1980-12-29 Nassau Veterans Memorial Coliseum, Uniondale, NY

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

Info & Setlist | Venue

First version of "Night" for this tour and the only River Tour version of "Incident On 57th Street" - an outstanding performance, one of Springsteen's finest ever. The song was last played in Atlanta during the Darkness On The Edge Of Town Tour, and won't be played again until September 25, 1999 in Philadelphia, PA. Fantastic show, just a notch below the show two days later. Roy Bittan plays the piano intro before "The River" and "Once Upon A Time In The West" as a bridge between that song and "Badlands". "Detroit Medley" includes "I Hear A Train".

Intro to “Tenth Avenue Freeze-Out”
“Alright, how you doing tonight? (crowd cheers) oh yeah…”

Intro to “Independence Day”
“I grew up in this town that’s about 40 miles outside of New York City (crowd cheers) but…it’s like when you come, when you come from a small town or some place like…I remember all the time I was growing up, it seemed like New York was a million miles away …and I used to watch, as I got older, I used to watch my friends and…people I went to school with…seemed like they got stopped in one place and were letting, were letting their lives, their lives pass ‘em by for some reason…I guess when you grow up in a small town for some reason you get, you get scared of big things…you’re scared of big cities or…I remember my old man grew up…he was born in that town and the only time he left was when he went to World War Two…he came back, married my mom…and he took on responsibilities of being a husband and a father when he was still… he was still very young…and I remember all the times that we were…we were living in that house and having our arguments, he wasn’t…he was only a little bit older than I’m right now, he was still a young man…but he’d given up a lot of things and he’d been disappointed a whole lot of times…and I would watch him every day get up and go to work and he’d come home…and he’d sit in the kitchen at night…and he never talked to me unless he’d had a little too much to drink or something…and then the things he’d say…I remember he’d be yelling at us at night and he’d be sitting in the kitchen and the next day he’d take you out for a ride and he’d take you out and try to make up for it, buy you something…growing up like that, you look around and it, it makes you scared and gives you a lot of fear…and some of it, some of it’s good because…when I was real young, I got real scared of ending up that way…seemed like people just lose their spirit or lose their belief that, that there’s certain…that if you get out there, there’s certain possibilities… nobody can guarantee you nothing and nobody can promise you nothing but you got a chance…when I was real young, I decided I wasn’t gonna miss out on that chance…so don’t you, don’t you miss out on it either, ok? (crowd cheers)…”

Intro to “Two Hearts”
“If you gotta do something and you need some help (crowd cheers) two hearts are better than one…”

Intro to “The Promised Land”
“Alright…this is for Bobby and the Rockies…this is for Billy…”

Intro to “This Land Is Your Land”
“(Crowd cheers) I’m here, I’m here (chuckles)…(tests the guitar and harmonica a bit) this is, uh…(long pause)…this is a song that, uh, there’s a book out right now, it’s called “Woody Guthrie – A Life,” it’s by, it’s by this fellow named Joe Klein, Joe Clean* and, uh…it’s really, it’s really a great book and this is…this song was originally, it was written at the time it was, uh, written as an angry song, it was an answer to Irving Berlin who’d just wrote “God Bless America” and, and…and this song was written as, as an answer to that song, it was written as an angry song…and, uh…it’s just about one of the most beautiful songs ever written, anyway (crowd cheers) I’ll do this for you…”
^{[* Bruce pronounces “Klein” wrong.]}

Intro to “Thunder Road”
“This is for little (?) and Gary…”

After “Thunder Road”
“Alright (crowd cheers) we’re gonna take a short break now, then we’re gonna come back, we’re gonna rock you all night long (crowd cheers) so you better be ready (crowd cheers)…”

Intro to “Sherry Darling”
“We can’t stop now…”

Intro to “Hungry Heart”
“We can’t stop now…”

Intro to “Merry Christmas Baby”
“Bring it down, boys…now I wanna know…how did Santa Claus treat you? (crowd cheers) how about you? (crowd cheers) pretty good? (crowd cheers) (?) little presents…well, I just wanna say…Merry Christmas, Baby…”

Intro to “Sandy”
“Oh, I’d like to ask everybody a favour…if, uh, if you got any presents and stuff, I’d appreciate it if you didn’t throw them up on stage ‘cause when we walk – especially back here, you guys can’t throw stuff at us (chuckles) when we go off stage, we appreciate you wanting to give us the stuff but it’d be nicer if you held on to it so that we didn’t get bobbed on the bean with it, ok? (crowd cheers) so, so if you got stuff, please hold on to it, alright? thank you…when I was, I moved out of this town called Freehold when I was about 18 years old (crowd cheers) I never thought I would hear the day when anybody would applaud for Freehold, alright (chuckles) and I moved down to Asbury Park and (crowd cheers) I never thought I’d hear ‘em applaud that either (chuckles) and I lived in this, this apartment, it was three flights up over this drugstore on Cookman, Cookman Avenue and, uh (crowd cheers) and that was where I met all the guys, most of the guys in the band and stuff and…so if there’s anybody that hiked all the way from the Shore (crowd cheers) here’s to you, here, here you go, alright…”

Intro to “For You”
“This is for everybody riding in the backseat (crowd cheers)…”

Intro to “Stolen Car”
“Oh, last year…the guy that, that, that does these lights for you every night and for me for ‘bout I guess at least eight years now… he’s about the best that there is actually (chuckles)…he got married and we all went out to his wedding in California…we were sitting there…during the service, it was in a temple and the rabbi got up and he said…said that till, till you go out and make that connection with somebody, until you meet a girl or you go out and meet just a friend or a person, that all the things that you dream about when you’re a kid and all the fantasies that you have of making your life as complete as it can be they just stay dreams and fantasies and the first step to making those things real is with going out and touching somebody and meeting somebody (crowd cheers) and…it’s like a song…it’s like I used to think if I sit in my room and write a song, well, that song don’t mean nothing till somebody hears it (crowd cheers) but it’s pretty hard to…when you find somebody, you meet somebody that it’s so good, the hardest thing is…is to be…is to be able to give and take and make a good thing last, you know…but if you don’t, you end up…if you don’t make that connection, if you just, you know, I used to like stay in my room and write a song, if, if you don’t go out and make that connection, you end up, end up just being like a ghost, like nobody can hear you, nobody can see you…it’s like…I think people…people should be…it’s like…anyway, I don’t know…”

Intro to “Incident on 57th Street”
“This is, uh…this is a song we haven’t done in a real long time…(?) …this is, uh, I hope I remember all the words, alright, I might not, I just learned them (?)…”

Middle “Rosalita”
“We got with us tonight…a galaxy of celebrities…a stage full of stars…beginning at the far left…Professor Roy Bittan on the piano (crowd cheers) on the guitar, 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 (crowd cheers) how can I say it?…king of the world (crowd cheers) master of all things, big and small (crowd cheers) emperor of the universe (crowd cheers) faster than a speeding bullet (crowd cheers) more powerful than a locomotive (crowd cheers) able to leap tall women in a single bound (crowd cheers) is it a bird? (crowd: “No”) is it a plane? (crowd: “No”) what’s that (?) (crowd: “Clarence”) the Big Man, Clarence Clemons on the saxophone (crowd cheers)…
(…) Well, this is his last chance and you can tell him that I ain’t no bum…’cause my brand new record, Rosie, made it all the way to number one, one, one, one…”

Intro to “Jungleland”
“This is for all the New Yorkers (crowd cheers)…”

Intro to “Born to Run”
“I wanna thank everybody for coming down tonight, thank you very much (crowd cheers) I know a lot of you guys have been to some of the shows in New York City and travel around to see us a lot so thank you, thank you…(?)…here’s to you…”

Middle “Detroit Medley”
“Great God almighty…I’ve been attacked…(crowd cheers) that’s nice …I see a train coming on ‘round…I see a train coming on ‘round…
coming along and it’s gonna take us, it’s gonna take me and my baby down…I hear a train coming along…train, train, train, train just coming along…yeah, it’s coming and it’s gonna take us, it’s gonna take me and my boys down…I hear a train, long and black …
train, train, train running long and black…it’s coming and it’s gonna take me (?) bring me back…hold it (the band stops) I hear a train (crowd: “Woo-woo!”) I hear a train (crowd: “Woo-woo!”) I hear a train (crowd: “Woo-woo!”) I hear a train (crowd: “Woo-woo!”) all aboard (band joins in)…come on, boys…I see a long smokestack…a conductor dressed in black…he’s calling out…Ann Arbor, Michigan – all aboard…Detroit Michigan…all aboard…San Francisco…all aboard …Dallas, Texas…all aboard…Baton Rouge, Louisiana…all aboard… Washington D.C…all aboard…Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania…all aboard… Philadelphia, PA…all aboard…Asbury Park, New Jersey…all aboard …Long Island, Long Island…all aboard…New York City, New York… New York City, New York…New York City, New York…New York City, New York…”

After “Detroit Medley”
“Merry Christmas, Happy New Year (crowd cheers)…”

^{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.}

My Brand New Record, Rosie, Made It All The Way To Number One

One of the most thrilling times to be a sports fan is when your team is in the midst of a winning streak. They occur in all sports, but in baseball and especially basketball, winning streaks are irresistible because of the unique way they place team chemistry, a “never give up” mentality, and moments of individual brilliance against a backdrop of ever-rising stakes. Who doesn’t want to tune in to see if your team can push their streak to 17, 21, or 33 in a row?

It could be argued that the entire live performance history of Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band is one long winning streak. That acknowledged, and with the benefit of hindsight and live recordings, fan consensus has coalesced around notable E Street streaks: the last two weeks of the 1977 tour with the Miami Horns; the late-’84 stretch of the Born in the U.S.A. tour.; and the final U.S. leg of Magic 2008 to name but a few.

The River tour boasts a few of its own streaks, and without question, Thanksgiving to New Year’s Eve 1980 is among the best of them. A staggering run of shows throughout the Northeast culminated in a three-night stand at the Nassau Coliseum on Long Island. With his first chart-topping album and a Top Five single (“Hungry Heart”) in hand, Bruce and the band closed out 1980 more popular than ever.

Shows that wrapped that leg of the tour offered an intoxicating mix of musician-athletes performing at their peak, newfound confidence drawn from a long-awaited commercial breakthrough, and a continued hunger to prove it all night.

Supporting a double album of new material, that hunger was manifest in the increasing duration of the concerts and the stunning number of songs performed. In fact, until records were broken in 2012, the late-’80 River shows were the longest of Bruce’s career. Other shows and tours have their own distinct qualities, but if you are talking about a run of epic Springsteen concerts, the Thanksgiving-New Year’s ’80 streak is the reference point.

Nassau Coliseum 12/29/80 and its sister show 12/31/80 (reissued in a newly remixed and remastered edition) each stretch to 35 or more songs and live up to the legend of Bruce’s four-hour concerts by running close to that (counting the between-sets intermission). There may be other eras where the band played this well, but there is no period where they played better.

Both stunning performances are packed with delicious rarities along with some of the strongest versions of core material ever caught on multi-tracks. With a bounty of more than 70 songs between the two shows, there’s too much good stuff to cover, but here are ten things to listen for as you relive these magical nights.

1.Springsteen debuted his brilliant take on Creedence Clearwater Revival’s “Who’ll Stop the Rain” three shows earlier at Madison Square Garden. It has endured as one of the band’s finest covers, popping up a few times on tours ever since. The versions performed on 12/29 and 12/31 are musically rich and heartfelt, pointing to the musical direction Bruce would explore six months hence on the band’s first proper tour of Europe.

2. Having just read Joe Klein’s biography of Woody Guthrie, Bruce covers “This Land Is Your Land” for the first time during the three-show Nassau stand, calling it an “angry song…an answer to Irving Berlin’s ‘God Bless America’.” With the possible exception of a one-off performance of Bob Dylan’s “Chimes of Freedom” in 1978, it is the first protest song Springsteen performed in concert with the E Street Band and signals the start of his public turn toward social and political commentary.

3. The paternal pairing of “Factory” and “Independence Day” on 12/29 is not only an evocative stretch of storytelling, but could pass for a dramatic monologue at a Broadway theater.

4. One of the signature sequences of early River tour shows is Roy Bittan’s mini-suite of “The River” into “Badlands.” 1980 performances of “The River” start with an original piano prelude (echoed by Danny Federici) before Bruce’s plaintive harmonica wail starts the song formally. Shortly after “The River” ends, Bittan starts into his interpretation of Ennio Morricone’s theme from the Sergio Leone film Once Upon A Time In The West. As Bittan plays the moving piano refrain, electric guitar chords start to chime in, building energy that crescendos when the intro gives way to an explosive “Badlands.” Magnificent.

5. The River tour is the height of Stevie Van Zandt’s role as backing vocalist, at times reaching the point of co-lead vocals. He’s a marvel at these shows on expected songs like “Two Hearts” and “Prove It All Night,” but listen for him in more unexpected places like the chorus of “Thunder Road” for signs of just how into it he is at Nassau.

6. Bruce’s spirited vocal on “For You” is full of fresh intonations distinct from other renditions.

7. The earnest story that leads into “Stolen Car” on 12/29 might melt your heart; the moving performance itself will have you reaching for a tissue or three.

8. The gorgeous, stripped-down arrangement of “The Price You Pay” on 12/31 starts solo. The band joins softly in the second verse, and we’re treated to the alternate third verse found in the single-disc version of The River included in The Ties That Bind box set. As good as it gets.

9. While we’ve heard the incredible version of “Incident on 57th Street” from 12/29 before (it was released as the b-side to “War” from Live 1975/85), hearing it in context of the show is so much sweeter. “This is a song we haven’t done in a real long time,” says Bruce, as he tests out the chords on his guitar. “No, it ain’t ‘Kitty’s Back.’ I hope I remember all the words….” Roy tinkles out the first few notes, the crowd swoons in recognition of the song, Max comes with his drum intro, and the lead guitar sends us soaring. If that wasn’t enough, after nearly ten majestic minutes, it rolls straight into “Rosalita” as it does on The Wild, the Innocent & the E Street Shuffle.

10. You want rarities? We got rarities. Beyond the aforementioned, the Nassau shows feature “Rendezvous,” the first-ever version of the “Hungry Heart” b-side “Held Up Without a Gun,” sublime seasonal nuggets “Merry Christmas Baby” and “Santa Claus Is Coming to Town,” plus Happy New Year covers of “In the Midnight Hour” and “Auld Lang Syne.” All that, plus 15 of the 20 songs on The River, including the under-played “Fade Away,” “Wreck on the Highway” and “The Price You Pay.”

A Final Note: Jon Altschiller’s new mix and mastering on 12/31/80 moves the listener from the 40th row to the first, proximity that reveals incredible new detail and musical power.

After electing to Plangent Process 12/29/80 for release, it was clear that 12/31/80 also deserved a Plangent-transferred new mix and mastering to match, as the version released in 2015 was not up to the same standards.
While the Plangent Processed and remixed version of 12/31/80 is being sold as a standalone release, anyone who bought the original can access the new upgraded audio for free via the “My Stash” section of the nugs.net app, which provides streaming access to all shows purchased as downloads or CDs (no subscription required). Previous buyers of New Years Eve ’80 can log in with the account credentials they used to buy the show the first time.

^{By Erik Flannigan via Nugs.net.}

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My Brand New Record, Rosie, Made It All The Way To Number One