On September 20, 1978, Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band walked back onto the stage of the Capitol Theatre in Passaic, New Jersey carrying the weight of a legendary night already behind them — and somehow delivered a performance that many longtime fans quietly rank as even stronger.

The second night of Springsteen’s three-night homecoming stand during the Darkness on the Edge of Town Tour has become one of those shows that grows in stature the deeper you dig into it. Where the September 19 performance gained instant fame through its live radio broadcast, the September 20 concert benefitted from something less obvious but just as powerful: the band was looser, more confident, and fully locked into the emotional and musical momentum of the run.

Tonight, this iconic performance takes on new life once again as Live Nuggets Radio presents a very special handpicked full-concert broadcast, airing in its entirety every Tuesday night at 9PM EST — offering listeners a front-to-back journey through one of the most revered nights of Springsteen’s career.

A Homecoming That Turned Into History

By the fall of 1978, Darkness on the Edge of Town had sharpened Springsteen’s songwriting into something tougher, more grounded, and deeply personal. Returning to Passaic — just miles from where the Jersey Shore mythology that fueled his early work had taken shape — created an atmosphere that felt more like a family reunion than a tour stop.

The Capitol Theatre, with its intimate scale and warm acoustics, became the perfect setting for what unfolded: nearly three hours of music that balanced fire-breathing rock and roll with cinematic storytelling, emotional confession, and joyous release.

A Setlist Built for the Ages

The September 20 show delivered 22 songs that traced Springsteen’s evolution while highlighting the raw emotional core of the Darkness era. The band kicked off with a swaggering “Good Rockin’ Tonight,” immediately setting the tone before storming into “Badlands” and “Spirit in the Night.”

From there, the night unfolded like a carefully constructed narrative. “Darkness on the Edge of Town,” “Independence Day,” and “The Promised Land” anchored the show in its central themes — resilience, conflict, hope, and the cost of chasing freedom.

“Prove It All Night” arrived with its now-legendary extended guitar intro, stretching the song into a slow-burning eruption that drew out every ounce of tension before finally breaking open.

Rarities, Debuts, and Unrepeatable Moments

What truly sets September 20 apart are the unexpected turns. The show featured a rare performance of the Animals’ “It’s My Life,” giving Springsteen a platform to channel teenage defiance through a gritty British Invasion lens. Even more surprising was the tour debut of “Santa Claus Is Comin’ to Town” — an early, wildly unseasonal appearance that would later become a beloved holiday tradition for Springsteen fans.

“Jungleland” unfolded with its full cinematic sweep, while “Fire,” “Candy’s Room,” “Because the Night,” and “Point Blank” stacked intensity upon intensity as the night pushed forward.

By the time the band tore into “Kitty’s Back” and “Incident on 57th Street,” the show had shifted into a long, emotional crescendo, carrying the crowd through “Rosalita (Come Out Tonight),” “Born to Run,” and “Tenth Avenue Freeze-Out” before detonating into the euphoric chaos of the “Detroit Medley” and “Twist and Shout.”

Captured for the Ages

Unlike many legendary Springsteen performances, this night wasn’t lost to fading memories alone. The entire show was professionally filmed using the venue’s in-house video system, creating one of the earliest pro-shot documents of the Darkness Tour — even if a few moments, including the opening of “Jungleland,” were lost to original tape changes. In December 2017, the performance was officially released as part of the Bruce Springsteen Live Archive Series, cementing its place as a cornerstone of his live catalog.

Even the soundcheck has become the stuff of legend, with rare recordings revealing early versions of “The Ties That Bind” featuring alternate lyrics, along with the unreleased “Wedding Bells,” offering a fascinating glimpse into Springsteen’s evolving songwriting process.

A Night That Still Resonates

More than four decades later, September 20, 1978 remains one of those shows that doesn’t just stand alongside Springsteen’s most celebrated performances — it challenges them. Looser than the famous radio broadcast the night before and fueled by the rising emotional current of the Passaic run, this concert captures the E Street Band at a moment of rare balance: powerful, vulnerable, disciplined, and fearless all at once.

Tonight’s Live Nuggets Radio broadcast brings that night back into the present, airing the complete performance every Tuesday at 9PM EST. For longtime fans and first-time listeners alike, it’s an opportunity to step inside a New Jersey homecoming that became rock and roll history — and to experience why so many quietly consider September 20 the crown jewel of Springsteen’s legendary Passaic stand.