20.11.78 Champaign, IL, intro to “Darkness on the Edge of Town”
“It’s getting a little hazardous out there (crowd cheers) you guys are dangerous…I think somebody pissed on my head…Jesus Christ! …it’s a tough job (laughs from the crowd)…(?) we’re gonna be playing all night, we’re just warming up so (crowd cheers)(?) how are you guys up there on the hill, huh? (crowd cheers) here’s “Darkness on the Edge of Town”…”
20.11.78 Champaign, IL, intro to “Independence Day”
“You got wine over here or something (?)…this next song is a song that was originally, I wrote it for the “Darkness on the Edge of Town”-album and, uh, it’s a song called “Independence Day”…this is for everybody that just left home this year…”
20.11.78 Champaign, IL, intro to “Prove It All Night”
“You gotta prove it all night every night…”
20.11.78 Champaign, IL, intro to “Thunder Road”
“Here’s for the slow dancers…”
20.11.78 Champaign, IL, intro to “The Ties That Bind”
“Alright, here’s a new song, this is brand new, this is called “The Ties That Bind”…”
20.11.78 Champaign, IL, intro to “Fire”
“Alright, this next song, this is a song that was recorded by Robert Gordon…it was also just recorded by the Pointer Sisters…this is a song I wrote, oh, we jammed it up in the studio one night in twenty minutes, this is called “Fire”…”
20.11.78 Champaign, IL, intro to “Rosalita”
“(?)…I tell ‘em “You’re looking at a man with a broken heart…I once had a girl…I took her and we ran away from her mother and her father and we went to California…and then somebody with a blonde hair and a tan took her away from me…but it’s alright…’cause wherever you are, Rosie, come back (crowd cheers)…
(…) This is the tough part…see if I can remember everybody’s names…on the piano…Professor Roy Bittan (crowd cheers) on the guitar…poet of the soul, master of rock’n’roll, Miami Steve (crowd cheers) on the drums, the Mighty Max (crowd cheers) on the bass guitar, Mr. Garry W. Tallent (crowd cheers) on the organ, Phantom Dan Federici (crowd cheers) last but not least…do I have to say his name? (crowd cheers) do I have to say his name? (crowd cheers) (?) king of the world, the master of the universe…is it a bird? (crowd: “No”) is it a plane? (crowd: “No”) is it the Big Man? (crowd: “Yeah”) on the saxophone, His majesty, Mr. Clarence Clemons (crowd cheers)…”
20.11.78 Champaign, IL, intro to “Born to Run”
“I wanna thank everybody for coming down to the show tonight, thank you very much (crowd cheers) we haven’t been here too much and it’s nice to get such a great reception…”
20.11.78 Champaign, IL, intro to “Detroit Medley”
“Alright, alright…are you ready? (crowd cheers) are you sure? (crowd cheers) let’s go…
(…)(?) we got some bad news here…(?) the hall authorities have asked me to announce that, uh, if there’s anyone in the crowd that has a weak stomach or a weak heart, could they please during the next section of this song step out into the lobby ‘cause it might be dangerous to your health (crowd cheers) you see, it ain’t so bad when me and the Big Man do this…and it ain’t so bad when me and the Big Man do this…and it ain’t even too bad when we do this…but …when we do this (crowd cheers)…”
20.11.78 Champaign, IL, middle of “Quarter to Three”
“Somebody stop me…before I hurt myself (crowd cheers)…
(…) Are you talking to me? (crowd: “Yeah”) are you talking to me? (crowd: “Yeah”) are you talking to me? (crowd: “Yeah”) you better talk louder (crowd cheers)…”
Compiled by Johanna Pirttijärvi
