Coverinfo
1969 - 1970
Bruce Springsteen has performed "Season of the witch" with his early (1969-1970) band Steel Mill. Unfortunately, there is no audio recording of a Springsteen performance of the song, nor do we know specific shows when he performed it. The only testimony came from Patti Smith's guitarist Lenny Kaye. Kaye first saw Steel Mill at Monmouth College in Long Brach, NJ, during one of the band's first gigs. They were still called "Child" at the time, and the gig in question is probably the SGA (Student Government Association) Rock Festival that took place on 11 May 1969. As quoted in Clinton Heylin's 2012 book E Street Shuffle:
The Glory Days of Bruce Springsteen & The E Street Band, Kaye recalled:
"All I remember about the set was that the lead-singer was a really great guitar-player, he played a black Les Paul and he took command of the stage. They finished their set with a ten-minute version of 'Season of the Witch', which was pretty much all solo. And I thought, this guy's great! I found out his name was Bruce Springsteen."
Kaye also recalled on another occasion:
"...we stood in a tiny room and jammed. Bruce played the shit out of a song called 'Season of the Witch,' just winged it... He blew me away."