I nat er det 40 år siden Bruce Springsteen & The E Street Band, afsted på deres syv-måneder lange Darkness Tour, spillede den første af tre aftener på hjemmebanen i Passaic, New Jersey’s Capitol Theater. Det ret så massive show blev transmitteret live på college-radiostationen WNEW ude på østkysten, og opnåede siden – enten som Passaic Night eller Piece de Resistance – stor berømmelse blandt Springsteen-tilhængere, som en af de to-tre definitive bootleg-koncerter fra den muligvis allerstærkeste tour i Springesteen og bandets historie. Her ovenfor gælder det aftenens første set på godt 80 minutter, med uofficielle sort/hvide levende billeder via teatrets inhouse-kameraer – enjoy!

Badlands
Streets of Fire
Spirit of the Night
Darkness on the Edge of Town
Independence Day
Promised Land
Prove it all Night
Racing in the Street
Thunder Road
Meeting Across the River
Jungleland

I en sammenfatning af Springsteen’s ti bedste shows nogensinde skriver musikwebsitet Consequence of Sound disse højtravende ord om deres nummer et pålisten:

The crown jewel and the undisputed heavyweight champion of Springsteen’s live shows took place 20 minutes outside of Newark, New Jersey, at Passaic’s rustic 1,800-capacity Capitol Theater. If the Darkness tour really was Springsteen’s greatest run of dates, then this gig was the moment where it all came together. Broadcast over WNEW Radio, this was the first show of a three-night stand, and the stunning recordings that have been passed down throughout the years make it clear that Springsteen and the E Street Band tore the roof off the joint.

Springsteen’s always managed to imbue a high degree of fire and brimstone into his songs, but the material here is red hot with arguably the greatest performances of “Racing in the Streets”, “Because the Night”, “Fire”, and “Thunder Road”. Despite those gasps of musical transcendence, the emotional high point of the entire affair arrived when “Professor” Roy Bittain’s 1978-only piano instrumental kicked off a volcanic rendition of “Prove It All Night”. Never before has Springsteen sounded as powerful or energized than he does in the 10 minutes of that one song.