The BMO Harris Bradley Center announced this morning that Bruce Springsteen & the E Street Band (with Clarence's nephew Jake Clemons, aka "The Little Big Man," on sax) will return to the arena for a March 3 concert.
Springsteen and company have performed at the Bradley Center eight times in the past – more than any other performer – but this is the Boss' first Milwaukee gig since 2009. It was from Bruce – who made the announcement onstage at the Bradley Center in 1992 – that I learned Bill Clinton had been elected president.
"The River Tour" comes on the heels of Springsteen's lavish new box set, "The Ties That Bind: The River Collection," which offers an in-depth look at the sessions for the 1980 double album. Surely that means that the Boss will play "Jackson Cage," right?
History buffs may recall that Springsteen played the Arena, across the street, on Oct. 14, 1980 as part of the first "River Tour." For the record "Jackson Cage" was the seventh song in the set that night. Just sayin', Boss.
Tickets go on sale at 10 a.m. Friday, Dec. 11.
Born in Brooklyn, N.Y., where he lived until he was 17, Bobby received his BA-Mass Communications from UWM in 1989 and has lived in Walker's Point, Bay View, Enderis Park, South Milwaukee and on the East Side.
He has published three non-fiction books in Italy – including one about an event in Milwaukee history, which was published in the U.S. in autumn 2010. Four more books, all about Milwaukee, have been published by The History Press.
With his most recent band, The Yell Leaders, Bobby released four LPs and had a songs featured in episodes of TV's "Party of Five" and "Dawson's Creek," and films in Japan, South America and the U.S. The Yell Leaders were named the best unsigned band in their region by VH-1 as part of its Rock Across America 1998 Tour. Most recently, the band contributed tracks to a UK vinyl/CD tribute to the Redskins and collaborated on a track with Italian novelist Enrico Remmert.
He's produced three installments of the "OMCD" series of local music compilations for OnMilwaukee.com and in 2007 produced a CD of Italian music and poetry.
In 2005, he was awarded the City of Asti's (Italy) Journalism Prize for his work focusing on that area. He has also won awards from the Milwaukee Press Club.
He has be heard on 88Nine Radio Milwaukee talking about his "Urban Spelunking" series of stories, in that station's most popular podcast.
