Seeing Springsteen after the Show & Anaheim Night 1 in Top Ten of 100 shows

The Ghost of Tom Joad was that incredible, the Big Monkey says. This version of the song with Bruce and Tom Morello singing and playing together, and their raw power, put this show (Magic Tour, April 7, 2008, Anaheim’s Honda Center) in his Top Ten Bruce Springsteen shows (he’s seen about 100).

See Bruce almost never has guests. Over the years he’s had a few guests like Eddie Vedder a couple of times, Neil Young, Jackson Browne, Bob Dylan. But it’s few and far between.

So it was quite a shock to have Bruce call out for Tom Morello of Rage Against the Machine. Rage has been performing “The Ghost of Tom Joad” since right after it came out (see 1997 video below).

Tom and Bruce traded verses and did the third one together, then they went into that incredible guitar duet, he says. Tom went off and Bruce was standing there watching him, playing along, and then when the song was over, the tech guys who work for Bruce, they were just applauding like crazy.

You can get the feeling a little bit from the video, he says, of the rage, and of the feeling of being there. But it’s not the same.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dJT1EdKRF2g (this is a pretty good amazing of it, just uploaded to youtube–Morello’s guitar gave me the chills so I hope you’ll check it out if you haven’t already! sorry but it doesn’t want to load from my Mac onto wordpress’s new do)

Tom was a really nice guy afterwards when he came out and shook our hands, he continues. He walked up the long ramp outside and started talking to us, about 10 of us. He thanked us for saying how fantastic he was, and signed a couple autographs.

But the Big Monkey is not an autograph guy, so he didn’t get Tom’s, just shook hands and talked a bit…he just wants Bruce to sign the mat of his picture, and he’ll die a happy man.

When Bruce came out, at first we didn’t even think it was him, he says. My friend Ron and I were talking and waiting and this big SUV came up and it was Bruce sitting in the front seat. There were none of those people with booklets of shit to sign like we saw last time at the Pantages Devils and Dust shows in LA , those people who hang out after with pictures waiting for celebs to sign them. No these were real fans, a couple of European guys. a gal who was in the front row in the pit, a young girl, a few more.

So he signed a few autographs, shook and few hands, said “I gotta go” and his driver drove him off.

I was talking to my friends, he says, hanging out like they have for years, waiting for the boss. I blew it, he says, I really blew it. I kicked myself in the ass all day today. I should have been paying more attention and been a little more aggressive.

He thinks it’s his last chance, but he’ll get another one. I mean, how many of his fans have met him, seen him after a show, had a picture taken with him?

Next time I’ll hang out with him. We’ll get that autograph, you’ll see, and we’ll post it on the blog.

Coming soon: The Big Monkey’s Top Ten Bruce Springsteen shows. What are your Top Ten shows??