1976-04-04 MSU Auditorium, Michigan State University, East Lansing, MI

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

Info & Setlist | Venue

Show features "Thunder Road" with a new piano introduction. 18-song set includes a rare version of "Meeting Across The River", which is the full-band version rather than a solo piano rendition previously used; the song won't be played again until 1978. Wonderful versions of "It's My Life" and "Frankie", the latter to overwhelming crowd response, just after performing "Born To Run". He sang "Frankie they're real crazy, let's run and hide, In the darkness there'll be hidden worlds that shine when all of the fury in this desperate land, will rise like raindrops in the palm of my hand…". Rosalita (Come Out Tonight)" features an extended mariachi-style introduction and a snippet of "Theme From Shaft" in the midsection. This is also one of the few known times that the whole of the Born To Run album is played.

04.04.76 East Lansing, MI, intro to “It’s My Life”
”I used to live in this small town, it was about ten thousand people …in this two-family house and, uh…at night my father used to lock up the front door so me and my sister used to come in ‘round the back…and he’d sit in the kitchen every night with all the lights out …my mother’d sit in the front room with the TV on…watch TV all night…my pop would sit there and he’d just smoke cigarettes, drink beer…if you came in ‘round ten or eleven…it wasn’t too bad…but if you came in ‘round…one or two, after he’d been sitting there all night…he’d always wanna stop me…on my way, on my way to my room…talk to me about stuff…he’d start asking me how I was doing, what I was doing in school, who I was out with…then he’d start asking why I was living the way I was…what I was planning to do myself, with myself and…pretty soon we’d be screaming at each other…my mother’d be…running in from the front room trying to keep us from fighting with each other…(?)…I’d be running out the backdoor, telling him…that it was my life…”

04.04.76 East Lansing, MI, intro to “Frankie”
“Here’s a new song…called “Frankie” (?) our new album – how’s things up here in Lansing, alright? (crowd cheers) that’s good, that’s good…”

04.04.76 East Lansing, MI, intro to “Rosalita”
“Rosie, wherever you are, come out tonight! (crowd cheers)…
(…) On the piano, Professor Roy Bittan (?)(crowd cheers) play it, Roy (Roy plays) on the guitar, Mmmmiami Steve (crowd cheers) play it, Steve (Steve plays) on the bass, the ace on the bass, Mr. Garry W. Tallent (crowd cheers)…play it, Garry (Garry plays) on the drums, the Mighty Max (Max plays) on the organ, Phantom Dan Federici…play it, Dan (Dan plays) last but not least, on the saxophone, his majesty, Clarence Clemons (crowd cheers)…
(…) Tell him now it’s his last chance, Rosie, tell him I ain’t no freak …’cause I got my picture…on the cover of Time and Newsweek (crowd cheers)…”

04.04.76 East Lansing, MI, intro to “Sandy”
“I wanna thank everybody for coming down tonight, let you know we appreciate it (crowd cheers) ‘cause we haven’t been up (?) the closest we’ve been, I guess, is Detroit, right? it’s about the closest we’ve been to here and, uh (crowd cheers) here’s something to you from Asbury Park with love (crowd cheers)…”

04.04.76 East Lansing, MI, intro to “Detroit Medley”
“That’s the master of rock accordion (?)(chuckles)…(?) one by favourite Detroit band… ”
(…) Wait a minute, I gotta rest (the band stops)…I gotta…I gotta rest a second…alright, alright…(the band kicks in again) (crowd cheers)…that’s the New Jersey hustle…if I was to give the band a cue to bring it up…would you be ready? (crowd: “Yeah) now would you be ready? (crowd: “Yeah) ah, but you would be ready? (crowd: “Yeah) but you would be ready? (crowd: “Yeah) ah, bring it up…”

04.04.76 East Lansing, MI, after “Detroit Medley”
“Thanks (crowd cheers) East Lansing (crowd cheers) thank you (crowd cheers) the New Jersey hustle (crowd cheers)…”

Compiled by : Johanna Pirttijärvi

Mike Combes	This was my first Bruce concert ever and it is a concert experience I will never forget. The first time I had ever heard a Springsteen song was the night before when a guy in my dorm let me borrow Born to Run. I was not initially impressed, but still decided to go to the show. The songs that didn't mean anything to me on the record came to life during his live performance. I had never seen a performer connect with the audience like this before. I was a Bruce fan forever. My favorite song of the night was actually a cover of the Animals "It's My Life". Bruce the storyteller told of playing his guitar in his bedroom as his father yelled at him to keep the noise down. Interesting tidbit, I had a friend who was an usher for the show and he was there during the soundcheck and Bruce played "Incident on 57th Street".
Paula	I'll just never forget the night I saw Bruce. He was all over the stage, just having a great time. So was I for that matter. Nobody is better in concert than Bruce!
'Tapeboy'	This was my third time seeing Bruce and my first time successfully getting my recorder into the show. It is arguably my best recording set up as well: the Sony 153SD cassette deck and Advent dynamic stereo mics. I also got my camera and a couple of lenses in…ahh…those were the days. MSU Auditorium was a gymnasium-type place with a U-shaped, single-level balcony surrounding the seats set up on the floor, where we were in the 11th row. This show featured all of 'Born To Run' in an era before full-album shows. It was also the first time I'd heard Bruce play "It's My Life", "Raise Your Hand", and the brand new "Frankie", which featured Bruce on cowbell and pointed in a songwriting direction away from the sound of 'Born To Run'. "It's My Life" was stunning, virtually unrecognizable until the chorus, and prompting a standing ovation midway through the song as the band completed the first chorus. Despite Bruce saying on the 2016 River tour that "Independence Day" was his first song about fathers and sons (and what about "Adam Raised A Cain"?), clearly the spoken beginning of "It's My Life" is where he first visited this theme. We left the show knowing we'd seen a great one, and thinking that a new album must be just around the corner; it was unimaginable that 'Darkness' was still over 2 years away!

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