1976-04-24 Varsity Gymnasium, Boone, NC

Scheduled: 20:00 Local Start Time ??:?? / End Time ??:??

Info & Setlist | Venue

The listed nine songs are articulated in a post-concert review of this performance that appeared in A.S.U. Student Newspaper. There were an additional seven or eight songs performed, but the titles are not identified in the review, although it's likely they correspond to what was played at Virginia Tech two days earlier. This is the last verified live performance of "Frankie" for the tour; it won't be played again for 23 years, until 1999.

Jim	I was there. Initially my reason for going was to go on a double date. The dates never materialized! We arrived really early and went to the gym to hang out. Once there, a guy who identified himself as the tour manager for Bruce asked me and my friend if we would go out and buy some ice and drinks for them to use back stage. He handed us $500 (which back then was a huge amount of money) and we headed to a convenience store in Boone. When we returned he asked if we had tickets, we said yes and he asked if we would like to sit up front. It was then that we saw Bruce - he was in a corner of the gym by himself practicing on the guitar. The concert was incredible and of course from then on I was hooked as a Bruce fan. Since then my kids have also been introduced to his music and tonight I am off to DC to see him with my youngest son.
Michael Harris	It was April 24 1976, I remember I went with my roommate and his girlfriend. The girl I was dating didn't want to go. She said she would stay at the apartment and watch TV (shouda known there was something wrong with that girl right off). We had heard the album but hadn't seen Bruce live. If you're a Booner of the '76 era you know the gym was a fairly small venue. We were able to get right down on the floor not far from the stage. His performance was incredible. We spent the next 3 hrs. jumping up and down, pumping our fist, singings chorus to some of the songs. When we got back to the apartment my girlfriend wanted to know if we were on drugs. We said, "Yes, it's called Springsteen, and it's a high like you've never experienced in your life. Ever since then I've been hooked, and I've made it a generational experience. My little boy came running out of his first Springsteen concert yelling, "BTR baby, BTR." As Clarence has said many times before, "This could be the beginning of something big".
Tom Harrisburg	I was with a bunch of PA/NJ kids that came up from Wake Forest. Was my second Bruce show and very memorable - first saw Bruce at Kutztown State in '75. We kept clapping at the end - they came out for two additional encores AFTER the house lights were on. Good Golly/Blue Shoes - 3 hours, plus and only a few hundred die-hards at the end. Crowd had begged for Born to Run - the only song most of the locals knew - we laughed about that. I am writing this just after Clarence's passing - it's both comforting and sad to reminisce. Thanks for the space.

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