Dylan live


Greetings.

I am just home from a Dylan concert (going again tomorrow).  Having been to his shows more times than I can count (many dozens, over several decades) I feel he is in a place that few ever get to.  Magical is a word that comes to mind.  A great band backing him, has been the same players for a long time, they play as a unit and as individuals, and he, the man, is either at a baby grand or standing between Tony and Charlie with a stand microphone doing 5 of his more recent "Sinatra" cover, with September of My Years bringing chills and tears.  He plays mostly songs from recent discs, but also did Tangled, Highway 61, Desolation Row, and blowing/thin man as encores.  

He/his shows/his recent discs seem to polarize.

Me, I feel so fortunate to be alive while he is, and to experience the transcendence.

Richard
rpeluso

Showing 5 responses by bdp24

That would be great! By the way, there is a You Tube video of Garth Hudson returning to BP for the first time since ’68. The current owner leads him through the house and down into the basement, and Garth points out where everyone was set up, also talking about the acoustics of the room. Garth had set up the recorder and mics that were used to make the Basement Tapes, engineering them all throughout 1967. The Holy Grail of Americana music, people!
Damn rpeluso, I’m green with envy! The friend I planned on making the pilgrimage with saw The Hawks with Dylan in ’65, of which I am also envious. My last remaining trip to make in this life is to Big Pink. The current owner is a musician, and allows select visitors to the see the hallowed ground.

Oops, when I said Larry (Campbell) could be seen and heard in recordings made "there", I was speaking of the videos made at The Midnight Ramble shows filmed at Levon Helm's barn in Woodstock. I never made it to one, though a friend and I had talked about making the trip from California to upstate New York to do so. Levon passed away before we got the chance.

I've been listening to Levon and the rest of The Band backing Dylan (and doing their own set) on the recordings made during their '74 tour together, and released as the Before The Flood double album. Fantastic.

Larry and his wife Teresa put out an album in 2015. He played with Levon Helm for years after leaving Dylan's band, and can be seen and heard in the recordings made there. Very talented guy.
Nope Geoff, not a word to the audience. I myself prefer that to show biz bs. I last saw Dylan in 2001 (on the "Love And Theft" tour) at The Pantages Theater in Hollywood, a great Art Deco room that seats only a couple thousand. Great show---Dylan was in high spirits, even taking guitar solos (!) as Larry Campbell watched, slightly bemused. He had a FANTASTIC band, one of the best I’ve ever seen and heard. One of the best nights of music I’ve ever witnessed!