1978-12-16 Winterland Ballroom, San Francisco, CA

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

Info & Setlist | Venue

Tour premiere of "Rendezvous", which Bruce dedicated to Greg Kihn. Bruce forgets the words to "Racing In The Street". "She's The One" includes "Gloria". "Detroit Medley" includes a snippet of "Whole Lotta Shakin' Goin' On" in the outro. Billboard magazine reported a total attendance of 10,800 for the two shows at Winterland (both sold-out) and gross receipts of $80,975.

16.12.78 San Francisco, CA, Bill Graham intro
“Rather than tell you about last night, which was magic, let’s just talk about tonight. On a Saturday night in San Francisco, Mr. Bruce Springsteen (crowd cheers) …”

16.12.78 San Francisco, CA, intro to ´Good Rockin´Tonight´
“How you doing? (cheers) How many of you guys were here last night? (cheers) Who wasn't here last night? (cheers) Alright, well, this is tonight. Have you heard you the news? There´s good rocking tonight….”

16.12.78 San Francisco, CA, intro to ´Badlands´
“Are you alive? …”

16.12.78 San Francisco, CA, intro to ´Rendezvous´
“Thanks….this is a song that, uh, we never recorded but, uh (someone yells a request) we´ll do that later, we got a long time, we´ll do that later….this is a song, this is for Greg Kihn, this is called ´Rendezvous´….”

16.12.78 San Francisco, CA, intro & end to ´Spirit In The Night´
“Ready to catch the spirit? (crowd cheers) … (fan gives him a hat) … My head’s too big already see (chuckles) … band …”

(…) You guys were good”

16.12.78 San Francisco, CA, intro to ´Darkness On The Edge Of Town´
“What do you guys got? … <long pause> … This is Darkness On The Edge Of Town …”

16.12.78 San Francisco, CA, intro to ´Independence Day´
“Can't drink on the job….here´s a song I wrote, uh….a couple of years ago, I guess, I was, uh….originally gonna put it on the Darkness on the Edge of Town-album…..this is, uh, it´s called ´Independence Day´….it´s for my Pop….”

16.12.78 San Francisco, CA, intro & end to ´Prove It All Night´
“Is everybody in San Francisco ready to prove it all night ? (cheers) …

(…) … Dan Federici on the organ …”

16.12.78 San Francisco, CA, intro to ´Racing in the Street´
“This is for everybody…who never had a car when they were, old enough to have one (chuckles)….this is for all the San Francisco night riders too, this is ´Racing in the Street´….”

(…) "…tonight, tonight, the strip's just right … I forgot the words … (cheers) I wanna blow them off in my first heat…"

16.12.78 San Francisco, CA, intro to ´Thunder Road´
“Back in 1974, 1975….I was walking by this movie theater….I saw this picture, had this poster of this Robert Mitchum movie….and it was this great picture….and I took the title of the movie and I wrote a song and uh….but I never thought there was any place that was like this, you know, like this song (?) didn´t know and….we went, me and Steve, we went out to, drove from Utah down to Reno, Nevada….and along the side of the highway, we came upon this house that this Indian had built out of stuff he’d scavenged off the desert and it had a big picture of Geronimo out front, underneath it it said ‘Landlord´ and it had this big white sign and painted in blood-red, it said ‘This is the land of peace, love, justice and no mercy’ and it pointed down this dirt road that said ‘Thunder Road’….”

16.12.78 San Francisco, CA, intro to ´Jungleland´
“The Jersey Shore beer drinkers….this is for all you guys way up on the hill way back there, you doing alright? (cheers) hellloooo! … This is for Lila …”

16.12.78 San Francisco, CA, intro to ´Santa Claus Is Coming to Town´
“It was a night … just like this … how cold was it? … it was colder than this, though, it was about 10 degrees, me and Steve were sitting in this little bar about a block off the beach in Asbury Park … now … there was nobody, the whole town was deserted, it was, matter of fact, it was Christmas Eve … and it was just … we were sitting there, I remember my girlfriend left me and his girlfriend left him at the same time … these things happen in life, you learn to accept (chuckles) so, anyway, we were drunk and we were sitting at the table, you know, we’re going on about how lousy everything is … it was just us and these two other guys, these two other big guys down at the other end of the bar … now, we were upset … and we could tell that they were more upset than we were ´cause they kept staring at us, giving us the evil eye all night long … I might be small … but let me tell you … I’m scared too (chuckles) … So, we figured we’d stand up and before these guys got a chance to come down and give us any trouble, we’d show ´em we got some moves … so … they slowly started edging towards us … WHOA! … Man, … this guy was big and ugly … and I could tell he didn’t like dudes with big noses … You were safe. Your nose’s as big as my nose … So, anyway … we decided we’d do the smart thing … We threw our bottles of beer at them and ran out the door!´ (chuckles) … So, we were walking on the boardwalk and now it’s freezing, it’s cold, it’s snowing … We were going … ´No money, I have no girlfriend … what are you gonna do tonight? You’re gonna go home and you’re gonna go to bed, right? Gonna put them little Pop-Tarts in the toaster … get in bed, go to sleep … and another one, hope that Johnny Carson´s on. You hope that he’s there? (chuckles) … Who cares if he’s good? … So… . we get home. You gonna stay (?) … sleep on the couch and keep me company. We’ll talk all night or something… So, we get there….(?)….visions of sugarplums dancing in our heads (giggles) … not them kind of plums, right? (chuckles) … It’s like … sugarplums (chuckles)(?) … So,(giggles) … So, lis[ten], ´Steve, what you, what you, what you ask for for Christmas?´ … Your own Laundromat? (chuckles) … So, he asked me what I wanted. I told him I couldn’t tell him … So, about three or four in the morning we hear this scratching, up on the roof … We figured for sure IT’S THESE TWO DUDES from down at the bar, they found out where we lived … and they’d come to beat the hell out of us … Oh shit … So, we get our clothes on, we go upstairs, we climb up the little ladder. It’s real dark on the roof. We can’t see too much … It’s darker than this … It’s darker than that … Sure enough, we’re standing there on a snowy roof trying not to slip … We hear somebody over by the chimney … I say ´Steve, you go around that way, I go around this way, you hit ´em at, I hit ´em on the, alright?´ … (Bruce makes some funky noises like they bopped the dudes over the head) … We believed we could do this kind of stuff (chuckles) … Anyway, there he was, sure as shit and all duded up in a little red suit, trying to stuff my Christmas present down the chimney: a ´57 Chevy (crowd wildly cheers) … with a little brunette in the front seat … and damn if he wasn’t trying to get it down there! … We said ´WHOOAH, SOME CHRISTMAS!’ …”

16.12.78 San Francisco, CA, intro to ´The Fever´ (following ´Santa Claus Is Coming to Town´)
“Merry Christmas, all you guys….oh, somebody requested this, this is ´The Fever´….”

16.12.78 San Francisco, CA, intro to ´Fire´
“This is a request … ‘And when we kiss, Fire’ (chuckles) …”

16.12.78 San Francisco, CA, intro to ´Point Blank´
“You wake up one morning and find out you’ve been shot point blank…..”

16.12.78 San Francisco, CA, outro to ´She’s The One´
“… Are you feelin’ alright? (crowd’s cheering) …”

16.12.78 San Francisco, CA, middle of ´Backstreets´
“’til the end … ‘til the end … just me and you, baby … just me and you, girl … just me and you, baby … just me and you, girl …”

16.12.78 San Francisco, CA, intro to ´Rosalita´
“You all warmed up now? (cheers)….

(….) On the piano….the only member of the band with a full high school diploma….let´s hear it for education and Professor Roy Bittan….. he’s got it on top …..on the guitar, master of soul and poet of rock and roll, let´s hear it for ignorance and Miami Steve Van Zandt…..on the bass guitar, the elegant Mr.Garry W. Tallent….on the drums, let´s hear it for North Jersey and the Mighty Max Weinberg…..on the organ, let´s hear it for….red-headed Italians and Dan Federici….and last but not least….king of the world…..master of disaster….your next President….is it a bird?….is it a plane?….then what is it?….the Big Man, Clarence Clemons on the saxophone….”

16.12.78 San Francisco, CA, intro to ´Born to Run´
“I wanna thank you all for coming down to the show….we ain't been up here that much and I wanna thank you for giving us, these last two nights, they've just been great and you guys have been great … If you can take it to stand up that long, I do it but I´m crazy, you guys (chuckles) … here we go …”

16.12.78 San Francisco, CA, intro to ´Detroit Medley´
“Thanks (wild cheers) … <long pause> … Sounds like you’re ready for something (cheers) … Is the band ready? (‘No!’)… Is the people ready (Crowd: ‘Yeah!’) … Is the guitar ready? In G? … a-1, 2, 3, 4 …”

16.12.78 San Francisco, CA, middle of ´Detroit Medley´
“Hold tight … (band down) … I think we just made a mistake … and these 2 guys with the high school diplomas … Now, who was listening on the radio last night? (cheers) … Now there was one part to this song … that no matter how hard you listened . .. and no how close you got … and looked in your radio … you gonna miss it … Now, I feel obliged to repeat that part again tonight (cheers) … No? (chuckles) … No? (cheers) … It´s dangerous … You guys like to live on the edge, huh? (cheers) … Well, what everybody was doing that night, it was me and the Big Man, first we did this … then we did this … and then … we did this … no, we didn't do that last night, this is the first time we did this tonight (chuckles) … What we did do … is we did this … and then, we did this (chuckles & laughs) … (long pause) … Alright (‘The Dance Move’ starts and music resumes) …”

16.12.78 San Francisco, CA, intro to ´Quarter To Three´
“So, you guys think you can take it up here, huh? (Crowd cheers) … a-1, a-2, a-1, 2, 3, 4 … <Sing-A-Long> … (band stops) … That’s all I can stand! (band starts and stops) … I can’t stand no more … (band starts & stops)(Crowd cheers) … Where am I? (Crowd: 'San Francisco!') … Where? (Crowd: 'San Francisco!') … Where? (Crowd: 'San Francisco!') … Am I Dead? (Crowd: ‘No!’) … Or is this heaven? (Crowd: ‘Yeah!’) … Have you guys been takin’ any funny stuff? (Crowd: Yeah!’) … (band stops)(crowd’s cheering) … <long pause> … Are you done? … How you do it? … I'm just a prisoner … OF ROCK AND ROLL! … Do you know what I mean? <Cuts out>

Compiled by : Johanna Pirttijärvi & Roulette909

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Walking in a Wonder Winterland

The home stretch of the Darkness tour in late 1978 may look like a victory lap, but its purpose was to return to key markets and seal the deal. The final push raised Springsteen and the E Street Band up from theaters played on previous legs to bigger rooms, with dates in arenas in cities like Cleveland, which closed the tour with a pair of shows at the Richfield Coliseum on New Year’s Eve and New Year’s Day 1979.

In the Bay Area, that meant graduating from the Berkeley Community Theater and San Jose Center For the Performing Arts, played in the summer, to back-to-back nights at legendary promoter Bill Graham’s Winterland, capacity 5,400.

The first night at Winterland would also serve as the fifth and final live radio broadcast from the Darkness tour, thrilling listeners around the Bay Area on KSAN-FM and strategically extended via simulcast to audiences in Sacramento, Eugene, Portland, and Seattle on their respective rock stations. The simulcast primed the pump in two of those markets, as Bruce would play the Rose and Emerald cities in just a few days’ time.

By that point, Springsteen’s management and Columbia Records had recognized that the Darkness tour broadcasts which preceded Winterland (The Roxy in Los Angeles, Agora in Cleveland, Passaic, and Atlanta) were a powerful marketing tool, not only reaching established fans in core and adjacent markets but converting fence-sitters who were loyal listeners to those all-important rock radio outlets. Live concerts were already a staple of FM radio at the time, including nationally syndicated shows like the King Biscuit Flower Hour and Rock Around the World. Simulcasts of local concerts were equally common on FM stations like WMMR in Philadelphia and WMMS in Cleveland.

But Springsteen’s strategy and tactics were unique. No artist I know of had ever done five live broadcasts from the same tour and simulcast the shows regionally — taking over the airwaves for three hours at a clip, no less. In the process, Bruce built an alliance of rock stations, and their listeners that would remain loyal for years to come. Springsteen had long enjoyed incredible word of mouth about his concerts, but the ’78 broadcasts provided tangible, recordable, and shareable proof.

There was also an idea in the air that the follow up to Darkness on the Edge of Town simply had to be a live album. The broadcasts provided an opportunity to roll in a remote recording truck and kill two birds with one stone, sending the show over the air and capturing it to multi-track tape for potential future release. It just took a few decades longer than expected.

Fans and collectors have spent millions of pixels on message boards discussing and debating which shows were recorded on multi-tracks and wondering why more early Bruce gigs weren’t done. Beyond the expense (which was significant), the act of recording a live concert to multi-track itself was no simple feat circa 1978.

A 24-track, two-inch, reel-to-reel tape recorder is a massive piece of heavy equipment with a large footprint. The recorders are mounted on carts with industrial casters so they can be rolled into position. Two-inch recorders also require a lot of power to operate, and they are extremely sensitive to the conditions of their environment, particularly temperature.

Oh, did I mention you need two of them to record a concert without gaps? Two-inch tape and recorders were designed to record one song in the studio, not a three-hour concert. Given their short tape lengths, a recording engineer had to start a tape going on one machine, wait for it to run most of the way through, then fire up a second overlapping tape on the second machine and so on. Back and forth they would go: loading, recording, and switching tapes in real time on two machines to preserve a full performance. Today, you can record an entire show to multitrack on a laptop and a breakout box that fits in a backpack.

Given the complex logistics, it should come as no surprise that multi-track recording could occasionally go wrong, even with experienced engineers and producers in the truck. Whether there were complications on the night or tapes were lost over time, the surviving multi-track reels of the first night of Winterland cover less than half the show. The inclusion of “Fire” on Live 1975/85 from 12/16, not the better-known 12/15, may be a clue that the problems occurred on the night in question.

Luckily, remote recording units typically carried a third reel-to-reel deck with them as well: a high-quality, 15-IPS, two-track recorder to serve as a back-up/reference capturing the front-of-house mix as it happened. That’s exactly what the Record Plant’s R2R did on December 15, 1978, recording a pre-broadcast stereo feed from the mixing board.

Forty-one years later, we’re fortunate those two-track, 15-IPS masters from the familiar 12/15 show were recently unearthed, along with the complete multitrack masters from the previously unheard 12/16 set. Both sources have been newly transferred via Plangent Process, restored (12/15) and mixed (12/16) by Jon Altschiller and mastered by Adam Ayan to deliver a complete document of the Winterland stand, both the beloved broadcast performance from night one and the fresh-to-the-world set from night two.

A bounty of two peak Darkness concerts should be at the top of anyone’s holiday wish list. Most will know the celebrated 12/15 set like the back of their hand from tapes and bootlegs of the broadcast, but for 12/16, here’s a user guide to this wonderful addition to the live Darkness canon.

1) Bruce changed the set on night two in deference to fans attending both shows, opening with “Good Rockin’ Tonight” and playing “Rendezvous” for the first time on the tour. Incredibly, “Rendezvous” is one of six unreleased originals performed in the 25-song set, along with “Independence Day,” “The Fever,” “Fire,” “Because the Night” and “Point Blank.”

2) Introducing a weighty “Independence Day,” Bruce says, “This is a song I wrote a couple years ago. I was originally going to put it on Darkness on the Edge of Town. This is called ‘Independence Day.’ This is for my pop.” With his parents living in nearby San Mateo, we can assume that Douglas was very likely in the audience for the performance.

3) Bruce tells a completely different and much longer story than night one setting up “Santa Claus is Comin’ to Town.” The tall tale includes entertaining references to Johnny Carson and Kellogg’s Pop Tarts, plus some audible chiming in from Stevie Van Zandt, who wants a new amplifier from Saint Nick.

4) Bruce dedicates “Racing in the Street” to “all the San Francisco night riders,” but after singing “Tonight, tonight, the strip’s just right” he goes totally blank. “I forgot the words,” he says. It is an endearing and rare moment of vulnerability, which he not only recovers from gracefully, but which seems to inject the show with an adrenaline shot: from that point forward, Springsteen and the band are en fuego. “Jungleland” brings the first set to a crackling close, riding the powerful dynamics of Clarence Clemons on saxophone and Van Zandt’s guitar solo, setting the table for a stunning second act.

5) “It’s Hard to Be a (Saint in the City)” is another set list change and serves as a stonking start to a second set for the ages. The guitar tone on this one should be bottled as a stimulant.

6) “Because the Night” begins with what might best be described as an experimental guitar intro that is more a sonic survey of echo, delay, and sustained notes than strumming. It’s the most Frippertronics approach I have ever heard Springsteen explore. Fascinating.

7) How about the version of “She’s the One”? The intro weaves “Mona” and “Preacher’s Daughter,” while Bruce later riffs on Van Morrison/Them’s “Gloria.” Stevie sings soulful retorts all over the performance, all in the service of Bruce’s heightened lead vocal. Listen to the incredible run he takes through, “Just one kiss, she’ll turn them long summer nights, with her tenderness / The secret pact you made, when her love could save you, from the bitterness… WHAAAAHOO!” Holy crap.

8) “The Fever” is focused and luscious, providing a deserved spotlight on the band, especially Danny Federici and the Big Man, who shine ever-so-brightly as they thread their solos around each other. Rest in peace, E Street icons.

9) A slightly shambolic “Detroit Medley” features a rare foray into Jerry Lee Lewis’ “Whole Lotta Shakin’ Goin’ On.”

10) Finally, connoisseurs of audience noise (and I know you’re out there) should be extremely pleased with the level of fan interaction in Jon Altschiller’s mix. The crowd is ever-present and in full voice throughout the night and who can blame them?

Thanks to former Columbia product manager Dick Wingate for supplying contemporary information and documentation about the Darkness tour broadcasts.

^{By Erik Flannigan via Nugs.net.}

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