The Mighty 97 Rock

The 30th Anniversary of

Bruce Springsteen and The E Street Band

May 23, 1978 at Shea's Buffalo Theatre

 Bruce Springsteen's 1978 tour of the U.S. is regarded by many fans and critics as his best.  On the road to support the Darkness on the Edge of Town album, Springsteen and the E Street Band stormed back and forth across the country in what became a seven month tour of legendary shows.

While the setlist evolved and varied as the tour progressed, it centered on the Darkness album, which was Springsteen's follow up to Born To Run and first in three years following a legal battle with his previous manager.

The tour opened on May 23rd in Buffalo at the Shea's Theatre despite the fact the new album would not be released for another ten days.  The sell-out crowd could sense that Springsteen and his band were ready to own the summer of '78, and the Buffalo opener would mark the start of one of rock's most historic concert tours.  

The Setlist: Bruce Springsteen and The E Street Band at Shea's- May 23, 1978

Below is the review of the concert by Dale Anderson as it appeared the following day in the Buffalo Evening News.

Bruce Springsteen and his E Street Band revved up their engines in sold-out Shea's Buffalo Tuesday night for the start of a U.S. tour.  When they finished the first lap three hours and three encores later, it was clear that this powerhouse had everything it needed to go 80 dates in 70 cities.  And then some.

Running on a mixture of old favorites and songs off his soon-to-be-released fourth album, "Darkness on the Edge of Town," Springsteen overcame a badly calibrated sound system and roared into a finale that almost refused to end.

The first encore was a tinkly new number, "The Promise," which backed into that hit-the-highways anthem, "Born To Run."  The second encore was a glorious "Tenth Avenue Freeze-Out," which raised virtually everyone to their feet.

When the house lights came up, the cheering, clapping crowd ignored them.  The noise continued until the lights dimmed again several minutes later and the band bounced back for one more- the Philip Upchurch raver from 1961, "You Can't Sit Down."

The evening that didn't want to quit started off with Springsteen screaming right up to the redline on a new song, "Badlands."  He went to the top of his lungs again in the next number, bawled a wordless cry over a stately beat, then broke into a frenzy of "For You."

The pace couldn't go on forever.  Or could it?  The insistent "Thunder Road" was next.

Springsteen darted about the stage as energetically as he sang, doing embraced duets with guirarist Miami Steve Van Zandt, racing onto the raised orchestra pit with saxophonist Clarence Clemons and venturing up an aisle during "Spirits in the Night."  He nearly got mobbed.

The ensemble dressed the way they played-sharp.  Springsteen wore a three-piece black suite, shirt open under the vest.  Clemons' suit was white, set off by a shirt of El Dorado green.  Even drummer Max Weinberg wore a vest for the first half of the evening.

The sound, however, was far from impeccable.  Technicians scampered out with monitor speakers for Springsteen early in the show.  Needles of feedback haunted him until intermission.  Meanwhile, the instruments were muddy in midrange and at first were hideously distorted.

Four unfamiliar new songs slackened the mood prior to intermission.  Spingsteen, having built his reputation on streaming, street-wise poetry over '60s rhythms and phrasings, builds it into workingman's dreams in his fresh material, numbers with titles like "Racing in the Streets" and "Promised Land."

Part two opened by catching the youngish audience off guard with a couple oldies they didn't recognize- a vinatage saxaphone rock instrumental and Elve Presley's "Fire."  Springsteen has a thing about Presley.

The second half was laced with extended insturmentals, Springsteen proving his worth on guitar before finally clearing the decks with the beloved "Backstreets" and "Rosalita."

At one point a hand-painted Exxon sign was unfurled from the front of the balcony.  Springsteen was pleasantly taken aback, the song it referred to-"Jungleland"-was not in the opening-night scheme.

Despite periodic shortcomings in audio quality and pacing, this first outing found the Asbury Park, N.J. heroes with horsepower to spare.  All they need is a little fine tuning.  By the time they get to Boston for Memorial Day, they ought to be unbeatable.

NOTES:  Anderson refers to "Fire" as a song by Elvis Presley.  It was a Springsteen original that at the time of the 1978 concert was fairly unfamiliar outside of a version that Robert Gordon had recorded.  And the instrumental noted to open the second set was "Paradise By the C," an unreleased track that later appeared on Springteen's "Live 1975-85" album.  "Paradise By the C" and all of the "Darkness" material were basically making their live debuts.