1984-08-19 Brendan Byrne Arena, East Rutherford, NJ

Scheduled: 19:30 Local Start Time ??:?? / End Time ??:??

Info & Setlist | Venue

Set includes the first ever performance in the U.S. of "My Father's House". "Glory Days" includes two bars of "Out Of Limits". "Rosalita (Come Out Tonight)" includes the "Come A Little Bit Closer" introduction and a bit of "Hail To The Chief" in the midsection. "Detroit Medley" includes "Travelin' Band". The Miami Horns (consisting of Richie "La Bamba" Rosenberg on trombone, Mark Pender on trumpet, Stan Harrison on tenor saxophone, and Eddie Manion on baritone saxophone) guest on "Tenth Avenue Freeze-Out" and the final encores.

The Miami Horns (Guests)

After “Spirit in the Night”
´´Alright, thanks for the lift….´´

Intro to “My Father’s House”
´´Thanks….when I was a kid….I lived, uh….I lived on this block where there was our house and then there was a field….and there was a….church…..and there was this woods out in back of my…..my house….and I had this friend who used to live on the other side of the woods and I can remember at night….I used to try to get…..I had it timed perfect so I could leave his house just about dusk and I’d make it through….so I wasn’t in those woods when it was too dark….once I got by the woods then I had to get home and get by my old man….that was…..sometimes that was scarier…..´´

Intro to “Glory Days”
´´(?) this is a song…. about old times….about….how the older you get the more old times you got….now, I got my share…..Big Man, he’s got more than me….but he wears his very well….now, old times….they always look better the farther away they are….. I was watching this Twilight Zone the other night (cheers)…..and it was about this guy… he kept thinking ‘bout what a good time he’d had way back when…..and then (plays ‘Outer Limits’)…..then he stepped into the twilight zone….and he got sent back to where, where he thought he had such a good time….and everybody was treating him real bad and…..it wasn’t the way he remembered it and everything….so he came back to this own time….now me….I don’t have to go back into the twilight zone…..to know….that in high school when everybody says you were having a great time….I was having a lousy time (cheers)…..I didn’t like it at all…..I’m still glad when fall comes around that I don’t have to go back (cheers)….every once in a while I go out….I’d be in some bar….somebody´d come up to me….it was kinda like this….´´

Intro to “My Hometown”
´´Thanks…..alright….everybody….I think everybody kinda ends up with….with a love-hate….relationship….with the town they grew up in…..you know, I remember when I was….when I was 16, I couldn’t wait….I couldn’t wait to get out, I used to run up to New York City on the weekends and (cheers)…..it seemed so narrowminded….when I got older, I really kinda resisted….resisted kinda….maybe taking my place or just admitting that….that whether I liked it or not, I was a part of something (chuckles)…. which, uh….I guess what this song is about, this kinda says….that this is our place and….and whether we like it or not, it’s our responsobility….what happens here…. in this town and in this state and in this country (cheers)(chuckles)….and….and we all kinda bear….bear the shame and we bear the glory….of the best and the worst of it….´´

Intro to “No Surrender”
´´This is uh….this is a song, uh….about trying to….find something you can hold on to…. that kinda….I remember when I was…..I was 16….I went into this hullabaloo club…. and….I met one of my very best friends, was playing in band there at the time….and uh…I guess the thing that we had in common was we had a lotta faith…..in what we thought that rock and roll could do for people (cheers)…..so this is for Little Steven, wherever he may be tonight (cheers)…..good luck and God bless you…..´´

Intro to “Growin’Up”
´´There we were….it was a night….just like tonight….except it was raining….and it was hotter….and it was a little later in the summertime….it was a long long time ago….I’d just met the Big Man (cheers)….I was working in a bowling alley setting up the pins, he was working at the gas-station…..on the weekend we just (?) down on Main Street….we didn’t know what we were gonna do with ourselves….we had no direction in our lives ….we had no guidance…..we were lost….we were confused…..we needed some faith….we needed some hope…..we were looking for some love….we needed a couple of girls (cheers)…it was then that the Big Man mentioned that he knew two young ladies….who lived just outside of town….so we got in his Oldsmobile….and we drove south down Route 9 (cheers)…..it’s dangerous down there (chuckles)(cheers)…. down through Toms River (cheers)….way down to the pines….we were on this dark backroad….and then the unthinkable happened….we had a flat (laughter)….now…. there was no street lights…..clouds covered the moon….we couldn’t see anything outside the car…..we didn’t know whether to roll the windows up….stay in the car till morning…..or get out and see….if we had a spare….so this being a democracy, we decided we’d (?)…..I won…..then I went out to see if we had a spare (laughter)….there was nothing in the trunk….and the Big Man then said that he knew…..where there was a gas-station….just….on the other…..side…of those woods (cheers)…..so deep into the forest we went….it was dark….it was spooky…there were sounds coming from everywhere (cheers)….we were really getting scared now….we were walking for about 15 minutes down this path…..now, Big Man, there ain’t no like…there never were no like wild animals in New Jersey (?) ?…..mean, they got no like killer chipmunks or…. what about them water snakes ?….no ?….you sure we’re safe ? ….yeah ?….I think….I think I hear something….(?)…I, I hear something behind us …(yells)…Big Man….oh….. Clarence…..oh, Clarence !…..Hey Clarence !….oh, don’t do that, jeeze, you scared me….I think gremlins got hold of my microphone (cheers) ….it was then…..we seen something come shooting out of the sky….and all of a sudden clouds…..pulled away from the moon…..and in the clearing…..we saw the answer to our quest (cheers)….and we stood there in the moonlight….and then….. when we touched…..´´

After “Racing in the Street”
´´That was for all the kids from Red Bank….´´

Intro to “Rosalita”
´´In a little cafe….on the other side of Broad Street….
(….) Alright….ladies and gentlemen….children of all ages…..it’s now my pleasure…..it is now my duty….it is now my responsobility to introduce to you….the wonderful….. members of the E Street Band (cheers)….I would like to begin…..with our newest member….a man we just met in South Jersey….close personal friend of mine….Jim the dancing bear…..don’t worry, ladies and gentlemen, he’s completely docile…. alright…. and now to my far left…..a young man…..who gave up a scholarship….at Yale University….in unusual sexual practises just to be on the 1984 with the E Street Band….you may have read his study of the lost tribes of Hoboken, you may be familiar with his theory of promiscuity, the educated, the dedicated, the only member with a full high school diploma, Professor Roy Bittan (cheers)…..(?) alright and next….an alumni of Southside Johnny and the Asbury Jukes….the lovely Miss Patti Scialfa (cheers)….and next the gentleman who brings you the thunder from way down under, the man who puts the bass in your face, I’m talking about the one, the only, Mr.Garry W.Tallent (cheers)….and next the master of all the percussive devices…. drummer, author of The Big Beat, the one, the only, the mighty one, Mighty Max Weinberg (cheers)….and now….to my far right…..the inimitable, the inevitable, the unbelievable, the unforgivable, the immoral, the irreprovable, the fantastic….look out girls, he hates to be alone, Phantom Dan Federici on the organ (cheers)….and next the gentleman….who works the entire night…..without the benefit of a net…..drumroll, please….on the guitar, Mr. Nils Lofgren…..(Nils does his stunt on a trampoline) ….(cheers)….that´s incredible…..and now…how can I describe this next gentleman….if you know the answer…to these next questions…..shout out this gentleman’s name…. who’s the man whose cool just grows and grows ? (crowd : ”Clarence!”)….who’s
the man whose loop comes and goes ? (crowd: ”Clarence!”)…..who’s the apple of my eye ? (crowd : ”Clarence !”)….who, though he’s the king of the world, is a regular kinda guy ? (crowd: ”Clarence!”)….who’s everything that’s near and dear to me ? (crowd: ”Clarence!”)….who’s owed me a 100 bucks since 1963 ? (crowd: ”Clarence!”)….the one, the only, the next President of the United States, ladies and gentlemen, the Big Man, Clarence Clemons (cheers)….´´

Intro to “Born to Run”
´´(?) when I was a kid and I heard….heard music of Elvis Presley (cheers)….and the best of rock and roll….that always kinda said just one thing to me and it was a simple thing, it said ‘Let freedom ring…..for everyone everywhere’ (cheers)….this is….this is our hometown so we gotta fight for it every day….´´

Intro to “The Promised Land”
´´This is for Obie tonight….I promised (chuckles)…..´´

^{Compiled by : Johanna Pirttijärvi.}

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A Beacon Calling Me In The Night

As measured by cultural impact and mass popularity, Bruce Springsteen’s 1984-85 World Tour was the apex. Considering its stunning scale, playing multi-night stadium stands, it’s easy to forget that 1984 was a rebirth of sorts, the start of a new era as much as a continuation of what came before it. On the biggest tour of his career, Springsteen was rebuilding the engine while the plane was flying.

Synthesizers like the Yamaha CS-80 had been part of Springsteen’s sonic signature since The River tour, albeit in a subtle manner that was more about background tones and mood. With Born in the U.S.A., synths moved front of the mix (playing lead, so to speak) on the title track and the smash single “Dancing in the Dark.” Fun fact: Did you know a CS-80 tips the scales at over 200 pounds?

When the tour kicked off at the St. Paul Civic Center in June 1984, Springsteen hadn’t performed a proper concert in nearly three years, but he had released two new albums, including Nebraska, his first-ever solo and acoustic effort. How would those songs work on stage with the E Street Band?

There were moves on that Street too, with longtime foil Steven Van Zandt exiting stage left to pursue his own solo career. Nils Lofgren stepped in stage right to take his place, bringing fresh energy and new textures to the band’s already evolving sound, bolstered further by the addition of backing singer Patti Scialfa, restoring E Street’s gender diversity first established by violinist Suki Lahav in late 1974.

The Live Archive series already features the first two shows and the final night of Bruce and the band’s ten-show stand at Brendan Byrne Arena in New Jersey. With the addition of 8/19/84, the penultimate show of the run, we get perhaps our clearest picture yet of Springsteen flying live without a net when the stakes were highest.

While he doesn’t come in for praise as often as other band members given his position in the sonic landscape, Garry W. Tallent is the anchor of the E Street sound, and he stands out especially loud and proud in Jon Altschiller’s new multitrack mix of August 19. His playing is thicker than ever in “Born in the U.S.A,” especially the bridge before the final breakdown, and Garry and Max carry a powerful “Atlantic City” that’s as good as any captured on tape.

Bruce’s own guitar strumming in the opening verse of “Atlantic City” is crystalline crisp. His vocals here and throughout the night are in peak form, a model of power and total control. Tallent’s bass part in the song’s final verse and chorus is sinewy, moody, and, as always, flawless. There’s also fine work from Danny Federici on organ as Bruce sings, “Put on your stockings, babe, ’cause the night’s getting cold.” Lastly, Lofgren’s background vocals in the final chorus ring true just before Bruce yells, “Draw blood!” They crushed it.

The 8/19/84 Nebraska mini-set offers two other striking turns. “Reason to Believe” is the one track from this show featured on Live/1975-85, but it gains additional meaning heard here in context immediately after “Atlantic City” in a different mix that again spotlights Garry Tallent’s superb bass arrangement.

Then there’s “My Father’s House,” in only its second performance ever and one of but five on the entire tour. Bruce introduces the song with a short anecdote about sneaking through the woods at dusk, “and then I had to get home and get by my old man…Sometimes that was scarier.”

In what might be the vocal highlight of the entire show, Bruce sings “My Father’s House” with vivid frankness, backed by the sympathetic support of Tallent on bass, Lofgren on mandolin, Weinberg on brushes, and Bittan on synth. When Springsteen’s rich voice rises with the line, “It stands like a beacon, calling me in the night” you’ll feel the chills. The solo acoustic “My Father’s House” from the Christic benefit show performed in 1990 and released in the Live Archive series is excellent, but this rare band arrangement is stunning.

The rest of the first set remains true to form for the period, with a nice stretch of BIUSA songs coming out of the Nebraska trio and classics like “Badlands” and “Thunder Road” leading into the break. It’s worth noting that 8/19/84 offers notable readings of “Darkness On the Edge of Town” in the first set and “Prove It All Night” in the second. Both benefit from Springsteen’s stirring vocals and guitar work, and, in Van Zandt’s absence, Lofgren steps up. You can feel him meshing with Bruce, resulting in refreshed performances of two Darkness stalwarts.

The second set is as good as the first, and momentum is building. After the playful trio of “Hungry Heart,” “Dancing in the Dark” and “Cadillac Ranch” coming out of intermission, Bruce taps the Miami Horns for the first time since 1977 on “Tenth Avenue Freeze-Out,” in a preview of their appearance on closing night 24 hours hence. The horns add much joy and vigor to the song, and while he was already having a good night, Clarence Clemons seems to take it up a notch, too.

A tender, solo “No Surrender” is next, then the aforementioned “Prove It All Night” and a stellar, crowd-pleasing version of “Fire.” The crowd certainly knows this one, singing along in full voice, and as good as the Big Man’s saxophone playing is, boy does his baritone voice sound sweet. He and Bruce milk “Fire” for all its worth. “Growin’ Up” keeps the sweetness and local landmarks flowing, complete with Jim the Dancing Bear (who wasn’t done for the night) and massive cheers for “Route 9” and “Toms River” in a tall tale about the early days of Bruce and Clarence on the shore.

Riding in on the emotional nostalgia of “Growin’ Up,”, “Bobby Jean” has heart to burn — and it resonates in a way it hasn’t consistently in recent times, as a standalone song in the encore. Bruce sings it as if Little Stevie were listening (maybe he was in the crowd that night, ahead of his appearance the next evening) and the Big Man lands the solo masterfully.

The set turns back to Darkness again for a pacey “Racing in the Street,” the coda for which is always a showcase for Bittan and Federici, with Bruce adding subtle guitar texture to their interplay. A long, loose “Rosalita” closes the set with extended and particularly funny band intros (e.g. “You may have read [Bittan’s] study of the lost tribes of Hoboken”), and this new model E Street Band is soaring — and most importantly, having fun doing it.

The encore moves from “Jungleland” (with Lofgren stepping up to fill one of Van Zandt’s best-known solos) to “Born to Run” (Federici’s glockenspiel rings out thrillingly) before the Miami Horns return to punctuate “Detroit Medley” and “Twist and Shout – Do You Love Me?” to cap the evening.

Nine nights into a homecoming stand for the ages, 8/19/84 captures Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band sounding different than ever before but every bit as good, their confidence rightly rising on the strength of outstanding performances by the individual players coalescing at the start of a new era.

^{By Erik Flannigan via Nugs.net.}

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A Beacon Calling Me In The Night