New for 2024: Video for 1988 and 2012; audio for 1993 and 2009; new entry for 2023

1973: Bruce opens for Lou Reed at the Palace Concert Theater in Providence.

1974: Bruce plays guest DJ on KDKB-FM in Phoenix, spinning platters for over an hour.

1977: Night Two in Boston features Bruce’s live premiere of “Little Latin Lupe Lu.”

1981: Bruce postpones a scheduled show in Manchester in order to recover from the first two legs of the River Tour.

1985: Bruce and the E Street Band play their second of six nights at the Sydney Entertainment Center, as Rosie returns to the set list for the first time this year.

1988: The second of two nights at The Omni in Atlanta along the Tunnel of Love Express Tour. The set list is largely unremarkable, but the soundcheck is astounding, full of rare covers like “Crazy Love,” “A Change Is Gonna Come,” “Just Like a Woman” and more–and luckily we have a recording of it (thanks to friend of the blog Chris Nierling).

1993: Bruce plays a food bank benefit show at the Count Basie Theater in Red Bank before kicking off the next European leg of his 1992-1993 tour. The set list holds an embarrassment of riches: the first “Does This Bus Stop at 82nd Street” in 18 years, the live debut of “This Hard Land,” “Viva Las Vegas” and “When You’re Alone,” and only the second-ever performances of “I Ain’t Got No Home” and “Janey, Don’t You Lose Heart” to close the show. All that plus a one-off cover of “Achy Breaky Heart.” Watch Bruce soundcheck below.

2009: Live premieres galore (six album tracks and two covers, including “Mustang Sally” with John Eddie) at the first rehearsal show for the Working on a Dream Tour at Asbury Park’s Convention Hall, as the E Street Band embarks on a six-year growth spurt with the addition of Curtis King, Cindy Mizelle, and part-timer Jay Weinberg. Surprisingly, Bruce will drop most of his new material from the set list very early in the tour, so these early shows feature rare opportunities to hear them live.

2012: The Wrecking Ball Tour moves on to Tampa, with a surprising number of set list change-ups and wild cards for this early in the tour. Most notable: the E Street Band premiere of “Talk to Me.” Bruce and Patti are adorable in this fantastic close-up clip:

2023: Bruce and the E Street Band bring their World Tour to the Keybank Center in Buffalo.

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