Oct. 9, 1978 review: Bob Dylan in the Aud

 

How many times have I seen Bob Dylan? And how many different Dylans have I seen? By this point, I think it was up to half a dozen.

Oct. 10, 1978

At 37, Dylan

Is Timely Again

With New Image

         The pre-concert tape is playing “Walkin’ in the Rain” and other naïve favorites of the pre-Elvis ‘50s. For some in this crowd of about 10,000, that’s not history, that’s deep nostalgia.

         The usual Memorial Auditorium rock demographics are bent out of shape for Bob Dylan. Mixed in with the kids are a fair number of folks old enough to be their parents. So is Dylan.

         At 37, he’s embarked on his midlife crisis by stripping himself of the staid, settled-down stability that marked his early maturity. As the lights go down, the eight-piece band strikes up an overture of “My Back Pages,” He was so much older then. He’s younger than that now.

         Indeed, Dylan seems reborn. He’s freewheeling again. “I’m ready for you,” he sings as he opens with a new number that has a thumping disco beat. “I hope you’re ready for me.”

         He’s clad in the trappings of contemporary pop and it’s not hard to take at all. The band and the trio of female singers are crisply professional.

         Dylan pushes himself hard. Too hard for all the clothes he chooses to wear – a black leather coat, black vest, black pants with stars along the seam, pink satin collarless shirt open over a beaded necklace. Soon there’s sweat glistening around the rouged cheeks, the eyes lined with black, the traces of beard.

         All this causes little change in his vocals. As usual, he plays fast and loose with melody and rhythm, half-speaking his lyrics, burying some of them (like “even the President of the United States sometimes must stand naked”) under fresh phrasing.

         The old tunes have been remade to new specifications and identifying them is like a parlor game. That 10-minute ballad is “Tangled Up in Blue.” This disco number with David Mansfield on fiddle is “Maggie’s Farm.” The tinkly intro is for “I Shall Be Released.”

         That’s just the first hour. The most stirring surprises come after the short intermission.

         There’s Dylan’s acoustic solo on “It Ain’t Me, Babe,” with cheers for his harmonica, which he eventually throws to the fans in front.

         There’s Bobbye Hall’s conga drums in an adrenaline-filled “One More Cup of Coffee.”

         There’s a shimmery, tinkly “Blowin’ in the Wind,” with haunting Steve Douglas flute and Dylan’s declaration that the answer’s “still blowin’ in the wind.”

         There’s Dylan’s rhythmic liberties knocking Douglas and pianist Alan Pasqua off balance in their trio rendition of “Girl From the North Country.”

         There’s a big-beat rave-up of “Masters of War.”

         There’s a final string of material from his days of rebellion – “Just Like a Woman,” “To Ramona,” “All Along the Watchtower,” “All I Really Want to Do” and “It’s All Right, Ma, I’m Only Bleeding.”

         There’s a closing benediction – a gloriously unmolested “Forever Young” with hot solos by Douglas and guitarist Billy Cross.”

         And then there’s a summing up for the encore – “The Changing of the Guard,” third song of the night from “Street Legal.”

         Dylan’s decision to put the polish of perspective on the cutting edge of youth bodes well for his next phase. In the ‘60s, he redefined a generation’s dealings and devotions. He just might do it again.

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IN THE PHOTO: Bob Dylan in the Oakland Coliseum in November 1978.

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FOOTNOTE: Wikipedia's page about this tour says Dylan did 114 shows in 1978 in Asia, Australia-New Zealand, North America and Europe. His concerts in Tokyo were released on the double live album, "Bob Dylan at Budokan."

Wikipedia adds: "The 1978 tour grossed more than $20 million, and Dylan acknowledged to the Los Angeles Times that he had some debts to pay off because 'I had a couple of bad years. I put a lot of money into the movie, built a big house ... and it costs a lot to get divorced in California.'

"It was during the later stages of this tour that Dylan experienced a 'born-again' conversion to Christianity, which would become the overriding thematic preoccupation in his music for the next couple of years."

Did you know there’s an archive of Bob Dylan’s setlists at bobdylan.com? Here’s what it lists for that Oct. 9 Buffalo date:

My Back Pages

I’m Ready

Is Your Love in Vain?

Shelter from the Storm

It’s All Over Now, Baby Blue

Tangled Up In Blue

Ballad of a Thin Man

Maggie’s Farm

I Don’t Believe You (She Acts Like We Never Have Met)

Like a Rolling Stone

I Shall Be Released

Going, Going, Gone

One of Us Must Know (Sooner or Later)

It Ain’t Me, Babe

Am I Your Stepchild?

One More Cup of Coffee (Valley Below)

Blowin’ in the Wind

Girl from the North Country

Where Are You Tonight? (Journey Through Dark Heat)

Masters of War

Just Like a Woman

To Ramona

All Along the Watchtower

All I Really Want to Do

It’s Alright, Ma (I’m Only Bleeding)

Forever Young

Changing of the Guards