03-Mar-1972 Metuchen,NJ Saint Joseph High School,USA
Unknown setlist If you know or remember something about this show, please write me at contrib@brucespringsteen.it . Your help is important!!
Notes: ONE show, with THE BRUCE SPRINGSTEEN BAND the sole act on the bill. Tickets and promotional material for this dance stated “Saint Joseph’s presents a mixer, featuring Bruce Springsteen”. Although this billing moniker hints at a solo performance, senior faculty at Saint Joeseph’s (including one of the event monitors) have confirmed to BRUCEBASE that Springsteen performed the entire show with his band.
Notes: ONE show, quadruple bill, with THE BRUCE SPRINGSTEEN BAND opening the evening’s festivities for BANG, THE MIKE QUATRO JAM BAND and MITCH RYDER & DETROIT. This was a festival-styled show, with each act allocated equal 80 – 90 minute time slots. Although Mitch Ryder was top-billed it was electronic space music favorite Mike Quatro (70’s rocker Suzi Quatro’s brother) who performed last. In an attempt to minimize the 6,500-seat Richmond Arena’s notorious echo problems the show’s promoter made changes to the venue’s interior for this event. The revamped 4,500-seat layout was intended to attract audiophiles, however ticket sales were weak. An article in the following day’s paper noted a turnout of not much more than 1,000. A review of the show in the paper briefly mentions Springsteen and notes the wide variety of styles performed in his set as compared to the Steel Mill era. The audio evidence certainly confirms this assessment.
The above-mentioned 8-song setlist (in its probable performing sequence) is culled from 75 minutes of soundboard audio of reasonable (but not great) quality. This may not be the entire performance but it is certainly most of it. This audio has been in circulation since the early 1980’s, although (excepting one track) it has never appeared on any mainstream bootleg. For many years this audio was attributed to a Steel Mill gig in Richmond in November 1970. However this is definitely not Steel Mill, as Robbin Thompson is not present, both Springsteen and Van Zandt are sharing lead-rhythm guitar duties, David Sancious is on keyboards and, lastly, one of the covers played (“Mountain Jam”) was not even released until January 1972.
Springsteen plays piano on both “Cherokee Queen” and “Look Toward The Land” (with Sancious handling the organ). This performance of the commercial-sounding “Cherokee Queen” (the only live rendition known) was pressed on acetate as a publishing demo later in 1972. “Look Toward The Land” is a more polished performance than other known renditions from 1971. During “Not Fade Away-Bo Diddley” a brief snatch of The Allman Brothers “Yes There Is A Mountain” segment from “Mountain Jam” is performed. We are then treated to an inspiring “Mountain Jam – When You Dance”. Unfortunately both the opening few minutes and closing couple of minutes of this performance are cut and not circulating complete. Although this was a small crowd, it’s clear that some hardcore Springsteen fanatics are present at this show. For the first encore voices can be heard near the front of the stage screaming for “Resurrection” (a song Bruce stopped playing when Steel Mill folded). Bruce doesn’t oblige, but instead delivers “Goin’ Back To Georgia” – itself rarely played by the BSB lineup. Bruce performs a unique condensed arrangement, without any band harmony vocals. Springsteen closes the show with Dylan’s “Baby Blue”, in a very similar arrangement of the song to that performed at Richmond’s Back Door Club a few weeks earlier.
18-Mar-1972 Hampden Sydney,VA Hampden Sydney College,USA
Unknown setlist If you know or remember something about this show, please write me at contrib@brucespringsteen.it . Your help is important!!
Notes: ONE show, with THE BRUCE SPRINGSTEEN BAND the sole act on the bill. This gig was mentioned in both a pre-concert article and a letter-to-the-editor in the school’s newspaper during the lead up to Springsteen’s 28/09/73 concert appearance at the school.
