In what will no doubt be hailed as fantastic news by Rage Against The Machine fans, but feels more like a disappointing bait-and-switch tactic to me, Tom Morello will replace Steve Van Zandt for Bruce Springsteen's Australian tour.
Van Zandt isn't sick, dealing with the death of a loved one or doing anything else that might justify this move — the part-time actor has simply chosen to film a Norwegian-American TV series, Lillyhammer, instead of honouring his commitment to tour Australia, thereby screwing over fans who just paid through the nose to see The E Street Band. What a working class hero!
Bruce is an icon, but to diehards, so is Little Stevie, and there's an appreciable difference between a Springsteen solo show and an E Street Band show.
Of course, if you accept that Springsteen could have chosen to replace Van Zandt with anyone, you have to be chuffed that he's managed to rope in one of the most famous guitarists in the world (who featured on last year's Wrecking Ball LP, to boot). And certainly, had the tour been billed as 'Bruce Springsteen (featuring Tom Morello!)' from the beginning, ticket sales probably wouldn't have suffered.
As a fan, though, I can't deny that I'm disappointed by Van Zandt's decision, and I suspect I'm not alone
