1984-08-20 Brendan Byrne Arena, East Rutherford, NJ

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

Info & Setlist | Venue

Tour debut and first known Springsteen performance of "Drift Away". Tour premiere for "Two Hearts", one of only five performances in 1984. "Glory Days" includes two bars of "Out Of Limits" and "Backstreets" includes an extended intro and a short "Sad Eyes". "Growin' Up" features the bear story. "Rosalita (Come Out Tonight)" includes Roy playing a snippet of "Hail To The Chief" during the band introductions. Final show of the New Jersey stand and one of the best shows of the tour. Furthermore, Little Steven guests on "Two Hearts" and "Drift Away" and The Miami Horns guest on "Tenth Avenue Freeze-Out", "Drift Away", "Detroit Medley" (including "Travelin' Band") and "Twist And Shout - Do You Love Me".

The Miami Horns (Guests)
Steven Van Zandt (Guest)

Intro to "Highway Patrolman"
´´Thank you, this is uh….this is a song about, uh….I guess, family….and uh….and duty….and how sometimes…it´s hard to know what the right thing to do is with the ones that you love…”

Intro to "I´m Goin´Down"
´´Oh yeah, this song is….it´s kind of about the rise and fall of relationships….you know how when you first meet somebody, you know, you, every place you go, you´re holding hands with ´em and like you´re kissing ´em all the time….and you know you´ll be sitting home and you´re going out to the movies, you´ll say ´Honey, what do you wanna see ?´ and she´ll say ´Oh honey, I don´t care, anything you wanna see´….and….you know, whatever they wear or whatever they look like, ´Oh, you look so beautiful tonight´….and like ´Gee, I don´t know if I wanna go out tonight or stay home ?´ ´Well, honey, it don´t matter to me just as long as I´m with you´….you know, and then about six months later, it´s ´Oh, I wanna see ´Kramer vs. Kramer´ ´No, I wanna see ´The Road Warrior´´, you know (chuckles) and ´Do you have to go out wearing that shirt tonight now ?´….´Why can´t we go out tonight ?´….and finally it ends up with just kind of one long, cold, hard stare…..”

Intro to "Glory days"
‘‘Now this is, this is a song….about old times….and how in this life all things must pass…. but….now, the older you get, the more old times you’ve got…..and you’re always bumping into somebody that wants to tell you about it….now….when we used to ride on the bus …. after the show….I used to get all of the band together….and we’d all sit on the bus….and see, I had a captive audience…..and like….I’d start saying …. ´Yeah, guys, you remember the time when we drove in a station wagon and we met those girls on the way to the show in Detroit and you remember the….what a great time we had when, when, when…..oh, wake up, wake up, wake up’…. they’d always be falling asleep on me…..but anyway, I saw this ´Twilight Zone´ the other night, I was up late…..and it was about this actor….who, like, he kept remembering what a great time he had when he was young and he was wishing he could go back and then all of a sudden…..I get it in a minute …..(plays a bit of ‘Outer Limits’) …. now, all of sudden he stepped into the Twilight Zone, you see….. and he went back …..and everybody was treating him real nasty and then he came back into his own time and he was a lot happier….but I always meet people who tell me what a great time I had in high school and ‘Didn’t we have all that fun ?’….like I’ve said, personally….I had a horrible time in high school…..I hated high school….when fall comes around, I’m still glad I don’t have to go to high school…..but anyway, I was out in this bar….the other night and, and……”

Intro to "My Hometown"
´´Thank you, this is uh….I guess everybody at some point in their lives….kind of ends up with a….with a love-hate-relationship with the town they grew up in…where they, where they grew up….it´s uh, I know when I was….when I was just growing up, I used to fight with that a lot, wanted to….kind of wanted to separate myself from who I was and where I´d been and uh….in the end I guess it´s….to admit that you´re a part of something means you´re responsible for what happens to that, to that thing….and uh, well, this is our place, this is our town and this is our state, it´s our country….and I guess we all, we all share the shame and the glory of the best and the worst of it….”

Intro to "No Surrender"
´´Thank you, oh (chuckles) yeah….oh, yeah, this is….this is a song about….I guess….I´ve always considered myself…pretty lucky because I found something that I like to do when I was real young….something I dreamed about a whole lot and a lot of my dream came true…. so this is about trying to find something you can hold on to and holding on to it….and about, I guess, the….value of a good friendship….this is for Little Steven….”

Intro to "Pink Cadillac"
”Now….as you should know by now, this is a song…..about the conflict…..between worldly things….and spiritual health…..between……desires of the flesh….. and spiritual ecstasy ….. between the mansion on the hill and the mansion in the sky, between the cynics and the sceptics and the true believers, now, what I wanna know….is how many of you out there tonight think that….if you should, and I hope this doesn´t happen, if you should die during the show due to the excitement….how many of you think that you´re gonna die and go to heaven ? (cheers)….now, how many of you out there think that if you should pass away during the final moments of tonight´s performance that….due to cardiac arrest or some other terminal illness, that it´s possible that you might take the down elevator ? (cheers)….that´s more crowd that usual….well, now, me personally, I have no fear because I know that I´m gonna go to heaven….my mother told me so….now, of course I´ll miss the band but I´ll get used to it….you see, ´cause in the beginning He created the heavens and the earth and the Lord sat back and said ‘This is good’…..on the First day, He was hot and He created air-conditioning and the Lord sat back and said ‘This is good’….on the Second day, He grew hungry and He created the cheeseburger and the Lord sat back and said ‘This is good’….on the Third day, He grew bored and He created rock and roll and the Lord sat back and said ‘This is good’…..on the Fourth day….He created (someone : ´Bruuce !´) thank you for the compliment but that´s not the way it works, alright….on the Fourth day, He was gonna take his baby for a ride and He created the pink Cadillac….and for the rest of those days He just drove on and the Lord sat back and said ´This is wild’….”

Middle of "Growin´Up"
‘‘Well, there we were….it was a night….just like tonight….there was real coolness in the air ….it was a long long time ago….I’d just met Clarence….he was working in the bowling alley, I was working at the gas-station…..we had a combined bank account of 88 dollars and 50 cents….we had no direction in our lives ….we had no guidance….. we had no inspiration…. we were lost…..we needed some hope…..we needed some faith….we needed some close physical relationship with members of the opposite sex….it was then that Clarence mentioned that he´d met two girls who had a sense of availability about them….just the previous night and that he knew where they lived just on the outskirts of town….so we figured we´d forget about our problems and enjoy ourselves…..we were basically happy-go-lucky kind of guys ….and we got in Clarence´s Oldsmobile, we were feeling pretty good and we drove south on Route 9 …..down through Freehold….down through Lakewood….down through Toms River …down deep into the pines….and then the unthinkable happened….we had a flat….we were on this dark backroad…..we couldn´t decide whether to just roll the windows up and stay in the car till morning…..or go out and see if we had a flat….this being the days before I was Clarence´s employer, we decided that we’d choose to see who´d go check the trunk…..I won and then I went and checked the trunk….so…..there was nothing in there and Clarence said that he knew where there was a gas-station …. just ….on…..the other side…of those woods …. we started walking into the trees….there was spooky sounds coming from all over the place (cheers)….Clarence, like, do you believe in ghosts ? we don´t believe in ghosts, we believe in like Frankenstein and the Wolfman….this is Wolfman territory, I´m telling you, there´s uh, what about the Jersey Devil ? I´m telling you, man….I believe in the Jersey Devil….so we got …got walking….things were going pretty good….Clarence, not so close, man…..get off my back, don´t walk so close, it´s bad enough I can´t see where I´m going….you need a manicure, Clarence, I´m telling you…..you must´ve been to Flemington Furs lately or something….hi, Clarence…..whoooa!….oh, oh, Clarence !….oh, Clarence !…hey, Clarence ! ….where are you, buddy ?…..where are you, pal ? where are you, buddy ? oh, jeez, don´t scare me like that….oh Jesus….and….then something shot down out of the sky….the clouds pulled away from the moon…..and over in the clearing…..we saw the answer to our quest …. first I picked up the mikestand….and we stood there in the moonlight….and then…..when we touched…..”

Middle of "Backstreets"
´´Until the end….I remember that we swore on it….and I remember how you promised….and you said that if you got out first, you´d help me….and if I got out first, I´d help you….and we swore on it….that it´d be forever….and forever and forever….and it´d last forever and forever….then you said it was nothing but a promise….how it wasn´t nothing but a promise ….”

Intro to "Rosalita"
´´Oh, gimme a little volume, Jim….this is for all the kids from Red Bank out there….
(…) Ladies and gentlemen….we now come to the most exciting part of the show….this is a chance that I get to introduce my pals and my band members of the E Street Band….now, first….I would like to introduce….the newest member of the E Street Band….comes to you from South Jersey….Jim the dancing bear…..don’t worry, ladies and gentlemen, he’s completely docile….and next, to my far left …..a man who gave up a scholarship….to Harvard University where he was working on his PhD in unusual sexual practises to join this tour with the E Street Band….he´s the educated, he´s the dedicated, he´s the one, the only member of the band with a full high school diploma, Professor Roy Bittan…..next, an alumni of Southside Johnny and the Asbury Jukes….from Long Branch, New Jersey….lovely Miss Patti Scialfa….and then the man that puts the bass in your face with the thunder from down under, his mother was a Tallent, his father was a Tallent, Mr.Garry W.Tallent on the bss guitar….on the drums, we have the author of The Big Beat, the Mighty Max Weinberg….and next….do we have a next ?….next, a gentleman who´s celebrating….this week his 15th anniversary as a member of the E Street Band….let´s hear it from him, folks, and Dan, to show my appreciation, bring out the gifts´ roster…for 15 years of dedicated service, a portable hairdryer….and two tickets to tonight´s show….and next, we have….a man as sweet as life itself, he works the entire night without a net…..drumroll, please….the one, the only Nils Lofgren on the guitar (Nils says ´This is for you and the E Street Band´ and then does his stunt on a trampoline)….and next, ladies and gentlemen…. a man, who tonight we´re gonna put his name in for the nomination to be the next president of the United States….it´s time there was a Big Man in the White House and there´s just one thing I wanna know… 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 man who´s the apple of my eye ? (crowd : ”Clarence !”)….who´s the man that though he’s the king of the world, he´s just a regular kinda guy ? (crowd: ”Clarence!”)….who’s the guy who´s everything that’s near and dear to me ? (crowd: ‘‘Clarence!”)….who’s owed me a 100 bucks since 1963 ? (crowd: ”Clarence!”)….that´s right, the Big Man, Clarence Clemons on the saxophone….”

Intro to "Born to Run"
´´I´d like to…just take a second and I´d like to thank all you guys for coming down tonight…. I´d like to, I know a lot of you guys been here for more than one night (chuckles) almost everybody (chuckles)…and if you can when you go home, thank your friends for making this stay here such a great time for us….this was, uh, every night….and I´d like to thank, I´d like to thank all the people that run this building, I´ve, I play a lot of places like this and I wanna tell you that this is, this is really one of the best run and most beautiful buildings like this in the country….really is, I´d like to thank these boys down in front here for doing such a good job….and….well, this is….ready, guys ?….let freedom ring…..”

^{Compiled by : Johanna Pirttijärvi.}

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I Believe In Your Song

Nearly three years ago, Bruce Springsteen’s archival download series delivered a previously un-bootlegged gem: Brendan Byrne Arena, August 5, 1984, the first high-quality Born in the U.S.A. tour soundboard from multi-tracks and opening night of the ten-show New Jersey homecoming run. Now, the stunning complement arrives, August 20, 1984, final night of the Brendan Byrne stand.

Featuring memorable guest appearances by Stevie Van Zandt and the Miami Horns, 8/20/84 is justifiably regarded as one of the best shows of the tour and earns a place on the short list of Bruce’s most celebrated shows of all time as much because of what it represented as the music performed. To understand why requires a bit of mental time travel.

For Springsteen fans, the wait between the final show of the River tour in September 1981 and the start of the Born In The U.S.A. tour in June 1984 felt like eternity. In 1982, we got Nebraska, though no tour, as well as Van Zandt’s Men Without Women, released that October. Stevie’s solo debut planted the seed that his future in the E Street Band was in doubt. With his second album, Voice of America (released but a month before Born in the U.S.A.), the question was answered; soon thereafter Nils Lofgren was announced as his replacement.

Today,18 years beyond the Reunion tour and Stevie’s full return to the band, one can forget how devastating his departure felt back then. Springsteen bid him an emotional farewell in song with “Bobby Jean,” as well as in the album credits to Born In The U.S.A. where he wrote, “Buon viaggio, mio fratello, Little Steven,” which translates roughly to, “Have a good trip, my brother.” Kleenex, please.

All of which leads us to the Meadowlands, summer 1984. Nils had earned his stripes over the tour’s first several weeks, gracefully and capably stepping into Stevie’s shoes Born in the U.S.A. occupied the No. 1 slot on the Billboard Top 200 album chart for the entire month of July. And Bruce and the band were rolling into New Jersey for an unprecedented ten shows. In a career of peaks, the summer of ‘84 was one of the highest.

The previously released first night, August 5, is an excellent show in its own right. But as Bruce acknowledges to start August 20, “Well, tonight’s the night.” He knew it. The audience knew it, too. From there, an alchemy of anticipation, occasion and celebration combine to yield an inspirational performance that showcases the best of the Born In The U.S.A. tour arena era, plus singular moments that still resonate to this day.

The first set, heard here in a muscular, guitar-forward mix from multi-tracks by Jon Altschiller, plays out with the confidence of a new line-up hitting its stride (like Nils, Patti was but a few weeks into the band as well). The powerful, electric version of Atlantic City” might well be definitive, with Max’s gut-punch kick drum leading the way. Also from Nebraska comes “Highway Patrolman”; listen for a rare turn on harmonica by Clarence Clemons. We also gain two BIUSA album tracks not featured on 8/5/84, “I’m Goin’ Down” and “Darlington County” (“Cover Me,” in the second set, is a third), plus two other set changes for the regulars: “Spirit In The Night,” setting a proper Jersey backdrop to the evening, and a powerful “Darkness On The Edge Of Town.” “I know a lot of you guys been here for more than one night,” Bruce concedes later in the show, “almost everybody.”

Springsteen begins the second set with a crowd-pleasing trio of “Hungry Heart,” “Dancing in the Dark” and “Cadillac Ranch” before dropping his first surprise of the evening. I can only imagine the anticipation people felt as microphone stands were set up behind Roy Bittan. It is genuinely thrilling to hear the Miami Horns (appearing with Bruce first time since 1977) once again blast the opening refrain of “Tenth Avenue Freeze-Out.” From that delirious high point, we slide to one of the tour’s poignant highlights, the solo acoustic “No Surrender.”

As evidenced by that transition, the show’s pacing–faithful to the core tour setlist, but brilliantly sprinkled with gems–is part of its charm. One senses both the confidence the band had gained playing new album songs over ten nights for hometown fans and Bruce’s desire to make it a night all of them would never forget by closing a very important loop.

The remainder of the second set finishes as strong as the first, with classic stories teeing up “Pink Cadillac” and “Growin’ Up,” along with a charged “Prove It All Night” before wrapping with “Rosalita.” The encore opens in fine fashion with “Jungleland” and then, the moment arrives. “Tonight’s a special night. Little Steven is gonna come up and play with us tonight.” As captured on tape, those words are met with a roar of pure audience elation.

Springsteen’s song choices for the occasion are spot-on. From his own canon, it could only be “Two Hearts,” performed for the first time on the tour. You can hear Stevie’s guitar join the mix as the song takes a few extra bars before locking in. When the pair share the mic at the start of the second verse, the cheer from the crowd bleeds through behind them. But “Two Hearts” merely set the table.

What follows is one of the best live moments in Springsteen’s entire career. The decision to cover “Drift Away” (written by Mentor Williams and made famous by Dobie Gray) is a masterstroke. “[We] learned something special for you tonight,” Bruce says, and shortly thereafter the song’s stately horn line begins and magic fills the arena.

Williams’ heartfelt lyrics, about seeking solace in music when you feel vulnerable, have always struck a chord, which is part of the song’s inherent greatness. Yet in the context of this night, with Van Zandt rejoining Springsteen on stage for the first time since leaving the band, “Drift Away” feels purpose written for these blood brothers, as they trade fitting line after fitting line.

Bruce takes the first verse, Stevie the second (the last line of which is particularly apropos, “Countin’ on you, to see me through”), and they share a memorable bridge:

Bruce: And when my mind is free, just a melody can soothe me

Stevie: Listen Brucie. When I’m feelin’ blue, guitars comin’ through to soothe me

Both: Thanks for the joy, the 20 years you’ve given me/ I believe in your song/ Rhythm and the rhyme and the harmony/ You help me along, making me strong

The emotion in their voices unmistakable. The arrangement then moves compellingly to the song’s denouement, as Bruce brings the band down and lets voices carry an extended chorus. The Big Man’s rich baritone, Patti’s harmonies, even La Bamba’s piercing falsetto all join in to bring the song to magnificent conclusion. The bond described in “Bobby Jean” comes full circle with this performance of “Drift Away.”

After Van Zandt exits, the encore rolls on in high spirits, and the horns come back one last time to enliven “Detroit Medley” and “Twist and Shout – Do You Love Me,” closing out an unforgettable night of rebirth and reunion. Reliving it in high-quality audio today is what the archival download series is all about.

^{By Erik Flannigan via Nugs.net.}

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I Believe In Your Song