E Street Band

So, Who Should Play the Super Bowl Halftime Show Next Year?

This past weekend, I was honored to cover the Super Bowl XLVII festivities and game in New Orleans for the Houston Press and local TV outlet KIAH (Channel 39). Great fun, if not for locals in NOLA, who were ravaged by drunken football fanatics puking onto their 49ers and Ravens jerseys in the street ... More >>

Latest Springsteen Book Digs Deep Into Songs

E Street Shuffle: The Glory Days of Bruce Springsteen & the E Street Band By Clinton Heylin Viking, 352 pp., $27.95. Capping a trilogy of recent, impressive Springsteen bios that also includes Marc Dolan's Bruce Springsteen and the Promise of Rock and Roll and Peter Ames Carlin's semi-authorized Br ... More >>

15 Notable Houston Concerts of 2012

As we look back over 2012 this week, it is now time to revisit some of this year's memorable shows. It wasn't easy narrowing the list down to 15. Concerts are in chronological order. CHRIS GRAY DAY, The Continental Club So much local talent and so much love. Uh, if I'm maybe a little too biased on ... More >>

A Playlist for Tonight's Hurricane Sandy Telethon

The music business was hardly spared the effects of Hurricane Sandy. As reported by our New York sister blog, Sound of the City, dozens of shows in the New York-New Jersey area were postponed or canceled; the resulting travel snafu has scuttled touring plans as far away as tonight's (former) Houston ... More >>

ACL 2012: Saturday's 9 Best & Funniest Moments at Zilker

The return of terrible, horrible, no-good, very bad rain made Saturday a muddy but fun mess. Thankfully, the downpours didn't dampen the spirits of the crowd on day two of ACL, but it did seem to thin out the herds. Aside from remembering how to walk in inches-deep goop like we did back at the Dillo ... More >>

Revisiting Gaslight Anthem and Other "Baby Boss Bands"

This past year and a half was a pretty Springsteen-centric one for me. It was just last summer that we lost The Big Man, Clarence Clemons, the E Street Band's mascot and longtime saxophonist at the age of 69 due to stroke complications. Rewind: Springsteen Stumbles On Pedestrian New Album Wrecking ... More >>

The Saxophone: 8 Songs That Show Off Rock's Underappreciated Horn

Bruce Springsteen is currently in the middle of a world tour with E Street Band, their first without saxophonist Clarence Clemons. "The Big Man" passed away one year ago today from complications resulting from an earlier stroke. His death was sad for many reasons, but the reasons most relevant to ... More >>

Nils Lofgren Goes Old School, Talks E Street Tour

In a list of phrases that most music journalists would probably like to see banned, hearing that an artist's latest record "is their most personal yet" would rank near the top. But in the case of singer/guitarist Nils Lofgren --who, for the record, did not use that phrase -- it's actually true. Th ... More >>

Promised Land

SXSW 2012, from Bruce Springsteen to Buxton.

Support Staff: 10 Of Pop History's Greatest Backing Bands

Being behind the scenes is what most musicians who don't write songs or sing expect of their lives once they start seriously playing. A career backing someone up can be extremely rewarding, particularly if you are part of a transcendent group of musicians that goes from simply backing up an artist i ... More >>

The Beats Go On As Grammys Take Care Of Their Own

Hands up, everyone who is surprised.​The Grammy Awards on CBS Sunday night could have easily turned into a wake - or worse, a funeral. After Whitney Houston's death Saturday, the mood was appropriately somber until a dance party broke out, or perhaps a coming-out party for dance music. Foreve ... More >>

In Ten Years, Will Indie Be Remembered Like Nu-Metal?

​What exactly do you remember from the summer of 2002? Stop and think -- of the music on the radio, the CDs you were most excited for, who won the Grammy for Best Album, and so on. What exactly stands out from 10 years ago? If you find that your answer is "Not much," then you're probably l ... More >>

Bruce Springsteen's New Single and a Preemptive Review of His Upcoming Album

Like any red-blooded American rock and roll fan, I am looking forward to the next year to be filled with Bruce Springsteen. The man has a new album, Wrecking Ball, coming on March 6, a massive tour in the planning stages, and he's set to be the keynote speaker at this year's South By Southwest in Au ... More >>

Tori, Tool, TLC And The Other Musical Debuts Of 1992

1992 was a pretty heady year for music in general, with the masses gobbling up all the gangsta rap, grunge, and pop-country they could. That year would see the release of not only R.E.M.'s Automatic For The People, Peter Gabriel's Us, Pantera's Vulgar Display Of Power, but also what is arguably The ... More >>

Rolled Up Like a Douche: "Blinded by the Light" Explained

A few years ago, my band took a trip up the east coast to play some shows in and around New York City. One of the stops was in Asbury Park at a club called The Saint. Not more than probably a mile down the road was the Stone Pony, the legendary venue where some great bands got their start including ... More >>

Looking Back at A Very Special Christmas Track by Track

In the late 1980's, music empresario Jimmy Iovine cobbled together quite a collection of pop and rock artists to record songs for a Christmas album benefitting the Special Olympics. In 1987, A Very Special Christmas was released and rapidly became an instant holiday classic thanks to the star powere ... More >>

Joe Ely Band, Mike Stinson

Top 10 Super Bowl Halftime Shows

idontlikeyouinthatway.com​This Sunday, Rocks Off will be live-blogging and tweeting this year's Super Bowl halftime show, which will feature noted scholars The Black Eyed Peas. We are diligently studying the entire BEP canon and that of all of their solo members, like the dedicated pop histori ... More >>

Guns N' Roses, Rolling Stones, Prince Coming In 2011?

Sind Axl und Slash wieder Freunde geworden?​Rocks Off is in the concert business for all intents and purposes. We scour Pollstar and other Web sites and almost hourly looking for new shows and tours to tell you about around the clock. In the span of writing this introduction we just listed Luc ... More >>

Springsteen Web Site: '78 Summit Show Best Video Ever

​ Bruce Springsteen & the E Street Band, "Fire," live at the Summit 12/8/78 Since one of the extra goodies is a complete video of Bruce Springsteen & the E Street Band's December 1978 concert at the Summit, Rocks Off is sure Houston's Boss fans don't need much more reason to buy the expande ... More >>

Springsteen 2.0: Can Baby Bosses Cruise The Backstreets?

Daniel Kramer​This fall, Houstonians salivating for another touring run by Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band don't have to search to hard to find bands heavily influenced by the man's sound and work ethic. Even though Springsteen and his merry band of musicians may be cooling their road ... More >>

Live with Me

The best Houston concerts of 2009: U2, George Strait, Kid Cudi, Jandek, Peaches and even T-Pain.

Can Rocks Off Withstand an Entire Hour of Sunny 99.1's Holiday Programming?

​Since Thanksgiving night, local dentist office-core radio station Sunny 99.1 FM has been pumping out non-stop Christmas tunes as they have been doing now for quite a few years. It's a Houston phenomenon and an ominous bellwether for the coming holiday. You pretty much know when you can hear Vanes ... More >>

Hiding on the Backstreets, Part 3: Bruce Springsteen & the E Street Band's Last (and Final?) Four Houston Shows

[Ed. Note: This is the final installment of our series reminiscing on Bruce Springsteen & the E Street Band's long history in Houston. See here for the '70s, and here for the '80s and '90s.] April 18, 2000: E Street Band Reunion Tour, Compaq Center (the Summit) Daniel Kramer​"It was on this to ... More >>

Hiding on the Backstreets, Part 2: Bruce Springsteen Brings The River, Born In the U.S.A., Tunnel of Love and Tom Joad to Town

Daniel KramerBruce Springsteen and Miami Steve van Zandt at Toyota Center, April 2009​ As Bruce Springsteen fans come to grips with the unfortunate reality that this past weekend's show in Buffalo, N.Y., may well have been the final offical tour date - although surely not the final show - from the ... More >>

Hiding on the Backstreets: Remembering Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band In Houston

Daniel KramerThe Boss at Toyota Center, April 2009​This past weekend's show in Buffalo, N.Y., was the last date on a nearly two-year (and two-album-supporting) trek by Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band, which found them criss-crossing the country and the globe several times to rapt audiences ... More >>

Get Lit: Three More for That Already Groaning Springsteen Bookshelf

Daniel KramerThe Big Man, the Boss and Mighty Max Weinberg at Toyota Center, April 2009​ Just as Bruce Springsteen winds down a frenzied period of back-to-back album and tour marathon - despite the death of Springsteen's cousin/assistant tour manager earlier this week in Kansas City, he and the E ... More >>

"Kill Yourself" or "Don't Give Up"? Five Possible Theme Songs for the 2009 Houston Texans

[Ed. note: Due to an editing mistake, this should have been up Friday afternoon. Apologies... we sure hope it didn't jinx the Texans or anything.] ​You may have missed it - what with there being almost no media coverage whatsoever - but football season started this week. Our own Texans are looking ... More >>

Rocks Off Succumbs to That Evil Facebook "Bands I've Seen" List

Chris GrayWilco's Jeff Tweedy at Verizon Wireless Theater, March 2008​If you're reading this at all, Rocks Off will just assume you're fairly familiar with the Internet, and therefore that you more than likely also have a Facebook page. Congratulations - don't you feel special? Rocks Off was recen ... More >>

Springsteen Tickets for 20 Bucks

Chris Gray The line for Springsteen tickets shortly after noon - Rocks Off would assume there are still tickets available (they're in the upper deck, btw). Bring a couple of canned goods please. It's always nice to find something out from the daily, but when it involves Bruce Springsteen, ... More >>

Moments the Grammy Awards Would Rather Forget

Soy Bombed

Super Bowl XLIII Recap

So I suppose I should say a little something about the Super Bowl. But before I do, I'd like to make an appeal to all future Super Bowl organizers. Please, no more American Idol rejects (or winners) for the anthem. Please. When Jennifer Hudson hit the 10 minute mark on that song yesterday, I d ... More >>

Aftermath: Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band at Super Bowl XLIII

Part 1: "10th Avenue Freeze-Out" and "Born to Run" Score another one for the old folks. Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band's quarter-hour onstage at Super Bowl XLIII Sunday night may not have been the most contemporary booking the NFL could have landed - but, and we'll get to this in a minut ... More >>

Super Bowl XLIII Recap

So I suppose I should say a little something about the Super Bowl. But before I do, I'd like to make an appeal to all future Super Bowl organizers. Please, no more American Idol rejects (or winners) for the anthem. Please. When Jennifer Hudson hit the 10 minute mark on that song yesterday, I d ... More >>

Recent Super Bowl Halftime Highlights and Lowlights

Backfield in Motion

Bruce Springsteen Confirms Second Houston Show in a Year

Alejandro Escovedo with Bruce Springsteen & the E Street Band,"Always a Friend," Toyota Center, April 14, 2008 After last year's sold-out show that ended with both Alejandro Escovedo and Joe Ely duetting with the Boss, Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band are headed back to Houston for ... More >>

U2 Lace Up Their Dirty "Boots"

Among, you know, a few other things, the past 24 hours have been the start of a very, very big year for the band Rocks Off affectionately refers to as the Best Band Ever. U2 appeared alongside Bruce Springsteen, Stevie Wonder, "One" pal Mary J. Blige and many more as Barack Obama's opening acts at ... More >>

Aftermath Extra: The Best Concerts of the Year, Part 2

Gram Rabbit, Super Happy Fun Land, January 31: "Gram Rabbit is the face of 21st century glam; denser than Scissor Sisters and more fun than Ladytron. If everyone who heard Roxy Music got these sorts of ideas, the world would be a vastly better place." (Chris Henderson) Over the Rhine, McGonigel' ... More >>

Classic Rock Corner: In Memoriam 2008

You know, the Grim Reaper don't care if you're a multiplatinum music legend, a one-hit wonder or studio-only sideman - he's comin' for you someday! And in 2008, he seemed to like keyboardists and drummers most. A number of classic rockers left for "The Great Gig in the Sky," foremost of whom is the ... More >>

New Tape Of A Young Springsteen Remembering His First Houston Gigs

Someone has put up on YouTube the long audio interview he did with a very young Bruce Springsteen in Phoenix on March 24th, 1974 (Way before the 1978 Phoenix show that included the legendarily filmed "Rosalita").In part two of the six-part interview, Springsteen talks about the reception he's been g ... More >>

Alejandro Escovedo Spills the Beans on Houston Springsteen Duet

Last Night: Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band at Toyota Center

Q&A: Little Steven Van Zandt

Boss Fans Take Note: Springsteen Announces First Local Date Since 2002

Whither Springsteen?

Between the Cracks

Profiling local bands

Bruce Springsteen

The Rising (Columbia)

Back To Basics

Steven Van Zandt is dedicated to garage rock

Gather Around for Storytime

Tracy Chapman

St. Boss