The Seattle Arena
Seattle, WA
Presents...
BRUCE SPRINGSTEEN
& THE E STREET BAND
20th December 1978
" What did I think of the
Seattle Show ?
There can be no doubt that the
four shows that week 15 and 16/12, 19 and 20/12 captured Bruce and the
band at their absolute peak.
It is always a matter of opinion
as to when a particular
act is at its peak in "live"
terms -Lennon always said the Beatles were at
their live peak around 1961,
Zeppelin 1972, The Who 1969, The Stones 1968 etc
etc. A listen to Dylan at the
Albert Hall is wonderful yet paradoxically, the
1974 tour was a tremendous last
hurrah. For Bruce, who more than anyone else
(even The Who and Zeppelin)
is really at his best live- it is so difficult to
say when he was at his best.
Someone who saw the 1977 March shows would have
a great argument and how about
being in the audience on 7/7/78 or 19/9/78 ?
I personally don't rate
the 9/8/78 show as a performance (as opposed to
sound) as being quite in the
same league as the others-likewise 5/2/75 is
wonderful -and only just so
slightly below the great 1978 sets. If I were at
the 31/12/80 show I have no
doubt that I would think it was the best.
Interestingly, I happened to
be at a show that Bruce said was one of his best
10 ever -the last Sydney show
in March 1985 - have a look at the setlist and
see why. But it was not in the
same league as Seattle. Yet, I don't know how
one compares -it is all up to
the individual. But when a band or an act is
realising the fact that they
are "making it" as we watch -ie before the big
success - (see the look on the
boys faces in the 1978 Largo video) -well,
thats why 1978 is so special.
They had to try really hard and yet they had to
live on the edge -unlike the
safety of the River album success or, God help
us BUSA. You will notice that
I do not mention 1992-93 - it is to my mind
akin to a person faking a bout
of lovemaking -his partner may get some
enjoyment out of it but it isn't
the same and he knows it.
No, December 1978
was a wonderful time -I was
19 - and I never knew Rock and Roll could be like
this. Fancy an act who smiled
! Who had sleigh bells as a necessary
instrument -who would play requests
-remember that magic moment in Portland
when the lads down the front
ask for "Rave On". The three and a half hours
of the main show went so quickly
but for me -Backstreets was the highlight
-WOW -if you think it sounds
good on some of the tapes of that part of the
tour -you should have seen it
live ! I swear Bruce was crying as he reached
the climax of the Sad Eyes part.
The stage went dark, he staggered backwards
-then ran towards the microphone
almost colliding with it to almost chant
-"Hiding on the Backstreets...."
I can't remember who the next live act was
I saw, or the one after, or
the one after..... "
"...but what a concert, some knowledgable people say it is the best ever. All I know is it commenced at 8.30pm and I missed the last train at 12.30am ! Sureley there have never been encores like these. I will never forget Bruce, having clearly just left the shower, belting out Twist And Shout with the sound crew still positioning lights."
Thanks to Leonard Smith