Watching Bob Dylan in Mesa, Arizona (1988)
— who knew it was the start of something never-ending?
by Anne Margaret Daniel
04 April 2017 01:47 pm EST
Source: No Depression
"Dylan was playing in some cool places we'd never been before, and we loved the idea of going — being in a place for no reason other than music, and having no reason to stay once the music moved on. . . And so, on a hot Saturday night in July, I ended up in Mesa, Arizona with my two friends, kindred spirits happy in the summertime.
The hotel next door was part of the venue. Basic, modern, cleanser-smelling new rooms with unclouded windows, and a fantastic outdoor pattern of pools and palm trees. We basked and splashed that morning, and had lunch in the shade, before heading into the green terraced bowl next door in the early afternoon for front-row seats. . . "
"Dylan looking mighty fine with Dusty-Springfield-thick gray-blue liner around his remarkable, magnetic, drowning-pool eyes, earring swinging. He was loose and relaxed, looking out constantly at the crowd, the alertness and the stage clothes combining for a pirate-captain vibe. . .
Mr. Tambourine Man” was high-flying and elegant. On the speedy, sassy “Don’t Think Twice, It’s All Right” something strange happened. Dylan’s hands were flying over his guitar, and as he picked his way, his long varnished thumbnail snapped off near the quick. . . "
We knew we’d get something from the new album, Down In The Groove. We knew it would be “Silvio.” Even for the people who’d come to the show — and still come to his shows — wanting only Bob 1965/1966, where’s the problem with this? Dylan is singularly alone in being expected to serve as a human jukebox for His Greatest Hits, with adoring fans poised like the little Jack Russell-terrier mix in the old RCA Victor ads, listening for His Master’s Voice. Any other artist who releases a new record performs songs from that record on their next tour without comment, because that’s what they’re supposed to do. “Silvio” was cool to listen to, then and now.
A contemporary interjection to anyone complaining that Dylan’s 2017 summer tour features some of his songs from Triplicate, his brand-new release of American songbook standards chiefly covered by, among others, Frank Sinatra: hush your fussing and listen. They’re grand songs. He’ll do something old, of his own, for you too — as I’ve put it before, Dylan always likes to give you something old, something new, something borrowed and a whole lot of blue....
About the author Anne Margaret Daniel
At home in New York City, or on the road (again), Anne Margaret Daniel loves live music, and she'll take you there.
Anne Margaret Daniel, Contributor professor; writer; redhead. Editor, F. Scott Fitzgerald, I’D DIE FOR YOU (Scribner 2017). Baseball, books, music
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