While going thru the original rolls of color and B&W film taken on that legendary night back in 1980, and deciding which would be included in my “River Collection,” there were many images that jumped out as being obviously the best photos. Some photographs came close to being selected and others are just fun to enjoy and help bring back the memory of that first River Tour.
Now for the very first time, these carefully chosen images are included in this "River Outtakes Gallery” - available here for the viewing pleasure of those in the arena that cold December night and those that wished they were.
This show was important enough that Bruce released the audio and it's his number 3 downloaded live concert.
Get the audio here:
It was a different kind of show for Bruce. There were some interesting characters on stage with the E Street Band that night such as a Devil in a Blue Dress & Father Time at the stroke of midnight. This night on Long Island was about the music and the songs from the newest album. It was a long show. Up until recently, it was the longest show in history of the E Street Band. This meant more time to shoot, more film to create, and more images.
Now just in time for Bruce’s extended “River Tour” that kicked off in Pittsburgh on January 16th, I present “The River Collection Outtakes” and this online tour of rare images captured at the original concert performance of “The River” on December 31, 1980/81.
In a recent interview with Chris Phillips on Backstreets.com, Bruce stated “We were very against filming ourselves, and we didn't film ourselves very much. Looking back, that was a mistake. But I was young and a little superstitious, and I didn't want to break the magic by watching the trick too closely, you know? So we didn't film a lot. Looking back on that now, that's the one thing, if I could have done something different, I wish we'd have filmed much more of our work life. But we've been lucky that, somehow or another, mostly every tour, somebody got a camera out there and caught something. Now we film pretty regularly. But at that time... no.”
Read the interview here:
I was lucky enough to be the sole professional photographer on that memorable New Year’s Eve night, and this is the best way to re-live the experience. I've put together this online Gallery of more than 25 new images for your viewing pleasure. So kick back and enjoy the tour and come back often, because this gallery will grow as I continue to add more images over the next few weeks. Like any Springsteen concert, you never know how long the show will go on.
Click each photo to cycle thru the gallery.
