Stan Goldstein was at what many considered to be one of the greatest Springsteen’s concerts of all time. He reminisces at NJ.Com. Here is a taste:
It was 38 songs, the most ever played at a show by Bruce and the E Street Band.
My memories of that night, even 30 years later, are still magical. I knew, even at my young age, this was one of those once in a lifetime experiences.
At Springsteen’s last New Year’s Eve show, Dec. 31, 1978, in Richfield, Ohio, someone threw a firecracker on stage and injured him. This was a big concern and Bruce definitely did not want a repeat.
So as he and the band zoomed toward the midnight hour, he made a request of the crowd.
“I’d just like to ask you one thing. If you came tonight, it’s New Year’s Eve, and if you brought any fireworks or anything, please don’t set ‘em off. Please keep ‘em in your pockets or bring ‘em back home. It’s so easy for somebody to get hurt. I think you guys can make enough noise without ‘em. When New Year’s comes, please don’t set off fireworks,” Bruce said
As we got closer to midnight, Bruce pulled out a song he had never played before.
“We’re digging them out of the pit now” he said. “All right, this is a song that is on the flip side of the single ‘Hungry Heart.’ This is called ‘Held Up Without a Gun.’”
Next up was “In the Midnight Hour” as we all counted down the minutes left in 1980.
As midnight hit and we welcomed in 1981, the houselights were turned on and fortunately no one threw any firecrackers. There was a celebration on stage with Bruce spraying champagne all over the front row.
A cool version of “Auld Lang Syne” (great sax by Clarence) followed and then it was “Rosalita.”
I remembered being disappointed, only because I knew that would be the last song before the encores. But there were still six songs to be played including “Jungleland.”
The show was over after 1 a.m. and all 15,000 people in the Nassau.
Here Springsteen that night performing Sherry Darling.
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