Live show from the broadcast Agora Ballroom, Cleveland 1978, and another famous set available now through Amazon,
Bruce Springsteen surprised diehard fans over the holidays, releasing the first-ever official recording of his legendary and much-bootlegged August 9th, 1978, concert with the E Street Band at Cleveland’s Agora Theatre. The new stereo mix was available for download only at first, but a 3-CD set has just been released via live.brucespringsteen.net.
To mark the occasion, we’re featuring photographs taken that night by Clevelander Bob Ferrell, who was at the Agora working as a freelancer for Cleveland rock station WMMS/100.7-FM and Columbia Records. The Agora show was staged by WMMS to celebrate its 10th anniversary and was simulcast to other radio markets in the Midwest. One of Ferrell’s photos is featured on the cover of the new CD set.
Ferrell, then sales manager of Scene magazine, did a lot of side work as a photographer for WMMS, local record stores and national record companies with offices in Cleveland. Ferrell says he was a big fan of Springsteen, enjoyed the show, but had no inkling he was a witness to history.
“I photographed a lot of shows back then,” he said. “It was a great show, but I had no idea it would live on for so many years to be honest.”
Ferrell says he was positioned in front of the audience at the concert, kneeling just in front of the Agora’s stage. He was armed with two cameras and three lenses — a 24-millimeter wide angle, a 50mm and an 85mm. He says a fan jostled him just before the show began, cracking the 24mm lens. He hopped in his car, rushed home and found a 28mm lens, and hurried back to the concert. He arrived just before showtime, having miraculously secured an on-street parking space near the Agora.
The Agora concert captured Springsteen and the E Street Band at the height of their powers, after the success of “Born to Run” and just as “Darkness on the Edge of Town” was being released. Bootlegs of the show — recorded over the radio — have circulated for decades, making the Agora concert a favorite among diehard Springsteen fans.
Even Ferrell had a bootleg cassette copy, which he loved to play for friends while recounting his brush with history. “I lost the cassette somewhere, but Springsteen’s people said they were gonna send me a free copy of the CD as part of the deal to use my photo for the cover,” said Ferrell.
The Boss, of course, paid him for use of the photograph, too. “I’ve sold a few photos from the concert over the years,” said Ferrell. “I don’t have website, or digital copies of the photographs. But sometimes people track me down and I sell them a print.”
SET LIST
SET ONE
1. Summertime Blues
2. Badlands
3. Spirit In The Night
4. Darkness On The Edge Of Town
5. Factory
6. The Promised Land
7. Prove It All Night
8. Racing in the Street
9. Thunder Road
10. Jungleland
SET TWO
1. Paradise By The “C”
2. Fire
3. Sherry Darling
4. Not Fade Away – Gloria – She’s The One
5. Growin’ Up
6. Backstreets
7. Rosalita (Come Out Tonight)
FIRST ENCORE
1. 4th of July, Asbury Park (Sandy)
2. Born to Run
3. Because the Night
4. Raise Your Hand
SECOND ENCORE
1. Twist and Shout
The Fat Angel Sings 