We're traveling back in time almost 33 years to catch Dylan delivering a smoking version of his 1966 Blonde on Blonde track, "Leopard-Skin Pill-Box Hat," with bandleader G.E. Smith leading the way on lead guitar.
It was filmed on the third of a 3-night set performed by Dylan at The Opera House in Boston, 10/25/89, during the second year of what would eventually come to be called his "Never Ending Tour."
In addition to G.E. Smith, the band included Tony Garnier on bass and Christopher Parker on drums.
The camcorder used to film the show was an early generation Sony Video8 with only 6x zoom and 3 or 4 lux, rented from a Sony Service Center not far from home in Massachusetts. The sound here is a mix of the video soundtrack recorded on the camcorder with an external mono mic, and my husband Jon's audio recorded on a Sony Walkman Pro portable cassette deck using a Sony 1-point stereo mic.
On a personal note, it was just the 4th show I filmed, following 2 at the Beacon Theatre a couple of weeks earlier plus the first Boston dates. And it was the very first time I ever did so alone, as Jon had to go out of town on business that morning and missed the show.
I was sitting in just the fourth or fifth row. Although I'd filmed from the 6th row at the Beacon, it didn't feel quite as intimidating then as it did in Boston this night, with security just a few rows away and me all by my lonesome. I grew so anxious waiting for the lights to go down that I got sick and had to run out of the theater and downstairs to the rest room to throw up. Luckily I got back to my seat just a couple of minutes before Dylan and the band came onstage. And made it through the rest of the show without further incident. :)
9 сен 2024
