I took 10 days off of this, just to reset and work on that single edit of King Crimson's hilarious Indoor Games for that compilation in the sidebar. But we're back and we're Boss today.
Full disclosure: I have fully 20 TB of music and I don't think I own a single one of this guy's records.
I have a whole folder full of unissued live shows though, this being one of -- if not the -- most bootlegged artists in history.
He's also one of -- if not the -- most beloved performers of anyone who is reading this's lifetime.
I think I just read where he is one of a handful of people ever to win a Grammy, a Tony, and an Oscar. If his Netflix thing wins, he'll add the Emmy to that list.
I remember when he exploded and was on the cover of Time and Newsweek simultaneously, back when the mass media was looking for an insta-savior to rescue Rock 'n' Roll from knob twiddling, Prog rocking snobs in capes.
Fuller disclosure: in college, my roommate would play Greetings from Asbury Park, New Jersey and The Wild, the Innocent, and the E Street Shuffle incessantly.
The former contains my favorite song of his... famously covered by one of those knob-twiddly Limey bands and made into his first chart smash by them.
That cover of Blinded By the Light was my first exposure to Bruce Springsteen -- born this day in 1949 -- but certainly not anyone's last.
Today, to celebrate the milestone 70th b'day of this ultra-mega icon, I delved into that folder of concerts and came up with one of his most legendary.
This one documents the three-hour climax of a three-day run at Passaic's historic Capitol Theater, and finds The Boss playing to an obviously-adoring home-state audience.
The first two shows of this residency are apparently now officially issued, with the 19th and the 20th seeing real releases. This one remains unissued, and is sourced here from a mobile truck recording remastered by the JEMS folks.
Bruce Springsteen & The E Street Band
Coup de Grace
Capitol Theatre
Passaic, NJ
9.21.1978
01 set 1 intro
02 High School Confidential
03 Badlands
04 Spirit In the Night
05 Darkness On the Edge of Town
06 Sweet Little Sixteen
07 Independence Day
08 The Promised Land
09 Prove It All Night
10 Racing In the Street
11 Thunder Road
12 Meeting Across the River
13 Jungleland
14 set 1 outro
15 Set 2 intro
16 Santa Claus Is Comin' To Town
17 Fire
18 Candy's Room
19 Because the Night
20 Point Blank
21 Kitty's Back
22 The Fever
23 Incident On 57th Street
24 Rosalita
25 Born to Run
26 Tenth Avenue Freeze-out
27 Quarter to Three
Total time: 3:06:37
disc breaks go after Tracks 11 & 22
Bruce Springsteen – guitars, harmonica, percussion & vocals
Roy Bittan – piano & vocals
Clarence Clemons – saxophones, percussion, clarinet & vocals
Danny Federici – organ, electronic glockenspiel, accordion, percussion
Garry Tallent – bass
Steven Van Zandt – guitars & vocals
Max Weinberg – drums
JEMS remaster of original multi-track soundboard reels,
patched with a master soundboard cassette at the start
1.21 GB FLAC/September 2019 archive link
I will get back on the beam here and pack the end of September with memories to remember, lazy bum that I am.
For today, though, let's have all you underbosses prove it all night with just the sort of wild, marathon show this guy is famous for.
OK? Because the night belongs to us.--J.
