New for 2023: Audio for 1979. 1992, 2002. and 2012
1967: The Castiles play at a rally dance at West Freehold School.
1973: A scheduled gig in Miami opening for Richie Havens is cancelled to make room for mixing sessions for The Wild, The Innocent & The E Street Shuffle.
1974: Bruce and the E Street Band play an outdoor show at Kean College in Union, New Jersey, featuring the first known “A Love So Fine” (a work in progress that doesn’t even feature that lyric). Listen below–this also happens to be the earliest known recorded show with Max and Roy.
1979: Bruce and the E Street Band play their second of two famous “No Nukes” shows at Madison Square Garden under the aegis of Musicians United for Safe Energy (MUSE). Their performance of “Thunder Road” will become the official video for the song. Tom Petty, Jackson Browne, and Rosemary Butler join Bruce on-stage for the encore, but the show-closing “Quarter to Three” is marred by an uncharacteristically churlish Bruce embarrassing and removing his soon-to-be ex-girlfriend Lynn Goldsmith for taking photos without his permission. This show is available as part of Bruce’s official archive series (get it here), and selections are available on video in the concert film, The Legendary 1979 No Nukes Concerts.
1984: At his second Born in the U.S.A. show in Pittsburgh, Bruce begins a practice that stands to this day, donating money ($10,000) to a local steelworkers union and raising awareness by dedicating a song to them during the show.
Earlier in the day American Top 40 host Casey Kasem recaps the wedding of Steve and Maureen Van Zandt.
1985: A bad weather forecast prompts the postponement of a scheduled show at Denver’s Mile High Stadium. The evening ended up with clear skies, however, causing a bit of a backlash among fans and press.
1989: Bruce joins Jimmy Cliff on stage at The Stone Pony in Asbury Park, where the two play “Trapped” in its original arrangement.
1992: Bruce and his new touring band perform live for MTV Unplugged at Warner Hollywood Studios, but after the opening “Red Headed Woman,” the band plugs in and rocks for the rest of the show. MTV rolls with it (“Hey, he’s Bruce Springsteen. He can do whatever he wants.”), and Bruce will release the show (in heavily edited and reassembled order) on CD and DVD as In Concert/MTV Plugged. However, the official releases omit several songs performed that night, including the last “Book of Dreams” for 13 years. See more of the missing performances below. Most of the show is available as streaming video from Bruce’s official YouTube account.
2002: The Rising Tour resumes at the Pepsi Center in Denver after a three-week break, and from this point forward the setlists will have more variety and spontaneity. This show features the tour premieres of “The Ties That Bind,” “Candy’s Room,” “Racing in the Street,” and a rare “I’m a Rocker.”
2003: The River is certified 5x multi-platinum by the Recording Industry Association of America.
2012: Bruce and the E Street Band wrap up the summer leg of the Wrecking Ball Tour with a third show at MetLife Stadium in East Rutherford, where Bruce tour premieres “Cynthia,” “In the Midnight Hour,” “Into the Fire,” and “Meeting Across the River.” The show starts late due to inclement weather, and as a result, the band is still going strong when Bruce’s 63rd birthday arrives, and Bruce’s family comes on stage to present him with his cake. This show is available as part of Bruce’s official archive series–get it here.
2015: Bruce makes a guest appearance with Jackson Browne and Teresa Williams on a show-closing “Take It Easy” and “Our Lady of the Well” at the Count Basie Theater in Red Bank.
2016: One week after wrapping the River Tour, Bruce is back on the circuit–this time on a publicity tour for his new autobiography, Born to Run. Today, Bruce is interviewed by Skavlan, a Norwegian-Swedish talk show. Later, he appears on The Late Show with Stephen Colbert. Both appearances are broadcast the following day, Bruce’s 67th birthday.
2017: Bruce holds a second private rehearsal for Springsteen on Broadway at Monmouth University.
