Springsteen Gets Bossy (Boos Ring Out On Stage in DC When Show Gets Political)

The Hill ^ | September 17, 2003 | Bill Thomas

[suas]

Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band perfored at Fed Ex Field last weekeend, and between classic numbers like 'Born to Run' the boss got political.

At one point he said he welcomes fans of all ideological persuations to his concerts, 'with the exception of Vice President Dick Cheney. I'm not sure about him,' he told the crowd.

Later Springsteen said President Bush ought to be impeached and started chanting, 'impeach, impeach.'

But the call was not picked up by the mulitiude, some of whom even began to boo.

[BenLurkin]

I think when they get big enough they don't write the checks anymore. The accountant pays the bills and the "star" has no idea how badly he or she is getting screwed by teh government.

[suas]

Becuase he made 25 million for 7 shows in the Meadowlands..probably has more than he knows what to do with

[tioga]

Maybe he was high when babs and the dixie chicks were roasted by everyday, flag-waving Americans.

Since he's a high school drop out, how about a refresher course?

[BlueMondaySkipper]

He would bend over backwards for Barney Frank...

Better to bend over backwards than to bend over frontwards when Barney Frank is around.
(OTOH, maybe thats what the song "I'm On Fire" was all about)

[since1868]

"performers " do not live in the real world.I heard him say he could never work a real job. He said he decided to be a rock+roller because they call it playing.

[Dixiekraut]

I first saw Springsteen in the mid-70's at Virginia Tech when he was touring college campuses...promoting his "Born to Run" LP. It was a small auditorium..about 3 to 4000 seats. I was anxious to see what the fuss was about...Time and Newsweek had just come out with his picture on the cover at the same time...unheard of hype at that time for a mere rock musician. But it was no hype...this guy could entertain...a tight ,well practiced band that knew how to work an audience and wring the most out of old and new music styles...Orbison,Dylan,soul,you name it.
I continued to follow his career after college...when he dropped out of sight during his lawsuit against his former manager he re-emerged in the summer of '79 playing at the Naval Academy ,touring his "Darkness at the Edge of Town" LP. He was even better than I remembered him,laying down tortuous,sinewy guitar licks...he could play!
The last time I saw him the show had become so big,so "in demand"that only the big sports arenas could accomodate him...and that's the kiss of death as far as I'm concerned...the music and the interplay with the audience is lost to the spectacle...and he becomes an imitation of himself. I haven't been to a show since '84's "Born in the U.S.A." TOUR. Too bad...I really liked him when he started out...

[klgator]

Crap like that made me walk out of a recent Neil Young concert. These idiots need to realize that people of all political persuasions come to see them for their performing, not for their lame ideas.

[chimera]

Impeach? How can anyone be sure that's what he said? I've never heard a so-called singer slur his words together so much during a song.

So maybe he was just boasting, saying something like "I'm a peach...", and with the Springsteen slur it sounded like "impeach"...?

Whatever. I agree, this is just another aging lefty who thinks he's still relevant. Just go back to the boardwalk, Bruce.

[Revolting cat!]

Tiny Tim with bronchitis

Yep, that's the essence of it!

[vin-one]

reminds me of the time I was at a smoky robinson concert at Wolftrap in NVA.
Smoky had a comedian open up for him, he came out telling all sorts of Ollie North jokes
this was of course during the Iran contra affair
Well this idiot lib, did not realize that we were in Ollie North's backyard
the silence to his act was deafening
even the subdued conservative boos, were enough to get him to stuble
don't think he knew just where he was
funniest thing I ever saw.

[RippleFire]