1971-03-27 Sunshine In, Asbury Park, NJ (Late)

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Scheduled: 22:30 Local Start Time ??:?? / End Time ??:??

Info & Setlist | Venue

Second of two shows, triple bill, with Springsteen (under the unique moniker of Bruce Springsteen & Friendly Enemies) opening for the second-billed Cowboy and headliner The Allman Brothers Band. Bruce and Steven Van Zandt were major Allman Brothers fans and during February Bruce lobbied hard to be part of the show, despite the fact that Steel Mill had broken up and Bruce had not yet settled on a new band. Ultimately Bruce decided to utilize the extended clan of musicians he'd been jamming with at The Upstage during preceding weeks and this event is perhaps the ultimate example of Asbury Park performing legend. The billing name "The Friendly Enemies" was chosen during February. It was actually a week or two prior to this March 27 gig that the famous moniker "Dr. Zoom & The Sonic Boom" was conjured up, but it was too late to change the name on the promotional material and posters for the show. Indeed, much of the long-standing discrepancy about how many Dr. Zoom gigs were performed stems from the fact that some people count this night's two shows as Dr. Zoom gigs, others don't count them. The two shows on this night weren't billed under the name 'Dr. Zoom', but they included all the elements of the 2 later Dr. Zoom shows in May, in fact they included more musicians and props than the either of the two later 'official' Zoom shows. Springsteen's backing band for this gig (the so-called "Friendly Enemies") consisted of Steven Van Zandt (guitar), Garry Tallent (bass), David Sancious (keyboards), Vini Lopez (drums, vocals), Southside Johnny (harp, vocals), Albee Tellone (sax, vocals), former Rogues member John "Hotkeys" Waasdorp (electric piano), Bobby Feigenbaum (tenor sax), Bobby Williams (drums, vocals), and Tinker West (congas). Danny Federici was not present at this show. There was also a chorus/skit troupe of Upstage regulars nicknamed "The Sonic People" that included Connie Manser (the baton twirler), Robin Nash, Jeannie Clark, Fifi Longo, and Kevin Kavanaugh topped off by a quartet (Kevin "Bird" Connair, Bruce Greenwood, "Big" Danny Gallagher and Upstage bouncer Roger "Black Tiny" Lewis) that sat on stage playing the game Monopoly during Bruce's performance. At one point during the show Springsteen sat at the Monopoly table while singing. The Monopoly game and the baton twirling were unique to this show, these antics were not incorporated into any later shows. The name "Sonic People" later became known as "The Zoomettes". Apparently, The Allman Brothers got a kick out of Bruce's combination of zany props and inspired music. Backstage between shows Duane Allman gave some slide guitar tips to Steven Van Zandt and also played some impromptu slide on top of a soundboard tape listening session of Bruce's early show that Tinker West was conducting. Allman was quoted as saying, "That's one cookin' band, man." Sadly this would turn out to be the only Sunshine In appearance for The Allman Brothers Band. Although tentatively booked for a November 1971 return engagement (see August 7) the death of Duane Allman in a motorcycle crash on October 31 caused the group to cancel.



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