The Brucebase website has this to say of the genesis of this historic artefact: As Heylin argues, “this was one instance where bootlegs were helping to establish an artist, rather than riding on the back of his success.” It was the radio broadcast of the early show from 15 August at the Bottom Line which provided the source for what is sometimes stated to be the first Springsteen bootleg, Coral Records’ Live (though this honour is also claimed by the noted early bootlegger Lou Cohan for his Jersey Devil). One other thing acted to raise Springsteen’s profile: the first bootlegs of his performances. The band walked out of the Bottom Line twice as good as when they walked in.” There’s nothin’ – nothin’ – in the world to get you playing better than a gig like that. “It went pretty ideally,” he said shortly afterwards, “the band cruised through them shows like the finest machine there was. we were so set up for that kind of playing.” He was extremely pleased with the performances at the Bottom Line. Playing a little place like that, and it starts boiling. He was so exposed in such a reckless way, everyone felt it.” Springsteen commented that, “the energy of the band forced me out on those tables. He climbed on the building’s poles, the piano, the tables. The level of excitement is effectively described by the clubs’ co-owner, Stanley Snadowsky: “The raw power was unbelievable. Springsteen’s entrances were greeted with standing ovations, and by the end of each set the crowd’s mood was one of delirium.” Ross Warner, on the American Heritage website calls the Bottom Line shows “electrifying” and WNEW DJ Dave Herman, who had previously resisted the allure of Springsteen, describes the concert he attended on 30 July as “the most exciting rock ‘n’roll show I’ve ever seen.” Every performance saw a good 200 extra bodies crammed into a club that supposedly seats 400. However, Rockwell also contends that the enthusiasm was genuine, with “block-long lines of people hoping to buy the fifty standing room tickets sold for each show. This was not pure chance.Īs I pointed out in my review of Crystal Cat’s The Roxy Theatre Night, “the first night was used by Columbia to promote Springsteen’s career by reserving a significant number of seats for music journalists and celebrities, including Robert De Niro, Jack Nicholson and Warren Beatty.” John Rockwell, also writing in Rolling Stone, similarly states that, “the ten sold-out Bottom Line shows carefully orchestrated to garner press quotes and industry attention…Columbia bought 1,000 of the 4,000 seats for the Bottom Line dates…to proselytize the press, record dealers and radio personnel.” Heylin also points this out, stating, “shows from New York’s Bottom Line in July 1975 and LA’s Roxy in October were certainly intended to capitalize on the media buzz that Springsteen was creating.” As Dave Marsh writes in Rolling Stone, “not since Elton John’s initial Toubadour appearances has an artist leapt so visibly and rapidly from cult fanaticism to mass acceptance as at Bruce Springsteen’s ten Bottom Line shows. The significance of these shows was considerable.
However, the process of bringing Springsteen to national prominence began with the ten shows performed at New York’s Bottom Line during 13-17 August.
Springsteen’s third LP, Born To Run, was released on 25 August, and Greil Marcus’ Rolling Stone review called it “a magnificent album that pays off on every bet ever placed on him.” There was a high profile four-night, six-show stand at the Roxy in Los Angeles during 16-19 October and the hype culminated in Springsteen featuring on the covers of both Time and Newsweek on 27 October. As stated in Clinton Heylin’s Bootleg: The Rise And Fall Of The Secret Recording Industry, he “was barely known outside certain fanatical enclaves of New York, the New Jersey Shore, Philadelphia and Cleveland.” By October, this situation had changed dramatically. Springsteen was still a local or regional, rather than a national figure in the early months of 1975. The Bottom Line, New York, NY, USA – 15 August, 1975 (early show)ĭisc 1: Interview Before The Show, Tenth Avenue Freeze-Out, Spirit In The Night, Then She Kissed Me, Growin’ Up, It’s Hard To Be a Saint In The City, Intro To E Street Shuffle, E Street Shuffle, When You Walk In The Room, She’s The One, Born To Run, Thunder Roadĭisc 2: Intro To Kitty’s Back, Kitty’s Back, Rosalita, Encore Comments, 4th Of July, Asbury Park (Sandy), Quarter To Three, Closing Comments
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