Well, as luck and the Universe would have it, Jackson B. Snyderfish The 3rd got his phone line up in time and Bruce and the boys hit the stage not too long after 8:00 PM.
As any of you who have heard this broadcast might remember, Bruce begins by apologizing to the crowd for the ticket fiasco and tells his audience and all the people listening to the broadcast that he “doesn’t play no private parties no more.”
I recently saw a blog, which insists that a lot of, if not half the tickets, did go to record execs and industry insiders. Nothing could be farther than the truth. I KNOW because I WAS THE GUY IN CHARGE OF ALL THE TICKETS! The truth, as I stated before was that the box office had opened but only had 400 to 500 hundred tickets to sell (I can’t remember exactly how may people the Roxy held then), but there were well over 1,000 people in line, so it appeared that not that many were sold. Knowing that Bruce and Jon did not want the house stacked with industry looky loos, and also knowing that I, myself wanted the place packed with fans to really bring the magic of the live show and broadcast to life, I held back ONLY 20 seats. Yep, maybe 25 at the most (I walked a couple die hard Columbia people into the club at the last minute). And, although the label understood, they did not like it one bit. People who wanted to attend could not bring their spouses because I wasn’t giving out pairs of tickets—just one apiece.
Anyway, Bruce apologizes by saying it was all his fault–shouldering the responsibility even though he didn’t have to, then asks for some slap back echo and the E Street Band exploded into rock fury!
So far, so good. After 3 days of no sleep and being wound up to the maximum, I finally go out to the street to try and settle myself down just a bit. Wow, who knew what a scene it was OUTSIDE the Roxy! First, there were at least a couple hundred people with their ears pressed against the walls all the way around the club! On the Sunset Strip where everyone is nightly cruising and the subsequent traffic jam is legendary, every single car had their windows rolled down and was blaring the show over their radios!! People were bopping up and down in their seats and pumping fists outside their windows—whooping and hollering! So, the whole Strip was rocking out to one giant Bruce show! I am telling you it was extraordinary!!! It was like the whole town was listening!
After a breather, I went back in the club to enjoy the show, and after the first set I followed the band to the dressing room. Bruce, soaking wet, goes into anther room, takes his shirt off and I see him sit on a couch and bend over a giant empty tub (the kind you’d put beer into on ice). The roadie at the time takes a giant bucket of water and dumps it all over Bruce’s head and back and I see steam coming off him! He looked positively spent, and I thought, how is this guy gonna do another set??
But, the Boss comes back on stage all refreshed, and says these now famous words, “Bootleggers roll your tapes!!”
If I am not mistaken, there are two boots of this show and one of them came from a tape I had. That part of the story comes later (and, yep, it’s another hair on fire chapter of this long saga).
The show was totally, historically insane as everyone knows by now, and for years the Roxy kept the tape tags on the phone lines that had been installed in their phone box for the broadcast, that read “Bruce Springsteen Live.” They thought it was part of rock and roll history, and it was.
After the dust cleared, at around 3:00 AM I found myself slumped in a chair in the Roxy lounge, staring out the window over looking a now, empty Sunset Boulevard. I was totally drained. But totally happy and proud because I knew that I had done the best job I could and that all of us together, Bruce, me, and KMET had made rock history that evening. I also knew LA had been buzzed in a most dramatic way, and that is very hard to achieve in a city that big.
I was sitting totally alone in dim light and a dark figure walked through the door behind me. When I looked up with tired eyes I saw Bruce Springsteen standing in front of me. I was too beat and too tired to talk, so I just looked up and said “Hey,” with a smile.
Then there was a moment I will never forget.
Tune in next time, for the 4th and final chapter of this most remarkable evening.
And, to everyone who actually takes the time to read this blog, thank you for your time and I hope you have fun reading some of the stories.
We’re going to try something new and have you guys be able to leave comments here and also ask any questions you may have about a particular story, artist, or music business question, either about the past or about the now.
All the best, and keep rockin’!
~Rap
UPDATE: Continue to Part 4
