Kingdom of Days: May 6

New for 2023: Video for 2003 and 2014

1973: Bruce plays the Spring Carnival at UMass Amherst. With attendance at around 18,000, this is one of the largest crowds that Bruce will play to for years.

1974: Bruce and his band play a show at Bucks County Community College in Newtown, Pennsylvania. This is the final show before the E Street Band debuts its official name.

1976: Bruce plays a sparsely-attended gig at the Municipal Auditorium in Shreveport, Louisiana

1988: Bruce and the E Street Band play their second of two nights at the Tacoma Dome on the Tunnel of Love Express Tour. The soundcheck–captured on tape–features a fascinating set of covers, including “Big Boss Man,” “Crying in the Rain,” and “Cathy’s Clown.” Take a listen below.

1992: Bruce unveils his new band at a ninety-minute show at The Bottom Line in New York City. MTV’s Week in Rock features some footage from the show, along with an interview with Bruce.

1996: Bruce plays the first of two solo acoustic shows at Teatro Tivoli in Barcelona.

1997: Bruce kicks off the final leg of his marathon solo acoustic tour with his first-ever show in Austria, the first of two nights in Vienna. This show features the European debut of “Freehold.”

2003: The second European leg of the Rising Tour kicks off with the first of two shows at Stadion Feyenoord in Rotterdam. Bruce opens the show with an acoustic “Born in the U.S.A.” and plays a solo piano “Incident on 57th Street,” his first performance of that song in The Netherlands.

2010: Bruce makes an appearance at Fairleigh Dickinson University in Madison, New Jersey, joining John Wesley Harding and poet Robert Pinsky for an unusual evening of poetry reading and acoustic performance.

2014: At the Cynthia Woods Mitchell Pavilion in Houston, one of the smaller venues on the High Hopes Tour, Bruce plans to open the show with “This Is Your Sword.” Luckily, Tom Morello has a better idea: as they walk on stage, Tom suggests to Bruce that he open with “Seeds” instead, setting the tone for a high-energy show that features a guest spot by Joe Ely and the tour debut of “All or Nothin’ at All” and “One Step Up.” For lots more highlights from this show, see my Where the Band Was report.

2017: Bruce attends the memorial service and delivers a eulogy for original fan Obie Dziedzic. That evening, he attends the 24th annual Kristen Ann Carr Fund benefit.

2018: Bruce inducts Steve Van Zandt into the New Jersey Hall of Fame. Following Little Steven’s acceptance speech, Bruce joins his friend and the Disciples of Soul for a performance of “I Don’t Want to Go Home.”

2020: It’s starting to look like a series: Bruce makes his third appearance as radio DJ on his E Street Radio show, From My Home to Yours.