New for 2024: Audio for 2001; new entry for 2023
1969: Child plays a Labor Day gig at Freak Beach in East Long Branch, New Jersey.
1971: The Bruce Springsteen Band headlines an outdoor show at Garfield Park in Long Branch. The set list features the only known live recording of “It’s Time to Go Home,” covers of “Little Queenie,” “(Get Your Kicks On) Route 66” and “The Night They Drove Old Dixie Down,” the fun “Dance Dance Dance” and more.
1973: Bruce and the E Street Band play two shows at Fat City in Seaside Heights, New Jersey.
1978: Darkness descends on the Masonic Temple Theater in Detroit, where Bruce and the band debut their cover of “Chimes of Freedom” and play the last known “Lost in the Flood” for 22 years.
1984: Bruce takes in the Jacksons’ Victory Tour at JFK Stadium in Philadelphia. Had he let the tour organizers know a bit earlier in the day, the audience might have been treated to a Springsteen guest appearance.
Also today, American Top 40 host Casey Kasem introduces Bruce’s latest hit single “Cover Me” with the story behind Springsteen’s new and improved physique.
1985: Bruce wraps up a six-show Giants Stadium stand on the Born in the U.S.A. Tour with the final “Jersey Girl” of the tour.
1999: Bruce and the reunited E Street Band play their second of three shows at the MCI Center in Washington, DC.
2001: Bruce joins Clarence Clemons and the Temple of Soul on stage at The Stone Pony in Asbury Park. Their performance of “Raise Your Hand” will be released three years later on Clarence’s Live in Asbury Park Vol. II album.
2011: In town to drop Evan off at Boston College, Bruce encounters a street musician named David Gonzalez plying his craft in Boston Public Garden. Bruce and David chat, and David lets Bruce try his guitar. For lunch, Bruce has a tuna sandwich at the Deluxe Station Diner, and later that evening, Bruce catches up with old friend Peter Wolf over dinner at Via Matta. The two then catch the Roy Sludge Trio’s show in Cambridge.
2016: Bruce sends a message at Washington DC’s Nationals Park: that last show in East Rutherford was no one-off. The River Tour is now the Autobiography Tour, as Bruce turns in another mostly-chronological set, once again opening with a string-laden “New York City Serenade” and featuring generous helpings of pre-Born to Run material. “Better Days” makes its tour debut representing the 1992-1993 years, and “Secret Garden” makes another appearance in the encores. In attendance tonight: Olympic gold medalist Katie Ledecky.
2021: Bruce releases Episode 27 (“Going to the Chapel”) of From My Home to Yours on E Street Radio.
That evening, Springsteen on Broadway continues its final week of shows at the St. James Theater in New York City.
2022: In Brooklyn, Bruce films videos for “Do I Love You (Indeed I Do)” and “Don’t Play That Song,” two tracks on his upcoming but as yet unannounced album, Only the Strong Survive.
2023: Bruce and the E Street Band play their second of two shows at MetLife Stadium in East Rutherford, where “Spirit in the Night” makes its tour debut.
