E Street Band

WE LIKE TO picture our rock stars spending their tour off-days engaging in various manifestations of debauchery. But if you're Max Weinberg, you're spending your Tuesday night in Philly in a most un-debauched manner. Tonight, Weinberg's boss, Bruce Springsteen, and his co-workers in the E Street Band are performing in Boston. Wednesday, they open their sold-out, two-night Wells Fargo Center engagement. In between, Weinberg has a date to speak at the National Museum of American Jewish History on Independence Mall.

A knowing grin crossed Bruce Springsteen's face as he sang the rueful "Thunder Road" line "So maybe we're not so young anymore" Thursday night at the Continental Airlines Arena in East Rutherford. But on such a musically satisfying, dramatically packaged night like this one was, did the aging issue really matter? No, the 49-year-old Springsteen doesn't slide across the stage on his knees, or leap blindly into the audience, as he used to do. Nor does he run himself ragged in vocals and interplay with the band, the sort of hijinks (and screwups)

Most tribute bands boast that they look and act like the bands they cover, and there are more than a few Bruce Springsteen tribute bands that do just that. But for Tramps Like Us, paying tribute to the Boss and the "E" Street Band has nothing to do with appearances - it's all about the music. "We don't do any of the banter or the stage antics or anything like that," said Mark Salore, Tramps guitarist and lead singer with Tramps, which will be playing Friday night at Phoenixville's Colonial Theatre.

THERE'S NO question Bruce Springsteen fans will eat up each and every one of the 150-plus items that comprise "From Asbury Park to the Promised Land: The Life and Music of Bruce Springsteen," the exhibit that opens today and runs through Sept. 3 at the National Constitution Center. Sure, some of the pictures, notebooks, guitars and tour tchotchkes showcased here are somewhat prosaic and not especially interesting. But others are real grabbers. Here are 10 must-sees, and why you must see them:   1960 Corvette Why it's cool: A 1960 'Vette is cool under any circumstances.

A LOT OF memories will be cherished when the Spectrum is demolished to make way for an entertainment and shopping complex. On July 15, 1981, I sat in Section Z to see Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band. Late WMMR deejay Ed Sciaky introduced the Boss. I was hooked on Springsteen and have seen him perform 20 times since. Matt Engel, Wilkes-Barre, Pa.

There's a Bruce Springsteen quote on the wall of the National Constitution Center, currently housing an exhibit called "From Asbury Park to the Promised Land. " It reads: "The American idea is a beautiful idea. It needs to be preserved, served, protected and sung out. Sung out. " Four miles south at the Wells Fargo Center on Wednesday night, Springsteen went to work, putting enthusiastic emphasis on those final words. The nearly three-hour show was - remarkably, considering the gravity of the State of the Union subject matter on his defiant new album Wrecking Ball, and the fact that the guy is now 62 years old - every bit the ecstatic revival meeting and master class in rock-and-soul catharsis that Springsteen's ardent fans have come to expect over the course of a 40-year career.

Some fans of rock superstar Bruce Springsteen were camped outside the doors of Sears, Roebuck & Co. in Willow Grove Park mall from 7 a.m. to buy tickets scheduled to go on sale at 10 a.m. Saturday. Springsteen plans to be in Philadelphia on March 8 and 9. Tickets for three of his most recent concerts were sold out in about three hours. The 11-city tour, called the "Tunnel of Love Express Tour," opens tomorrow in Worcester, Mass. Other stops include Washington, D.C., and Long Island.

He's been wowing sold-out arenas in Europe since mid-May, but by the end of the summer the Boss will be Back in the U.S.A. Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band announced late yesterday that Hersheypark Stadium in Hershey will play host Aug. 19 to one of the band's first homecoming shows. Tickets - from $33.25 to $99.25 - go on sale Saturday at 10 a.m. at the Giant Center Box Office, Livenation.com and all Ticketmaster locations. A handful of ducats are still available for Springsteen's three-night stand from July 27 to July 28 at Giants Stadium in East Rutherford.

Bruce Springsteen, whose music and lyrics have long celebrated the common man, with patriotism in mind, is the spotlight of the National Constitution Center's spring and summer events. Unless the Boss makes one of his famous impromptu appearances, there is not a big Day One promotion for Friday's opening of "From Asbury Park to the Promised Land: The Life and Music of Bruce Springsteen. " But "Six Nights With Bruce Springsteen" have been scheduled over the next several months.

Bruce Springsteen brought a new E Street Band to the Spectrum last night. The players were the same, of course, but the attitude and attack of the music on stage were as different from the last tour as his current studio album Tunnel of Love is from 1984's Born in the U.S.A. Springsteen gambled on Tunnel of Love - hoping that by addressing the emotional issues of love, he could avoid the rat trap of superstar expectations awakened by the mass acceptance of Born in the U.S.A. Records, however, can be tailored for intimacy; rock shows are a much more combustible medium.

By Maria Archangelo I had my first glimmer of hope when I saw my sometimes self-conscious 14-year-old son play air drums with Max Weinberg to "Jackson Cage. " But it was when he sang "Thunder Road" with 20,000 of the faithful that I knew I had him. I had taken my son to the church of Bruce Springsteen, and he came out a believer. Amen. Going to see Springsteen with my son was a thrilling prospect, but I grew anxious as the day approached. My son is a musician, so I knew he would be impressed by the mighty talent of the E Street Band.

There's a Bruce Springsteen quote on the wall of the National Constitution Center, currently housing an exhibit called "From Asbury Park to the Promised Land. " It reads: "The American idea is a beautiful idea. It needs to be preserved, served, protected and sung out. Sung out. " Four miles south at the Wells Fargo Center on Wednesday night, Springsteen went to work, putting enthusiastic emphasis on those final words. The nearly three-hour show was - remarkably, considering the gravity of the State of the Union subject matter on his defiant new album Wrecking Ball, and the fact that the guy is now 62 years old - every bit the ecstatic revival meeting and master class in rock-and-soul catharsis that Springsteen's ardent fans have come to expect over the course of a 40-year career.

JOHN BOLARIS will discuss being drugged and fleeced by two Eastern European hotties on an episode of ABC's "20/20. " The former Fox 29 meteorologist was interviewed recently in New York and Miami, where in 2010 two Balkan beauties urged him to "do shot," and he wound up being roofied. Then $43,000 was charged to his credit card. Bolaris has fought paying the charges and is cooperating with federal authorities, who busted some Russian mobsters for the Miami nightclub scam.

NEW JERSEY GOV. Chris Christie wants Bruce Springsteen to play Revel, the new megacasino in Atlantic City, over Labor Day weekend as a tribute to the hardworking casino employees. The hotel opens Monday but celebrates its grand-opening with several Beyonce concerts over Memorial Day weekend. Christie's remarks, reported by the Associated Press Tuesday, were made during a tour of the hotel and were prompted by a reporter's question about "Wrecking Ball," Springsteen's new CD of songs about hard times in America.

WE LIKE TO picture our rock stars spending their tour off-days engaging in various manifestations of debauchery. But if you're Max Weinberg, you're spending your Tuesday night in Philly in a most un-debauched manner. Tonight, Weinberg's boss, Bruce Springsteen, and his co-workers in the E Street Band are performing in Boston. Wednesday, they open their sold-out, two-night Wells Fargo Center engagement. In between, Weinberg has a date to speak at the National Museum of American Jewish History on Independence Mall.

Eric Taylor He's not as well-known as many of his peers, but he's highly respected by them. Eric Taylor is a Georgia-born Texas troubadour on par with the likes of fellow Lone Star singer-songwriters Steve Earle, Guy Clark, and Lyle Lovett. He's admired as much for his intricate but fluid guitar playing as for his lyrics. Lovett is a particular fan - he has performed songs by Taylor on at least two of his own albums, including his latest, Release Me . Lovett and Nanci Griffith are among the guests on Taylor's latest album, Live at the Red Shack . He'll be celebrating its release with this show.

AUSTIN, Texas - The Bruce Springsteen portion of SXSW came to a rousing conclusion Thursday night. The 21/2-hour show served as a preview of the coming Wrecking Ball tour, which will play Philadelphia with the E Street Band on March 28 and 29. "Thanks for being part of our test run," the Boss told the crowd of 1,800 gathered at the Moody Theater, where the PBS series Austin City Limits is taped. The hardest-to-get ticket in town brought together guests including reggae great Jimmy Cliff and singer Eric Burdon of the Animals, who were in town for the sprawling music confab, which Springsteen called "a teenage music fan's wet dream.

ASBURY PARK, N.J. - This week the National Constitution Center premieres its exhibit dedicated to the Boss, "From Asbury Park to the Promised Land: The Life and Music of Bruce Springsteen," open through Sept. 3. But you can also take a weekend trip to see where it all began for Springsteen - in the actual Asbury Park, which is just a little over an hour's drive from Philadelphia. Springsteen's 1973 album Greetings From Asbury Park, N.J. is a classic that not only told the world about the Jersey Shore but also gave the city a slogan it still uses today, even though the album showcased the tribulations of people living in a then-depressed town.

Bruce Springsteen, whose music and lyrics have long celebrated the common man, with patriotism in mind, is the spotlight of the National Constitution Center's spring and summer events. Unless the Boss makes one of his famous impromptu appearances, there is not a big Day One promotion for Friday's opening of "From Asbury Park to the Promised Land: The Life and Music of Bruce Springsteen. " But "Six Nights With Bruce Springsteen" have been scheduled over the next several months.

THERE'S NO question Bruce Springsteen fans will eat up each and every one of the 150-plus items that comprise "From Asbury Park to the Promised Land: The Life and Music of Bruce Springsteen," the exhibit that opens today and runs through Sept. 3 at the National Constitution Center. Sure, some of the pictures, notebooks, guitars and tour tchotchkes showcased here are somewhat prosaic and not especially interesting. But others are real grabbers. Here are 10 must-sees, and why you must see them:   1960 Corvette Why it's cool: A 1960 'Vette is cool under any circumstances.