
21.10.99 Los Angeles, CA, intro ‘Mansion on the Hill’:
”Thank you....good evening, office supply lovers......I was telling the
folks the other night, I been.....I been trying to meet Mr.Staples and.....it’s
been a little difficult , uh ....so yesterday I went and (?) Los Angeles history
to see if there was a Governor Staples or....Mayor Staples but.....I didn’t
have any luck.....thought I might bump into him backstage or one of the sky-boxes
but...(?) said ‘No, it’s just a company’.... just kinda continuing
in the trend of, uh.... you know, corporate naming of a public space.....and
uh....I read uh....(?) actually, I read the papers, read something in the papers
yesterday , actually they´re gonna be .....changing some city names (?)....
New York City is gonna be renamed Barnes and Noble City ....there´s gonna
be a Barnes and Noble Yankees....and uh......I think that uh .....they’ve
changed the name of Madison Square Garden as of next month to a Colonel Sanders
Garden....and uh....I think that even governmental agencies are gonna be renamed,
I believe the FBI is gonna be called, uh....Bob Big Boy Bureau of Investigation......all
the cops’ helicopters will be sporting Bob’s Big Boy (?) .....Miami
got the toughest break , Miami’s just gonna be the swish, Nike swish symbol.....it’s
actually gonna have no name, it’s gonna be kinda like Prince....so it’s
gonna be known as ‘The City Formerly Known as Miami’, that’s
right..... you’ll get used to it....and uh (?), they are gonna be changing
all the sky-boxes to temporary housing for downsized corporate executives....anyway,
it’s a brave new world, we just work here.....here’s a little dedication.....”
21.10.99 Los Angeles, CA, middle of ‘Tenth Avenue Freeze Out’:
”Can you feel the spirit (cheers).....can you feel the spirit (cheers)....I
can feel myself fill with the spirit tonight.....I feel filled with the ghost....the
ghost....not the ghost of Tom Joad but the ghost of Tom Jones (cheers)....bring
it to me baby.....(sings ‘It’s Alright’ and ‘Take Me
to the River’)....that’s right.....I want to go the river...and
I wanna be baptized.....in the hands of the people.....I wanna go to that river
of life....I wanna go to that river of love.....and the river of hope....and
faith.....the river of sanctification......the river of transformation.....the
river of resurrection .....the river of sexual healing....and companionship.....
I wanna go there tonight and I want you to go with me.....because that’s
why we’re here..... because I need to go with you......because I know....I
know.....I know that you can’t get there by yourself.....no, you can’t.....everybody
tries.....and you run and you hide.....and you try but in the end..... in the
end...... you can’t get there by yourself.....and so I stood..... as a
young man....I stood before a grove of dark trees one evening...... and I couldn’t
pass through those trees, I was frightened like a little child..... even though
I knew that the river of life.....the river of meaningful life.....a full life
, was waiting on the other side.....like a child , I couldn’t pass through
those trees because I was afraid of the.....responsobilities that that life
might bring.... and so I stood there paralyzed with my legs like stone and my
arms like lead , said ‘Man, I’m gonna run.....I’m gonna run
and I’m gonna keep on running.....’cause that’s what I know
how to do....I’m good at that’.... and then I heard a voice in the
trees and I stepped through... and there was a gypsy woman sitting out in front
of an air-streamed trailer....selling cold beer at a reasonable price....and
I told her my problems and my....my fears, my anxieties.....and she said ‘What
you need, son , is you need a band , you need help‘.....and that’s
why I’d like to introduce tonight the dean of the university of musical
perversity, the Secretary of intelligence, Professor Roy Bittan on the piano.....with
me at the riverside.....I want to introduce the Secretary of faith and friendship,
keeper of all that is righteous on E Street, the king of badabing, star of the
Sopranos, Little Steven on the guitar....brother man standing with me at the
riverside.....I want to introduce the foundation of the E Street nation, Southern
man, Mr.Garry W.Tallent on the bass....standing with me at the riverside.....the
Minister of the mighty beat, the Secretary of syncopation, the star of Late
Night Television, Mighty Max Weinberg pounding on the drums.....standing with
me at the riverside..... I want to introduce the Secretary of heart and spirit,
Godfather of the guitar, the great Nils Lofgren....with me at the riverside......the
Minister of mystery and Secretary of all things unfathomable in this life and
on E Street, my brother Dan Federici on the organ and accordion.....standing
with me at the riverside....now, you know that you can’t get there.....without
love in your life.....and it’s hard, so hard to come by.....but you can’t
get there without love.....in your life.....and I learned a simple equation
.....it went : brunettes are fine, blondes are fun but when it comes to getting
a dirty job done, it takes a (crowd : ´Red headed woman´) yeah,
man, I´m searching for a (crowd : ´Red headed woman´) I got
to find myself a (crowd : ´Red headed woman´) oh, man, I´m
looking for a (crowd : ´Red headed woman´) I want to, I want to
say (crowd : ´Red headed woman´) I got to have you, girl (crowd
: ´Red headed woman´) oh, man, I´m searching for a (crowd
: ´Red headed woman´) come on now, baby (crowd : ´Red headed
woman´)(Patti sings ‘Rumble Doll’) the First Lady of love.....Secretary
of sweet harmony, on the guitar and vocals, Miss Patti Scialfa (cheers).....standing
with me at the riverside....but still....still there was something missing.....something
essential..... something important.....something fundamental.....I’d like
to place a nomination for the President of the United States....if nominated
, he will not run, if elected , righteousness, justice and a party will prevail.....
the Minister of soul, the Secretary of brotherhood, emperor of all that is E
Street..... do I have to say his name ?.....”
21.10.99 Los Angeles, CA, intro to ‘The Ghost of Tom Joad’:
”Thank you..... this is for, uh.....all of my friends from the....Storefront
....Shelter that are with us tonight, this is uh....this is a San Diego shelter
for homeless children and (?)...San Diego is the only emergency shelter specifically
designed for....homeless kids, they work to keep the kids from being sexually
exploited and victimized and they try to work ‘em towards a life off the
streets.....they’ll be in the lobby tonight, they can use your help and
your support....an important organization down in San Diego reaching out to....struggling
kids .... I’ve been down there and I’ve met the people and seen
the place and it’s worth your support and your time....so folks from the
Storefront Shelter of San Diego (cheers)....”
21.10.99 Los Angeles, CA, middle of ´Light of Day´
´´L.A !....Los Angeles !.....soon to be called Los Staples !....but
everywhere I’ve gone, I’ve seen people lost in confusion....I´ve
seen people lost in the wilderness....I´ve seen people lost on the cellphones.....I´ve
seen people lost on the freeway....lost in bitterness...in faithlessness ....in
hopelessness...well, ladies and gentlemen, Brothers and Sisters, we´re
here tonight, we´re trained professionals on a search-and-rescue mission,
on a search-and-rescue mission, if you´ve been downhearted, disspirited,
disgusted, dispossessed, analyzed, downsized, stigmatised, fractionalised, Pokemonized,
retropsychedelicized, pass-another-tax-cut-for-the-rich-Republicanised, it ain´t
too late to save yourself, you can still save yourself, I wanna tell you that
we´re here tonight, we´re here tonight, we´re here tonight,
we´re here tonight, we´re here tonight, we´re here tonight,
we´re here tonight, we´re here tonight, we´re here tonight,
we´re here tonight, we´re here tonight, we´re here tonight,
we´re here tonight to re-educate, to resuscitate, to regenerate, to reconfiscate,
to reillustrate, to reindoctrinate, to resexualate, to rededicate, to reliberate
you with the power and the glory, with the power and the glory, with the power
and the glory, the majesty, the mystery, with the ministry of rock and roll
!... that´s right, that´s right, that´s my job and I love
doing it !....I wanna say that unlike my competitors, unlike my competitors,
I shall not, I will not, I shall not, I cannot, I shall not promise you life
everlasting....but I can promise you life....right now !...and all you gotta
do is raise your hand and say ‘I’.....”

Compiled by : Johanna Pirttijärvi