Bruce Springsteen Shares ‘Open All Night’ From 1st Full Live ‘Nebraska’ Performance

Bruce Springsteen previewed the upcoming Nebraska '82: Expanded Edition reissue with a live version of “Open All Night.” The song was recorded earlier this year as part of Springsteen’s first full live performance of his 1982 album.

Springsteen’s complete take on Nebraska was done live at an empty Count Basie Theatre in Red Bank, New Jersey. Filmmaker Thom Zimny captured the set that saw Springsteen accompanied only by guitarist Larry Campbell and keyboardist Charlie Giordano.

“The one thing that we didn’t do on the Nebraska album was we didn’t play it live, so my first thought when we were talking about celebrating the record was there’s got to be a performance, singing these songs from top to bottom,” Springsteen stated. “What I was concerned about was getting some of the spooky quality the record had. We’re lucky we got the great Larry Campbell and Charlie Giordano to assist in the very minimal instrumentation on the record, and Rob Lebret did a really nice job of mixing and maintaining the record’s integrity on that level.”

The expanded edition of the album culled from four-track bedroom demos includes the long-awaited “Electric Nebraska” sessions, featuring E Street Band members, drummer Max Weinberg, bassist Garry Tallent, organist Danny Federici, pianist Roy Bittan and guitarist Stevie Van Zandt, on recordings ultimately scrapped by Springsteen in favor of the stripped-down demos.

The full live Nebraska performance is also included with Nebraska ’82: Expanded Edition, which will be released October 17 through Sony Music.

“I think in playing these songs again to be filmed, their weight impressed upon me,” Springsteen added. “I’ve written a lot of other narrative records, but there’s just something about that batch of songs on Nebraska that holds some sort of magic.”

Watch the starkly presented live take on “Open All Night” recorded by Springsteen in his home state below: