Bruce Springsteen lyrics -- Bruce Springsteen shows -- Bruce Springsteen records

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01-May-1973 Los Angeles,CA Ahmanson Theatre,USA

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01 Spirit in the night
02 Circus song
03 Tokyo
04 Thundercrack
05 Twist and shout

Notes:
Often incorrectly described as a "CBS Sales Convention" show (see listing on 27/7/73 for the actual CBS Convention) - this gig at the Ahmanson was in fact a normal public paid admission event. The format was unusual however. Organized and billed by CBS as "A Week To Remember" - 7 consecutive nightly shows, each show featuring 3 different CBS artists. Bruce and the band fly to L.A. on April 30th and stay at the LA Hilton. They fly back east on May 3rd. Springsteen performs at the 3rd show, on May 1st. They are the opening act of the evening and are followed by Dr Hook & The Medicine Show and then headliners, New Riders Of The Purple Sage. The 2000 seat venue is a sellout due to the two other acts - Bruce is virtually unknown to the LA audience. His performance receives mixed response at best from a crowd coming to see country rock stalwarts. Bruce plays piano on "Spirit In The Night". "Tokyo" is preceded by the long "Ducky Slatery Gas Station" monologue. At the conclusion of "Thundercrack" a giant Asbury Park Turnpike sign descends from the back of the stage - the only time this prop was ever utilized. "Twist And Shout" is performed as an encore. All 7 shows in the Ahmanson series were recorded by CBS and professionally filmed in colour by Arnold Levine Productions on behalf of CBS, whose intent was to show the performances at the CBS Sales Convention in July. This did indeed happen - Bruce's entire performance was shown several times at the Convention - but has never been shown anywhere since. The entire video definitely survives to this day - in CBS's archives. It has still yet to leak out to collectors. Very brief film snippets of "Circus Song" and "ThunderCrack" were used by CBS as part of a promo-only video clip put together by the company in late 1973 to promote the newly released "Wild & Innocent" LP. This promo spot video circulates among collectors (and indeed was shown in the VH1 Rockumentary). The very brief colour film snippet of Bruce performing "Spirit In The Night" on piano in the 1998 BBC Documentary "Bruce Springsteen - A Secret History" is from this show as well. The recording of "Circus Song" from this show is released by CBS on July 7, 1973 on the promotion-only 7" CBS Playback EP.

Songs from this show can be found on:
BORN TO RUN 30TH ANNIVERSARY (Official release)
CIRCUS SONG (PLAYBACK) (Official release)
BOUND FOR GLORY (Flamingo Records)
BEST IS YET TO COME (THE)
BOX O'ROCKS (HAR)
BY THE RIVER
GREAT WHITE BOSS (THE)
JERSEY DEVIL (HAR)
JERSEY DEVIL (HAR)
KING OF THE HALLEY
JERSEY DEVIL (copy/repress)

05-May-1973 Providence,RI Roger Williams College,USA

Unknown setlist
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Notes:
"Providence College". Bruce and the band headline the school's "Spring Carnival" concert.

06-May-1973 Amherst,MA Alumni Stadium,USA

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01 634-5789
02 Blinded by the light
03 Rosalita (Come out tonight)

Notes:
Partial setlist. Triple-bill, with Springsteen the show opener. Second on the bill was COLD BLOOD and the headliner was IT'S A BEAUTIFUL DAY. Springsteen was a very late replacement for THE ELVIN BISHOP GROUP, who cancelled the week before. This was an all-afternoon, outdoor extravaganza held in the University's expansive 30,000-seat Alumni Stadium as part of "Spring Carnival" week. The weather was unseasonably cool, overcast and blustery, so the attendance was only about 18,000 – still, it was the biggest venue and one of the largest audiences Bruce played during the 1970’s. All three bands played about 90-minute sets.
I gladly report this interesting witnessing by Eric:
"I was at this show. It was 3 days before my 21st birthday and a month before what would have been my University graduation had not my mother thrown away my full academic scholarship back in 70 when she saw me on nightly TV news protesting in front of the Amherst Savings Bank for having investments in DOW CHEMICAL CORP. Dow made agent Orange and that chemical caused damage to my brother in Vietnam. I don't remember Cold Blood's set or It's A Beautiful Day ( I know they played White Bird or they wouldn't have been allowed to leave) .I didn't write down the set list. I had hardly heard of Bruce before this show. I remember Rosalita and Blinded by the Light and I was impressed enough to go out and search for Greetings from Asbury Park the next day and have been a fan of the Boss ever since. "

11-May-1973 Columbus,OH State University,USA

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01 Wild Billy's circus story
02 Spirit in the night
03 Thundercrack

Notes:
Partial setlist.
One show with Bruce and the boys opening for headliner RICHIE HAVENS. Held inside the fairly large Veterans Memorial Auditorium. There were more than a few empty seats at this concert, according to reports. Given Bruce was the gig opener this is likely to have been a 60-75 minute performance.
Steven, a lucky attendee, let me know:
I was at the 1973 concert, Richie Havens in concert with Bruce Springsteen at Veterans Memorial Auditorium.

I was attending The Ohio State University. My roommate's brother was a prop master in Hollywood and called us and said that we have to go see this new guy, he is the next Bob Dylan. Being Dylan junkies, six of us attended the concert. Half of the down stairs in the auditorium was filled, thats all. Bruce was phenomenal we were on our feet the entire concert. I have been to 30-40 Bruce concerts and that is still one of my favorites. It was a grand party on stage. I remember the Circus song, Spirit in the Night and Thundercrack. I remember that there was an article in the OSU newspaper, the "Ohio Lantern". I wish that I keep it.



12-May-1973 Lewiston,NY Niagara University,USA

Unknown setlist
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Notes:
One 5-hr quadruple billing outdoor extravaganza, with Springsteen headlining. Support acts (in order of appearance) were acoustic guitarist ALAN BRAWER, county-rock band OLD SALT and singer-songwriter JIMMY SPHEERIS (who would open for Bruce at Liberty Hall in Houston in 74). This was a free concert, subsidized by the University, celebrating the closing of the school for summer recess. A "Twilight" show, held behind the East Gym, with the three undercard acts playing 40 - 70 minute sets and Bruce and the boys finishing under the stars with a 100-minute show. A "by demand" return engagement following Bruce's memorable 24-Mar-73 gig at Niagara seven weeks earlier.

16-May-1973 Mankato, MN State University,USA

 - This show was NOT PLAYED

Unknown setlist
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Notes:
CANCELLED Springsteen performance (due to last-minute studio session commitments), never re-scheduled - although this multi-artist, all-day Spring Carnival festival went ahead as planned without the 2nd billed Springsteen.

24-May-1973 Washington,DC Childe Harold,USA

Unknown setlist
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Notes:
Uncertain show. These three shows are listed as 5/26 - 5/28 by some sources. ONE show, with Springsteen the sole act on the bill. A 2hr performance that involved three 40-minute sets with an intermission between each. A large contingent of longtime Springsteen fans from nearby Richmond came to these shows, catching Childe Harold's management completely by surprise. According to club owner Bill Timberlake there were lines two blocks long each night and he had to go outside and tell people there was no room to fit them. These three shows at Childe Harold are believed to have included the unofficial debut of David Sancious in the band, a situation seemingly corroborated by critic Bob Gould's description of the Childe Harold line-up, which he describes as including both a piano player and an organ player (not including Bruce). Sancious is also believed to have performed at a couple of the gigs during the Chicago mini-tour that followed. Sancious made his "formal" debut on 22/6/73.

25-May-1973 Washington,DC Childe Harold,USA

Unknown setlist
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Notes:
Uncertain show. These three shows are listed as 5/26 - 5/28 by some sources. ONE show, double bill, with Springsteen headlining. Opening act for this show was LIZ MEYER (who didn't play on opening night). A 2hr performance by Bruce that involved three 40-minute sets with an intermission between each.

26-May-1973 Washington,DC Childe Harold,USA

Unknown setlist
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Notes:
ONE show, double bill, with Springsteen headlining. Opening act for this show was LIZ MEYER (who didn't play on opening night). A 2hr performance by Bruce that involved three 40-minute sets with an intermission between each.

27-May-1973 Washington,DC Childe Harold,USA

Unknown setlist
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Notes:
Uncertain show. These three shows are listed as 5/24 - 5/26 by some sources.

28-May-1973 Washington,DC Childe Harold,USA

Unknown setlist
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Notes:
Uncertain show. These three shows are listed as 5/24 - 5/26 by some sources.

30-May-1973 Fayetteville,NC Cumberland County Civic Centre,USA

Unknown setlist
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Notes:
45 minute set. Bruce and the band are opening act for headliners, Chicago

31-May-1973 Richmond,VA Radio Station WGOE-FM,USA

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01 Satin doll
02 Does this bus stop at 82nd street?
03 Wild Billy's circus story
04 Growin' up
05 New York City serenade
06 You mean so much to me

Notes:
Bruce’s 2nd known acoustic radio show – but this one is somewhat unique because the session took place at Richmond’s Alpha Sound Studios and was broadcast live by WGOE-FM live via a remote link. Tiny WGOE didn’t have the facilities to record the band so it rented the Alpha studio. In addition to WGOE-FM’s DJ, the small audience heard inside the studio includes Mike Appel, Jim Cretecos, David Sancious and Albee Tellone. After the show Mike Appel took possession of the Master Tape, so none of the performance was ever re-broadcast by the station. The above-mentioned 6-song setlist is the complete performance. No other material was recorded. Fortunately one fan had the foresight to tape the entire 35-minute (including between song chat/tuning) show from their radio, although the result was only fair sound quality. Perhaps due to its weak quality this audio, which has been around since the mid 1970’s but has always been in limited circulation, has never appeared on any mainstream bootleg. The exception was “You Mean So Much To Me”, which was culled from the tape and placed on the 1976 vinyl LP boot “RESURRECTED” – in poor sound quality. This later appeared in reasonable quality on the CD “RADIO WAVES” (Great Dane). The entire fan-recorded version is now available on a custom CDR boot entitled “STRICTLY PROHIBITED”. A professionally made, outstanding sound quality copy of the original master tape of the entire show is in ultra limited collector circulation. The recording of "You Mean So Much To Me" that appeared on the 1998 boot "DEEP DOWN IN THE VAULTS” (E Street)" and in 1999 on “MISSING TRACKS, VOL ONE” (Thrill Hill) is, in fact, from this copy of the master tape.

Songs from this show can be found on:
DEEP DOWN IN THE VAULTS (E Street Records)
ON THE ROAD NIGHT 1973 (Crystal Cat)
RADIO WAVES (Great Dane Records)
RESURRECTED (Lonely records)
SHADES OF A BIG LAND (September songs)
WHO' S BEEN COVERED BY THE BOSS (JOUR discs)
BOSTON SERENADE (Alternative Edge Productions) (copy/repress)

31-May-1973 Richmond,VA Coliseum,USA

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01 Santa Ana
02 Secret to the blues
03 Tokyo
04 Thundercrack

Notes:
Partial setlist. Opened for Chicago.



Last computed : 22/02/2025 16:20:26