Bruce Springsteen announces tour with E-Street Band

In his first major tour since 2003, Bruce Springsteen is set to return to homeland - The Continental Arena in East Rutherford - on October 9-10.

Springsteen has performed at the 20,000-capacity Meadowlands venue on nearly every tour, since opening it as the Brendan Byrne Arena with a series of E Street Band shows in 1981. The historical connection might be one of the reasons why Springsteen isn't playing Newark's Prudential Center, which fellow Jersey boys Bon Jovi are opening this fall with 10 shows.

Along with the Continental arena dates, Springsteen and the E Street play Philadelphia's Wachovia Center on Oct. 5 and Madison Square Garden in Manhattan Oct. 17-18. The Philly show goes on sale Sept. 8, with the New Jersey and New York shows on sale Sept. 10. Ticket prices have not yet been announced.

The tour, which kicks off Oct. 2 at the Hartford Civic Center in Hartford, Conn., is in support of Springsteen's first album with the E Street Band in five years, "Magic," due out Oct. 2 from Columbia.

In an interview with the Springsteen fan site Backstreets, the singer said that the new material was "just built" to be played live.

"I wrote with a lot of melody, with a lot of hooks," Springsteen said, "and there's a lot of band power behind the stuff."

So, will Springsteen get everyone 'Dancing in the Dark'. We will sure see!