1978-09-19 Capitol Theatre, Passaic, NJ

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

Info & Setlist | Venue

Springsteen's first appearance in New Jersey of the tour is a magnificent 24-song, three-hour set that was broadcast on WNEW-FM New York and nine other radio stations across the northeast, including WBCN-FM and WCOZ-FM Boston, WIOQ-FM Philadelphia and WIYY-FM Baltimore. The first night of three in Passaic includes great versions of "Because The Night", "Fire", and what many consider to be the finest examples of "Racing In The Street" and "Thunder Road" ever. Essential. The entire show (as well as the following night) was filmed by Performance Video, a division of John Scher's company Monarch Entertainment. Scher, a renowned concert promoter, owned the Capitol Theatre. Following the show, Springsteen is interviewed by WBCN-TV news reporter Felipe Luciano.

A short live excerpt from this show (Bruce's band introduction during "Rosalita (Come Out Tonight)") was officially - and exclusively - released on a promotion-only 7" flexidisc issued to subscribers of Austrian pop magazine "Rennbahn Express" in June 1981.

Official concert recording available for purchase in multiple formats, including CD and high definition audio, from Springsteen's official live download site at nugs.net/bruce (previously live.brucespringsteen.net).

Running Time: 3:04:44

^{Note: Also part of the 'Darkness on The Edge Of Town Tour 1978 8-Show CD Box Set', available on February 1, 2021 via Nugs.}

'That TV Report' by New York's "Channel 4 News," which includes partial, pro-shot colour footage of three songs from this show ("Badlands," "Spirit In The Night" and "Born To Run") and a short backstage interview.

Radio broadcast, soundboard tapes (all three nights in Passaic were recorded by the Record Plant's mobile unit, both on multi-track and live-to-two track) and professionally shot in-house black and white video. Probably one of the best all-time concert recordings.

Also, video footage is available. Released on CDs 'Piece De Resistance' ^{(Great Dane)}, 'Southside Bruce And The E Street Jukes' ^(Seagull), 'USA 1978' ^(Arriba), 'Passaic Night' ^{(Crystal Cat)} and 'Passaic Night' ^(Scorpio). Also available on CDR 'The Way It Was - September 19th' ^(None); a direct transfer of the radio broadcast and includes all the station breaks, chat and interviews as they were heard on WNEW. Released to in 2014 on CD 'Capitol Theater, Passaic, NJ, September 19th, 1978' ^(Klondike) and in February 2015 on CD 'Passaic Night' ^{(Leftfield Media)}. Neither of these are official releases or sonic upgrades over other versions. All of the concert now circulate on an average-to-poor quality DVD, although a recently enhanced two-DVD version has been released, which is worth getting. Unfortunately, the last hour of the DVD only circulates with a VCR generated "timecode" on-screen display, which obstructs and distracts. Footage without the timecode does, however, circulate amongst private collectors and via Wolfgang's Vault. 'That TV Report' is circulating on fan-made DVDs.

19.09.78 Passaic, NJ, intro to ´Darkness on the Edge of Town´
´´Thank you….this is uh….this is for my friend Dominic who´s at home listening….or, I guess, I wish he was at home listening….and I just wanna let you know that we´re all with you and at one time or another everybody´s got to drive through the darkness on the edge of town….. and I know you´re gonna make it….”

19.09.78 Passaic, NJ, intro to ´Independence Day´
´´(?) it´s not my birthday yet (chuckles)….don´t rush it, don´t rush it, alright ? (chuckles)…. this is uh, this is a song I wrote, uh, it was originally gonna be on the ´Darkness´-album…. and I guess will be on the next one, this is called, uh, ´Independence Day´….”

19.09.78 Passaic, NJ, intro to ´Racing in the Street´
´´This is….for anybody out there driving around listening to this in their car….and this is for Barbara, I hope you get, get well real soon out there, Barbara…..so we can go racing in the street…. ”

19.09.78 Passaic, NJ, intro to ´Thunder Road´
´´There was this….there was this Robert Mitchum movie…..and it was about these moonshine runners down south….and I never saw the movie, I only saw the poster in the lobby at the theater (chuckles) and I took the title and I wrote this song but I didn´t….I didn´t think that there was ever a place that was like….that was like what I wrote in this song (?) you know, didn´t know if there was or not….and uh….we were out in the desert….over the summertime…..driving, driving to Nevada and we came upon this, this house on the side of the road this indian had built…..had a big picture of Geronimo out front with ´Landlord´, said ´Landlord´ over the top, had a big sign, said ´This is the land of peace, love, justice and no mercy´….and it pointed down this little road, said ´Thunder Road´….this is for Matty….”

19.09.78 Passaic, NJ, intro to ´Meeting Across the River´
´´What is this ?….can I open this right now ?….this better not be embarrassing, this thing….is the present here ?….ooh, socks and underwear (chuckles)….so nice, thank you….it fits too, how´d you know my head was so big, huh ?….I´ll check this out too….oh, ´Your bankaccount is overdrawn´, no (chuckles)….oh, for you…..what´s this, the Declaration of Independence (?)….what a likeness, right ?….it´s from the Islanders, alright….thank you, Vinny, North Long Branch….alright, this is for, uh….(?)….we´re on the radio, people can´t see these things…. Clarence, stop that (chuckles) hold up the ´Applause´-sign one more time, alright (chuckles) (cheers) ok, put it down (crowd quiets down) hold it up (cheers)(crowd quiets down)(cheers) oh, that works great (chuckles)….alright, this is, uh, this is for the New York City folks that treated us so good at the Garden and stuff and this is for Eddie and the guys from the Bronx ….”

19.09.78 Passaic, NJ, middle of ´Backstreets´
´´Baby, I remember you….baby, I remember you….standing on the corner….standing on the corner….of Kingsley Avenue….with your hair all up high….with your hair all up high (?)…. with an eye for every….boy that was passing you by….and I swore that for you I´d drive…. for you, little girl, I´d drive all night long….little girl, I´d drive all night long…..little girl, I´d drive all night long….just to buy you some shoes….and to taste your tender charms….to have you hold me in your arms….for just one kiss…..and a look from your sad eyes….a look from your sad eyes…..you had such lonely sad eyes and all the time they was crying, crying, crying, crying….all the time they was crying, crying, crying, crying….little girl, they was crying….and me, I was so ready to be your fool….I thought somehow that I could stop all your crying, maybe somehow I could stop your crying, maybe somehow I could stop your crying, but I didn´t know….I didn´t know….that baby´d been lying….baby´d been lying…. little girl, you´d been lying….little girl, you´d been lying….little girl, you were ly-ly-ly-ly-lying….your pretty li-li-li-lies, all them little li-li-li-lies…..and now you´re back…..well, baby, I´m back too….and I´ve been out…..and I´ve seen some things….about me, about you, and I found out….we´ve got to stop, little girl, we´ve got to stop, little girl, we´ve got to stop, little girl, we´ve got to stop, little girl, we´ve got to stop, little girl, we´ve got to stop, little girl, we´ve got to stop, little girl, we´ve got to stop, little girl, we´ve got to STOP !….”

19.09.78 Passaic, NJ, intro to ´Sandy´
´´This is uh….this is for everybody from Sea Bright and Long Branch…..(?)….somehow I´ve lived in every one of those places (chuckles)….this is for Vinny down at the Islander….all the guys from North Beach….Dominic, and this is for everybody who´s still back in Asbury Park ….”

19.09.78 Passaic, NJ, middle of ´Raise Your Hand´
´´What ?….are you talking to me ? (cheers)….well, I´m talking to you…..in Boston, in Providence, in Worchester, in Hartford, in New York, in Philadelphia, in Baltimore, in Washington D.C, in New Jersey….are you talking to me ? (cheers) are you talking to me ? (cheers) if you´re talking to me, you better talk loud….and raise your hand…..”

Compiled by : Johanna Pirttijärvi

Chris Walton	I was there. 6th row center. Ticket cost 8.50 @ jacks in red bank. I was 11. it changed my life. My older brother taped it with small cassette recorder off radio WNEW. Talked to Vin Scelsa afterward. I'm youngest of 10 kids. Mom let me off school if I went with sister Patty (who is now married to Chuck Tallent - Gary's little brother), anyway we went at like 6 am got about 6 tickets and I said I was going!! even though I only heard "moaning" through my sisters closed doors when they were listening to Bruce in the late 70's, I knew I had to be there. Since then I've seen maybe 50 plus shows, but none like that Tuesday night in Passaic!!
Arlen Schumer	To all those old enough and lucky enough to have first experienced Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band live during the Darkness tour, Bruce and the Band (in its longest-running version) have never been better, on a pure music level; sure, there have been larger shows, 'grander' shows, shows with more spectacle (performing in front of a giant flag); but for maximum rock and roll, shows during the Darkness tour can't be beat. And of those shows, the December 15, 1978 performance at the Wintergarden, San Francisco (broadcast on radio and bootlegged on CD as 'Live in the Promised Land') is usually considered the best among fans. But not by me. I wasn't there, but I've listened to it, and it's always sounded thin to me, with Max's drums especially sounding weak; the show couldn't actually have sounded like that. Nevertheless, Winterland doesn't measure up to what I think is the best show of the Darkness tour: September 19, 1978 at the Capitol Theatre in Passaic, New Jersey. It too was broadcast and bootlegged on CD ('Piece de Resistance'), and it sounds tremendous: a booming, thunderous performance played to a diamond-hard precision, with every instrument mixed and balanced perfectly. It sounds exactly like the show sounded: when Bruce's guitar rips into the 'Prove it All Night' solo, it sounds like a buzzsaw's berserk drone; when Clarence blows the first note of any solo, the crowd roars like when a baseball player hits a home run. I know, because I was there. It was only the third time I had ever seen Bruce (my first being his headlining debut at Madison Square Garden on August 21, followed by Springfield, Mass. on 9/13), but it's the closest I've ever been (6th row center). The show was the first of a three night stand, considered a 'homecoming' by the Capitol Theatre's owner, John Scher, following Bruce's summer-long country-wide Darkness tour. He wanted to make it special, and had the Capitol marquee illustrated to mark the event; I was the lucky artist commissioned to do it (I had met Ken Viola, the creator and publisher of the first Bruce magazine, Thunder Road, at the beginning of the summer; he's head of security for Scher, and recommended me for the job). I negotiated a special fee for the illustration: 6 sixth-row seats for myself and my friends. We all saw the show of our lives. Though the entire Darkness tour was brilliant, and Bruce and the E Streeters have always seemed to play an impossible level tighter for radio broadcasts (1975's 'The Saint, The Incident and the Main Point Shuffle' and Stockholm '88 are my two favorites), this Capitol Theatre show still stands above the rest, because at least 5 songs stand out as definitive live versions of not only the Darkness tour, but of Bruce's career: Promised Land, Prove it All Night, the extended Backstreets with the 'Sad Eyes' interlude, Because the Night, and She's the One (with the 'Not Fade Away' prelude). Listen to how full the band sounds when it kicks into the main theme of 'Promised Land' after Bruce's harmonica intro; or how Garry's bass parries Clarence's sax in the solo. Max's machine gun drumming at the end of 'Prove it…,' Roy's jazzy piano at the beginning. The seamless transition from 'Not Fade Away' — with Bruce singing like Elvis on alternate lines — to 'She's the One' and Steven's tasty rhythm guitar licks up front in the mix; Bruce's screaming, wrenching guitar solos on the aforementioned 'Prove it…,' 'Because the Night' and 'Backstreets.' Ah, 'Backstreets.' While I'm also partial to the version played at Jacksonville, Florida in '77 (with the monumental 'You lied!!!'), once again, Capitol Theatre is my desert island 'Backstreets.' This version of the 'Sad Eyes' interlude sounds the most like spoken-word poetry/performance art to me; you can really hear Bruce's measured breathing syncopating with Roy's music-box piano. The buildup of 'Little girl we've got to stop' to its crashing crescendo sounds as awesome as it was to behold: the stage going pitch black (Marc Brickman's lighting) on Bruce's final 'Stop!,' the crowd hushed and then exploding a moment later, as the band begins to reassemble, individual spotlights fading in until the white light finale of the 'Backstreets' theme recapitulation, leading to Bruce's closing wordless howls — some of his best ever — over a most orchestral grandeur. Winterland's 'Backstreets' compared to this? To this day, I have yet to hear any Darkness show that can hold a candle to this Capitol Theatre show, song for song, note for note. It's perfect. It's Bruce's de facto live album.
Greg Arnold	Arlen, I have a copy of your artwork from this show hanging in my home! Many, many friends comment on it… Bruce with his guitar rising above the Capitol Theatre in lovely, downtown Passaic, NJ. I was at the show, and initially somewhat disappointed. I knew it was going to be broadcast live on WNEW, and I thought I had tickets for the show on the 20th. So I figured I'd fire up the tape deck (and a doobie or 2) listen to the show, and get ready for the next night. My friend who got the tickets shows up at my apartment on the 19th saying "let's go"! So, off we went to Passaic. What a freakin' night! One of the more amazing things about the show was that after they played Detroit Medley, the house lights went up, and the side doors to the Capitol opened up, and people started leaving. Then off wen the lights, the doors closed, and they came out for Raise Your Hand. As great as the show was, I was bummed that I didn't get the chance to tape it. Prayers were answered when my brother gave me the show on cassette for my b'day a month later. Have Passaic Night on CD now, and my kids love it… Great concert, great memories.
Ralph	Somehow, I did not go to this show. I had been to a few shows on the "Darkness" tour and had been to Madison Square Garden a month earlier in August. I guess when I heard that it was going to be on WNEW-FM, I just decided to stay home and record it. I had been to Capitol a bunch of times and some friends were going, but I needed to get it onto a cassette tape so that I could capture what we knew would be a killer show. It really was a "Piece de Resistance!" For many years, I have told this story and will now tell it one more time - for the disciples out there who would understand what it means to reach the promised land. If I was not a the show, where was I? I had just graduated from Rutgers and, as a good Jersey guy, I moved back home with my folks. It was a little edgy being there, but it was cool. I had some space and could go to some clubs like "The Old Straw Hat" in Green Brook to see bands like "Willow Street" and "Joe Bonanno and the Godsons of Soul". But, that night, I was home. My stereo was set up in the living room of the house and the show was starting at 8pm. I was ready. I sat down at my Nikko 7075 receiver, put on my headphones and put a six-pack next to me. Right there. Right in the living room. Right next to my folks who kept walking by all night and asking if I was okay, or if I needed anything. I was entrenched in the concert and oblivious to almost everything going on around me. It was truly the poor man's version of the promised land. While FM radio was cool, for some reason I kept getting static on 102.7 and needed to sit up, take notice and keep hitting the filters on my receiver so that I could get a good recording. As the night went on, all I could do was to make sure that I fine-tuned the radio so that it would be as good as it could be. I succeeded and played that cassette until I somehow bought a clean copy of that show at the New Year's Eve show at Nassau Coliseum a few years later. So, what about Ls Piece de Resistance? A true masterpiece. From the opening chords of Badlands, Streets and Spirit, you could tell that Bruce was kicking off his homecoming shows and was ready to rock. The combination of the intro of The Promised Land that ran into a strong Prove It All Night was awesome as Bruce played with the crowd both at the show and in radioland. By the time that he played my favorite concert tune, Kitty's Back, we were just coming out of an epic Meeting Across The River into Jungleland combo - and the Big Man nailed that sax solo. We thought that we had no emotional energy left. But, the show was only half over… The Buddy Holly beat of Not Fade Away into She's The One was masterful and we could have listened to Max all night long, but then came everyone's consensus highlight of the night - Backstreets - with the Little Girl You Lied and You've Got To Stop interludes. You could hear a pin drop all the way into that living room in West Orange, NJ. Hiding on the Backstreets…we'd swear forever friends (still my signature line when I send notes to my Bruce friends). Best version ever. As the show wound UP, the roller coaster of emotions continued when the girls came along - Rosie, Sandy, Wendy. Wow. What a night. All I can say is that I was almost there - just like hundreds of thousands of others on that night. If you have ever been to any concert of Bruce Springsteen & the E Street Band, you get it. And, you were there, too. Forever friends, Ralph from Jersey.
Amina	I remember listening to this show live on the radio. I had been a fan for some years but could never get tickets so this was the closest thing to my first live show. I invited a friend over to listen but she couldn't make it so I just stayed next to the radio in my one room apt., transfixed. When he sang Darkness I was right there with him, up on that hill, with everything I've got.

^{© All credits to the original photographer. We do not monetize a photo in any way, but if you want your photo to be removed, let us know, and we will remove it.}

^{Note: A full copy of the program can be downloaded.}

The Boss Homes Home

Like all great live performers in rock history, Bruce Springsteen has been heavily bootlegged on vinyl and CD, and the five live radio broadcasts from the Darkness tour were manna for home tapers and bootleggers alike. Bruce acknowledged as much himself during the July 7, 1978 Roxy broadcast in Los Angeles (the city at the epicenter of the bootleg business) when he declared: “Bootleggers out there in radioland, roll your tapes!”

Those legendary transmissions began to appear on illicit wax the following year, 1979. Live in the Promised Land (Winterland, San Francisco, December 15, 1978) was first, followed by Piece De Resistance, which pressed the Passaic 9/19/78 radio broadcast to six hot sides of vinyl in a box set. Bootleg historians say Piece De Resistance is almost certainly the best-selling Springsteen title of all time, which makes sense given that the show aired in his biggest East Coast markets.

When Live/1975-85 was announced in 1986, many presumed the legendary Passaic broadcast would provide the bulk of the Darkness tour material, but in fact, nothing from the show made the box set. The Roxy proved to be the source for all 1978 tracks featured on Live/1975-85.

The wait is finally over. Passaic 9/19/78 arrives in its glorious entirety, newly remixed by Jon Altschiler from multi-track, Plangent Processed master tapes. It offers a fresh take on the familiar broadcast version, crackling with energy and putting Bruce and the band so close you might reach out and try to touch the Big Man’s sax. It’s not a first-row seat; it is a first-row seat directly in front of the PA speakers.

Bruce is introduced with an exclamation: “The Boss comes home!” Indeed, this was a homecoming. The three Passaic dates were Springsteen’s first proper concerts in New Jersey since 1976, and the culmination of a NY-NJ Metroplex residency that included a trio of gigs at Madison Square Garden in August (his first-ever headlining the legendary arena) and three shows at the Palladium in the city just prior to Passaic. Following that introduction, it was off to the races.

“Badlands” bursts out of the gate, with more meaty guitars in the mix than we’ve heard before and Max’s drum rolls and trills snapping like someone lit a firecracker strip. Longtime fans will have heard the start of this show hundreds or maybe thousands of times before, but that familiarity coupled with the freshness of the mix makes for a thrilling listening experience. The sense of release “Badlands” delivers has never felt more tangible.

The first set features exemplary versions of core Darkness tracks “Streets of Fire,” “The Promised Land,” “Prove It All Night” with its tension-building instrumental intro, “Racing in the Street,” and the title track. We also get a preview of where Bruce is going next through “Independence Day,” played for only the fourth time in a still-evolving arrangement. The song was recorded for Darkness, and Bruce mentions it should end up on the next album. Another future River track, “Point Blank,” makes a spellbinding appearance in set two.

Along with “Fire” and “Because the Night,” Passaic 9/19/78 features four Springsteen originals that were not released at the time. While we have come to take the live performance history of these songs for granted, Bruce is virtually alone in featuring so much unreleased music in his sets, and the inclusion of songs you can only hear at the shows was part of the magic that defined the live Springsteen legend.

The first set ends with a special and apropos “Meeting Across the River.” It is the live version I’ve heard the most and my all-time favorite performance of the song, sounding moody and marvelous as Bruce spins the tale accompanied by Roy Bittan and Garry Tallent. “Meeting” into “Jungleland” (as they are sequenced on Born to Run) to close the first set is the coup de grâce for 80 minutes of sheer perfection.

Bruce begins the second set with “one for all the folks in Philadelphia listening in,” “Kitty’s Back.” The resplendent E Street showcase cooks for 13 minutes and has not sounded this crystal clear since Sally left the alley. The same can be said for a stunning “Candy’s Room,” as Steve’s backing vocals soar — you can even pick out Clarence’s baritone voice in the left channel as Bruce sings “what…she…wants…is…me.”

Riches abound as we move through “Because the Night,” “Point Blank,” a long “Not Fade Away” into “She’s the One,” and a sublime, luscious “Backstreets” before the set closes with a pacey “Rosalita.” The encore slows down to mythologize the Shore with “Sandy,” and the moment when Bruce sings, “the boys from the casino dance with their shirts open,” then asks, “is that you out there?” is a charming reminder that Passaic 9/19/78 is indeed one for the locals.

Incredibly, the encore sustains and at times exceeds the energy level of the main set. “Born to Run” is taken at breathless full speed. “Tenth Avenue Freeze-out’ downshifts slightly in tempo, though Bruce remains fully committed to his wide-ranging vocal gymnastics. “Detroit Medley” presents one final opportunity to showcase the band’s chops (tune into the right channel for Stevie Van Zandt’s guitar lick masterclass) in a full-frontal rock ’n’ roll assault.

Because there always has to be one more, a final encore of Eddie Floyd’s soul classic “Raise Your Hand” closes the night, a lyrical reminder that Bruce and the band are there in service of the audience, be they inside the Capitol or listening at home in the markets Springsteen namechecks.

Though he couldn’t have known it at the time, 41 years later, Bruce gives us another chance to experience Passaic in the comfort of our own homes and marvel at the prowess of Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band playing their hearts out for longtime fans.

^{By Erik Flannigan via Nugs.net.}

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