1978-09-20 Capitol Theatre, Passaic, NJ

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

Info & Setlist | Venue

Second night of three at the Capitol Theatre opens with "Good Rockin' Tonight". The sixth "It's My Life" of the tour replaces "Racing In The Street" which is dropped for the first time, and is by request from the crowd. Listen after "It's My Life" for Roy starting the intro to "Racing In The Street," but Bruce deciding to skip it and go right into "Thunder Road". The second set opens with the first "Santa Claus Is Comin' To Town" of the tour, last played in December 1975. The debut of the extended instrumental introduction to "Point Blank". "Backstreets" is left out and "She's The One" is also dropped for the first confirmed time on the tour. The pairing is replaced with "Kitty's Back" and the third "Incident On 57th Street" of the tour, segueing into "Rosalita (Come Out Tonight".

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: 2:53:37

^{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.}

Fascinating soundcheck taped from outside the venue. In the middle of a three-night stand at the Capitol, Bruce works through several Hank Williams and Johnny Cash classics, tackles the 1964 Hollies single "I'm Alive," Led Zeppelin's "Whole Lotta Love" and addresses new material as well. "Go Away (Come Close)" is a moody, minor key ballad, either newly written or from the Darkness album sessions. Another one that got away. Meanwhile, "The Ties That Bind" may well be the band's first performance, as Bruce carefully reviews chord changes before they try it out. The raw, edgy arrangement is very different from the Searchers-styled rendition Springsteen would debut in concert in November, being more like Jeff Beck-era Yardbirds, a la "You're A Better Man Than I". The careful arrangement of "Wedding Bells" is stark and moving, with slower versions approaching the mood Bruce would later achieve with "Used Cars" on 1982's Nebraska.

^{Note: These recordings all likely derive from this one soundcheck. Previously Brucebase has placed this soundcheck session under September 19, with the reasoning that there would be no need to do a soundcheck before the second night of the stand since Bruce carried his own sound crew on the road. However, it seems unlikely that Springsteen would carry out a soundcheck with such experimental content prior to an important radio broadcast. There may not have been a necessity to perform a soundcheck in the middle of a three-night stand, but that doesn't mean that Springsteen wouldn't use the opportunity to work on new material. In addition, the soundcheck has historically been considered to have taken place on this date (prior to Brucebase listing the soundcheck on September 19, we had it listed here, on September 20). Finally, during "Point Blank" Bruce can be heard referring to something that happened in the song "last night"; there was no concert on September 18.}

Audience tape and partial in-line video with soundboard audio also circulate. Complete show available on pro-shot video, soundboard audio sourced from the video feed and a 2011 transfer of a two-track recording recorded by the Record Plant's mobile unit. Early 2012 saw new audio and video sources of this show emerge; 'Douceur de Vivre' ^(JEMS) (translates as 'the sweetness of life') is possibly one of the best quality recordings of Springsteen in existence (both official and unofficial) and is a must for any collector. This tape does not have the cuts to "Jungleland" and "Incident On 57th Street", but does lack the start of "Tenth Avenue Freeze-Out" and the end of "Twist And Shout". 'Douceur de Vivre' uses patches from the video source to fill in the missing parts. Subsequent to the JEMS version, a copy is released on CD 'Second Night At The Capitol Theatre' ^(Godfather). Also available on CDs '2nd Night At The Capitol Theatre' ^{(Winged Wheel)} and 'Tonight It's Just You And Me' ^(None), both of which use the old line video as the source. The complete soundcheck can be found as an audience tape ('Unbooted'), and the first three songs from the soundboard can be found on CD 'Capitol Soundcheck' ^{(Great Dane)} and 'The Soundcheck' ^(None).

The concert was professionally filmed on the Capitol Theatre's in-house video system. The resulting film is technically lacking, but very well shot with excellent direction. The two-DVD 'Live In Passaic - September 20th 1978' ^{(Brucevideos)} uses a recently unearthed video source and is a substantial visual upgrade over the existing sources. This DVD uses the JEMS audio. All video sources are missing the start of "Jungleland" and thirty seconds of "Incident On 57th Street" due to tape changes. Part of the soundcheck (including takes of "Wedding Bells" and "The Ties That Bind") also circulates on video. The first three songs listed above, plus segments of "Point Blank" and "Kitty's Back," circulate on DVD from an excellent in-line source.

20.09.78 Passaic, NJ, intro to “Good Rockin’ Tonight”
“Awright (laughs) (crowd cheers) give me a little light…how you doing out there tonight? (crowd cheers) you ready tonight? no fooling around tonight (crowd cheers) it’s just me and you tonight (crowd cheers) here we go…”

20.09.78 Passaic, NJ, middle of “Spirit in the Night”
“We’re on a TV?…where is it?…well, Hazy Davy, he got really hurt…”

20.09.78 Passaic, NJ, intro to “Darkness on the Edge of Town”
“Alright…alright…I got all this stuff (?)…we got something from Neptune here (crowd cheers) you guys…“Eat at the Raven Lounge” (chuckles)…says “Al, Joe, John and Bob and Kevin” (chuckles) – let me guess: that’s you guys (chuckles) “slept here four nights to get some tickets” (chuckles) what is all this stuff?…I’m not that old yet! (chuckles) oo-oh! (crowd cheers) J.D (chuckles)…it’s not this big yet (chuckles)…(strums his guitar)…what is this?…is this, is this from Care? (chuckles)…oh boy, junk food! (chuckles) I’m set for a week with this, right?…you guys should make some room so that everybody can see ‘cause we’re gonna be playing all night (crowd cheers) so you gotta, don’t crowd up here, you just like find your seats and relax ‘cause we got a long time to play…so you really clear, like clear the aisle so all the folks can see and stuff…thanks for all the goodies (chuckles)…this is, uh…there is a darkness on the edge of town (crowd cheers)…”

20.09.78 Passaic, NJ, intro to “Independence Day”
“(Someone yells a request) Ah, we’ll get to that one a little later, alright? (?)…here’s a new song somebody, uh, asked for out back today…it’s for a little blonde-haired girl, I don’t know what her name is but here’s “Independence Day” (crowd cheers)…”

20.09.78 Passaic, NJ, intro to “The Promised Land”
“All these presents, what is this?…a rock! (chuckles) I can’t read all this stuff and play…this is nice: “Follow That Dream,” Elvis Presley (chuckles) we don’t know this one, we almost know it (chuckles)… (crowd cheers) they know me so well…let me restrain myself (chuckles) alright (?)…(chuckles) we’ll take care of them later, okay …”

20.09.78 Passaic, NJ, intro to "Prove it all night"
"A fella's here tonight that I don't get a chance to thank very much 'cause I don't see him too much but I bought this guitar from him about four or five years ago, I guess, and, uh… his name is Phil Petillo and he's just about the best guitar…man I've ever, ever met, he's got this thing - this is a little plug for him 'cause I, I appreciate all the work that he's done for me on this thing, he's got this thing playing like a dream (chuckles)(crowd cheers) so, Phil, I don't get a chance to thank you too much, I know you're out there and I just wanna say thanks for…taking care of this so good for me, he gets out of bed at three o'clock in the morning and takes care of this thing for me when it breaks down when we're on the road…so this is for Phil Petillo, thanks a lot, Phil (crowd cheers)(piano/keyboard intro) as for you guys…do you think you're ready to prove it all night? (crowd cheers)…"

20.09.78 Passaic, NJ, after “Jungleland”
“Thanks…Broooce! (chuckles) alright (chuckles) we’re gonna, we’re gonna take a 20-minute-break and we’ll be back and do another set for you – we got a surprise for you in the second set, ok? (crowd cheers) you guys are gonna be surprised, you wait and see – we’ll be back in 20 minutes…”

20.09.78 Passaic, NJ, intro to “Santa Claus Is Coming to Town”
“Ok, I hope you’re ready for this now (chuckles) alright, here we go (chuckles)…(intro music starts)…now we know it’s a little early (chuckles)…”

20.09.78 Passaic, NJ, intro to “Fire” (following “Santa Claus Is Coming to Town”)
“Oh…is that sick or what? (chuckles) ah, Merry Christmas (chuckles)…oh God, what?…what was that?…oh, nothing weighing more than half a pound, please (chuckles)…hey, I gotta get to work here…you guys are crazy…here we go, “Fire”…”

20.09.78 Passaic, NJ, intro to “Point Blank”
“You wake up one morning…and you’re left staring…point blank…”

20.09.78 Passaic, NJ, intro to “Kitty’s Back”
”What is all this stuff?…I wanna thank all you guys that are sending all this stuff up here (chuckles) if I looked at it all, we wouldn’t have no time to play (chuckles) but I wanna let you know that, uh …that, uh…just thanks a lot…when you’re getting old, these things mean something (chuckles)…tonight…means that…Kitty’s…back! …”

20.09.78 Passaic, NJ, middle of “Rosalita”
“On the piano, Professor Roy Bittan (crowd cheers) on the guitar, Miami Steve Van Zandt (crowd cheers) on the bass guitar, Mr. Garry W. Tallent (crowd cheers) on the drums, the Mighty Max Weinberg (crowd cheers) on the organ, Mr. Dan Federici (crowd cheers) on the saxophone (crowd cheers) king of the world…master of the universe…your next President…the Big Man, Clarence Clemons (crowd cheers)…”

20.09.78 Passaic, NJ, intro to “Born to Run”
“Well, it was nice being alone with you tonight (chuckles)…”

20.09.78 Passaic, NJ, intro to “Tenth Avenue Freeze-Out”
“Go on! (crowd cheers)…that’s disgusting…are you ready for the dirty…nasty…filthy…lowdown…“Tenth Avenue Freeze-Out?” (crowd cheers)…”

20.09.78 Passaic, NJ, intro to “Detroit Medley”
“If you feel half as crazy as I do right now (crowd cheers)…then you’ll be ready for this next one…you’re an obnoxious little girl (chuckles)…
(…) I see you back there…you can’t hide in the back (chuckles)… because I’m making a list, I’m checking it twice…gonna find out who’s clapping and who’s not (chuckles)…Big Man, please… (Clarence starts playing)…Professor, if you will (Roy starts playing) …little bit from the drummer (Max starts playing)…everybody, let’s rock (the whole band joins in)…now wait a second (band brings the music down again)(?)…just hold that thing…Big Man…gonna need some assistance on this next move…I only do this next move…when I’m serious…the question is are you serious enough for this next move? (crowd cheers) alright…you gotta put one hand like this…one hand like that…and you go like this to the band…that’s not it yet (chuckles)…this is it (the band kicks in again)…
(…) That’s all she wrote!…”

20.09.78 Passaic, NJ, middle of "Twist and Shout"
"Hit that G…this is what's known as the last round up here (chuckles) this is the big one in the sky…so if you got anything left (crowd cheers) you better use it now (crowd cheers) 'cause that's what I'm gonna do….Aaa…"
20.09.78 Passaic, NJ, towards the end of "Twist and Shout"
"I'm going home (goes around shaking hands with people in the front row)…"

Compiled by : Johanna Pirttijärvi

^{© 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.}

It’s Just Me and You Tonight

It was a homecoming when Bruce and the E Street Band returned to the Capitol Theater for a three-night run in September 1978. The Passaic shows were the band’s first New Jersey appearances on the Darkness tour, coming at the end of a run that saw Springsteen play 22 shows in 32 nights, nine of which took place within the 14-mile radius encompassing Madison Square Garden (three sold-out nights), the Palladium (another three sold-out nights) and the Capitol Theater. If you’re looking for the heart of the Darkness tour, look no further than the Passaic stand.

To mark the occasion, a special marquee was commissioned for the theater, and, most famously, it was decided that opening night at the Capitol, September 19th, would be broadcast live on FM stations from Maine to Virginia including WNEW-FM in New York City. The Passaic broadcast was a culmination of much of the success that had been earned on the Darkness tour, and, thanks to tapes and bootlegs of the broadcast, it was helped seal the legend of Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band live in concert.

But the next night the pressure was off, and that’s what makes the Capitol Theater, September 20, 1978 such an exceptional performance and an essential addition to the archival download series. “It’s just me and you tonight,” says Bruce before launching into the show-opening cover of “Good Rockin’ Tonight.” If night one in Passaic was playing to Bruce’s entire east-coast fanbase listening on the radio, night two was playing for himself and many of his longtime Jersey fans.

What follows is an electric, 22-song performance that delivers much of the core ‘78 tour set along with special selections for those stalwart local supporters, including a long, band-showcasing “Kitty’s Back”; the galvanizing cover of the Animals’ “It’s My Life” (frequently played at 1976-77 shows but uncommon in ‘78); and a very rare live coupling a la the album of “Incident on 57th Street” into “Rosalita” which justifiably brings the house down. Smashing stuff.

As great as those special additions are, Darkness on the Edge of Town material is performed here at its peak, so the versions of “Badlands,” “The Promised Land,” “Prove It All Night” (with its long instrumental intro), “Candy’s Room” and the title track capture Bruce and the band at the height of their powers, augmented by the album outtakes “Fire” and “Because the Night” in equally fine form. If you’re looking for “Racing in the Street,” Bruce subs “It’s My Life” in its place, seemingly to honor an audience request you can make out clearly in the recording.

Add in future River songs “Independence Day” and “Point Blank” and there is no denying the intensity of the September 20 performance and the total commitment of the musicians. Even on tape, you can feel it as much as you hear it.

Yet the magic of a Springsteen concert is the balance of darkness and light. Here, with only 102 shopping days left until Christmas, the playfulness comes as Bruce performs “Santa Claus is Coming To Town” for the first time since 1975. Likewise, the encore is pure release, first firing a turbo-charged “Born to Run,” followed by an ebullient “Tenth Avenue Freeze-out,” “Detroit Medley” and finally, what else but “Twist and Shout.” As the latter comes to an end, a sweat-drenched Springsteen takes off his coat, throws it over his shoulder and shouts triumphantly, “I’m goin’ home!” He was already there.

Line recordings of the September 20 show have circulated for many years, initially in mono (pulled from an in-house video recording) and later in stereo from soundboard tapes. For the first time, this release comes from multi-track reels captured by the Record Plant’s mobile recording unit and mixed by Bob Clearmountain, after restoration by Jamie Howarth at Plangent Processes.

Compared to even the best of the bootlegs, Clearmountain’s mix is next level, fixing instrumental and vocal balance, while adding dimensionality, depth and a polish that this sparkling performance fully deserves. The Darkness tour has never sounded better than this.

^{By Erik Flannigan via Nugs.net.}

Links:

Darkness on The Edge Of Town Tour 1978 8-Show CD Box Set (PRE-ORDER) ^{(BruceSpringsteen)}

Brucebase Wiki

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It’s Just Me and You Tonight