Springsteen fans worldwide were salivating on Thursday morning as details began to circulate of a Bruce Springsteen benefit concert from that previous night at the historic Count Basie Theatre in Red Bank, NJ. The benefit show was an event that had been set up to raise money for the purpose for restoring the 80 year old theater to its original glory. The unexpected part of the night was the last minute bit that revealed that the show, which had previously been announced as a solo performance by Springsteen, would instead feature the entire E. Street Band. When is the last time YOU saw a performance from Bruce and the band in a theater seating just over 1,500? A show that instantly became a night to remember, became even more special as Springsteen led the band through full album performances of Darkness on the Edge of Town, and Born to Run, wrapping up with a four song encore set backed by a horn section that included the rarity So Young and In Love, and wrapped with the very 1978 appropriate Raise Your Hand.
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2008 marks the 30th anniversary of Darkness on the Edge of Town. Plans were reportedly underway for a lavish treatment of the album, similar to the box set that was issued for Born to Run, although I’ve seen some recent rumors that suggest that the alleged release June release date has been bumped. It certainly isn’t the first time as Springsteen fans that we’ve seen something slip off the release schedule, but hopefully the retrospective package will find its way onto the release schedule shortly with a definite date. I think I can speak for the average Bruce fan in making note that the Born to Run package was awesome, and certainly gives plenty to look forward to in what we might expect quality wise from a Darkness package.
The 1978 tour found Bruce and band on fire delivering many legendary performances. Luckily for all of us, there were a good number of those performances that were broadcast live on the radio and captured for posterity. A December show at Winterland was one notable performance, and my personal favorite happened earlier that year in August.
The Cleveland Agora was the scene of the crime on August 9th, 1978 for a Springsteen performance that would become legendary. The concert helped mark the 10th anniversary for local radio station WMMS, and was broadcast nationwide live as it happened on WMMS and a select network of stations including stations in Detroit, Cincinnati, and Minneapolis.
Former WMMS program director John Gorman has a great remembrance of the show:
Though there were many WMMS Tenth Anniversary concerts and events, the one that will always be first and foremost is Bruce Springsteen’s live concert broadcast at the Agora on Wednesday, August 9, 1978. For many Springsteen aficionados that show stands as Bruce and the Band’s all-time best live performance. I concur.
It wasn’t long after I arrived in Cleveland in 1989, that someone found out that I was a Springsteen fan and told me about the legendary Agora performance. Bootlegs at that point, were something you found in the “special” record stores, and via mail order. It would take me about 6 years to locate my first copy of the show, via a “limited edition” bootleg called The Teenage Werewolf which had been issued, and very quickly sold out. I traded emails with a Springsteen fan in Atlanta who let me know that he had seen a copy of the bootleg in one of his local record stores. I got in touch with the store, and forked over 75 dollars plus shipping for the 3 disc set. I was stoked beyond belief. Unfortunately, that excitement turned to dismay when the CD set showed up with deep scratches on all of the discs. I was sure that my quest was doomed, but happily, the store had another copy of the bootleg. As scarce as The Teenage Werewolf had become, I couldn’t believe my good fortune.
I’ve gone through several different versions of the show since then, with the Just in Time for Summer set being my favorite copy of them all. I pull out this show at least once a year to fulfill a request from a friend that needs a copy for someone, and often to share it with a newly encountered Springsteen fan that is unaware of the performance. My friend Michael was the most recent recipient of a copy of the Springsteen Agora show, and he asked me “is it a good show?”
After I recovered from the shock of the question that I had just heard, I told him that indeed it was a great show, a legendary show with great performances of Sherry Darling (before it was recorded,) The Promised Land…….”actually, it’s got great performances of a LOT of songs!” And, not to mention that it is rated as one of the top 50 essential must have “Brucelegs!”
As detailed previously, Springsteen’s music (and the love and support of my parents) got me through some troubled times growing up. When I first heard the Agora show in the mid 90s, the unique renditions of so many of the Springsteen classics contained within became the soundtrack that would carry me through the early challenges of trying to make it in the “real world,” as I had begun to take those essential steps involved in growing up, including the classic coming of age event, moving out of the parents’ house. I had gotten my own apartment, and money was tight, but I had good music to make up for the things I was lacking financially.
Sadly, we said goodbye to longtime E. Street Band keyboard player Danny Federici nearly a month ago in April. This concert, recorded on August, 9th 1978 at the Cleveland Agora is one of the many recorded highlights that really put the spotlight on Federici, and what a great player he was.
Click here for information on how you can support The Danny Federici Melanoma Fund, and consider making a donation in whatever amount you can afford.
Leave a comment, story or two, and enjoy the show! You might be a casual fan, or perhaps you are a diehard – regardless, this is one of the finest Springsteen shows you’ll ever hear!
(Edit: As of 12/23/14, you can now buy this show officially from Bruce — go here for the purchase details!)
Bruce Springsteen & The E. Street Band – Just in Time for Summer
Live at the Cleveland Agora – August 9th, 1978
Disc 1:
01 Intro – Denny Sanders of WMMS
02 Intro – Kid Leo of WMMS
03 Summertime Blues
04 Badlands
05 Spirit In the Night
06 Darkness On The Edge Of Town
07 Factory
08 The Promised Land
09 Prove It All Night
10 Racing In The Street
11 Thunder Road
12 Jungleland
Disc 2:
01 Intro – Denny Sanders
02 Paradise By The “C”
03 Fire
04 Sherry Darling
05 Not Fade Away > Gloria > She’s The One
06 Growin’ Up
07 Backstreets
08 Rosalita (Come Out Tonight)
Disc 3:
01 Denny Sanders intro > 4th of July Asbury Park (Sandy)
02 Born To Run
03 Because The Night
04 Raise Your Hand > Kid Leo signoff
05 WMMS Station ID by Clarence Clemons
06 WMMS Station ID by Bruce Springsteen
Southside Johnny w/ Bruce Springsteen – I Don’t Wanna Go Home (Cleveland Agora 1978)
Note: The above performance is also from the Agora, taken later that month from a special appearance that Bruce made with Southside Johnny. Bruce had performed earlier that night at the Richfield Coliseum (R.I.P.) and sped over to the Agora after the show to join Southside and crew for part of their set, which was in full blaze by the time Springsteen arrived. And it only heated up from that point.
kick ass, matt! thanks for furthering the evolution of shuffle on my iPod.
some might say it’s my job.
Dig it!
Thank you thank you thank you. I have been looking for this since my old taped copy was stolen in 1980. I can’t tell you how happy I am to actually get to hear again versions of songs I thought I would only get to hear in my memories. I really can’t thank you enough.
Kitty’s Back!
Sorry…couldn’t resist! Happy to help….enjoy!
I’ve been searching for this for years, back in 78 I recorded this on 2 Maxell cassette tapes and considered this my most prized musical possesion. I have been searching for this bootleg for the last 10 years on and off and never thought I’d find it on vinyl, let alone a download. I can’t thank you enough or making the best live recording ever made available for this 51 year old who pines for FM radio as it existed in 1978. THANK YOU!
OMG I love you for this!
I only have the regular BS stuff and the rotterdam 2002 performance (I was there).
Thanks a BUNCH!
Thanks a ton. I used to drive around in my mustang listening to this on an 8 track (I had an 8 track recorder that I bought at Gold Circle…), with a matchbook shoved in to make it sound right. It was an important part of my youth. I have looking for it for over 15 years now. It is the single best concert I have ever heard. Bruce in his prime, there is nothing better. Thanks again.
Everyone and his brother has to thank a fella by the name of Frank Foti…..he is Cleveland Ohio people!!!
If y’all knew the whole story surrounding the Agora recording, you would be suprised, thankful and in awe….
‘Nuff said.
Mark fm geneva, oh
I am so happy to have found this. I have this show on 2 cassette tapes recorded in 1979 from the rebroadcast in Pittsburgh from WDVE. I have always been so afraid the tape would break I don’t listen to it anymore. Now I have your downloads. THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU
On the evening of Aug 9, 1978, I was hunched over my stereo receiver and cassette recorder, recording the WMMS 10th Anniversary Concert from my home in Youngstown Ohio. I still have the tape from that night. Some years later, I transferred the show to a digital mini-disk so I could listen to it on business trips without wearing the tape out. I now live in Santa Cruz CA and sometimes mention the tape to friends out here. Tonight (2/21/2009) I was listening to it on the MD player and wondering how I could transfer it to a full sized CD. I got on the computer, Googled the show and “Unbelievable!!!” There you were with downloads of the whole show!! You even preserved Bruce’s stories and comments between songs. THANK YOU, THANK YOU, THANK YOU!!!!
I’ve always thought that the show was the best live performance I’d ever heard from Bruce and the band. That night’s performance of Racing In The Streets with Roy’s positively “majestic” piano is the definitive version of the song and Bruce’s road trip story segueing into Thunder Road is wonderful.
Thanks again,
Rich Hackett
So I am 17 years old and get out of work at the Fazio’s I pack bags at after closing up and get in my car to drive home.
I had made my mother promise to start the cassette at the time the show started and just leave it on and recording. It took me 20 min to explain that all she had to do is hit the pause button and it was all up set up to go.
I listened to the show on the way home and got home in time to flip the tape
I got it recoded and played the tapes forever and lost one set (I made back ups) and made recordings for 20 people in collage.
They eventually got really bad and broke. This is like taking a drink from the fountain of youth. Thank you!
this is great i have been looking for this for a long time i was at this show and its great to here it again
Thanks Matt! I got this one downloaded. Now I just need the NYC ones and I will be done. Sorry about the delay, my modem screwed up and I just got it going. I can't WAIT to listent to the whole thing! This is like finding gold! Any other bootlegs you have, I would love to get my hands on. UR the best Matt!
I had only been introduced to Bruce in the fall of '77, my first year at college. Once this show was broadcast, my life was forever changed. No finer version of because the night exists. Just thinking about it sends chills. I played that tape til is was worn right through to the other side.
Later in '81 in Toronto I handed Bruce my cherished denim jacket with “Springsteen” embroidered across the shoulders. By luck a photgrapher from my school was there and i later received a keepsake photo of Bruce wearing the jacket on stage.
I used to have al ot of the old bootlegs. I loved the stories he would tell. I would really like for some of those to be cleaned up and released!
Chris
Matt– I can't put into words how much I appreciate these recordings. I am originally from Youngstown, Oh and remember the night of the WMMS 10th Anniversary Concert very well. I was 18 and about to start my sophmore year of college. There were lots of thunderstorms that night. I was supposed to go to the Cleveland Agora that night, but I hurt my knee and couldn't. So, I went to spend the evening with a beautiful young lady instead. Wow, what a night (Hi and thank you Donna). We curled up between the speakers, smoked a little and let mother nature run her course as we listened to the live broadcast. We were huge fans of WMMS and were blown away that Bruce wanted to perform at their celebration– and that it was simulcast across the country. To me, this is the best Bruce ever sounded. From everything I've read, the band had an absolute ball, and you can hear it in their playing. This concert has the best versions of Growing Up, Rosalita and Born to Run ever recorded. Max Weinberg has stated that this was the best show they ever did, and his personal favorite. Thanks for sharing this. I had it on cassette, but it was stolen. I had it on cd, but it was stolen. Now I've got it, will make copies for myself and will never be without it again. You're the man!
Dan – that's a good story!! Thanks for sharing it here!!
OMG! Thank you for sharing these audio tracks!!!!! Truly a stellar performance by Bruce!! It's a new favorite by far!!!!!!!
great story, i remember that summer so well, i was 14. i didnt hear it live, but i heard growin up weeks later, and my life changed. i got my hands on a copy of the whole show, and i couldnt believe what i was hearing. Now I'm 45, and have seen Bruce 33 times, but of all the shows I've heard him do, that was by far the best. I just wish there was some video from it, or photos for that matter. I think WMMS really dropped the ball on that. Oh well.
Thanks for posting this. I have a few copies of this performance and for some reason they were off a slow tape, and were off by almost a whole key. This is a great copy of the show. I was at several shows on the Darkness tour, at Madison Square Garden and the Palladium in New York City. They were by far the best concerts not only of Springsteen's carreer (I've been to almost 100) but also in my concert going adventures. If I may be so bold to point out that in set 2, Growin Up played was before the Not Fade Away-Shes The One medley
I correct my previous posting – your set # 2 is in proper order.
Cool – that threw me for a slight loop when I read it. Glad you dug the
boot – it's a killer, for sure!
Thanks for stopping by!
Thanks for posting this. I have a few copies of this performance and for some reason they were off a slow tape, and were off by almost a whole key. This is a great copy of the show. I was at several shows on the Darkness tour, at Madison Square Garden and the Palladium in New York City. They were by far the best concerts not only of Springsteen's carreer (I've been to almost 100) but also in my concert going adventures.
I correct my previous posting – your set # 2 is in proper order.
Cool – that threw me for a slight loop when I read it. Glad you dug the
boot – it's a killer, for sure!
Thanks for stopping by!
i have this show on reel to reel!
What a concert…the heavens opened up with Rock & Roll on August 9, 1978…a date which live on in the history of music…Amen Brother Matt
– Jim
i CANNOT thank you enough for this! the look on my father’s eyes when i gave him these three discs and told him what they were made my whole life man. he had recorded it live from wmms that day, and those tapes had been played so much they became worthless probably 20 years ago. he turned 60 this april and had long given up any hope of hearing this concert again. my deepest heartfelt thanks again.
Thank you, thank you, thank you very much.
I haven’t heard some of these versions since WMMS changed format (and I moved away).
The audio is excellent. Bravo!
Larry – glad you enjoyed it! Rock on..
Any chance you have the audio to go with these?
Oops, I meant video…
Ha. No, although I just met somebody last weekend that swears that this show was video taped. I think that’s wishful thinking though.
I recall seeing some of it way way back when…
I betcha Kid Leo or Denny Sanders have copies.
There’s video from the Southside show later that same month on Youtube, the
show where Springsteen showed up for the encores. I think that’s where the
confusion comes creeping in.
But who knows. I guess anything’s possible.
You wouldn’t be Matt the Cat, would you?
Nah, I think Matt is in AZ these days. I do get that question a lot though..
Some time (early ’79?) after the original broadcast of this concert, the full show was announced & presented on my local station, KISW FM 99.9 in Seattle.
I was prepared & recorded it on an old but good Uher reel-to-reel deck that I had bought used for $35. I listened to that tape over & over for months, until a drive belt on the deck broke about 2 years later. So I improvised rubber band belt replacements for awhile, just to hear that concert. Finally the deck died, & I never replaced it… the tape was also eventually lost. Arghh!
I had not heard this performance, that defines the essential power of live rock music, in nearly 30 years until now. Thank you so much for the preservation of a masterpiece. There should be a copy of it in the Smithsonian.
Glad you’re reunited with this classic Bruce show…
Great story, thanks for sharing it!
where’s twist and shout?
Wow, add me to the last of many who used to have this one on an old cassette tape (or two) and can no longer play it. Outstanding. I listened to a few of these old gems tonight and had the biggest grin on my face after hearing these for the first time in years.
Now if I can replace my Bruce Winterland concert from about the same time – he did a fantastic version of ‘Santa Claus’, then my collection will be complete again.
Thanks so much.
unbelievable, just in the process of converting my taped copies of this concert i’ve had since 1979 to cd’s and googled to try and confirm the exact date and found your post. many lost study nights in school kicked back listening to this over and over. i finally decided i needed to get this into my computer for fear of the tapes finally wearing out. without a doubt one fantastic concert. couple concert stories – we took in his show in madison, wi feb 81, tailgating at about zero degrees security shut us down, told us we couldn’t party in the lot; also took in the sept 81 show in chicago, one guy had to bail at the last minute and we asked around with only hours to go, like your buddy Michael my buddy’s friend asks if Springseen is any good—couldn’t believe it, didn’t know where this guy had been. he came with us and was blown away.
thanks for the downloads, i’m going to see if they are clearer than mine. i agree with wblairs though, i’ve got twist and shout after just raise your hand..maybe you just don’t have it in your list.
thanks again,
frosty k-town
Wow thank you so much, this is great…but how do i get this on my iPod
I was not one of the 5,000 people that claimed that they were there that night, LOL, but sure felt like I was. Recorded it off the radio that night on cassette, must have played it 100 times.
Thanks so much!
Hope the “Big Man” is smiling down us.
Tony