New for 2024: New entry for 1983; video for 2008 and 2014
1966: The Castiles perform and compete at a Battle of the Bands at the Matawan-Keyport Roller Drome in Matawan, New Jersey. The Castiles do not win (or even place in the top five), but Bruce meets the drummer of the second place band, Vini Lopez, and one of the judges, Vinnie Roslin, for the first time. Vini, Vinnie and Bruce (along with Danny Federici) will go on to form Steel Mill.
1976: Bruce and the E Street Band play a sold-out show at Virginia Tech University. After the show, Bruce zips across town to catch Nils Lofgren’s performance at Town Hall.
1983: In newspapers across America, the comic strip Funky Winkerbean winks at a certain rising rock star still a year away from megastardom.
1984: Bruce sits in with Cats on a Smooth Surface for three songs at The Stone Pony in Asbury Park.
1985: Bruce concludes his first Japanese tour with a two-night stand in Osaka. This is Night One.
1988: Bruce brings the Tunnel of Love Express to the L.A. Sports Arena for the first of five nights. In the encore, “Detroit Medley” makes its final appearance of the tour.
Also tonight: in Pittsburgh, Evening Magazine airs a segment about Bruce’s upcoming area show and recent on-sale.
1996: Thanks to the request of a fan who snuck his way into the soundcheck, Bruce plays “The Angel” for the first time ever (and the last time for 13 years) at his solo acoustic show in Royal Albert Hall in London.
2000: Bruce soundchecks a new song, “American Skin (41 Shots),” before the Reunion show in Raleigh. Cousin Frank Bruno guest-stars on “Hungry Heart” during the show.
2005: At a second public rehearsal/benefit show (held in the afternoon) at Asbury Park’s Paramount Theater for his upcoming solo tour, Bruce premieres “Reno” and surprises fans with the return of the Christic arrangement of “Real World.” The bullet mic makes its debut on “Reason to Believe” and will remain a fixture on both this tour as well as the Magic Tour (albeit with very different arrangements).
2008: Bruce and the E Street Band play their first show since the passing of Danny Federici. The Tampa show opens with a tribute film set to “Blood Brothers” and opens with an emotional “Backstreets.” The band kicks of the encores with a gorgeous rendition of the gospel classic “I’ll Fly Away.” This show is available for purchase as part of Bruce’s official archive series–get it here.
2009: Night Two in Boston brings the premiere of “I Wanna Be Sedated” (by request) and a guest-spot/marriage proposal by Tim Brennan of Dropkick Murphys. Making their tour premiere: “For You,” “So Young and in Love,” and “Seven Nights to Rock.”
2010: Bruce receives the Ellis Island Family Heritage Award on Ellis Island in New York City.
2014: The High Hopes Tour continues to deliver an amazing run of surprises and great performances. This show at the Consol Energy Center in Pittsburgh opens with the premiere of “Clampdown” by The Clash and features the tour premieres of “Stand On It” and “I Wanna Be With You,” along with a rare “Back in Your Arms” and some adorable Bruce and Patti interplay on “Seven Nights to Rock.”
The video for “American Beauty” also premieres on this date.
2017: At a party with his mom at a local restaurant in Marlboro, New Jersey, Bruce joins the Eddie Tesla Band on stage briefly for a “In the Midnight Hour” and “Soul Man.” Later, he watches Little Steven’s show at the Paramount and joins him on-stage for the encores.
2019: Bruce’s official Twitter account posts a mysterious image with no explanation. What could it mean?
2020: Bruce and Patti perform “Land of Hope and Dreams” and “Jersey Girl” at the virtual Jersey 4 Jersey benefit for pandemic relief.
