As CD trading via mail started to build in the 90s, I suddenly had an additional outlet to feed my growing love for live shows. No longer did that require purchasing bootleg CDs from local and mail order retailers because I finally had the ability via the internet to find others that were fans of artists that I also loved. Thanks to early trading friends like John and Hal, I quickly got my hands on rarities from some of my favorites like Sammy Hagar, Eddie Money, Night Ranger, and also various Cleveland shows that I didn’t have.
And of course, as a mondo Springsteen fan, I also began to accumulate a lot of Springsteen bootlegs. In the midst of my ongoing search for a quality copy of the Agora show, I picked up copies of the classic shows - Live at the Roxy, Live at Winterland, etc. etc. etc.
My early exposure to live Springsteen came as a result of the Live/1975-1985 box set, and it was interesting to finally hear the full shows that the 70s live material on that set was sourced from.
I think that the three shows that I hear people talk about the most, are the Agora show, the Winterland show, and a show recorded at the Capitol Theater in Passaic, NJ on September 19th, 1978 that circulated initially as a bootleg famously known as Piece De Resistance.
The Passaic show was the opening night of a full weekend’s worth of three consecutive shows at the Capitol Theater, and the September 19th show was broadcast live by WNEW-FM in New York. The 9/19 bootleg is the most well known of the three shows, but luckily for Bruce fans, soundboards exist for all three nights.
From Brucebase:
Great versions of “Because The Night” and “Fire,” and also includes what many consider to be the best examples of “Racing In The Street” and “Thunder Road” ever! - Essential.
I don’t completely agree with that - I was listening to Passaic Night this week prior to reading the above, and was surprised at how much better the Agora version of “Thunder Road” is in comparison with the version here. I’m sure there’s at least one person that might argue that point, and that’s fine! The Passaic show does have one of my favorite versions of “Point Blank,” and I love the back to back “Independence Day” and “The Promised Land.”
The 30th anniversary deluxe edition for Darkness on the Edge of Town is allegedly still in the pipeline, now set for 2009. With no shortage of recorded material from the 1978 tour to choose from, you can be sure that when/if it does come out, it will be great. And I’ll be waiting semi-patiently for it to come out!
The Passaic shows officially mark their own thirtieth anniversary this weekend. Check out the classic opening night below, taken from the Passaic Night bootleg.
P.S. I’ve got the entire catalog of Bruce studio albums, yet it seems like I’m always listening to live stuff, rarely listening to the actual albums. I’m sure I’m not alone.
P.S.S. Looking at the setlists for the weekend, I’d love to hear from anyone that went to the entire weekend’s worth of shows, who got to see “Kitty’s Back” THREE nights in a row, and “Incident on 57th Street” two nights in a row. That’s awesome
Bruce Springsteen and the E. Street Band
9/19/78
Capitol Theater
Passaic, NJ
From the Passaic Night bootleg
Download the DVDs of this show at Dimeadozen
Disc 1: (78:28)
1. “Intro” (0:30)
2. Badlands (5:02)
3. Streets Of Fire (4:48)
4. Spirit In The Night (8:25)
5. Darkness On The Edge Of Town (5:18)
6. Independence Day (5:58)
7. The Promised Land (6:21)
8. Prove It All Night (10:38)
9. Racing In The Street (9:36)
10. Thunder Road (8:17)
11. Meeting Across The River (3:20)
12. Jungleland (10:14)
Disc 2: (77:37)
1. Kitty’s Back (13:46)
2. Fire (3:16)
3. Candy’s Room (3:11)
4. Because The Night (7:16)
5. Point Blank (6:45)
6. Not Fade Away (5:00)
7. She’s The One (6:55)
8. Backstreets / Sad Eyes (11:45)
9. Rosalita (Come Out Tonight) (12:41)
10. 4th Of July, Asbury Park (Sandy) (7:00)
Disc 3: (78:20)
1. Born To Run (5:31)
2. Tenth Avenue Freeze-Out (4:28)
3. The Detroit Medley (8:01)
4. Raise Your Hand (4:55)
5. Good Rockin’ Tonight (3:22)
6. It’s My Life (5:36)
7. Santa Claus Is Coming To Town (5:13)
8. High School Confidential (4:25)
9. Sweet Little Sixteen (4:43)
10. The Fever (9:05)
11. Incident On 57th Street (12:18)
12. For You (5:08)
13. It’s Hard To Be A Saint In The City (5:33)
Disc three notes:
Tracks 5-7 Capitol Theater, Passaic, NJ 09/20/78
Tracks 8-11 Capitol Theater, Passaic, NJ 09/21/78
Tracks 12-13 Richfield Coliseum, Cleveland, OH 01/01/79
Relevant Links:
Bruce Springsteen official site
Brucebase
7 responses so far ↓
1 Dan // Sep 23, 2008 at 2:15 pm
Bruce’s birthday today!
2 Matt Wardlaw // Sep 23, 2008 at 3:46 pm
I know!! Many more, many more!
3 Jan // Sep 24, 2008 at 2:42 pm
Happie birthday(although late) to Bruce and the legendary Passaic show!!Best concert ever.
4 Websites tagged "springsteen" on Postsaver // Sep 26, 2008 at 5:02 pm
[…] - Good Listening: Bruce Springsteen - Passaic Night - 9-19-78 saved by stuartwan2008-09-23 - Bruce Springsteen — Magic saved by maristarr2008-08-16 - […]
5 Dan // Sep 28, 2008 at 8:57 am
THAT sounds GREAT!
6 ray // Oct 22, 2008 at 6:53 pm
I was there on opening nite and saw many shows growing up 2 miles from the capitol theater in passaic. it was a great place accoustically built of the old style plaster lathe the sound was never
better as the nite bruce played. it had been over 3 years since ‘the wild and the innocent’ album and most of us in jersey thought he was finished.
but alas his trip through the utah dessert inspired one of the greatest works of all time.
a show of many highlites and listening to it 30 years later still gives me chills. none greater than bruces searing guitar in ’streets of fire’
and at the time I closed my eyes for I knew we were in for a surreal ride. that nite was bruces coming out party which launched into a career of superstardom. ‘poor man gonna be rich rich man gonna be king and the king ain’t satisfied till he rules everything!’
listening to backstreets still makes me a little misty growin up on the jersey shore I slept in the ‘ole abandond beach house’ and I spent a soft infested summer with a girl named terry!
7 Muggs // Jan 3, 2009 at 3:19 am
With this download 2009 already has a good head start on 2008. Thanks for making it available. This music conjures up adolescent emotion more effectively than any other medium known to man. If it could be served in pill form the drug companys would all go under.
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