Springsteen surprises audience at Red Bank screening of 'No Nukes' concert film

Chris Jordan, Asbury Park Press
·2 min read
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Bruce Springsteen was on the screen, and he was in the audience, too.

The Boss made a surprise appearance at a screening of the new movie, “The Legendary 1979 No Nukes Concerts,” which stars Springsteen and the E Street Band, at the Basie Center Cinemas in Red Bank on Friday, Nov. 12.

The night was a SiriusXM Pandora Presents event. Springsteen and filmmaker Thom Zimny were interviewed on stage by Jim Rotolo of SiriusXM's E Street Radio prior to the show.

“We were on edge and excited to play," said Springsteen, as recorded by a Pete Maimone YouTube. Maimone attended with his wife, Laura Maimone, who took the picture below of Springsteen and Zimny.

Thom Zimny and Bruce Springsteen at the Nov. 12, 2021 screening “The Legendary 1979 No Nukes Concerts,” which stars Springsteen and the E Street Band, at the Basie Center Cinemas in Red Bank.
Thom Zimny and Bruce Springsteen at the Nov. 12, 2021 screening “The Legendary 1979 No Nukes Concerts,” which stars Springsteen and the E Street Band, at the Basie Center Cinemas in Red Bank.

“I think what is lovely about the film that Thom sent me is you get to see Clarence (Clemons) at his absolute peak and Danny (Federici), so it’s nice to have that on film. Being filmed at the time, it’s totally spontaneous and I never gave much thought about it and obviously we didn’t give much thought about it for 40 years. I have to salute Thom for digging it up and putting it all together.”

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Bruce Springsteen in the “The Legendary 1979 No Nukes Concerts” film.
Bruce Springsteen in the “The Legendary 1979 No Nukes Concerts” film.

Springsteen and the E Street Band were recording “The River” at the Power Station in New York City when they headlined the big “No Nukes” concerts Sept. 21 and 22, 1979, at Madison Square Garden.

“As a fan it was amazing,” Zimny said. “The first time I glanced at it, it was silent. I was looking at silent footage and I knew that these guys were on fire. I knew right away that this was special. It’s a great document of Clarence and the band in this chapter.”

The film is a composite of the two performances shot during the concerts, staged by Musicians United for Safe Energy, or MUSE, an activist group founded by Jackson Browne, Graham Nash, Bonnie Raitt and John Hall.

"We were showing off for the folks at home," Springsteen said. "We were young, we were kids, so what the film is packed with is youthful energy at a level that was surprising even for me when I saw it.”

Springsteen was just about to turn 30 at the "No Nukes" concerts. He and Zimny stood in the back of the theater and watched the movie with the rest of the fans on Friday.

"It was amazing reliving this after so many years," Maimone said. "Bruce was just soaking it all in."

“The Legendary 1979 No Nukes Concerts” will be released in HD on physical formats Nov. 19, including on two CDs with DVD, two CDs with Blu-Ray and two LPs. It will be available globally in HD for digital download on Nov. 16 and digital rental on Nov. 23.

Visit brucespringsteen.net for more information.

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Chris Jordan, a Jersey Shore native, covers entertainment and features for the USA Today Network New Jersey. Contact him at @chrisfhjordan; cjordan@app.com.

This article originally appeared on Asbury Park Press: Bruce Springsteen surprises at Red Bank screening of 'No Nukes'