Darkness Tour was a concert tour of North America that ran from May 1978 through the rest of the year , in conjunction with the release of Springsteen 's album '' Darkness on the Edge of Town '' . ( Like most Springsteen tours it had no official name , but this is the most commonly used ; it is also sometimes referred to as the Darkness on the Edge of Town Tour or most simply the 1978 Tour . ) The tour has since become viewed as perhaps Springsteen 's best in a storied career of concert performances . Biographer Dave Marsh wrote in 1987 , " The screaming intensity of those '78 shows are part of rock and roll legend in the same way as Dylan 's 1966 shows with the Band , the Rolling Stones ' tours of 1969 and 1972 , and the Who 's '' Tommy '' tour of 1969 : benchmarks of an era . " The tour ran in one continuous motion , starting May 23 , 1978 at Shea 's Buffalo in Buffalo , New York and playing halls , theatres , and occasional arenas across the United States and back several times , with a couple of forays into Canada . The first eight shows were played before the '' Darkness '' album was released on June 2 . Big cities , secondary cities , and college towns were all visited . A few shows were cancelled due to sickness but were made up later in the run . The tour wrapped up , after 115 shows , on New Year 's Day 1979 in Cleveland , Ohio 's Richfield Coliseum
Dylan 's 1966 shows with the Band
Bob Dylan World Tour 1966
Darkness Tour