18.08.78 Philadelphia, PA, intro to ‘Summertime Blues’:
”How’s your summer been, huh ?.....”
18.08.78 Philadelphia, PA, intro to ‘Darkness on the Edge of Town’:
”We’re gonna be playing all night long so you guys oughta.....sit
back and find your seats and stuff.....(?) we’re gonna be playing for
a long time so.....oh man.....this is uh.....we got a new album out, I guess
it’s been out, I guess it ain´t new no more, sort of semi-new.....(?)....it’s
called uh.....it’s for anybody who had to drive thru the darkness on the
edge of town.....”
18.08.78 Philadelphia, PA, intro to ‘Factory’:
”Thanks....this is uh.....I grew up in this town.....about 10,000 people....a
town called Freehold, New Jersey (cheers)......and uh.....it’s funny because.....like
when you come in the town, it says ‘Welcome to historic.....Freehold,
New Jersey’, you know....and.... I was driving thru the middle of town
today and I couldn’t figure out, it had...... bus-tour of the American
Hotel.....this is a hotel that like.....when I was a kid, I remember ....it
was the only place in town that had a menu....stuck to the window outside....and
like....I never went in the place that had a menu outside till I was about 20
years old ....see, the hamburger was always more than like, you know....it was
about 3.95 (chuckles).....anyway, my old man, he uh....he worked in a factory
there for a long time and his father did (cheers).....and uh.....I remember
when I was growing up, it made him real mean but anyway.....I wrote this song
for him.....”
18.08.78 Philadelphia, PA, intro to ‘Racing in the Street’:
”I took a drive down to Asbury Park (?)(cheers)....are you guys sure you
been to Asbury Park ? (cheers).....(?)(chuckles).....alright.....anyway....there´s
this avenue, it’s Kingsley and Ocean Avenue and they form this oval....and....Fridays
and Saturdays, people are burning, burning about half the gas in the United
States there.....here’s a song for me and my.....partner in the passanger
seat, we’re racing in the streets.....”
18.08.78 Philadelphia, PA, intro to ‘Thunder Road’:
”Summer.....last summer me and Steve and some friends of ours, we.....drove
from Salt Lake City down to Reno, Nevada.....taking some pictures and (?) the
album cover.....we were out in the desert someplace.....and we came.....just
off the side of the highway, this indian had built this house.....he had sculpt
it out of stuff that he’d scavaged off the desert.....and uh....out on
front he had a sign, he had a picture of Geronimo with over......on top , it
said ‘Landlord’.....and then he had, uh.....he had a big white sign
(?) painted in red.....it said that ‘This is the land of peace, justice
and no mercy’....at the bottom, it pointed down this dirt road, said ‘Thunder
Road’.....”
18.08.78 Philadelphia, PA, intro to ‘Paradise by the C’:
”Alright....Philadelphia.....round two....in this corner......master of
disaster.....
weighing 260 pounds.....do I have to say his name ?.....”
18.08.78 Philadelphia, PA, intro to ‘The Fever’:
”Here´s a Philadelphia special.....”
18.08.78 Philadelphia, PA, intro to ‘Sherry Darling’:
”Now, we’re gonna play some summertime songs....there ain’t
that much.....(?) summer to go, I guess.....but this is a song.....that I wrote,
the.....beginning of the summer before this one, it’s called ‘Sherry
Darling’, the kinda song , it is....it’s like in the early 60’s......there
was this, uh.....kinda music called Fraternity Rock.....and that was like, if
you ever went to a fraternity party in the early 60’s, like I used to
play at ‘em.....like they used to ask you like, used to have to play ‘Louie
Louie’ by the Kingsmen.....’Farmer John’ by the Premiers.....and
the, the premiere for....Fraternity.... Rock......(?) Fraternity Rock of all
time is called ‘Double Shot of My Baby’s Love’ by the Swinging
Medallions (cheers).....now, let’s hear it for that one, huh (cheers)....(?)
(chuckles).....anyway....(?) ‘It wasn’t the wine I had too much
of, was the double shot of my baby’s love’....but on this song.....thing
about the Fraternity Rock records was on the records.....the audience was twice
as loud as the band so (cheers)....this is an audience participation number,
what we need is some very drunk party noises (cheers)....’
18.08.78 Philadelphia, PA, intro to ‘Growin’Up’:
‘‘I remember.....that....oh.....I was 13 years old when I first
found out....it was after a series.....of scientific experimentation......and
deep soul searching....on my part....that I came to learn....on my 13th birthday.....at
the first full moon.....that I....was a teenage wearwolf (cheers)....I remember
the first time.....I went to school that way....I freaked out....rolled over
on the aisle....ran inside, sat down, took out my rhytmatic book, ate it and
pissed in my desk. (cheers)....the sisters then told my mother.....that I needed
psychiatric attention (cheers)....so my mother took me downtown....to this doctor....I
remember I went in....sat on the couch and he said ‘Son....when did you
first.....start acting this way ?’.....I said ‘Doc.....Doc, I’m
glad you asked me that question.....because I can remember just when it was....it
was one night....when I came home too early.....in my house if I came home too
early, my father used to make me go out again and come back in later (cheers).....so
I got thrown out of the house.....I hitchhiked 20 miles to the beach.....and
I was standing on the boardwalk......in front of (?), looked up....saw these
big white lights.....all of a sudden.....my hand started growing all hairy....gold
guitar popped out of my left side (cheers)....and just for one moment.....Doc.....I’m
telling you, for just one moment.....
(.....) So this went on for a long time....I remember I was 17.....like four
years later.....and every night at the full moon.....(?) and haunt the arcades
of Asbury Park (cheers)....and it was around this time.....like, the cops.....at
the prodding of my mother and father, decided.....that I was a big pain in the
ass (cheers).....and they were gonna do something about it....so they cornered
me one night....at the top of the ferris wheel at Palace Amusements (cheers)....I
jumped down on to the roof.....jumped out on the Kingsley Avenue (cheers)....and
I ran up the Asbury (?) till I hit the Route 35 Circle.... with the Asbury Park
(?) on my trail....I hit 35 (?)....got on the Route 33, I started running towards
my hometown, Freehold (cheers).....it was there that I hit the Freehold Circle
.....when I had the Asbury Park cops behind me, I had the New Jersey state police
(cheers)....when a guy pulled over.....in a black Sedan....I looked thru the
window.....and on the frontseat....I saw a saxophone (cheers).....rolled down
the window.....took a long look at me....said ‘Son.....I don’t know
what you did....but I like your style, come on, get in’ (cheers) .....so
I hopped in the frontseat....bam, Clarence hit it to the floor....we started
screaming down 33, we caught every green light all the way to New Jersey Turnpike
(cheers)....we must’ve been doing .....we must’ve been doing.....55......got
on the Turnpike....that’s when they called out the National Guard....they
called out the United States Army.....they....they got the marines....now, if
this story.....sounds a little.... funny to you guys....you can ask anybody
in the band....and as sure as it’s 127 days to Christmas bonus time....they
all....swear it’s the truth (laughter).....I know they (?) honest men.....so
on the Turnpike we head south.....by this time we got.....all military forces
on after us, we got the airforce, we got the navy....we’re going Exit
8.....Exit 7...Exit 6....Exit 5....Exit 4....we hit the Benjamin Franklin Bridge
(cheers).....and the sign that says ‘Two lanes to Philadelphia’
(cheers)....it was bye bye New Jersey, I was airborne....and all I heard was
the state cops yelling.....’Hey, somebody.....stop that son of a bitch
with the gold guitar....”
18.08.78 Philadelphia, PA, intro to ‘Rosalita’:
”Wherever you are....I know you must be in Philly tonight....Rosie come
out tonight....”
(…) Yeah, I can’t play if you gonna jump on me, everybody stay right
there, alright ? ...... (?) this is, Raggedy Andy ?....”
18.08.78 Philadelphia, PA, intro to ‘Born to Run’:
”You guys down in front becareful you’re not, you know, you’re
not killing each other down here or squashing each other (chuckles)....try to
make as much room as possible......I wanna....thank everybody for coming down
tonight (cheers)....and uh.... just thank you for the support that like you’ve.....shown
the band over the past two, three years when we were having our hard times.....we
always used to say ‘Well....if we go....we can always go back to Philadelphia
(cheers)....”
Compiled by : Johanna Pirttijärvi