THE WILD, THE INNOCENT & THE E STREET SHUFFLE Tour 1974

ONE show, 12AM (Midnight, so technically speaking it was on the 27th), with Springsteen & The E Street Band the sole act on the bill. Held in the school’s sold-out Alumnae Hall on the Pembroke campus as part of Spring Carnival. There was no delay to the start of the show, as it had always been planned for midnight – a weird starting time given that Bruce was the only act on the bill. By all accounts a highly energized 1¾ hr performance that saw Bruce running amuck in the audience at one point and then undertake his James Brown-influenced “fainting-revival by the band” skit during the final song. The show included an early rendition of “Boom Boom”, although the tune may have actually formed part of the “Rosalita-Shotgun” combination. THERE IS NO CIRCULATING AUDIO FROM THIS SHOW.

The above-mentioned setlist details (probably complete and in the correct sequence) are garnered from two fine reviews of the show, one by journalist Ty Davis in the Providence Journal and the other by student reporter J. Garrett Andrews in the Brown Herald. Andrews, who hailed from the Asbury Park area, procured a backstage interview with Bruce immediately following the show that was published in the school newspaper the following week. During this 2:00AM interview it’s noted that Bruce has a daytime gig in Connecticut coming up in just 11 hrs (1PM) and then an early evening (7PM) gig at another location right after it. Interestingly, this show did not include any (at that time) unissued Springsteen compositions (i.e. ‘Thundercrack”, “Zero”, “You Mean So Much To Me”, etc), a point not unnoticed by reporter Andrews, who queried Bruce on the matter. Bruce’s responds by stating the show setlist is in a transitional stage - he’s just written some new songs that he’s about to start incorporating into upcoming shows. It’s likely that Bruce was referring here to the new compositions he performed two weeks later at the Harvard Square Theatre.

NEW YORK CITY SERENADE / SPIRIT IN THE NIGHT / IT’S HARD TO BE A SAINT IN THE CITY / THE E STREET SHUFFLE / GROWIN’ UP / SANDY / KITTY’S BACK / FOR YOU / ROSALITA – SHOTGUN / BOOM BOOM / TWIST AND SHOUT

Article written by J. Garrett Andrews and courtesy of Fresh Fruit / Brown Daily Herald

THE BAND

Bruce Springsteen (vocals, electric guitar), 

Garry Tallent (bass), 

Clarence Clemons (saxophone),  

Danny Federici (keyboards, accordion),

David Sancious (keyboards),  

Ernest "Boom" Carter (drums)

Bruce Springsteen - Kitty's Back 1974 - rare version live

BRUCE SPRINGSTEEN - The Wild, The Innocent & The E Street Shuffle (FULL ALBUM)