Nick Hornby Interviews The Boss

I'm posting a link to Nick Hornby's interview with Bruce Springsteeb for the benefit of Jim and Jeff, who are both big fans of The Boss and (I think) appreciate Hornby's writing as well. The more I learn about Springsteen, the more I admire him. I hope I get the chance to see him live someday, and how I wish my first Bruce concert would've been the tour he did with R.E.M. and Bright Eyes (see photo w/ Michael Stipe, Conor Oberst)...It's cool that he risked alienating some of his mainstream audience by campaigning for John Kerry, and it's cool that he's so open to so many different kinds of music and is excited about hearing younger bands. Cool too that he tries to challenge his audiences by mixing up his set list so that it includes a wide range of material, including "uncoventional pieces" that dispel the "ritualistic aspect of the night" and don't pander to easy listeners expecting the Big Hits with the "formulated response built in."

One beef with the piece: Hornby makes a big deal out of the clowing around and the obvious performing that Springsteen does onstage. He asks: "how many shows have you been to where the band pretend to be unaware that there's a show going on? All that tuning up and talking to each other, while the audience waits for something to happen. Springsteen's simple recognition of the fact that people pay for every onstage second separates him from almost every single other act I've seen." I dunno what shows Hornby goes to see, but theatricality in live rock shows is hardly uncommon.

While it's true that some bands, e.g. Built to Spill, eschew audience interaction and simply play their music, most of the memorable shows I've been to in recent years (R.E.M., Nick Cave, Twilight Singers, Camper Van Beethoven come immediately to mind) have featured a welcome dose of playful theatricality or at least an attempt to connect with the audience. Moreover, it's generally smaller, indie acts who don't have a full road crew who must spend time tuning their instruments onstage.

Ok, back to work...