Bert Weedon - Apache

First performance: 13/03/1973


Coverinfo

Bruce covered the song 3 times ( soundcheck included ) and 13 times as a snippet:
 
"Apache" was soundchecked prior to the show : There's a 27-minute soundcheck tape ('Unbooted'), has very poor sound quality but does feature a complete rendition of "Apache". (at: 05:22 )
 
 
 
 
1973-03-24 Student Center, Lewiston, NY
Different attendees at this show recall some highly surprising setlist possibilities: "Kitty's Back", "Quarter To Three", the Beatles' "Come Together", and even an encore of the Cascades' "Rhythm Of The Rain". Given the surprising nature of these song choices the relevant recording and performance histories, Brucebase excluded them from the setlist listing pending further confirmation.
One show, double bill, with Bruce and the boys headlining and local country-rock group Old Salt opening. Held indoors in the 350-seat Student Center. The show was not a sellout, with a reported 300 tickets sold. Given Springsteen was a virtual unknown at the time, this gig at Niagara received an unprecedented amount of pre and post concert press coverage in the school's modest campus newspaper, all articles written by students. The student who orchestrated this event (Kerry McNamara) was obviously a serious Bruce fan. A student reporter even seems to have travelled south to get a brief but fascinating interview with Bruce a couple of weeks before this show. In this interview Bruce mentions he is now playing "Rosalita (Come Out Tonight)", including "Fun, Fun, Fun", as a special encore (a tape exists of it from February 14 at VCU). In addition Bruce mentions "Ring Of Fire" and the instrumental "Apache" as two cover songs he's been incorporating into his recent shows. Interestingly it is also revealed that this gig had originally been planned for March 2 but had been rescheduled to March 24 because of the West Coast tour with Paul Butterfield's Better Days. This seems to have been an intimate, inspired crowd that elicited an equally inspired performance. Bruce even donned his legendary Elvis t-shirt at this show, a guarantee of a special evening! After Old Salt opened with a 60-minute set, Springsteen performed a 120-minute show with no intermission, including a triple encore. As reported in the reviews of the show that followed, Bruce opened with two (unnamed in print) acoustic numbers (accompanied by Clarence on the first and Danny on the second) and then brought out the entire band. The final song in the main set was "Thundercrack". The first encore was "Rosalita (Come Out Tonight) (including "Fun, Fun, Fun") and the second encore was "Twist And Shout". The title of the third encore is not mentioned. This is the longest verified Band performance up to this point and one of the very few two-hour shows Bruce did in 1973.
 
 
 
 
1973-03-13 Oliver's, Boston, MA 
One show, with Springsteen and band the sole act on the bill. The show was about two hours in length, with a short intermission half way through. Two cover songs were introduced into the live repertoire during the Oliver’s residency, the surf instrumental "Apache" and Johnny Cash’s "Ring Of Fire". Both were only performed sporadically throughout the remainder of 1973. Greetings Tour Sound Manager Albee Tellone comments: "When we got back from the ill-fated California trip Bruce bought himself an Echoplex that he used for guitar effects. I had to set it up for him each night. The reason he started performing "Apache" was because he could reproduce the exact sound of the original record".
 
  • Snippets
during OUTLAW PETE
 
2009-07-08 MCH Arena, Herning, Denmark
2009-07-03 Commerzbank-Arena, Frankfurt, Germany
2009-06-07 Stockholms Stadion, Stockholm, Sweden
2009-06-02 Ratinan Stadion, Tampere, Finland
2009-05-30 Megaland, Landgraaf, The Netherlands
2009-05-23 Izod Center, East Rutherford, NJ
2009-05-19 Mellon Arena, Pittsburgh, PA
2009-05-18 Verizon Center, Washington, DC
2009-05-15 Hersheypark Stadium, Hershey, PA
2009-05-12 United Center, Chicago, IL
2009-05-11 Xcel Energy Center, St. Paul, MN
2009-05-07 Air Canada Centre, Toronto, ON
2009-05-05 John Paul Jones Arena, Charlottesville, VA
  

Songinfo

"Apache" is an instrumental written by English composer Jerry Lordan. The original version was by Bert Weedon, but Lordan did not like the version. The British rock group The Shadows recorded "Apache" in June 1960 and released it the next month. It topped the UK Singles Chart for five weeks. English songwriter and composer Jerry Lordan came up with the tune. The title "Apache" reflects the source of Lordan's inspiration: the 1954 American western film Apache.
 
 
 

Bruce on the artist

Lyrics

INSTRUMENTAL