At 1:30pm, a full six hours before showtime, Bruce Springsteen fans with general admission tickets line up to get their wristbands admitting them on to the floor for tonight’s show. Each wristband has a number, and at 5pm, concert promoters will draw a number to determine who has the lucky number to be first in line when the doors open at 6pm.
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Bailout passes House, Goode and Goodlatte vote no
The day after the U.S. Senate passed a revised version of the $700 billion bank bailout package, the House of Representatives voted overwhelmingly to approve the same measure, 263-171, sending it to the White House for President Bush’s signature. Still, not everyone was impressed with the new deal. Two local Republicans— the Fifth District’s Virgil Goode (R-Rocky Mount, representing Charlottesville, Albemarle, Greene, Nelson) and the Sixth District’s Bob Goodlatte (R-Harrisonburg, representing the Shenandoah Valley)— voted against the revised bailout. The Seventh District’s Eric Cantor (R-Henrico, representing Louisa and Orange) remained steadfast in his support of the deal, having already voted in favor of the original bill on Monday. (3)
Cory Alexander joins UVA basketball radio team
Fans of UVA men’s basketball will hear not just one, but two new voices on the radio in the upcoming season. In addition to new play-by-play man Dave Koehn, Virginia Sports Properties announced yesterday that former Cavalier standout and 10-year NBA veteran Cory Alexander will be providing the color commentary. Alexander was the starting point guard on the UVA team that made it all the way to the Elite Eight of the 1995 NCAA Tournament. That summer, the San Antonio Spurs selected the Waynesboro native 29th overall in the first round of the NBA Draft. Alexander replaces Jim Hobgood, who called UVA contests for 12 years alongside Mac McDonald. (2)
Wachovia snubs Citigroup, sells to Wells Fargo
Four days after the FDIC announced it had brokered a deal for Citigroup to buy ailing Wachovia, the Charlotte-based bank announced this morning that it had left the negotiating table with Citigroup and was instead selling itself to San Francisco’s Wells Fargo. The new deal makes for a much better deal for Wachovia shareholders than the one the feds had annouced. Citigroup was to buy Wachovia for $2.2 billion; Wells Fargo will pay $15.1 billion. The deal seems to have encouraged Wall Street. Wachovia stock closed at $3.91 per share yesterday, and opened at $6.94 this morning, an increase of 77 percent. (4)
Bailout protestors take to the street
Peter Kleeman, a well-known pedestrian activist (and former Hook writer), has already begun protesting yesterday’s U.S. Senate vote toward a $700 billion financial bail-out package, which both Senators from Virginia approved. Here, Talis Basham, Talis’ mom Oriah, and Kleeman, hold signs on West Main. (5)
Warner and Webb vote for Senate bailout deal
After a $700 billion bailout package for financial institutions split our local House delegation and failed to pass on Tuesday, yesterday’s attempt by the Senate to pass their own version of the deal won the support of Virginia’s John Warner (R) and Jim Webb (D) and 72 other senators to secure its passage. Unlike the House measure, the Senate bill allows the U.S. Treasury to buy so-called “toxic mortgage debts” from banks and raises the limit on bank deposit insurance from $100,000 to $250,000. (11)
When I heard the news that E Street Band keyboardist Danny Federici had died at age 58, it took quite a few minutes for the reality to sink in.
When it did, there was only one thing to do: Call the biggest Springsteen fan that I know, my old pal and former colleague Nancy Pate. Nancy and I were like family, which is the same context in which I have always viewed the E Street Band.
Even more than the music, the band represents the noble idea of sticking together, through thick and thin, forever. That’s a pretty lofty notion to take in, especially if you’ve run into a bad relationship, bad marriage, single-parenthood, health issues or any of the myriad struggles that make life so challenging.
So, anyway, Nancy picked up the phone and we started reminiscing about the band’s history and then our own. She and I have been to a few Springsteen shows together and through more than a few adventures at work. Without her presence, I never would’ve had a chance to do what I love.
After the shock wore off, she got feisty:
“This pisses me off,” she is telling me, “because these guys are the good guys. Hey, tramps like us…”
The E Street Band didn’t do drugs, didn’t carouse irresponsibly. They don’t fit into the new tabloid mentality. Federici’s three-year battle with melanoma had been kept so low-key that attentive fans such as Nancy and I weren’t aware of it.
He had joined the band in 1969, according to the biographical information in the forward to a new Springsteen volume, For You: Original Stories and Photographs by Bruce Springsteen’s Legendary Fans.
Federici played with the Boss in the seaside juke joints with Child and Steel Mill. “In Danny’s case,” the Chicago Tribune’s Louis Carlozo writes. “greatness is understood, measured in the sublime flicker of his organ-playing hands.”
After 40 years in the band, Federici’s hands are still, but I’m optimistic that, like all families, the E Street Band will find a way to persevere. It gives hope to the rest of us.
Very nicely said, Rob.
Danny left us many many memories of some magical nights with the E -Street Band….Dannys Musical Talent will out live us all..Nice Post Rob..Here’s to many many memories ahead..