Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band
CNE Grandstand
Toronto, ON
July 23, 1984

mackeck master via JEMS

Recording Gear: Aiwa portable cassette recorder with built-in mic

2015 Transfer: BASF Ferrochrom III master cassettes > Nakamichi CR-7A (azimuth-adjusted) > Sound Devices USBPre2 (24/96 Audacity 2.0 capture) > iZotope RX 4 and Ozone 5 > iZotope MBIT+ convert to 16/44.1 .wav > Peak Pro XT (pitch adjustment / patch / edit / index) > xACT 2.21 > FLAC

01 Born in the U.S.A.
02 Out in the Street
03 Tenth Avenue Freeze-out
04 Atlantic City
05 Johnny 99
06 Highway Patrolman
07 Prove It All Night
08 Glory Days
09 The Promised Land
10 Used Cars
11 My Hometown
12 Badlands
13 Thunder Road
14 Cadillac Ranch
15 Hungry Heart
16 Dancing in the Dark
17 Sherry Darling
18 No Surrender
19 Because the Night
20 Pink Cadillac
21 Fire
22 Bobby Jean
23 Backstreets
24 Rosalita
25 Jungleland
26 Born to Run
27 Street Fighting Man
28 Detroit Medley


Known faults:
-Dancing In The Dark: 12 seconds patched at end with alternate source
-Rosalita: First few seconds cut (start is also cut on the alternate source)
-Detroit Medley: Incomplete & last 2:13 have pitch issues due to dying batteries
(this has been adjusted at least to the point you
won't sprint to the volume control, it could not be
patched with the alternate recorder due to the same
issue on that source)

JEMS is pleased to present the first of three previously uncirculated master recordings of Springsteen�s three-show July 1984 stand in Toronto. These concerts featured the band playing outdoors in a modified configuration of Exhibition Stadium (home of the Blue Jays prior to SkyDome/Rogers Centre) that (according to press accounts) held 23,000 per night.

d.j.mackeck first reached out in 2013 to report that his dad had recorded several Bruce shows between 1978 and 1985 in their hometown of Toronto, as well as cities within spitting distance like Detroit and Buffalo. These shows come from the second batch of masters he was kind enough to ship to JEMS for fresh transfers.

The Toronto shows were recorded on a small portable Aiwa recorder with built-in mic, and while the recording has some quality inconsistencies, for the most part mackeck managed to avoid material audience chatter or noise, yielding a recording that is clear if a bit distant and still listenable. It did require more aggressive mastering then what JEMS typically applies, but the tradeoff felt right as the tape is far more musical now and superior to extant recordings of the show. Samples provided.

As for the set, it is still the early days of the BIUSA tour, and while the title track opens this night, it was not yet firmly ensconced in that position (�Badlands� would open the next two shows). Highlights include the gloriously electric �Atlantic City,� �Because the Night,� �Fire� and the always welcome cover of the Rolling Stones� �Street Fighting Man.�

Big big thanks to d.j. mackeck and his dad for loaning JEMS their masters and recording the show in the first place. Thanks also to mjk5510 for once again supervising our post-production efforts.
We will attempt to get all three Toronto shows out in relatively quick succession. Collect �em all!

BK for JEMS