1975-12-12 Post Dome, C.W. Post College, Greenvale, NY

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

Info & Setlist | Venue

First confirmed E Street Band version of The Animals' "It's My Life", although a Brucebase reader recollects hearing the song two nights earlier at Bucknell University. In the 1987 BBC documentary Glory Days, Max Weinberg spoke about the premiere of "It's My Life" when he was asked if Bruce had ever launched into a song without telling the band what he was going to play. Max said that the band had never rehearsed the song before playing it in concert, but fortunately they all knew it. "Thunder Road" is the slow version with Roy on piano and Bruce on harmonica and vocals. Danny and Roy play a polka on accordion before "4th Of July, Asbury Park (Sandy)". Great show. The show started late due to weather conditions - heavy snow resulted in heavy traffic on Long Island. The 'Roy Rogers' that Bruce mentions in the introduction to "She's The One" is (was) a fast food hamburger joint down the road from the College. "Rosalita (Come Out Tonight)" includes a snippet from "Theme From Shaft" in the midsection, as well as Roy playing a snippet of "Hernando's Hideaway". "For You" is solo piano. Roy plays a very brief snippet of "Don't Be Cruel" before "Sha-La-La".

Intro to “She’s the One”
“This is for, uh…the girls at Roy Rogers…”

Intro to “Kitty’s Back”
“Sorry about the delay tonight, being late and everything…but there was this big road block, you see, this big road block down the road, you know, yeah, there was like, there was fifteen police cars and the sirens going and everything and we came, we drove in, you know, and, uh, they wouldn’t let us in, we said “Listen, we gotta get through, you know,” they said “Nobody can get through, the whole area, the whole end of Long Island has been quarantined,” right, so like we were a little nervous, we said “Officer, you know, gee, what’s the matter?” you know, and he said “Nobody can go in or out because (?)…because Kitty’s back (crowd cheers)…”

Intro to “Sandy”
“[The band tests their instruments and Danny plays an accordion solo that sounds like a polka]…[long pause]…Yeah, now we could’ve had a terrible accident there (chuckles)…oh, are you ready, Band?…(?)…good…this song’s for everybody…all you folks from Asbury Park with love (crowd cheers)…”

Intro to “Santa Claus Is Coming to Town”
“It’s real cold down there now…are you ready, Band? (?)…it’s all cold down along the beach…wind’s whipping down the Boardwalk… hey, Band!…you guys know what time of year it is? what time? what? (Steve: “Christmastime”) what? (Steve: “It’s Christmastime”) oh, Christmastime!…you guys all, you guys all been good and practicing real hard? yeah? Clarence, you’ve been, you’ve been rehearsing real hard now so Santa’ll bring you a new saxophone, right – everybody out there been good or what? (some cheers) oh, that’s not many, not many, you guys are in trouble out here (chuckles)…”

Intro to “Detroit Medley”
“Now back in Detroit where Santa don’t go ‘cause he’s afraid of getting mugged (chuckles) are you ready, Band?…”

Intro to “Sha La La”
“(Crowd cheers) You guys are nuts, I don’t understand you guys (crowd cheers) don’t understand you…oh, oh…let’s do, uh…”

^{Compiled by : Johanna Pirttijärvi.}

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Springsteen Captivates 3,000 In Semester's Last Concert

Odds are that no more than a handful of the 3,000 people who attended Friday night's concert at the Post Dome had ever seen Bruce
Springsteen in concert. Many had no doubt been caught up in recent publicity shenanigans, billing him as the "new rock sensation", or had glimpsed momentarily at news stories explaining the "double cover" phenomena on the front pages of TIME and NEWSWEEK magazine.

The audience, mostly young and anxious, did not come to hear a man named Springsteen, but rather to see and hear the rock star sensation that has been hailed by reviewers nationwide as the beginning of a new rock generation. One Long Island disc jockey said of Springsteen's appearance last week, "The concert of the year, by the performer of the Decade".

Once one separated oneself from the words of others, it became apparent that much of the fanfare was indeed true. In short, Springsteen gave the audience their monies worth. Even an hour long delay at the start of the show failed to reduce the volume or intensity of the applause that virtually captivated Springsteen's performance from the moment he was Introduced.

Considered by many to be the next in a line of rock star successes, Springsteen has the true distinction of being dubbed an "overnight success". In August, he appeared at the "Bottom Line", in a performance which was also broadcast live over WNEW-FM. His name was by no means well known at the time, and while his performance sold well, few realized that a few months later Springsteen would be playing to sold out audiences across the country.

As is expected of all rising young rock starts these days, Springsteen has a gimmick. It's not flashy sun glasses or bloody baby dolls, but rather it is his coarse yet vibrant attitude that sets him apart from the rest.

In the tradition of Lenny Bruce, Springsteen appeared on stage for his first number through a mist of colored barroom haze. The spotlight sheared the darkness from behind, as Springsteen pushed the michrophone to his mouth and caressed it with the tenderness of a football player on a blind date.

Dressed in a cut-off short sleeved work shirt, with baggy pants and a tattered wollen cap, Springsteen appeared to duplicate the unconcerned grace that his reputation has gathered.

Concluding his opening number, "Thunder Road", his voice seemed visibly strained. Some thought it was due to a long road trip, something which no doubt must have affected Springsteen somewhat, if only physically. But, to the active Springsteen listener, it was simply his straining style, a style which he plays to the hilt.

"Play one of your own", yelled an admirer, after Springsteen had ripped through a Bo Diddley number and "Katy's Back". As if to reciprocate, although it was obviously impossible for him to have heard the request through the incessant cheers and applause, Springsteen jumped to his feet and unleashed the popular "She's The One". With Clarence Clemmons on the saxophone and Maxwell Weinberg on the drums, the audience rose to its feet in unison. From that moment on, each time the spotlight shined on Clemmons, the audience responded with enthusiam. But then, it seemed like the audience never stopped responding with enthusiasm.

The pandamania was not restricted to the audience, either. Throughout the evening Springsteen popped around stage like a bunny rabbit seeking refuge from Elmer Fudd. Rarely sitting still, except during his first encore, a ballad entitled "Sandy. In fact, it appeared that the crowd considered every number after the first to be an encore, as they continued to yell for more and more.

As the concert began to lift to an obvious chreshendo Springsteen did the unexpected, the tabbooed, especially for a new and young performer. The experts say that new performers shoud hit the audience with some of their best known works at such a crucial point. Yet, beginning with the Animals "It's My Life", and Mitch Ryder's "Devil with a Blue Dress", Springsteen proved the experts wrong, as he kept the audience on the feet through a medley of old rock classics.

To tempt fate even farther, Springsteen later rolled out the bells as the familar melody of "Santa Claus Is Coming to Town" began to pierce through the Dome. The crowd, figuring it was an Xmas joke, laughed and prepared themselves fro a quick change into another number. But the change never came. Springsteen and the E Street Band let loose with a dynamic interpretation of the classic that stirred everyone, including Springsteen himself as he danced frantically across the stage. As the shock wore off, the audience realized that Springsteen had the ability to make even the unexpected and mundane appear exciting and entertaining.

"Are Ya Loose?" yelled Springsteen as he was called back for yet another in a continuing string of encores. "Yes" screamed the audience, as rock's new sensation climaxed the evening with "Sha La La", and Gary U.S. Bonds' "A Quarter to Three".

"Definately the most dynamic concert I've ever been to," concluded one of the fans who stood on line since noon that afternoon. "You better believe it", agreed another, and another, and another, and…"

^{Via Post Pioneer (Campus Newspaper)}

Taking All I Can Get, No Regrets

At its core, the Live Archive series functions as an aural time machine, transporting us back to performances preserved in our memories or, better still, to shows only a few fortunate souls witnessed in person.

Based on that criteria, C.W. Post College, December 12, 1975 announces itself as an exemplar of the Archive series, placing us in the best seat in the house on Long Island to experience a stupefying performance by Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band at the height of their circa 1975 powers.

After wrapping a four-date, European tour in November, the final month of 1975 saw Bruce play his first proper Canadian shows, return to major markets Boston and Philadelphia, and perform at small colleges and universities across the northeast. The C.W. Post concert (along with a show at Seton Hall in South Orange, NJ) was the closest gig to New York City. Judging by the rapturous audience response preserved by this recording, the Gotham fanbase made the trek to Long Island. With audio cabling laid through the auditorium leading to a truck parked outside, it was also clear to those in-the-know that the show was being recorded—one more catalyst for a heightened reaction.

The Archive series holds an embarrassment of riches from late 1975, including New Year’s Eve in Philly; the covers-laden, second London show in late November; and the conversion of Los Angeles at The Roxy in October, each noteworthy in its own way. Yet the C.W. Post performance stands out, somehow marvelously loose and inch-perfect tight at the same time. Tempos are zooming, the mood is celebratory, and if London and Los Angeles were about winning over new fans, C.W. Post aims to blow away the hardcores.

The same can be said today, as this is the Born to Run tour show you didn’t know you needed but unequivocally do. The 24-track, Plangent-Processed analog recording, newly mixed by Jon Altschiller, is 4K vivid, rich in both on-stage detail and event atmosphere. It couldn’t sound any fresher or clearer, and The Beatles Get Back parallels don’t end there.

We start in traditional 1975 tour fashion with the stark, piano-version of “Thunder Road,” a rollicking, pacey “Tenth Avenue Freeze-out,” and “Spirit in the Night.” Immediately, Stevie Van Zandt’s guitar work jumps to the fore, as he improvises atop familiar licks, adding appealing shading and variation throughout an evening where his playing is the first among equals.

“Lost in the Flood” benefits from the aforementioned looseness, as Bruce unwinds the tale a little differently, while the E Streeters enhance the drama, bursting forth after Bruce sings “Jimmy the Saint,” led by Van Zandt’s bending guitar note.

“She’s the One” opens on a long harmonica intro riding Stevie’s guitar-pedal prowess and Roy Bittan’s peerless piano. The band joins full force after the first verse and chorus, another moment of irresistible dynamics as the rhythm section makes their presence known through Garry Tallent’s deep bass and Max Weinberg’s big beat and splashing cymbal work. An outstanding version.

Following “Born to Run” comes the first-ever performance of The Animals’ “It’s My Life,” a cover that would become a cornerstone of Springsteen shows for the next 14 months.. As Brucebase writes, “In the 1987 BBC documentary Glory Days, Max Weinberg spoke about the premiere of ‘It’s My Life’ when he was asked if Bruce had ever launched into a song without telling the band what he was going to play. Max said that the band had never rehearsed the song before playing it in concert, but fortunately they all knew it.”

The recent Beatles documentary is filled with jaw-dropping moments where songs like “Get Back” and “Let It Be” spring to life in real time. Fan accounts confirm “It’s My Life” was not soundchecked at C.W. Post, yet out of thin air it begins, minus the familiar story intro. For the first minute or so, the band feels its way through, the arrangement deferential to the original but being E Streetized right before our ears. Confidence grows, and somewhere close to the middle of the song they realize, “We’ve got this.”

“It’s My Life” would go on to become a setlist staple for the next year and into early 1977. Its sentiment and the story-intro that developed around it set the stage for Bruce’s own “Independence Day.” In the 2000s, the band regularly assayed cover songs suggested by signs in the audience, but this isn’t a one-off—it’s the origin moment for one of the most significant cover versions Springsteen ever performed. Sure, any card-carrying member of the E Street Band knew The Animals’ original, but to drop “It’s My Life” in mid-set, seemingly unhearsed as Weinberg claimed and the C.W. Post arrangement supports, is audacious, joyful, and thrilling to hear.

Be that as it may, Bruce wastes little time segueing into a sprinting “Saint in the City,” and again the E Street Band flexes their musical muscles all the way through to the breakneck conclusion. A passionate “Backstreets” ensues, and one can only marvel at the level of performance by each member of the band. The spotlight justly turns to them for a long “Kitty’s Back” showcase, which finds the E Streeters in fine form not only instrumentally but vocally, too.

“Jungleland,” “Rosalita (Come Out Tonight)” (including Roy leading a “Hernando’s Hideaway” vamp), and “Sandy” continue an exceptional evening, each rendered as good or better than its 1975 peak. Bruce’s famous cover of “Santa Claus Is Comin’ to Town” follows. The C.W. Post performance was quickly mixed after the show and released to supportive radio stations on tape. In the early 1980s, it was officially released, first on Columbia’s In Harmony 2 children’s compilation and later as the b-side to “My Hometown.”

The new version proves to be virtually identical to the original, save for a charming mix change that lets us more clearly hear the band members’ distinct responses to Bruce’s intro, including Steve’s emphatic, “IT’S CHRISTMAS TIME!”

The encore extends with a cracking “Detroit Medley” that starts with a bang and rides some awesome chugga-chugga guitar riffing from Van Zandt. The stage then clears, and Bruce moves to the piano for a scintillating solo performance of “For You,” dedicated to his then-girlfriend Karen Darvin. The solo “For You” is a high point in the London 11/24/75 Archive release as well, but each reading is unique, and the C.W. Post version is distinctly captivating.

The band returns, and as they get set, Roy does another “name that tune” vamp, this time on “Don’t Be Cruel.” Bruce tells the boisterous crowd, “You guys are nuts!” before counting in “Sha La La.” Once more, Van Zandt lays down a blazing guitar lead and Springsteen’s high-energy vocals reflect his mood, which carries through to the closing number, “Quarter to Three.” The audience response during the song is bananas, perhaps causing the first cracks in the Post Dome that would collapse under the weight of snow in January 1978. It’s possible.

“Quarter to Three” concludes—as it must—with Bruce declaring, “I’m just a prisoner… of rock and roll!” Of that there can be no doubt, vouched for by those fortunate enough to be at C.W. Post on that December night, or the rest of us reliving the experience through this sublime addition to the Archive series.

^{By Erik Flannigan via Nugs.net.}

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