BRUCE SPRINGSTEEN & THE E STREET BAND : PASSAIC

BRUCE SPRINGSTEEN & THE E STREET BAND : PASSAIC - SEPTEMBER 20, 1978

Disc One (56:37)

Good Rockin' Tonight
Badlands
Spirit in the night
Darkness on the edge of town
independence Day
the promised land
prove it all night
It's My Life

Disc Two (44:51)

thunder road
jungleland
Santa Claus Is Coming To Town
fire
candy's room
because the night
point blank

Disc Three (72:08)

Kitty's Back
Incident On 57th Street
rosalita (Come Out Tonight)
born to run
10th avenue freeze-Out
Detroit medley
Twist And Shout

Label : Live.BruceSpringsteen.net

Venue : Capitol Theatre, Passaic, New Jersey, USA

Recording Date : September 20, 1978

Quality : Soundboard Recording (A+)

Review : As of this moment, September 20th, 1978 is the quintessential live release from Springsteen’s career. Taken from the height of his greatest tour with the perfect audio quality to highlight it – this upgrade in audio was much-needed to sell just how great the Darkness tour was to fans who didn’t live it after the less than great mix for The Agora – there is so much more than just good rocking on this night New Jersey. This was the second of three shows in Capitol Theatre for Springsteen and The E Street Band, and given that the first show, which was broadcast live on radio stations across America, is more famed and considered by some fans to be the greatest Springsteen show of all time, there’s a lot to be excited about for its potential release from the archive in the future given the quality of this one. I hadn’t exactly heard “Good Rockin’ Tonight” prior to the release of this show, but in the time that’s elapsed since it’s become one of my favourite covers. Spurred on by Springsteen’s (still) Orbison-esque vocals and a introduction from him that “It’s just me and you tonight, baby“, this is always an enjoyable listen. While Springsteen’s comment was made in reference to the previous show being broadcast, there’s a real sense of intimacy expressed here that works well as the show progresses and Springsteen interacts more with the audience. “Badlands” and “Spirit in the Night” are good listens too, and I really like the extended intro of “Badlands”, especially in the context of following on directly from “Rockin'”, compared to (for example) it starting like this on the Live 1975-85 boxset after “Independence Day”. That said, of the opening half hour, it’s the duo of “Darkness on the Edge of Town” and “Independence Day” that I find myself revisiting more. To be perfectly honest this double is my favourite aspect of this entire show and it has been for a while. It’s a good reminder that sometimes it’s the songs you don’t expect that are the ones that end up being some of your Archive Series essentials. If you’ve yet to listen to this show, there’s a chance that the next five songs will send you into sheer nirvana. “The Promised Land” might well be the most underrated song performance of the entire show, with the contributing roles of Clarence Clemons and Miami Steve Van Zandt making for another amazing version of the song. Prior to “Prove It All Night”, with its famed ’78 extended guitar and piano intro, Bruce gives a shout out to his guitar-man, Phil Portillo for his dedication to helping Bruce with any issues, and he then precedes to showcase what his hard-work has been for with a shredding guitar solo. There’s an amazing moment afterwards as (thanks to how Bob Clearmountain’s mix let us to hear the crowd perfectly) we can hear a fan shouting out for “It’s My Life” before going into his own state of nirvana when Bruce and The E Street Band begin playing it. This five song run could have even been six(!), however there’s a rare moment where Bruce corrects The Professor, shouting “Roy!” to stop him from playing the intro to “Racing in the Street”, and remind him that “Thunder Road” is actual next song on the setlist. Sometimes these little mistakes can be annoying and take you out the show, but seeing as the “Thunder Road” that follows is excellent, there’s nothing to complain about here. Usually with “Thunder Road” instrumental-wise I tend to focus on Roy’s piano, Clarence’s sax or Bruce and Steve’s guitar, but what stands out here is the drumming of Max who plays a powerful, albeit smooth, beat that really highlights how he’s performing with all he’s got to give. A cathartic “Jungleland” ends this immense forty minute run of songs, as well as the first set in general. Though before leaving the stage a jubilant Springsteen informs the crowd they’ve got a surprise in store for the second set. When he enthusiastically shouts “YOU’RE GONNA BE SURPRISED!“, it’s not just hilarious, it seems to suggest that his pre-show comment of “it’s just me and you tonight” were as much a comforting tool for him as they were rousing words for the audience. Alongside this and him shouting “GO’WAN!” amidst a rapturous ovation after “Born to Run”, Bruce is clearly enjoying himself on the night, and he’s feeling a massive lack of pressure that he might have been on him the night earlier. That surprise happened to be “Santa Claus is Coming to Town”. That’s right, in September – but let’s be honest, we know that’s not early in Bruce’s mind. Its place in the setlist as the second set opener does its job well in reinvigorating the audience, with “Fire” up next re-grabbing the attention of the ladies in the event that “Santa” failed to reinvigorate everyone, and a double-shot of “Candy’s Room” and “Because the Night” do so for the rest of the guitar-loving crowd. As of February 2019 this release has had virtually no criticism, but I can recall there being a minor selection of fans disappointed that this amazing show featured a setlist without “Racing” and “Backstreets”. While “It’s My Life” is in the spot “Racing” usually held in ’78, it’s possible that “Backstreets” was withdrawn in favour of “Point Blank”, another future River album track. For me, this performance showcases Garry Tallent and Danny Federici in the best way, as while they’re not at the forefront of the instrumentals, thanks to the quality of Jon Altschiller’s mastering, you can hear how subtlety and intricately their riffs benefit the song. It would be hyperbole to say it’s definitely the best version of the song, but it’s definitely in the conversation. Due to the intimacy of the Capitol Theatre and the audience’s interactions with Bruce, there are more songs requested than just “It’s My Life”. Bruce calms a fan screaming for “Kitty’s Back” before “Independence Day” by saying, “we’ll get to that one later“, and they get it as the starter of a WIESS trio to end the second set. As always, “Kitty” showcases the entire E Street Band and at only thirteen minutes, thirty-nine seconds long, it doesn’t overly drag for those who aren’t great lovers of the song. I mentioned earlier that it’s the songs you don’t expect that sometimes become your favourites in this series, and the reason I think that’s so notable about “Darkness” and “Independence Day” in this show is because you’d really expect “Incident on 57th Street” leading straight into “Rosalita (Come Out Tonight)” to be everyone’s standout moment. That said, how much I enjoy the tour’s titular track and the first of the two future River album songs doesn’t diminish the quality of what is arguably Springsteen’s finest pairing. “Incident” is quintessential relief for those who spent over thirty years angry about its absence from Live 75-85, while “Rosie” – which can sometimes be hit or miss for fans at twelve minutes+ – is one of the finest versions in the series thanks to its predecessor leading into it. I’d also be remiss if I didn’t mention how much I love Bruce shouting “LOOK OUT!” in that brief moment before “Incident” ends and “Rosie” begins. If the above isn’t a good enough example of why the Darkness Tour is revered for being a pulsating, play ’til you drop extravaganza, then the encore should do it. While in the modern era E Street encores can stretch to an hour-long, ten song jaunt to send the audience home exhausted, it only takes a thirty-minute run of four tracks to do that here. “Born to Run” is played at a rapturous pace that, for me, only signifies a young optimism of life’s possibilities. “Tenth” is then described by Bruce as “dirty“, “nasty” and “filthy“, and I’ll add “the epitome of the tour”, to Bruce’s words above. The show ending performances of “Detroit Medley” and “Twist and Shout”, however, might provide an argument for my description of “Tenth” as the real definition of the tour and Springsteen and The E Street Band’s throw everything to the wall attitude of the time. Throughout both Bruce sounds like he’s singing with the last gasps of energy he’s got left, but that doesn’t come as a hindrance to either performance as his almost-exhausted singing, meshed with the consistently outstanding playing of his band mates concludes this show in a tremendous fashion. And once you’ve heard it, you’ll have no reservations about this shows reputation as one of the very best releases from the Archive Series. In my more brief review of this show in my first guide to Springsteen’s Archive Series, I stated that this is a must-have for any Springsteen fan, and I stand by that opinion. Perhaps even more so now than I did last June. The work of Clearmountain and Altschiller washes away any uncertainties anyone may have had about whether the Darkness Tour was really that good after the unflattering job The Agora release did a few years earlier. I suppose you can give a lot of credit to the men on stage in washing away those uncertainties as well. It’s arguable that for as stellar as the audio quality is, the quality of performance is even more important, and thankfully this was a night where Springsteen and The E Street Band were performing on a level unmatched by many others. If you’ve never heard September 20th, 1978, do yourself a favour and check it out. If you’ve heard it a hundred times or more, don’t you think it’s about time you listened to it again?