to not send everyone home suicidal. He then went on to talk a little bit about the Darkness album. He wrote it while living on a farm in Holmdel, and was going through a pretty difficult stretch.

The band launched in to Badlands, which is the first track. Within 5 seconds, they stopped. The goofed the opening. Bruce seemed pretty amused and announced that they fucked it up already and maybe that's why they don't do this. Bruce then counted down, the band locked in, and there wasn't another bad note to my ears the rest of the night. They ripped through and the crowd in my section was singing every line. Adam Raised A Cain ripped with Bruce's guitar work in fine form. He would take every guitar solo on the Darkness material except for one, which I will mention later.

Something in the Night absolutely rocked. The primal screams by Bruce were matched by the crowds for the first of many times. Candy's Room was played with such intensity. Racing in the Street is my favorite song on the album. The last song on side one. They nailed it. While I will always miss Danny, Charlie Giordano does a great job and Roy's piano was a perfect combination of beauty and power.

The Promised Land is a sharp contrast to Racing. I am not sure if the characters in Racing believe there is a Promised Land anymore. I do though. They played Factory true to the arrangement on the album. The original clocks in at 2:20, and I think this one was pretty close. Streets of Fire is the least played song on the album, but that didn't stop them from knocking it out the park. Prove It All Night is always one of my favorites, especially when I am sitting with Fresh. Bruce and Steven trading "Yeah" back and forth...to me, it's the core of the band. For the beginning of the song, Nils was playing an acoustic guitar. On this tour, Nils has been playing the solo on this song, so it appeared to me that they were changing it up. Having not seen it on this tour, what hit me next was jaw-dropping. Nils' solo simply shredded the audience.

Finally, Darkness on the Edge of Town closed the first set. When I saw Bruce do an acoustic show in 2003, he mentioned that the line that he focuses on in Darkness is "Tonight, I'll Be..." He explained that it was his promise to his audience. I will be here, and I will give my all. Tonight, Bruce and the E Street Band gave their all.

Darkness isn't one of my favorite albums if I was ranking them, but I couldn't have enjoyed it more. Hearing the songs in sequential order brought me back to the beginning on my fandom. Before I listened to bootlegs, I listened to the albums over and over again. I listened to them on my cd player, and I definitely listened to them on the tape deck in my car. While I was already a fan when I truly discovered Darkness, I remember connecting heavily with the record during my sophomore year of college. I guess I was 19 or 20 years old and like everyone else, I felt a little disconnected, not sure where I was going and who I was going with. This album faced those same questions.

After a 15 minute break, Bruce came back out and explained a little about Born to Run. He explained that they were on the verge of being kicked off the Columbia Records label. It took him six months to write the song and another six to record it before they had it right. He then spent time writing songs that would be good enough to be on the same album. From the harmonica beginning of Thunder Road to the final sax note, they just nailed it. The "Mighty Max" horns, Eddie "Kingfish" Manion, Jerry Vivino, La Bamba, and Mark "Love Man" Pender, joined for 10th Avenue Freeze Out. Bruce jumped down in to the crowd during the intro. His interaction with Clarence on this song has lessened in the last few years, but this night, they were as connected as ever.

Night was a straight ahead freight train, with another great solo by Clarence. Backstreets is always a show stopper for me. One of the ultimate friendship songs. "We swore, forever friends...on the backstreets until the end." Many of my best friends I have either met directly because we are Bruce fans (Andy, Jeff Koko, Sammy, Rich) or the friendship has been enhanced because of it. Born to Run always blows me away. I usually spend most of the song watching the crowd reaction as at most shows, they bring the house lights up. In such a small venue, I had no choice but to watch the crowd.

She's the One was also a runaway freight train. The band just smoked. Then came one of the truly special moments of the night. Meeting Across The River is typically played with just Roy (piano) and Gary (bass). The original recording included a very subtle, very beautiful trumpet part. I had never heard the song performed live this way, but Mark Pender came out and just killed it. It was so good, I almost never want to hear the song again unless Mark is playing the trumpet part. Jungleland was the knockout punch. The best thing about Soozie Tyrell joining the E Street Band in 2002 is the violin parts of Jungleland. Steven's guitar solo, Clarence's sax solo, Roy's piano, Max pounding the drums...and Bruce's primal scream. It was everything and more.

Without even leaving the stage, the encores started with Bruce asking for the horns to come back out. He introduced a song that was left off of Darkness and gave the band some instructions regarding the second chorus. He explained that they hadn't played it in a while and that if they were going to fuck up any part of the song, that would be it. So Young and In Love is just straight forward FUN. In my opinion, it wasn't left off of the album because it was an inferior song; it just didn't fit the theme. It's way too much fun to be on Darkness. During this song, we walked down to the fourth row as security wasn't bothering people in the aisle anymore.

Before the song started, I had predicted Kitty's Back. Well, I was off my one song. During Kitty's Back, Bruce gave each of the horn players extended solo, as well as Charlie and Roy before ripping in to his own solo. At the end, he said "Kitty's Back...and someone's with her" and repeated it again. With that, he and the band launched in to Rosalita. The extra sounds created by the horn section add so much and Bruce was having a ton of fun, even kissing his wife unexpectedly at one point. The show closed with a tremendous version of Raise Your Hand and we were sufficiently blown away.

All songs performed were written in 1978 or earlier. It was a time machine experience. To see Bruce and The E Street Band play this 1970's material in a theater was very special. As I mentioned earlier, it took me back to when I was becoming a fan. I remember listening to Born to Run a million times before I had any bootlegs. I thought there was nothing better than driving in my convertible, blasting the music and signing at the top of my lungs. Last night, I sang at the top of my lungs and it felt great. I remember being a senior in high school and really connecting with the music and the lyrics. Here was a guy who was from the same place as me, and he gets it. To me, Bruce was on a road...and I wanted to be on that road too. I have grown, and luckily, so has his music. I have been able to take it with me to different places; places where I danced with my wife on our wedding night; places where I sing to my daughter; places where I can think about my hopes for the future. Last night, it was great to get back to the beginning. To scream. To dance. And most important, to do it with friends.

The blog will have a new closing line. I am retiring, "Stay hard, stay hungry, stay alive...if you can". It's not optimistic enough and doesn't fit my personality or my life. The new closing line will be...

"It ain't no sin to be glad you're alive"...

JN

NJ Hall of Fame

In certain circles, I take some heat for being from New Jersey. I have never been anything but proud of being from New Jersey, and many people have asked me why. It's not really something I can put my finger on, but the speech below comes close. This weekend, the inaugural class of the New Jersey Hall of Fame was inducted. Included in the class were Albert Einstein, Thomas Edison, Yogi Berra, Frank Sinatra, and of course, Bruce Springsteen. Bruce's acceptance speech is below. Enjoy.

JN

"You know, when I first got the letter, I was a little suspicious because . .. a New Jersey Hall of Fame? I don't know. Does New York have a hall of fame? Does Connecticut have a hall of fame? I mean, maybe they think they don't need one. But then I thought like, 'Well, let me see. All right, Albert Einstein, Bruce Springsteen . . . my mother's really gonna like that part.' So . . . she's here tonight, it's her birthday . . . it's the only time those two names are gonna be mentioned in the same sentence, is right now, so I'm gonna enjoy it.

But when I was recording my first album, the record company spent a lot of money taking a lot of pictures of me in New York City. And . . .something didn't quite feel right. I was walking down the boardwalk one day. And I stopped at a souvenir stand and bought a postcard, saying 'Greetings From Asbury Park.' I remember thinking, 'Yeah, that's me.' I mean, down south there was Patti Smith. And up north, right here in Newark, was George Clinton and Parliament-Funkadelic, great musicians.

With the exception of, I guess, a few half-years in California, my family and I, we've raised our kids here. We got a big Italian-Irish family, and I found my own Jersey girl here . . . And in the end, I just found something that grew deeply resonant, like holding the hands of my kids on the same streets where my mom held my hand and swimming in the same ocean and visiting the same beaches I did as a child.

It was a place, also, that really protected me. It's been very nurturing. I could take my kids down to Freehold, throw 'em up on my shoulders and walk along the street, with thousands of other people on Cruise Nights, with everybody just going, 'Hey Bruce' . . . that was something
that meant a lot to me, the ability to just go about my life. I was protected here, by the people here. And I really appreciated that.

So anyway . . . you get a little older now, you get those crisp fall days that come in September and the beginning of October. My friends and I, we slip into that cold water of that Atlantic Ocean. These days, you take note that there's a few less of your friends swimming alongside of you as each year passes. But something about being in one place your whole life, they're all still around you, in the water. And I look towards the shore, and I see my son and my daughter, pushing their way through the waves, and on the beach there's a whole batch of new little kids running away from the crashing surf. Like time itself.

That's what New Jersey is for me. It's a repository, now, of just my time on earth. My memory, the music I've made, friendships, my life, it's all buried here, at this point, in a box, somewhere in the sand, down on the Jersey Shore. And I can't imagine having it any other way.

But let me finish with a Garden State benediction.

Rise up, my fellow New Jerseyans, for we are all members of a confused but noble race. We of the state that will never get any respect, we who bear the cruelness of the forever uncool. A chip on the shoulders of those with forever something to prove. And even with this wonderful hall of fame, we know that there's another bad Jersey joke just around the corner.

But fear not, fear not! This is not our curse. It is our blessing. For this is what infused us with our fighting spirit, that we may salute the world forever with the fabulous Jersey state bird (raises middle finger). And that the fumes from our great northern industrial area, to the ocean breezes of Cape May, fill us with the raw hunger, the naked ambition and the desire not just to do our best, but to stick it in your face.

Theory of relativity, anybody? How about some electric light with your day? Or maybe a spin to the moon and back? That's right. And that is why our fellow Americans in those other 49 states know that when the announcer says, 'And now, in this corner, from New Jersey . . . ,' they'd
better keep their hands up and their heads down, 'cause when that bell rings, we always come out swinging.

God bless the Garden State."
Bruce Springsteen - May 4, 2008

Super-group?

My friend Greg brought up the Traveling Wilburys this week in an email. An amazing collection of truly historic musicians that made two records, appropriately titled Volume 1 and Volume 3 (that's not a typo). The band was made up of George Harrison, Roy Orbison, Tom Petty, Bob Dylan and Jeff Lynne (of ELO fame). The band was formed when George Harrison and Jeff Lynne were working on a B-side for a single on Harrison's Cloud Nine record. They were all hanging out and Harrison recruited everyone to cut Handle With Care, and the rest was history. Sadly, Roy Orbison passed away before Volume 3 and Del Shannon was set to replace him, but he passed away too.

So the question is, if you were starting a super-group, who would be in it? Please submit your groups in the comments section if you are so inclined. Mine would be Bruce (obviously), Bono, Eddie Vedder, Eric Clapton, Elvis Costello and Little Steven as the producer. Jackson Browne, Roger McGuinn, Sting and Adam Duritz would be my alternates.

Some other quick thoughts:
- Bob Costas did a great special last week on HBO. It was a live town hall meeting on the sports media landscape. If you can catch it, I highly recommend it. Click here for the replay schedule. If you are a sports fan at all, you won't regret it. An amazingly thought provoking 90 minutes.
- I need to devote a blog solely to song titles that never appear in the song themselves, i.e. Incident on 57th Street. My preliminary theory is that most songs like this are amazing songs, but more research is needed. Off the top of my head, I can think of 5 great songs in which the title never appears. Again, if you can help, shoot me a note or leave a comment.
- If you aren't watching Lost, go back and start from the beginning immediately. Wow. Amazing show.
- I am going to see Bruce and the E Street Band this week at the Count Basie Theater for the first E Street show in a theater since 1980. Do you think I am excited?
- Speaking of Bruce, here is the Bruce YouTube clip of the week. Across the Border with Danny on accordion. Click here. RIP Phantom.
- Another future blog will be on the best jobs in America. Let me know if you have any ideas.

That's all for now. "Stay hard, stay hungry, stay alive...if you can."

JN

RIP Phantom Dan

Danny Federici, organ player in the E Street Band, passed away today. Nicknamed The Phantom, Danny played with Bruce as long as anyone in the band having been part of the Jersey Shore scene and early bands with Bruce.

The organ and accordion add so much depth to the E Street sound. If the piano provides the romance, the organ provides the mystery. I am listening to some favorites tonight that feature the organ. If you have listened to Bruce for years, you may have never noticed the organ because like most E Street sounds (other than the sax), it's typically very subtle and part of the overall texture. Go back to and listen to Backstreets, Spirit in the Night, Kitty's Back, Jungleland (listen to the lines "From the churches to the jails..." and then "the hungry and the hunted..." the organ will give you chills), the under current to the closing coda of Racing in the Street, Promised Land, and even most recently the solo on Living in the Future ("Let the wild dogs run..."). If you listen for it, the organ will blow you away.

I certainly can't say it any better than Bruce, so I will close with two quotes. The first is from the speech he gave when he was inducted in to the Rock N Roll Hall of Fame.

"Danny Federici, the most instinctive and natural musician I ever met and the only member of the band who can reduce me to a shouting mess. I love you Danny. Your organ and accordion playing brought the boardwalks of Central and South Jersey alive in my music. Thank you."

And from Blood Brothers...
"But the stars are burnin' bright like some mystery uncovered
I'll keep movin' through the dark with you in my heart
My blood brother"

RIP Phantom Dan.
JN

My wife is pretty funny...

For those of you who don't know my wife Christine that well, she can be pretty funny. Twice in the last few weeks, she was pretty hysterical, albeit not on purpose. I promised her that I would memorialize one here in the blog so that I could never forget it. The other happened this morning, so I figured I now had a reason to blog.

The first one occurred on our wedding anniversary, which happens to be April 1. The night before, I was in the city for a fantasy baseball draft. I got home around 12:15 and she was still awake. We had a full conversation on the events of the day and when I climbed in to bed, I said, "Happy Anniversary...I love you." Her reply was, "Happy Anniversary...I hope it wasn't the worst two years of your life." With that, she was fast asleep. She's very sentimental.

The other funny one was today. I had my first softball game of the season, and Christine brought our daughter Avery, as well as our nephews, Nicholas and Anthony. They spent some time walking around the park, playing at the playground, and as I was loosening up for my first at-bat, I noticed that they were over by the car.

I came up with a man on third and one out and was focused on hitting the ball hard, in the air, to drive in the run. On the second pitch of the at-bat, I hit a long fly ball down the left field line that I thought was curving foul. I watched the ball for a few seconds and then noticed that it wasn't curving as much as I thought, so I started running. The ball landed fair, and I ran around the bases for a home run. After getting the obligatory congratulations from my teammates, I was standing near the bench, catching my breath and Christine came back over. She asked, "Are you going to get to bat up soon?" When I explained that I had just hit a home run, she was sorry that she missed it. Needless to say, the guys got a big kick out of that, and made sure that she knew when I was coming up the next time.

Some random notes...

A very Happy 30th Birthday to my brother-in-law Jeffrey. Also known as Uncle Mistah to my daughter, he is truly a great addition to our family. We celebrated last night at Sammy's Romanian Steak House on the Lower East Side, which is a favorite of the family going back many years.

Is there any way that Big Papi hits .074 for the year? I don't think so either.

My vote for the NBA MVP this year is Chris Paul, but I am a little biased as he is the star of my fantasy hoops team. More on my fantasy team next week, once the season is over.

I am stealing a feature from Bill Simmons. Bruce YouTube clip of the week. Last week, Bruce played two nights in Anaheim, CA and each night, Tom Morella of Rage Against the Machine guested on The Ghost of Tom Joad. Rage covered it in the past and Bruce and Tom re-worked the song. Think the version of Youngstown from the 99-00 tour. Here is the clip...from BS.net. http://youtube.com/watch?v=Sp-oDAxx8So

Does anyone know why Girardi didn't walk Manny on Saturday with a base open and two outs? If so, please let me know asap.

That's all for tonight...until the next time, "Stay hard, stay hungry, stay alive...if you can."

JN

Some favorite links

For those that actually check in here periodically, sorry for the delay. It's been a whirlwind few weeks with a Bruce show, a trip to Salt Lake City and Portland, a birthday, and crazy busy at work. Anyway, I thought I would pass along some of my favorite links on the web right now. But before that, I need to congratulate my great friend Ken and his wife Carrie on the birth this week of their first child, Owen Alexander. Welcome to the club.

In no particular order, here are some links that I am enjoying these days aside from the obvious espn.com, rollingstone.com, livedaily.com, etc.

Music:

http://www.brucespringsteen.net/news/index.html

Dot net, as Bruce die hards call it, has really evolved this tour and the highlight is the videos that they post here from the shows. Amazing footage. They also post the handwritten set lists from each show so you can see the deviations of the actual set list.

http://www.backstreets.com/news.html

A great source for all Bruce news.

http://www.countingcrows.com/

They put some good content on this site and with the new album out this past week, it's been a good spot for downloading some of the new songs for free. Adam Duritz, the lead singer also has a blog and he is a nut.

Sports:

http://sports.espn.go.com/espn/page2/simmons/index

Bill Simmons is The Sports Guy for ESPN. His podcast is a must listen for me on a weekly basis. He is a crazy sports writer who loves weaving pop culture references in to his columns. If you don't know him, check this out immediately.

http://www.rotoworld.com

The bible for fantasy sports new.

http://vault.sportsillustrated.cnn.com/

SI's new creation, this site has every article that has ever appeared in Sports Illustrated, every cover, etc. It debuted a week ago and is truly amazing.

http://philhughes.wordpress.com/

Phil Hughes has a blog, and he does a really good job. He gives away some free stuff with contests and gives a little insight on being a major league pitcher. I hope he keeps it up during the season.

http://mlbcontracts.blogspot.com

If you want details on anyone's contract status in baseball, this is your spot.

http://www.mockdraftcentral.com/

A fun way to pass some time if you are a roto nut like me is a mock draft before the season starts. You don't have to pay a lot of attention, but it gives you a sense of where guys should be taken. Of course, then you get to your real draft and someone takes Manny Ramirez with the third pick in the AL only draft and you realize that some people have no idea what they are doing.

Others:

http://www.linkedin.com/home?trk=tab_h
A pretty cool professional networking site that has helped me find some old friends.

http://thesecret.tv/index.html
Some say that The Secret is a little hokie. That's fine with me. I am a proponent of positive thinking and willing things to happen. Please reference the previous entry in this blog. Believing you can do something is the first step in getting it done.

It Ain't No Sin To Be Glad You're Alive

Last night, I made the trip...again...to Hartford for the opener of this leg of the tour. Similar to the first leg of the tour, Bruce chose to open close to home, but not exactly a home game.

After a pretty crazy work week which included a trip to Cincinnati on Wednesday, I wasn't 100% sure if I was going to make the show. However, my amazing wife showed up at my office at 11 a.m. Thursday morning with a change of clothes and encouraged me to hit the show. For me, there is something amazingly therapeutic about a great concert, especially a Bruce show. Being able to jump up and down, scream every word, pump my fist and lose myself in the music allows me to eliminate any stress in my life. My partner, Joe, told me he was looking forward to me going to the show because he knew I would show up in a good mood on Friday...no matter how little sleep I got.

As for the show itself, no one in the Hartford Civic Center had a better time than me. We were in the pit, dead center, about 12 people deep. The pit is truly the place to watch this show. There aren't a lot of opportunities to sit. It's a hot show, from the first note. Speaking of the first note, for the first time, Bruce opened with So Young And In Love off of Tracks. Radio Nowhere had been the typical opener during the first leg of the tour and as great an opener as it is, So Young just kicks the night off with a big boost of energy. Also making tour premieres were and Loose Ends and Janey Don't You Lose Heart. Backstreets was an audible in the encore and it was amazing. The encore is usually a trouble spot, but last night, it was great with Kitty's Back following Backstreets...and Born To Run after that.

For the full set list, please visit http://www.backstreets.com/setlists.html.

A few specific lines jumped out at me during the show, partially because I have been so crazy at work. A lot of Bruce's music is out redemption and last night, I needed it. I can't wait until March 10 for the show at Nassau Coliseum. Hope to see you there.

Special thanks to my partner in crime Sammy...and The Man, Rich Russo, who helped us in to the pit.

"Stay hard, stay hungry, stay alive...if you can."

JN

What's old is new...and what's new is spring training

Last week, the 25th Anniversary of Thriller was released. Since I was with one of the people involved in working on the reissue, I went out and bought it last week. As of late last week, it was tracking as the #1 album in country for this week. They digitally enhanced the tracks, added some duets, an unreleased track, and an extra disc for videos and I bought it for $14.99. A venerable bargain for The World's Biggest Selling Album of All Time (it says so right on the disc). This week, what's old is new.

In music, at least what I like, what's old is new pretty often. Eric Clapton and Steve Winwood are playing a full concert together for the first time in over 30 years at Madison Square Garden.

Over the weekend, I went to see Southside Johnny at the Morristown Community Theater. For the first time since the original recordings, a string section was added to the show on certain songs. La Bamba wrote the charts for the Randolph High School Orchestra, which did an amazing job, especially on Hearts of Stone.

The Police just announced the last leg of their reunion tour and will play this leg with Elvis Costello as the supporting act. They come to the PNC Arts Center in early August. I think that's a can't miss show.

Billy Joel is playing the last concert ever at Shea Stadium. He hasn't released an album of new material since 1992's River of Dreams. That said, when I saw him at Madison Square Garden two years ago, it was much better than I thought it would be. I think I am skipping Shea though. It's too much a pain in the ass to get to.

Paul Simon is taking up residency at a theater in Brooklyn for a string of shows in April. He couldn't find somewhere in Manhattan???

So what's new? Well, Bruce's next leg of the Magic tour starts next week also in Hartford. For the record, it isn't new just because it's Bruce. It's new because unlike all of the shows mentioned above, he is actually touring behind a new release. Eddie Vedder is doing a two week solo tour of theaters on the west coast. I think the Vedder show is the first notable show that hasn't hit NYC since...well, ever.

All of that said, what's really new this week is that spring training is entering it's first full week. Hopefully, by next week, the Mitchell Report, the Clemens/McNamee fiasco, and all steroid talk will be OLD and we can focus on what really matters. The greatest game ever invented. Get ready...the last Opening Day at Yankee Stadium is six weeks from today. Who's in???

Some thoughts from spring training so far:
- Randy Johnson must really love the competition to come back again from back surgery. Either that or he really wants to get the 16 more wins he needs for 300. Any which way, I commend him for the attempt.
- Pedro's quotes about dominating the steroid era clean were some of the best quotes I have seen in a long time and much to my dismay, he is 100% right. He was totally dominant when steroid use was at its peak.
- I am happy to root for guys that admit mistakes. For that reason, I will cheer for Andy Pettitte and vow to not harass anyone in the Mitchell Report who came clean. Doesn't Rocket know that if he has just admitted it, the story would have been gone by now?
- Joba shows up at camp with his nipples pierced and it's news. Gotta love this guy.
- Barry Bonds doesn't have anywhere to go for spring training. I hope that remains the case. I think we have all had enough.

That's all for now. "Stay hard, stay hungry, stay alive...if you can."

JN