Somehow, only 1,500 students bought one of the 4,700 tickets put on sale for what turned out to be a non-stop two and a half hour Young Springsteen rockgasm—It’s My Life, Thunder Road, She’s the One—at Beard-Eaves Coliseum on May 11, 1976.
TWER reader JBoggs was one of them.
“Best show I ever saw at AU? Springsteen played all of Born to Run at the back 1/2 of the coliseum in 75 [it was ’76]. His management had sued him to keep BTR from being released and the band played about 10 dates up and down the east coast just to keep the payroll going. Un-believable show. They hung around AU for a couple of days and several of us played softball with them on the football field and helped them do laundry and stuff.”
Here’s the shot from the Glom, which says he played May 13, rather than the 11th.
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I can’t believe footage of that exists. I seem to recall that I was standing stage right (just to the left of Danny Federici camera left) for a good part of the show. Indeed, even through 25 years in the music biz and having seen just about everyone at least once (including the Elvis AU show AND the Stones at the Fox Theatre) this is probably still my favorite show of all time.
Cool. I wish/hope there is some footage of Jungleland-that was a real show-stopper that night.
Thanks for the “props.”
JB
Anyone remember the hoax by the Springsteen impersonator a couple of days before the show?
No — not that I would remember it, but I’ve never heard about it. What happened?
Interesting look at how things used to be, but you’ve got one major factual error. The lawsuit between Mike Appel’s management company and Springsteen came after Born To Run was out, and wasn’t aimed at preventing a release, but to keep Springsteen from recording with anyone but Appel as producer. That’s why it took three years after Born To Run before there was another record, the suit had to be settled first.
That portion of the tour was nicknamed by the road crew as the “Chicken Scratch Tour” because of the high proportion of secondary market, southern state locations.
28 Mar 1976 at Duke University, Durham, NC
29 Mar 1976 at Ovens Auditorium, Charlotte, NC
01 Apr 1976 at Ohio University, Athens OH
04 Apr 1976 at Michigan State University Auditorium, East Lansing, MI
07 Apr 1976 at The Allen Theater, Cleveland, OH
08 Apr 1976 at The Allen Theater, Cleveland, OH
09 Apr 1976 at Colgate University, Hamilton, NY
10 Apr 1976 at Paul Mellon Arts Center, Wallingford, CT
13 Apr 1976 at Penn State University, University Park, PA
15 Apr 1976 at Syria Mosque, Pittsburgh, PA
17 Apr 1976 at University Of Rochester, Rochester, NY
21 Apr 1976 at Knoxville Civic Auditorium, Knoxville, TN
22 Apr 1976 at Virginia Polytechnic Institute And State University, Blacksburg, VA
29 Apr 1976 at Ellis Auditorium, Memphis, TN
03 May 1976 at Robinson Auditorium, Little Rock, AR
11 May 1976 at Auburn University, Auburn, AL
13 May 1976 at Municipal Auditorium, New Orleans, LA
27 May 1976 at U.S. Military Academy, West Point, NY
28 May 1976 at U.S. Naval Academy, Annapolis, MD
the small crowd was in great part due to it being the beginning of finals week. I remember being a good little boy and pulling an all-nighter for Kicklighter’s freshman History class. it didn’t help…all I did was think about the concert.
Hmmm seems I got the finals thing wrong as time does that to me…I still remember not going because of Kicklighter’s history all-nighter
I remember the hoax. Several days before the concert, someone claiming to be Bruce Springseen stopped by the campus radio station on the morning show. He said he was on his way down to Florida between concerts to see some relatives and was looking forward to coming back for the Auburn concert. They did the whole interview and everyone believed it.
It was a GREAT concert!
I realize that I’m in the minority, but…
I still don’t understand the appeal. Can’t sing. Annoying saxophone. Every song sounds the same. I’d rather go to the dentist. He was (is) popular just because he was popular.
By the way, I feel the same way about “The Who”. And “Molly Hatchett”. And “Whitney Houston.”
Is The Boggins and JBoggs the same poster?
The impersonator was Bud McLaughlin, I believe — a journalism major. I think he works in Huntsville now. A friend of mine was duped and got his autograph 🙂 .
Best concert I’ve ever seen. Just guys on the stage pouring it out. No light show. No gimmicks. Just pure rocking talent. Tickets weren’t a problem. It was a free concert anyway. I don’t think the fake radio interview is true. I worked there at the time and don’t recall anything like that.