| Identifier | 8080466 |
| Created At | Tue May 23 2023 23:54:00 GMT+0000 (Coordinated Universal Time) |
| Media Type | CDR |
| Media Count | 1 |
| Show Rating | A |
| Sound Rating | B+ |
| Note | ONE show, double bill, held in the VCU Gym, with STEEL MILL headlining and MERCY FLIGHT opening. This gig is infamous because it ended with Vini Lopez arrested for unruly behavior. The above-noted setlist is culled from a circulating 80-minute audience recording of only fair quality. There are continuity cuts between most songs. This is not the complete show, which contained at least 20 minutes more music (2-4 songs). This audio has never appeared on any mainstream bootleg but does circulate via various custom sources – some with between-song chatter deleted or songs missing. This audio is sometimes attributed to an alleged gig at VCU Gym on May 16, 1970. However VCU’s archives don’t indicate any show on the 16th. Comments made by Springsteen during the show point to the audio as being from the documented May 23, 1970 VCU gig. Mercy Flight’s co-manager, Russell Clem, can be heard introducing STEEL MILL. During the middle of the country-rock inspired “I Am The Doctor†Springsteen tells crowd “we went swimming today down in the James River (outside Richmond) and we took our surfboards with usâ€. During the intro to “Resurrection†Springsteen mentions canoeing earlier that afternoon. Bruce sings, “here we are back in Richmond, Virginia again†as the opening line of “Amplifier Bluesâ€.
From the outset of this show there were problems with the school’s generators. There was a power outage during MERCY FLIGHT’s opening tune, “Mississippi Queen†and the problems continued intermittently for the remainder of the evening. This, combined with VCU officials’ complaints about the loudness of STEEL MILL’s performance, caused tension between the band and officials. Springsteen and Lopez can be heard making related comments during the show. Following “Jeannie I Want To Thank You†Bruce remarks to the crowd “there’s a weird thing going on between your officials and usâ€. At another point Bruce can be heard extorting: “there should be no restrictions on meâ€. At another point Bruce tells the crowd “we’re gonna finish this one with you guys and split to the middle of the road and playâ€. Despite the drama the audience is enthusiastic and the band’s performance is excellent. The MC’s comments and opening instrumental are in the correcting performing order. The rest of the audio is in its likely running order. Although it has not surfaced as part of the circulating audio, there’s attendee recollection that “Guilty†was performed following the opening instrumental “KT-88†(there’s an edit so this is plausible). All songs are complete except for the final song, which is cut prematurely close to its true conclusion. It is likely there was another song played after “Twenty More Miles†that’s missing from the audio source – and it would seem it was during that point that VCU officials shut the band’s power off as they overran the 11PM curfew. Lopez in an act of defiance continued playing his drums, which resulted in him being hauled way for disorderly conduct – an incident that Vini has jokingly referred to in several interviews. |
| Trades Allowed | |
| Attendence | NO |
Performance
| Steel Mill 1970-05-23 Virginia Commonwealth University, Richmond, VA | |
|---|---|
| Set 1 | Jeannie I Want To Thank You I Am The Doctor Something’s Gotta Break Temporarily Out Of Order Sweet Melinda Come On Resurrection Amplifier Blues For What It’s Worth Run Shaker Life Twenty More Miles |
| Set 2 | |
| Set 3 | |
| Comment | |