Bruce Springsteen was a surprise guest at the Asbury Park Music and Film Festival for a viewing of his documentary of clips culled from the Bruce Springsteen Archives Saturday at the Paramount Theatre in Asbury Park.
The presentation featured rare performances of Springsteen and the E Street Band at the Bottom Line, Hammersmith Odeon, Apollo Theater, Jazzfest (with the Seeger Sessions Band) and others. Directed by Thom Zimny with footage shot by Barry Rebo, the film offered fans a look at different periods of the band starting with the band performing a cover of “When You Walk in the Room” by the Searchers.
“I’ve lived many lives,” Springsteen said on stage during a Q&A with Zimny moderated by Chris Phillips of Backstreets Magazine. “I never saw any of that myself.”
Springsteen added that the band was “superstitious about being filmed in the early days” — a reason they never did television appearances.
“You either think you are more handsome than you actually are, or you think you sound better than you actually do,” he said.
In particular, the Rock and Roll Hall of Famer was pleased with the impact a performance of “My City of Ruins” at Jazzfest in 2006. He hinted that he would love to see a full video of that show be released.
Also documented: Jake Clemons’ first ever appearance at the Apollo, with Springsteen later climbing the walls and then shimmying down a pipe to get back to the stage. “I don’t know what I was thinking,” he laughed.