EMBOSSED...

My only regret after witnessing the pure power of Bruce Springsteen and his E Street Band at the Coliseum Monday night, besides the unforgivably long beer lines, was that I had gone for nearly sixty years and never experienced The Boss in all his gritty glory...live. We'd heard all the stories about three-hour non-stop concerts and unrivaled engagement of the audience, but what a thrill to see Freehold's favorite son deliver and exceed the hype. From an uncluttered, unadorned stage by today's standards, but with glorious HD video support, this seasoned team of nine took control of the sold out crowd at around 8:15 and didn't let go until well after 11:30. Most were on their feet for the whole thing, and not just the general admission customers with no seats who filled the entire floor. The last note of one song became the first note of the next as the Boss grabbed a freshly tuned guitar after each tune. He prowled the multi-level stage like a caged lion, often venturing into the sea of pumping fists and more than once providing lifetime moments to audience members like the straw-haired teen with whom the legend shared a vigorous call-and-response rendition of "All Night." He took to the baby grand and offered up a moving "I Came For You" dedicated to a Richmond promoter (was it John Richardson?) who gave him his first gig here. He took requests that tested the band's mettle including "Crush On You" which he set up as one of the worst tunes they'd ever done, but seemed to really enjoy playing when all was said and sung. And of course, he called out his old pal Robbin Thompson during the prolonged encore for a steamy take on "Twist and Shout" which guitar mate Stevie Van Zandt got a good piece of too. Tireless E Street drummer Max Weinberg, on leave from Conan O'Brien's Late Night show on NBC, provided a fat, relentless foundation for the proceedings and saxophone giant Clarence Clemons was always there to add his signature hot sauce. Bruce Springsteen's iconic status is well-deserved and his affection for our hometown is genuine. It may have been our first time...I hope it won't be our last. (I got the Bruce & Robbin photo from Robbin...don't know who took it)

The rest of August holds some strong incentives to make the Ashland Coffee & Tea scene at least once...tonight (Thursday) brings The Gibson Brothers back to town on the heels of their great new album Iron And Diamonds. Eric and Leigh bring top-notch songwriting and seamless brotherly harmony to the realm of bluegrass and are highly recommended. On Saturday it's Jackson Browne's versatile veteran sideman David Lindley, and on Friday the 29th, Old School Freight Train chugs in for one of its always memorable stops. And a save-the-date heads up: The Infamous Stringdusters play AC&T on Halloween night! Don't be scared.

And...are you ready for this? The generous folks at Genworth have offered up some free tickets to see Sheryl Crow at the Siegel Center on October 18th for the annual Children's Advantage Classic. And three of my loyal journal readers can each win a pair by correctly answering the following question: Who played trumpet on the track "We Do What We Can" from the Grammy winner's breakout album Tuesday Night Music Club? If more than three of you get this right we'll have a drawing. You can email me your answers at mail@timtimberlake.com and they must be received by September 15th. Do forward this link to any Sheryl fans you know, and thanks for clicking in.

Still dancin' for rain...TT