How the Bruce Made Christmas
(Asbury Park, December 17, 2000)

They'd sing! And they'd sing!
AND they'd SING! SING! SING! SING!

And the more the Bruce thought of this whole holiday-Sing,
The more the Bruce thought, "I really must do this whole thing!"
"Why, for fifty-one years I've avoided it now!
"I MUST make this happen concert happen ...But HOW?"

Then he got an idea!
An awful idea!
THE BRUCE GOT A WONDERFUL, AWFUL IDEA!
"I know just what to do!" The Bruce cackled and hissed.
"I'll sing 'Blue Christmas,' just like Elvis."

"All I need is a brass band..." The Bruce looked around.
But, since brass bands are scarce, there was none to be found.
Did that stop the old Bruce...?
No! The Bruce simply said,
"If I can't find a brass band, I'll make one instead!"
So he called his drummer, Max.
Then he took some red thread.
And he tied a big horn on the top of his head.

---

And 'dere he was, and 'dere we were, Cindy-Lou Who's, one and all. In Asbury-ville, in an gym impossibly small and with a heart
three sizes too big, doing a show delivered from the top of Mt. Crumpit.

The show opened with the brass contingent of The Max Weinberg 7 playing "Jingle Bells," with a nice little segué over to the
lone figure of Bruce Springsteen, at the piano, belting out, "Christmas cards she sends me..."

The Max Weinberg 7, Patti Scialfa and Nils Lofgren all joined in by giving good performances of some of their songs, and
Little Steven and Southside Johnny joined in for superior renditions of old Jukes and Desciples of Soul classics.
"Until the Good is Gone" might have been worth the price of admission all by itself.

And then there was Jimmy Vivino. Not just for his manic performance of "Run Rudolph Run," but for the inspired
arrangements. Vivino, of course, is the music arranger and guitarist for the Max Weinberg 7. Many years prior, he showed
off his knowledge of Springsteen's music by developing parodies of Bruce's music for "The Uncle Floyd" show, which starred Jimmy's brother Floyd Vivino (anyone out there with "On the Boardwalk" by "Bruce Stringbean," that's Jimmy). Last night, Vivino showed off his mettle with nearly inconceivably tight arrangements of several
Springsteen classics, as well as a nifty horn arrangement for "Lucky Town."

With the support of the the Vivinos, the MW7 and the E Street Band, Bruce was free to do things that must have been firsts: Playing band conductor for the original brass opening to "The E Street Shuffle"; throwing in "Kitty's Back" and "So Young and in Love" as if he's been playing them on a regular basis this past quarter century; ripping through "Rosalita" like he really meant it.

Bruce also introduced one new song, in conjunction with the evening's proceeds going to several local charities. The song, titled "My City of Ruins," contained stark images of abandoned buildings and churches, leading up to a refrain of "Rise Up!" that, it would be hoped, will be a rallying cry for places such as Asbury Park.

To conclude the show, family members and charity workers came on stage for the finale of "Santa Claus is Coming to Town." And they held hands and sang and threw candy canes and occasionally themselves into the audience.

And then it was over, all except for the long walk down the end of the circuit to the car, following a few steps behind the solitary figure of Richie "La Bamba" Rosenberg, the wind whipping down the boardwalk, all of us just trying to keep our clothes attached to our bodies, and the sudden chill of the Asbury night at once reminding us of the heat, warmth and passion we had just witnessed.

It came without ribbons, it came without tags, it came without packages, boxes or bags. And maybe it really did just mean a little bit more.

The Setlist
Jingle Bells (Mark Pender, La Bamba, Jerry Vivino, Ed Manion, Mark Spengler, Garry Tallent, Danny Federici)
For You (Bruce Springsteen, solo piano)
Blue Christmas
Jam Up (Max Weinberg 7)
Run Rudolph Run (Jimmy Vivino + Max Weinberg 7 + Bruce Springsteen)
Lucky Town (w/ horns)
E Street Shuffle
Kitty's Back (w/ Clarence Clemons)
Rose (Patti Scialfa)
As Long As I (Can Be With You)
This Time It's For Real (Southside Johnny + Little Steven + Bruce Springsteen)
Until the Good is Gone (Little Steven + Bruce Springsteen + Southside Johnny)
All I Needed Was You (Southside Johnny + Little Steven)
Shine Silently (Nils Lofgren)
Merry Christmas Baby (Full E Street Band + Max Weinberg 7)
So Young and In Love
Roll of the Dice
Bobby Jean
Christmas (Baby Please Come Home)

My City of Ruins
I Don't Want to Go Home (Southside Johnny + Little Steven + Bruce Springsteen)
Rosalita (Come Out Tonight)
Santa Claus is Coming to Town

The Lineup