I've seen Dylan three times. The first & best was with The Band at Atlanta's Omni in 74. Dylan did an acoustic set first, next The Band, then together. We were lucky & had seats 4th row center. The third set, playing together, my impression was there was no set list, the guys in The Band before each song watched Dylan, when he struck a chord on guitar they nodded, went into the song. To me it seemed as if Dylan was in total control. Thanks for a fine video, Otis, be well.
My dad took me to see Dylan in 1997. It was my first show. We saw him 7 times since. I have never seen him play poorly. I would have loved to see him with the Band.
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Texas style absurdity is all over Dylan's bone dry sense of humour. Interesting Charlie Sexton stories. The best band I've seen Dylan with was Charlie Sexton/Larry Campbell guiar duo "Things Have Changed" era. They did a lot of ramshackle bluegrass style hootenanny harmonizing. Larry Campbell is the stringed instrument version of Garth Hudson. He can play anything.
Corcoran was a really highly respected music writer in Texas for a lot of years. In the mid 80s he wrote a column titled, "Austin music sucks!" It's been reprinted on the net and is a funny read. Cheers Otis! Thanks for another great video.
First time I ever saw SRV was at Manor Downs in 1980 SRV opened for Bobby Wier with his band... Yes, Dylan drunk on his butt in the 1990 show at the Municipal! GE Smith and his guys kept the show going as Dylan was just terribly drunk. My wife and I were the first ones there and the first to leave. At that time Dylan was just obviously going through a rough spell to say the least. But, how can you not love his songs!!! G E Smith and company stole the show or at least kept things somewhat respectable!
Sorry, correction: saw Dylan with GE Smith and company 1990 at Palmer Auditorium and not the Municipal...too much musicians cologne...😎 sadly both gone with the wind...
I think Dylan was a great DJ on his satellite radio station in the early 2000s. Never went to see a live show as I didn't want to be disappointed. Love to listen to the stories.
Austin has changed so much since those days for sure. But it’s been more recent than other places. Big part of why I moved here after 20 years of driving down to catch shows from dfw. I did catch him about 10 years ago down here. With Leon Russel. It was a good show. Both those guys were a bucket list show for me and to see them both on one bill. But I gotta say Leon Russel was the better show. I hate to admit that. I love Bob but he was just going through the set list it seemed and not into it.
To be part of a group who changed the face of American music forever , yet get boo 'ed every single night for your troubles , must have been soul destroying ? Dylan and The Band were rejected all around the world by fans yet persevered to the hilt in their musical quest in which to make music . In the end it must have been so satisfying to know that the music endured forever and the oppressors all very ,very wrong .
I saw Dylan and the Hawks a few months after that in Syracuse. My very first show at the age of 12! You can't even imagine how great it was. Boy, did that set the bar high for the rest of my life.
Thanks Otis, Interesting stories. I only saw Dlyan once. It was some time between '89 & '91 at the Concord Pavilion east of San Francisco, and my mom was my date. Evening show, beautiful moon rise over the mountain behind the stage. The Alarm was the opener (spectacular performance) and when Bob came out he was not sloppy, he was on fire. The sound was mixed well, and the guy playing guitar stayed stayed back in the shadows the whole night, but he was great too. For the encore Bob called that guy up to stand next to him. It was Neil fucking Young. I'm really happy that this is my memory of seeing Dylan live.
Boys glad i popped in on this one , been awhlie since i could make this comment to someone who might know what the hell im talking about . i saw Bob when Charlie S. was in his band . i knew of him from when he broke at 16 ? with that first album . Well i just want to say that Charlie was on fire ,as much as u can be on Bobs stage , when he played with Bob . and Bob never one to back off from a good guitar solo ,played better guitar on those tours then i ve noticed in years . it was incredible to hear Bob keeping up and sometimes out doing him on guitar . it was made clear to me the Bob Dylan could Play a guitar after those shows .BUT i really think it was Charlie who lit the fire under his butt . Charlie did a real nice job on playing the rhythm parts with Bob too . Long Live George Jones .
Speaking as a long time Dylan fanatic, I can fully confirm Corcoran's description of Dylan's disappointing, desultory headline performance at the ACL Fest here in Austin some odd number of years ago. Having been to several Dylan concerts in prior years (Rolling Thunder Review included), I never could have dreamt that I'd walk out of the great man's show prior to conclusion, but I was among that crowd of folks Corcoran remarks having seen exiting the premises halfway through the performance. Dylan was just, he was just that bad. Whenever I think of that particular performance, 'perfunctory' is the word that immediately comes to mind. Standing mannequin-like behind an electric keyboard, contentedly allowing the rest of the band to do the heavy lifting, Dylan's voice approximated the croaking of a bullfrog. Worse yet, it seemed as if each song couldn't end soon enough to satisfy him. Charlie Sexton was present and in fiery form before his home crowd; but sorry Charlie, we didn't come with expectations for an Austin lead-guitar seminar, we'd already seen you do that on plenty of occasions in numerous clubs about town. When questioned what fans may not know about Dylan, I had previously read Sexton remark that Dylan's talent as a pianist is hugely underrated. Could be, but I saw and heard nothing that day to convince me. Corcoran's remark that some people that day thought the show was superb also resonates. An acquaintance remarked when we crossed paths several days later how fabulous he thought the show had been, and I had to bite my tongue. Two long time Dylan fans, both having witnessed the same show, the respective impressions completely at odds. Go figure.
I only saw him once, I think it was summer of 1985. He toured with Tom Petty and The Heartbreakers. Petty opened, then Dylan played, then they played a few songs together. Dylan's voice was truly horrible, I didn't even consider it singing. He played a Strat throughout the show, and had the worst guitar tone I have ever heard at a concert. By far. The sound when Petty was playing was fantastic, so it wasn't a case of the sound people screwing up. I find it odd that some people think it's sacrilegious to say things like that, and I guarantee you there were Dylan fanatics at the show who would tell you he sounded great. I'm a lifelong music lover and lifelong musician, so I have a pretty good idea of what good sound and good singing are. I love a lot of his music and have great respect for what he did for the world of folk and rock and roll. But I'm not a fanatical devotee, and I just call them as I see them. That was a terrible show and I was extremely disappointed (BTW, Petty sounded great, I became much more a fan of his after that). I'm sure there are people who will get upset with me for just being honest and not blindly adoring everything he's ever done. It's the only time I was ever truly disappointed with a concert, though Petty helped make the overall experience much better. Sorry, folks!
Let me just add, I almost never say anything negative here on RU-vid. I come here to enjoy music and videos and stories, etc. The only reason I commented was that you had a very similar experience to mine (both your view of the show and the fact that someone else had an 'opposing' view), and I've never understood the whole 'blind devotion' thing where everything someone does has to be great. Even the very best have bad performances, bad songs, etc.
Al Kooper had played a couple of post-Newport shows with Dylan, Robertson, Helm, and Harvey Brooks in NY and the Hollywood Bowl. As related in No Direction Home, when Kooper-already faced with hostile crowds-saw they were headed to Texas, specifically Dallas, he said, “They just killed the President. What are they going to do to this guy?” And promptly jumped ship, clearing the way for hiring the rest of The Hawks.
Fort Worth here and back in the mid 90's I dated this girl whose parents paid for us to go on a road trip to Denver to see the Bob Dylan/Paul Simon show. Being a Texas boy I was thrilled to see Charlie Sexton playing with Dylan. Both those cats can pull the most amazing musicians. Great show. Love the video Otis!
Ottis Gibbs and Michael Corcoran -- i like stories of those times, thanks for telling. I have some different experiences from what you say Michael, which i want to bring up because they're important to me. Yes, Austin was the first time Dylan played with the full Hawks band and i think September 24 is right. A couple of things that are different from my experiences, first, Dylan never "switched to electric." He loves to play acoustic, he's good at it and for the most part, at least as far as i know, he aways does an acoustic set at his concerts. The only time i've read of when his whole sets were electric was when he was in high school, playing with his various bands, such as The Golden Chords, in the mid 50s. i wasn't at Austin but i was at the concert before that at Hollywood Bowl on September 3 when i was 16 with my three best friends, i still have the orange ticket stub. It was the second concert of that tour. The first was in Forest Hills, New York on August 28, that one is famous for booing and not just booing, angry audience members charged the stage and tried to violently remove the band, Al Kooper was knocked off his stool, security got those people out and the rest of the concert was good, most people there loved the concert and the new songs backed by the band, which included Al Kooper, keyboard, Harvey Brooks on bass, Robbie Robertson on lead guitar and Levon Helm on drums. Al says that before the concert, Dylan told the band, "No matter what happens, just keep playing." So they did
Very Cool, Thankyou. Saw Bob Dylan 1984 with Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers as his band and the support band also. Was an outdoor stadium concert and we got hit by a "cyclone" heavy rain and strong winds. Most amazing Concert, Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers must have played for 5 hours with only a few breaks when Dylan played solo. Always an awesome memory, thankyou for reminding me. Cheers from Australia.
I saw one of the last waltz shows, at the forum in LA (Inglewood). Very good. When he did it’s alright ma, w/just him and acoustic and harmonica, that was powerful, his voice was still pretty good then. Also saw bob in 2003 at amphitheater at San Diego state, great venue, great show.
Dang Otis, where did you find this? I am still learning about your channel..... I love anything about Bobby D and then you intersect it with Austin and Texas, man!
Hey Otis Did you ever know a guy named Randy Montgomery. He knew Townes and Blaze back in the day. Sad to say he passed about a year ago. Made my second acoustic guitar for him. He wrote some really funny /crazy songs. I'll never forget the night we meet . We were playing separate sets at sauced on paseo and after we Finished we sat and played together for a couple of hours. Sure will miss him.
Michael talks about Dylan's performance in the recent past as being pretty awful. I've got to agree, when I saw him at the Byron Bay Bluesfest here in Australia, the train had left as far as what he'd done in the past. And I'm a big Dylan fan and in particular a fan of his work of the late 60's early 70's.
more great tales... love THE Band just got a Keyan into them the other day....glad MC meninonsis Oasis being good...my guilty pleasure (with no shame) band...lol thanks as ever Otis
I've been readkng Corky's stuff for years and I've been collecting Austin Lore stories for nearly 50 years but it's been forever since anyone mentions the Hawks and BD at the Muni. Lots of get tidbits of infoo for me to file away. As an Austinite, I'm loving this series
This is fantastic to hear I believe I will forever love most of Bob Dylan’s s songs and this information is absolutely fantastic news. Bob Dylan is the one who mad music worth listening to I do listen to various other bands as well but respect the fact that they probably wouldn’t exist if not for you Bob Dylan 🎵
He sure did. He was with Bob at that notorious first electric set at the Newport Folk Festival. Speaking of Highway 66 Revisited, his solo on Tombstone Blues... Gawd!
I can’t remember his name but Levon Helms couldn’t go to Europe on that tour because of visa problems so they got another guy to play drums instead for the European part of the tour there is a documentary about the substitute drummer and he ended up being in many Clint Eastwood movies one that I remember is he was one of the bikers in that movie that Clint Eastwood had orangutan for a sidekick and the orangutan knocked him out I guess the orangutan was a big Levon Helms fan
Very cool story. This is the kinda thing that always makes me wish I'd been born 10-15 years earlier so I could have seen all the bands I love when they were starting out or coming into their own.
I was around for it all. But I seldom actually saw anyone live. Money, time, obligations, it all added up to me just buying a really good stereo, and enjoying all that music on the radio and on albums. Though I did see Bob Seger at a small venue in MI about a week after Ramblin' Gambling Man came out. I sat at a table near the stage for about a half hour talking to a guy about what we liked about music and what we didn't. Then he said, "I gotta go. Later." Turns out he was soon up on the stage playing. He was the drummer in the duo Teegarden and VanWinkle. He went on to play with Seger and the Silver Bullet Band. I saw Bruce Springsteen when I was about 30, then Tom Petty when I was about 40. Then Joni Mitchell soon after, and she was about the only performer I ever enjoyed more than the albums. She was magical.
@@johnwest7993 Ah man. That's too bad you didn't see all the greats you could have. I'm not putting them down when I say this but Bruce and Seger never really did it for me. I would have been into seeing Seger back then though. And really wish I saw Joni! I've seen 1000s of shows. Lots of all time greats but never Joni unfortunately.
