Story 2012-08-29 Vernon Downs Raceway, Vernon, NY
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Intro to “Out in the Street”
“Vernon Downs! (crowd cheers) what a beautiful night – Jesus (crowd cheers) gorgeous – we’re off to the races! (crowd cheers) (Curt Ramm plays “Call to the Post”)…”

Intro to “It’s Hard to Be a Saint in the City”
“Steve!…let me see that sign…the one down the very end…yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah…”

Intro to “Stand on It”
“What else we got out there? let me see…oh!…right, right, right, right…we’ll get to that one later – this is an unusual (?)…first time on this tour! (crowd cheers) never played before…in honor of the race track!…give me my guitar…I think we’re in the key of D, boys …that’s it…”

Intro to “My City of Ruins”
“Good evening, good evening, good evening (crowd cheers) how we doing on this beautiful night? (crowd cheers) woo, alright, let me see you out there (crowd cheers) oh nice…oh yeah…how we doing over there? (crowd cheers) the E Street Band is glad to be here in Vernon Downs tonight (crowd cheers) I don’t think we’ve ever been here before (chuckles) we’re here tonight with some old faces and some new faces and I like to look out into the crowd and see some old faces…and I see a lot of new faces…who’s never seen the E Street Band before? never seen us? (some cheers) oh my God… that’s a lot (chuckles) alright…alright…this is a song about, uh… living with ghosts and how as we get older, that’s a part of the art of living…is how you live with all your ghosts…when you’re a child, they teach you that ghosts are frightening or scary but as you get older, you’re glad to have them walking alongside of you ‘cause they remind you of the preciousness of life, of the value of time… let’s not waste this time (crowd cheers) of the beauty of living…and all of its joy and pain…so this is only a part of the E Street Band… so we’re gonna do this tonight for our ghosts and for your ghosts… here we go…Max!…”

Middle of “My City of Ruins”
“That’s Clark Gayton, Barry Danielian, Curt Ramm, Ed Manion and Jake Clemons of the E Street horns (crowd cheers)…take me higher …take me higher…oh, that’s Everett Bradley, Curtis King, Cindy Mizelle and Michelle Moore of the E Street Choir (crowd cheers) yes, yes… come on, Max!…(?)…roll call!…I wanna know who’s in the house tonight (crowd cheers) I said I wanna know who’s in the house tonight now (crowd cheers) oh, I wanna know who’s in the house tonight (crowd cheers) yeah, I wanna know who’s in the house tonight now - let me see! (crowd cheers) oh, Professor Roy Bittan’s in the house (Roy plays) Charlie Giordano’s in the house (Charlie plays)(crowd cheers) Sister Soozie Tyrell (crowd cheers)(Soozie plays violin) Nils Lofgren’s in the house! (crowd cheers)(Nils plays) and Patti Scialfa sends her love! (crowd cheers) she’s on tour with our daughter, we got a two-touring-family now so let’s hear it for Miss Patti! (crowd cheers) Little Steven’s in the house! (crowd cheers)(Steve plays) and the Mighty Max Weinberg! (crowd cheers)(Max drums) yeah, yeah, oh yeah now…Mr. Garry W. Tallent (crowd cheers)(Garry plays) oh yeah now…oh what a night now, oh what a night…oh what a night now, oh what a night…we used to have this little ritual where every end of summer, beginning of the fall I’d get all our old pals out on the beach and swim out in the ocean…then, you know, every year you go out now, there’s a few less people swimming along…are we missing anybody? (crowd cheers) are we missing anybody tonight now? (crowd cheers) are you missing anybody? (crowd cheers) hey!…are you missing anybody tonight now? (crowd cheers) are we missing anybody? (crowd cheers) are we missing anybody tonight now? (crowd cheers) oh, are we missing anybody? (crowd cheers) are you missing anybody tonight now? (crowd cheers) well, come on, let me hear them in your voices (crowd cheers)…”

Intro to “The E Street Shuffle”
“Take you back now to where some of those ghosts are…”

Intro to “Frankie”
“Let me see what else we got out there?…oh, let me see…I don’t think we know that one…I don’t know (?)…did that one the other night, let me see…alright, give me that one, kid…that thing swings, that don’t swing…let me see what you…oh, you wanna hear that one…(?)…alright, that’s a tough one but I’m gonna ask (?)…Ciccio and Ciccio are alive, Steve, they’re here, they’re here, “Free beer” – I’ll come back for that later…give me that one right there, that’s a good looking sign, alright…alright, what do you got…(?)…what, what? hey, hey! (chuckles) alright, alright, you made it, see, you made it (?)…alright, I got another one for you…(?) we have some, some summer music…oh yeah…oh yeah…okay…we’ll get to that one …this is a good summer song (crowd cheers) this was a song I think I originally wrote this was an outtake (?) “Darkness on the Edge of Town,” it didn’t get on that one, it didn’t get on “River” and should have got on somewhere…sorry about that…we won’t have time (?)…”

Middle of “Frankie”
“We had a big field across the street from my house and we’d sit out there in the twilight and we’d wait for the first, first fireflies… and we’d wait till that field was full…of thousands of fireflies in the night…won’t you get out your phones? let me see some fireflies…let me see those fireflies…there you go (crowd uses their phones to create “fireflies”) here they come, here they come, here they come …(?) alright, that’s nice (chuckles) yeah…yeah…Walk softly tonight …”

Intro to “Open All Night”
“Come on, Vernon Downs, Professor, do that thing (Roy starts playing) that’s right, kid…alright, get right now…go ahead, Roy…”

Middle of “Backstreets”
“Till the end…till the end…till the end…just me and you, baby…just me and you, darling…just me and you, baby…till the end…dream, baby…come on and dream, baby…dream, baby…come on and dream, baby…I just wanna see you smile…I just wanna see you smile…I just wanna see you smile…I just wanna see you smile…(?) …come and dry your eyes…dream, baby, dream, baby, dream, baby, dream, baby, dream, baby, dream, baby…(?)…dream, baby, dream, baby, dream, baby…”

Intro to “Thunder Road”
“Thank you, Vernon Downs! (crowd cheers) thank you for coming out tonight on this beautiful end-of-summer night, oh man, we got a good one…doesn’t get any better than this, man, oh, temperature’s perfect, perfect for rock and roll (crowd cheers) so good, so sweet, thank you, you’re a wonderful crowd, this is we got some friends in the house, if you see them tonight, from the Foodbank of Central New York, as you know, thousands of people, particularly in these times, are depending on grassroots’ organizations here in Central and Northern New York, almost half of whom are kids, Foodbank of Central New York is the main emergency food source to the hungry in eleven Central New York counties, tough, tough times out there, if you see the Foodbank of Central New York, they’re out in your neighborhood fighting a good fight, please give them a hand, alright (crowd cheers) happy end of summer, here we go!…”

Intro to “Dancing in the Dark”
“Put on your dancing shoes! (crowd cheers)…”

Intro to “Quarter to Three”
“Yeah, yeah, yeah! (crowd cheers) we got one more left in us, man! (crowd cheers) alright, I’m gonna do this one for the fans that have been following us year after year after year after year after year after year after year (crowd cheers) we go back, you guys are just here night after night after night, we see the same faces, we appreciate your commitment and dedication, we thank you all for coming out tonight, what a beautiful night! (crowd cheers) oh!… this is a good spot, alright…we used to do this, this was, we used to end the show with this back in the day, that’s right (chuckles) alright, singers, do you have it down?…(laughs) here we go…a-one, a-two – oh, I need slap, slap, slap, slap, Monte…(intro singing starts) we’re gonna move this thing till quarter to three…”

Middle of “Twist and Shout”
“Twist, little girl…with the glasses on…twist a little closer…you’re turning me on…
(…) Do you have anything left? (crowd cheers) I can’t hear you! (crowd cheers) I can’t hear you! (crowd cheers) I can’t hear you! (crowd cheers)…”

Aafter “Twist and Shout”
“Thanks for an incredible night, we love you! (crowd cheers) thank you (crowd cheers) have a wonderful end of summer, thank you, thanks for a beautiful night (crowd cheers) yeah (crowd cheers)…”

Compiled by : Johanna Pirttijärvi.
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