Springsteen archive series returns to the Capitol Theatre for 9/19/78 show

The cover of Bruce Springsteen’s live recording of his Sept. 19, 1978 concert at the Capitol Theatre in Passaic.

Having already released his Sept. 20, 1978 concert at the Capitol Theatre in Passaic in his archive series, in 2017, Springsteen is now officially releasing the music from his even more legendary Sept. 19, 1978 concert there.

Sept. 20 was Night Two of a three-night stand that was part of the Darkness on the Edge of Town Tour. Night One, on Sept. 19, was broadcast live on WNEW-FM in New York and other radio stations, and has been widely bootlegged.

I interviewed John Scher, who owned the theater and promoted the shows, for Backstreets in 2015 (read the complete interview here). He noted that, at that time, that Springsteen was playing arenas in some markets, but there was no arena in New Jersey, since the Brendan Byrne Arena in East Rutherford had not opened yet.

He said one of the aspects of the shows was “Bruce and, to a lesser degree, me and my staff, thumbing our nose at New York. Here’s one of the biggest acts in the world, and he hasn’t forgotten home. So that was amazing.”

Here is the show’s setlist

“Badlands”
“Streets of Fire”
“Spirit in the Night”
“Darkness on the Edge of Town”
“Independence Day”
“The Promised Land”
“Prove It All Night”
“Racing in the Street”
“Thunder Road”
“Meeting Across the River” (see video below)
“Jungleland”
“Kitty’s Back”
“Fire”
“Candy’s Room”
“Because the Night”
“Point Blank”
“Not Fade Away”/”She’s the One”
“Backstreets”
“Rosalita (Come Out Tonight)”
“4th of July, Asbury Park (Sandy)”
“Born to Run”
“Tenth Avenue Freeze-out”
“Detroit Medley”
“Raise Your Hand”

Downloads are currently available, and CDs can be ordered. Visit live.brucespringsteen.net.