1980-11-20 Rosemont Horizon, Rosemont, IL

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

Info & Setlist | Venue

Bruce's first arena show in Chicago (although the show took place in Rosemont, a village to the northwest of Chicago) - they added this show after Bruce mentioned (on stage) they got so many letters from people who couldn't get into the Uptown. "The Price You Pay" starts acoustically and builds with gentle accompaniment from the band. Roy plays the piano intro before "The River". "Cadillac Ranch" includes the "No Money Down" introduction. "I Wanna Marry You" does not include the usual "Here She Comes Walkin'" introduction, instead Bruce reads out an amusing letter he received - see our Storyteller tab to read the transcription. "Growin' Up" includes the spaceman story. Clarence sings the opening lines of "Stagger Lee" as an introduction to "Rosalita (Come Out Tonight)". "Detroit Medley" includes "I Hear A Train". Bruce explained to Jimmy Fallon in 2012 that it was at this show that the crowd first sang the first verse of "Hungry Heart".

20.11.80 Rosemont, IL, intro to “Tenth Avenue Freeze-Out”
“Are you ready to dance the Freeze-Out? (crowd cheers) then let’s go…”

20.11.80 Rosemont, IL, intro to “Darkness on the Edge of Town”
“How you been doing? (crowd cheers) Big Man, the E Street Band (crowd cheers)…how we doing out there, alright? (crowd cheers)… if there’s any of you guys out there in the aisle, if you could help those guys find your seats so that you can sit down ‘cause it’s gonna be, gonna be playing a long time tonight so (crowd cheers) so that the people around you can see, take your seats (?) thank you very much…(?)…”

20.11.80 Rosemont, IL, intro to “Independence Day”
‘‘I grew up in this, this little town…I remember…that…I never did good in school, I was never interested, I was never…never paid attention and all that kind of stuff…and…I remember the first time, my mother, she was, she used to have the radio on in the morning all the time before my father’d be getting ready to go to work and we’d be getting to go to school down in the kitchen…she’d always have the radio on tuned to the Top 40 station in New York City…it was, uh…it was WMCA, WMCA was the name of the station…and I remember that I thought that all the stuff, later on when I thought back, that all the stuff in school that they were trying to…to pound through your head and get it through your head, that when I first started listening to the radio…it was all these…all these, just beautiful songs and singers that, that…that same stuff that they were trying to push through your head, these guys would sing and they’d get it, they’d get it through to your heart somehow…and… and one of the first, I remember, one of the first singles, I went out and bought a 45, I had one of those little, uh, little Walt Disney record players (chuckles)…and…I was about 15…I was younger, I guess it was 1965…and I was riding down the road…and on came “Like a Rolling Stone” and (crowd cheers) and I remember I couldn’t…on the little, I had this junky speaker, I couldn’t hear, I couldn’t hear what all the verses were, I couldn’t hear all the words but I remember when he got to the chorus, I always remember that line that just asked “How does it feel to be on your own?” (crowd cheers)…and I guess that was the first time that I realised that I really was so…this is for everybody out there who’s on their own tonight (crowd cheers) good luck…”

20.11.80 Rosemont, IL, intro to “Factory”
‘‘My dad quit high school when he was 16…and joined the army and the only time he ever got to go anywhere was when they sent him to, sent him to World War II…some people never get to hear those songs and things that are on the radio…”

20.11.80 Rosemont, IL, intro to “The Promised Land”
‘‘Alright, this is for…this is for someone who sent me a letter backstage, this is for Neil…Neil Schonrad, I think, I think his name is…he’s three years old and he’s the real future of rock and roll (chuckles) (crowd cheers)…”

20.11.80 Rosemont, IL, after “Thunder Road”
“We’re gonna take a short break, then we’re gonna come back and do another whole set for you, alright? (crowd cheers) so we’ll see you in a little while (crowd cheers)…”

20.11.80 Rosemont, IL, intro to “Cadillac Ranch”
“Well, I was motorvating back in town, I saw a big Cadillac sign, said “No money down,” so I eased on the brakes and I pulled into drive, I gunned my motor twice and then I walked inside, well, the dealer said “Boss, trade in that Ford and I’ll put you in something that’ll eat up the road…”

20.11.80 Rosemont, IL, intro to “I Wanna Marry You”
“Well, I got this letter backstage that, uh, was sort of interesting, it’s from Gary Brown, I guess you’re out there, it says “Dear Mr. Springsteen – a little respect there (chuckles) – I am to be married this January 17th, I was wondering if you and the E Street Band would be interested in playing at the reception? (crowd cheers) both, both my girl and I really enjoy your music and we’d appreciate it if you could find time to come and play, certain (chuckles) certainly we understand that you probably don’t do many weddings any more (laughs from the crowd) however I needn’t remind you that the entertainment business is a very fickle world and the ability to play the wedding circuit is the kind of insurance that few performers can afford to do without (crowd cheers)(?) now Kay’s parents are willing to pay fifty dollars per player (crowd cheers)(chuckles) and I’m sure – this is gonna make you happy, Clarence – I’m sure we can get an extra fifty dollars for Clarence if he promises to sing “Fire” with you (crowd cheers) it’s there (chuckles) in addition you may stay for lunch, just don’t be too loud” (crowd cheers) Gary, good luck to you out there (chuckles) it’s like, it’s like (chuckles) this song’s for you, ok, for you and your bride-to-be…”

20.11.80 Rosemont, IL, after “I Wanna Marry You”
“Gary and Kay (?) best of luck to you…”

20.11.80 Rosemont, IL, intro to “Growin’ Up”
“Alright, this is, uh, this is one from, uh…this is for all the folks that were at the Uptown last time and, uh (crowd cheers) and the time before and the time before…and the time before that (chuckles)…
(…) There we were…we were on this dark road…back in New Jersey (crowd cheers) it was me and Clarence…and Steve…and Garry…(?) …all driving in this 1965 Ford Galaxy…(?) on the outside…we were down on this dark road and all of a sudden we get a flat…right, you know…so…it’s so dark out that nobody wants to go out and change the tire…you don’t wanna go either? (chuckles) so we were trying to decide who’s gonna go out and change this flat tire so we said “Well, we’ll do it the American way: we’ll gamble to see who’s gonna go out” (crowd cheers) so we start choosing…too many guys to choose from, can’t do it, if you only got two guys (chuckles)…so we’re sitting there all huddled in the front seat…because we’re so scared…we hear all these spooky sounds coming out of the woods (crowd howls) Steve, you go out (Steve: “I don’t wanna go out”)… so just as we’re sitting there arguing and fighting about who’s gonna go out and change the tire, before I can remind them who the Boss is (crowd cheers) all of a sudden, just like in that movie “Close Encounters of the Third Kind,” there’s this big white light come flashing down on top of our car (crowd cheers) well, I put my head out the window and I look up, I seen this big, cherry red, round flying saucer with Cadillac fins on the back (crowd cheers)(?) on the side it says “Little Melvin and the Invaders – we play weddings, parties and bar mitzvahs” (crowd cheers) some guy with a green head sticks his head out, says “Hey, down there, (?) you guys, I gotta get back to Mars, which way is it to the New Jersey Turnpike?” (crowd cheers) so we…we’re not as dumb as we look, we’re thinking for a second…we said “Listen, if you want us to, if you want us to tell you how to get to the New Jersey Turnpike, you gotta give us each, we each get one wish”…I’m telling him (?)…so we thought real hard, this is very important, chance of a lifetime… Clarence…Clarence wished for his own combination pizza parlour and Laundromat on the corner in downtown Asbury Park (crowd cheers) that’s a pretty good wish, that’s pretty good, pretty good…I said “No, that’s not enough, that’s not enough”…Steve, it’s Steve’s turn to wish…Steve wished that he hadn’t gone to Hawthorne Racetrack today (crowd cheers) too late now, can’t cry later, don’t do no good…Garry…Garry wished he wasn’t with us in the car…but now…I mean these were, I said “These, these wishes, nah”…so I thought real hard, first I thought I’m gonna, thought about wishing for a spare, I said “Nah, too small-time”…and then…I didn’t even have to say it out loud, I was just staring there, thinking and all of a sudden I looked way over…down the dark side of the road, way down in the dark, and what I was wishing for…was starting to appear…(crowd cheers) and then…when we touched…”

20.11.80 Rosemont, IL, intro to “The Ties That Bind”
“You can’t break the ties that bind…”

20.11.80 Rosemont, IL, intro to “Ramrod”
“Let’s ramrod (crowd cheers)…”

20.11.80 Rosemont, IL, intro to “Drive All Night”
“Oh, goddamn (chuckles)(?)…oh, this is for, uh, anybody that drove, who drove in tonight from long ways away (crowd cheers) this is for you…”

20.11.80 Rosemont, IL, at the end of “Drive All Night”
“Don’t cry…come here…come here and see what I brought you… stop your crying…and come here…come here and see what I brought you…”

20.11.80 Rosemont, IL, middle of “Rosalita”
“Bring it down…on the piano…Professor Roy Bittan (crowd cheers) on the guitar, mature Miami Steve Van Zandt (crowd cheers) on the bass, Mr. Garry W. Tallent (crowd cheers) on the drums, the Mighty One, Mighty Max Weinberg (crowd cheers) on the organ, Phantom Dan Federici (crowd cheers) and last but not least…king of the world…master of all things…as I look to my right, I got to tell you,
he’s faster than a speeding bullet…more powerful than a raging locomotive…able to leap tall women, I mean tall buildings in a single bound…is it a bird (crowd: “No”) is it a plane? (crowd: “No”) what the hell is it? (crowd: “Clarence”) Big Man, Clarence Clemons (crowd cheers)…
(…) Well, this is his last chance to let his daughter have some fun… ‘cause my brand new record, Rosie, gonna make it all the way to number one, one, one…”

20.11.80 Rosemont, IL, intro to “Jungleland”
“I wanna thank, thank everybody for coming down tonight, thank you for coming down to the show (crowd cheers)(?) playing here you guys (?) thank you so here’s to you…”

20.11.80 Rosemont, IL, intro to “Detroit Medley”
“Alright…I hope you all checked your insurance policies before his number…all I can say is…are you ready? (crowd cheers) are you willing? (crowd cheers) are you able? (crowd cheers) to rock and roll all night (crowd cheers)…
(…) Wait a minute…I think…I’m gonna…die…I’ll wait till after the show…now…way back there…up top of the hill…won’t you meet me tonight…are you alive back there?…because I see…Big Man, I see…I see…Miami, I got me a…I got me…I got me…a vision…I’m telling you I got a vision…(?) a real vision…and that’s way back…coming through the night…I see a train coming down the track…”

Compiled by : Johanna Pirttijärvi

Brucebase Wiki

Site Navigation