Max Weinberg discusses ‘mindblowing’ Springsteen clips at Monmouth University

Max Weinberg talked about clips from Bruce Springsteen’s vault at Monmouth University in West Long Branch, Sept. 28.

“This is a mindblower for me,” said Max Weinberg after he watched a clip of Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band covering Chuck Berry’s “Carol” at The Monmouth Arts Center (now The Count Basie Center for the Arts) in Red Bank in 1975. “I could watch this all night long.”

Just like the members of the capacity crowd for “Springsteen On Screen: From the Vault With Thom Zimny and Max Weinberg” — an event that took place at The Pollak Theatre at Monmouth University in West Long Branch, Sept. 28 — Weinberg had never seen this clip before. He had not seen the six other clips in the show, either. These included excerpts from the band’s legendary stand at the Bottom Line nightclub in New York in 1975; studio (“Jungleland”!) and rehearsal footage; and a glimpse of the band in its stadium-filling, Born in the USA Era glory.

Once the new, $45 million building for Monmouth University’s Bruce Springsteen Archives & Center for American University opens in 2026, screenings like this one will happen “pretty regularly,” said Archives executive director Bob Santelli, at the start of the evening.

Zimny — who has worked on so many Springsteen film and video projects over the last 24 years that “he is in The E Street Band,” Weinberg told the crowd — introduced the clips and talked about them with Weinberg, who has an amazing memory, and lots of stories to tell. “Everything I say reminds me of another story,” he said.

The event lasted for about two and a half hours, including a question-and-answer session at the end, and no cellphones were allowed, so you shouldn’t see any footage popping up on social media today.

These were the seven clips that were shown:

1. “Then She Kissed Me” (The Crystals cover) from concert at The Bottom Line in New York, 1975.
2. “Jungleland” (recording studio footage), 1975
3. “When You Dance” (song co-written by Springsteen and Steven Van Zandt and later recorded by Southside Johnny & the Asbury Jukes, rehearsal footage from Springsteen’s home in Holmdel), 1976
4. “Raise Your Hand” (Eddie Floyd cover, rehearsal footage from Springsteen’s home in Holmdel), 1976
5. “Cadillac Ranch” from concert at Slane Castle in Ireland, 1985
6. “Carol” (Chuck Berry cover) from concert at Monmouth Arts Center in Red Bank, 1976
7. “Rosalita (Come Out Tonight)” from concert at The Bottom Line in New York, 1975

This is holy grail stuff for Springsteen fans, who were able to see how close to each other band members stood at The Bottom Line, and how Springsteen danced on a table during “Rosalita”; the larger-scale antics that the band had progressed to, by 1985; the intense but also slightly dreamy look in Springsteen’s eyes as he tried to perfect his vocals on “Jungleland” (the footage shown was not the final take); and how much fun the band had, and how hard they worked, during rehearsals.

“We rehearsed as hard as when we played in concert … it was always maximum output, all the time, every day,” Weinberg said. He also remembered it being “hot as hell” in that rehearsal room, which didn’t have air conditioning, prompting Springsteen to go shirtless.

As Weinberg discussed, Springsteen did not like being filmed in those days. At the end of the “Jungleland” footage, Springsteen is seen firmly telling friend-of-the-band Barry Rebo that he needed to stop filming. Immediately. “Barry, you can’t do this, while I’m doing this,” he says, with an icy stare.

Some clips were chosen because Weinberg’s contributions to them were particularly strong. On “Then She Kissed Me,” for instance, he could be seen clearly as Springsteen sang, and the way he accentuated Springsteen’s vocals came across very well. And he was given some spotlight moments at the beginning and in the middle of “Cadillac Ranch.”

“Rosalita” included band introductions, during which Springsteen teased Weinberg (who had been in the band for only eight months at the time). “He’s gettin’ there,” Springsteen tells the audience.

One of the highlights of the question-and-answer session was when Weinberg talked about the brilliance of prior E Street Band drummers Vini Lopez and Ernest “Boom” Carter, and how their contributions have influenced his own playing.

A similar event, though with a different set of 10 clips, took place at The Paramount Theatre in Asbury Park in 2019, as part of the Asbury Park Music and Film Festival. And I’m assuming that these 17 clips, together, represent only the tip of the iceberg, in terms of vault footage that could be shown or released, in some form, some day.

“Springsteen On Screen: From the Vault With Thom Zimny and Max Weinberg” itself was, of course, filmed by the Archives. So now Weinberg’s memories and reflections, in this form, can become part of it, too.