[Animated New Pony]

"And I'm gonna ride into Omaha on a horse..."


[A Dylan postcard; the photograph is from the Sixties]

Anecdotes

A Fantastic Collection
If Not For You
Close Encounters
Real Live


These are anecdotes about Bob Dylan. For jokes told by the man himself, visit Expecting Rain's Jokes Page.

A Fantastic Collection

Here's a few from various sources:

From the New York Post's Page Six column, October 16, 2001:

In another terror-related tidbit, Bob Dylan has ordered such a clamp-down on his security he was barred from getting into one of his own concerts.

The rock legend's handlers told security at a recent concert in Oregon that absolutely no one could get backstage without an official pass.

It turns out that Dylan himself—who was without his laminate—was refused entry by the literal-minded guards at the Jackson County Exposition Center, reports the Oregon Mail Tribune.

Dylan was finally allowed in after the guards' supervisor, Chris Borovansky, came over and ushered Dylan inside. "I told them they did a great job," Borovansky said, adding that he later qualified the "no-pass" rule: "There's no exception," he said. "Except for one."

This one is from Bette Midler, with whom Dylan recorded "Buckets of Rain" in 1975:

"He absolutely charmed the pants off me—well, not literally but close. Actually, I tried to charm the pants off him but everyone will be dissappointed to learn I was unsuccessful. But I got close. A couple of first bases in the front seat of his Cadillac. He drives an hysterically long red Cadillac convertible and he can't drive worth a pea. He's not a big guy and he always drives with the seat well back."

My love is bigger than a Cadillac, I try to show you but you drive me back...

From Margaret Moser and Bill Crawford's book Rock Stars Do The Dumbest Things:

"Neil Diamond collaborated for many years with guitarist Robbie Robertson of The Band. In 1976 Robertson invited Diamond and Bob Dylan to perform at The Last Waltz, The Band's final concert, which was documented by Martin Scorsese. Diamond sang first, went backstage, and smugly said to Dylan, "You'll have to be pretty good to follow me." Dylan snapped back, "What do I have to do, go onstage and fall asleep?"

Rolling Thunder Revue made for some pretty good anecdotes. Here's one about Dylan's appearance at Mama Frasca's lodge: Can I crawl out your window?. It is linked externally because it is an actual article at NewBerkshire.com.

Here's a story from rec.music.dylan, a newsgroup devoted to Dylan. The anecdote-teller has a friend "...whose niece works for this ticket organization in Columbus, Ohio so she was Dylan's runner while he was in town meaning that she took Dylan's personal chef to wherever to get whatever they needed, but the night after the show she was in the kitchen cleaning up and here comes Dylan hood and all - he asks her if he could have another piece of cherry pie--said it was his favorite (I mean he acted like everyone wasn't there precisely because of his appearance that evening!) and when she said yes Mr. Dylan you can have the whole pie, his eyes became big as saucers and he said, "REALLY?", took the pie and scampered away."

This next one appeared in the recent New Yorker article about Bob Dylan by Alex Ross. His friend played on a Little League with Dylan's son in the late seventies, during the singer's gospel periods. When a dog ran onto the playing field, his friend yelled "Get that goddamn dog off the playing field!" A familiar voice rasped from the parents' bench, "Ahhh, that's a what kind of dog?"

If Not For You

When I was 21 I travelled abroad and took a farm job on a small island off the coast of Denmark. The busy summer season had finished and most of the other travelers had left, leaving only a few of us to pick apples and pears. Besides myself there was a South African guy, an Irishman and a Welshman. We were all good friends and enjoyed having a drink and smoke in the evenings, after a hard day's work in the fields. Although we had a stereo, we only had about 5 tapes between us and soon became sick of them. Then one day the Irishman pulled out an old tape a friend had given him, a scratchy copy of Dylan's Biograph. As it was so different from the Techno and Reggae music we'd been into, he figured we wouldn't be interested. He couldn't have been more wrong. We were new to Dylan but we ended up listening to the tape just about every night for the next month. Three of us shared a caravan and got into the routine of putting the tape on last thing before we went to sleep. All those nights of listening to Dylan with quiet awe have stayed with me to this day. I've been hooked ever since.

A second-grade "show and tell" (1962), a girl in our class brought in Bob's first album. Her father was an editor of a major newspaper, well-connected with new things. Others brought stuff like petrified wood or their pet hamster. We all thought Bob sounded weird (and that the little girl was kind of weird, too). It stuck in my mind though. She turned out pretty smart and wrote a book on folk songs.

Once in class during music lesson, when I was around 13, the teacher played "Mr. Tambourine Man" on the stereo. our assignment was to write down the lyrics he sang and figure out what it was all about. just like in that Dangerous Minds movie, I guess. I think I was the only one then to recognise it was Dylan. After a couple of times of playing it, she told the class that the song was about consuming drugs. I was kind of taken aback because to me, while I was listening to "mr. tamourine man" I pictured walking alone on the streets at 3AM ("the ancient empty streets too dead for dreaming") feeling hopeless and foresaken, and wanting so badly to escape. and that kiler line—"let me forget about today until tomorrow"...I was haunted after the experience by how he could write a song which was multi-layered, open to everyone's interpretation and at the same time undeniably emotional. So then the next day I bought my first Dylan album and I've never looked back.

Last year, a co-worker handed me a copy of Love and Theft. I played it several times at work, and picked up a copy on my way home. This collection was a revelation—where HAVE I been? Now I am slowly collecting his earlier works, and realize his songs have been part of the fabric of my life all these years. It's never too late.

When I was at high school we use to get picked up at the public bus stops by school-funded coaches that had a radio and tape player next to the driver. After yet another day of reading anything I thought would teach me more than school books we filed onto the coach. On the radio was the normal pre-pubescent favourites of the time, (Spice Girls etc!). About ten minutes into the journey home one of my friends sat around me wandered to the front of the bus. He put a tape in the cassette player and strolled back down the aisle with a sly grin across his face. Just as he sat down behind me I heard a guy singing about people getting stoned. This drums/harp intro just locked me to my seat, then came the now unmistakable voice, I sat straight up and started sshh-ing everyone around me. It was then I found out who this guy Bob Dylan was. As soon as I got home I was searching for that song or any Dylan cd. Little did I know that the title ("Rainy Day Women") was not even in the lyrics, it took me ages to find that song since I didn't find Blonde on Blonde for ages. I think I first heard it on an imported version of 'Masterpieces' that I got from somewhere. Even though I have collected tons of dylan stuff "RDW 12&35" is still special to me, and thanks to the guy who put the tape on - i owe you one.

I used to make fun of my old man when he would play the Desire album and sing slong to "Isis." This was when I was twelve. By the time I was thirteen I stole his copy of Greatest Hits (cassette) and listened to it for a month straight. At fourteen I read Heylin's Behind the Shades and saw Dylan live ('92). "Boots of Spanish Leather" was the highlight. I haven't looked back since. As an undergraduate I wrote nearly a dozen papers on Dylan, his work, and his impact on pop culture. I've tried to contain myself when it comes to attaining cdr's of shows/outtakes but still have 100's of hours - not to mention all his official releases. I see him in concert every chance I get and each show seems to improve. He's a true performing artist and I feel fortunate to be alive at a time when I can witness his genius first hand.

I was first a Beatles fan this was back in '73-'74 when I was about 11/12 years old. I was listening to The Bangladesh concert which my sister had because George Harrisson was such a big part of it. And there this very peculiar guy was who took up a whole side of the 3 LP's, so I asked my sister who he was and she told me that he was even more important than The Beatles, I didn't need to hear more! :-) The thing that grabbed me about him was his image as a troubador being on his own in front of all those people, very courageous I thought. Also I fell in love with his singing and his VOICE! I didn't listen so much to the lirics at first both being very young and also not having english as my first language, but I did realize he was saying something that mattered and he sang it accordingly. Anyway I've never understood and still don't how people can complain about his singing or his voice 'cause he is the absolute best singer along with Billy Holiday. He lives and feels all the things that he's singing about and you can feel it while listening. Anyway this is Sigurjon or sion from Iceland a member of the Icelandic Dylan Mafia www.simnet.is/bobdylan

When I was 16, I was watching the movie The 1960's. I heard a few of Dylan's songs on there, so I went and bought the Greatest Hits. Since then I have bought over 20 of his albums, seen him in concert a number of times, and basically sworn off anything non-Dylan.

I'm 50 and my first real memory is hearing the Beatles mention Bob. Then I heard The Byrds "Tambourine Man" and got the Byrds LP. On the back was Bob's photo with them. There was something up here I knew in my then 13 year old mind.... Hey, were the Beatles EVER wrong, or what so I decided to keep my ears open....then "Like a Rolling Stone" arrived..need I say more?

When the movie the Hurricane was being promoted I heard the song by Dylan. and downloaded mp3s, I have bought records, books etc and continually observe Dylan's music and thought process, if possible. His inspiration will lead me to some great artistic action, someday. Someday soon.

what first drew me to dylan was this undescribable feeling of truth, it was in the air like energy, dylan took whatever was his from whatever was ours and his and then his became ours, like history, since his music and his poetry look so much better than our memory of what we used to think was happening when his was becoming ours, it was in the air like energy, this undescribable feeling of truth, and dylan was there drawing it all, or his part of it all, like an artist, drawing on this ephemeral truth like thirst at a well in a strangers face, and thirst was at the well like energy, there was energy enough for each one to carry the well looking for stranger's faces in order to describe thirst, and we carried each the well although there was only one well worth waiting well enough for, the energy was in the air, and then it was almost too much to carry the well and to see the energy of truth in the air, we all caught on fire, time caught on fire, our memories caught on fire, we jumped in the well and the air blew away the energy into forgotten autumnal swirling as we fell into the truth of the water of life, and so it has continued, and then we were all buried in the earth, the single being from which we all had come at some time with some truth to give energy to, some thirst to give water to, some poet to listen to, oh magic unbelievability that is as truth is what first attracted, is what was first delivered, is what was first defined, following ourselves around the freedom to be.

From Desire to Biograph to "Like A Rolling Stone" to Greatest Hits, various readers have submitted their moment of conversion to fan-dom:

The first song I ever heard Bob sing was Positivly 4th st. Hooked ever since.

It was in the fall of 1988, I was 16, and I had heard some Dylan the year before at a boarding school and I wanted to hear more. So I went to the local public library (I live in Denmark, Scandinavia) and borrowed Desire and Saved and recorded both of the records - I still have that tape, though the sound is now very bad. I think it was the song "Isis" that did it with its western-story and Bob's happy return home (if you want me to... yeahhh!) I am still a great dylanfan, and I'm looking forward to the release of Love & Theft

The 60's interview in New Yorker magazine, the Playboy interview, and most of all "Freight Train Blues" on the Bob Dylan album. It really gassed me to input one channel to the vertical display and one channel to the horizontal display of an oscilloscope, and watch the resultant lisajous pattern of an almost perfect circle when he hit the long sustained note.

The first time I heard the song "Hurricane", I was totally blown away. I was fifteen. I listened to it for eight hours straight, I got it by mp3 format. the next day I went out and got the album Desire. Now I have every album, about five books two movies, I have 5 posters, 3 shirts, and have gone to four concerts. He is god to me.

I heard the tape Bob Dylan's Greatest Hits and really liked the music on it. I first bought the Greatest Hits then I read No Direction Home and said to myself I have found what i am looking for.

I think that A Hard Rain's A-Gonna Fall was my first song of Dylan's that I really hooked onto (or that hooked me). It was back in 1986, and I was a Senior in high school, up in my room, playing it loud with headphones on and strumming my air guitar. A few years later I got rehooked with Slow Train Coming and it was then that Dylan's gift really latched onto me for good.

the first thing that drew me to dylan was when i was ten years old, the voice and the articulate special way of phrasing on the first greatest hits album my sister used to play in her room. i could hear the record through the door and it stuck with me although i didn't understand a word i felt it was serious, authentic and from the heart...

I figured if so many people thought so much of this guy I should probably check him out. So in 1970 I bought Freewheelin'. That album struck me as being very honest and sincere. It brought tears to my eyes. Dylan is right up there with Beefheart.

Hummmmm........the first thing that drew me to Bob Dylan? Well I must say that the first concert that I attended I was not a Bob Dylan fan. I just wanted to see him because it was "Bob Dylan". But after that experience I have seen him 5 times. I must say that I am a full-fledged Bob Dylan freak!!!! I love the man.....he is the greatest!!!

I was drawn to Dylan at an early age, when he first started. I loved all his music from day one. Blowing In The Wind, Mr.Tambourine Man. The song that really hooked me was Lay Lady Lay. Idiot Wind is my all time favorite though!!!

Bob Dylan is a god.

working in a second hand record shop in dublin we bough in a copy of Dylan's greatest hits vol 1. we just put it on and I was blow away with the music and the songs that were coming out of the speakers!! Never have I heard anything so amazing in all my life! Fan from that day which was about 5 years ago and finding more and more in each song every time I listen to it..

"Subterranean Homesick Blues"—Heard it when I was 15, in 1982. It was so different and I wanted to know all the words, so I bought Greatest Hits. Now I'm a Bob Junkie.

[In concert with former drummer Winston Watson] What drew me to Dylan was his best Rock & Roll hit "Like A Rolling Stone".

My brother first introduced me to Bob Dylan music when I was twelve, he had heard him singing on the radio and decided he must buy one of his albums. As my brother quoted some of his lyrics I thought they were pretty good but was immediately turned off when I heard Dylan's voice. It happened by chance that I accidently brought the tape Desire with me on holiday, it was while I was sunbathing on the beach that I decided to see if I could find what all the fuss was about concerning this crooning man Dylan, the cover looked a bit weird but I put the tape in my walkman and after listening to "Hurricane", "Mozambique", and the devotional song to his wife "Sara" I had made up my mind that I was going to be a fan forever! I am now eighteen and still love his music, the man has deepth and meaning. I listen to him every day both in my car and at home. My favourite song at the moment is "Up To Me" which is found on the Bob Dylan Biograph. The 19th of June 1999 was a special day for me as I went to see Dylan and Van the Man at Belfast. The experience was priceless and the T-shirt my brother bought for me is my most treasured item of clothing.

I am constantly abused by friends and family saying "How can you like him, he can't sing?" I just smile to myself in amazement at their ignorance of classic music and lyrics! :)

I hope to go and see Wonder Boys in the cinema next weekend with my friends (who by the way think I'm a bit crazy to have a CD collection of albums which were released decades before I was born) and hear some Dylan songs. I love the added video of "Things Have Changed" on the singles CD, wasn't Bob great!

He sang "Slow Train Coming" his Christian gear when I was given a bible everything made sense I guess you could say that he was my evangelist to conversion.

I was given Desire to listen to by a friend around 1975 I have been obsessed by Dylan and his music ever since.

Close Encounters

Here's a few close enounters submitted by readers:

A friend of mine was getting married, and wanted to have a folk jam/potluck/co-ed bachelor party, so he rented a space for the evening at a rehearsal studio here in L.A. Since none of us were plugged in, we left the door open. There were 15-20 of us, mostly on guitars. One of the players wives rushed into the room, speaking to her husband, "Frank, Frank, it's Bob Dylan...Bob Dylan is in the lobby!" We all were telling her to "hush up", so that he would not hear her, (and embarass us) when another of my friends started a boogie version of "crash on the levee", and everybody joined in with gusto. At first I thought it was a bad idea, but Bob comes up to the door, without actually entering, and is standing in the doorway, tapping his foot, bobbing his head, and smiling from ear to ear. When the song ended, the host, without ever speaking to him by name, pointed to the cases of beer and plates of food, saying "there's plenty of food and beer, come on in..."

Bob just smiled, shook his head "no" and walked away. we still talk about it to this day.

—Bruce White

I have an anecdote I can share. It happened when I saw Dylan in Jackson, MS in '97. I drove all day to get there, and when I go see Dylan in a town I have never seen him in before, I always check out the venue first. After checking out the downtown venue, I noticed driving into Jackson that all the motels were on the outskirts of town, but while making my way out of downtown, I noticed Bob's big black bus parked outside a downtown hotel. My friend and I pulled in as someone was taking Bob's dog out of the bus for a walk. (Bob has a big Great Dane.) We got us a room and then went down to the hotel restaurant for dinner.

The restaurant and bar of the hotel were separated by a wide hallway, which was open to the restaurant on one side and the bar on the other. I sat facing this hallway and directly behind my friend, across the hall, was a men's restroom door. Just as our salads were delivered, the restroom door opened and out popped the head of none other than Bob Dylan. He quickly looked from side to side, then closed the door again. After I regained my composure, I decided to go in. Surely there was only one way out of the restroom. Shaking, I went over and opened the door only to find that it led to the stairs and on past the stairs was the restroom. I went in the restroom anyway, but it became obvious that Bob had gone back up the stairs.

Disappointed I went back to my dinner. However, just as we began to eat, here came Bob Dylan down this hallway. He was walking just a tad slower than brisk. He was wearing blue jeans, a denim jacket, black boots, and his hair looked kind of matted down. I was too shocked to do anything, but someone in the bar across the way yelled his name, and then he disappeared out the door with this woman chasing after him.

She returned a few minutes later all aglow and said she had spoken to him. I wish I would have spoken to her to see where he was going. He went out of a door opposite of the side of the hotel where his bus was parked. A few hours later I saw him up close at the concert and his hair had been fixed and he was looking good.

[In concert] November 1996. Spartanburg SC. It was the night before the '96 elections. Bob was playing the local auditorium. I skipped the encore to take a chance on gettin' a closer look at the MAN, and possibly to meet him. There's a security guy at the door, but he's cool and doesn't run me off. Then, a few people start to stream out. Then at last, with a towel over his head, out strodes our hero. I had had a few beers that night and didn't give a shit, so I just walked right up to him, shook his hand and said "Cool show Bob, who ya votin' for tomorrow". He never looked at me, but said "Hey". I knew what he meant, oddly enough. So then a year later, I'm listenin' to 'Time Out of Mind' for the first time. 'Highlands' is on, and I come to the line "Somebody just asked me/If I was registered to vote". My first thoughts were "Holy shit, I inspired a Dylan lyric!!!" Now, I'm not so sure, but I can dream, can't I???

I met Charlie Sexton in Atlanta on 9/4/99. I got an autograph from Charlie, who was sitting at the soundboard during the Paul Simon set. When Bob introduced Charlie that night he made a joke about a lot of people knowing him!

Stewart Grant sent me some interesting tales of Dylan in Scotland:

Anyhow the story goes ....( according to actor/comedian Billy Connolly, a huge Dylan fan).... in July 1978, and then in the first years of his own now huge career, he had wangled a stage pass through his agent to Dylan's Blackbushe show (which was to attract a crowd of 250,000 , still a record number I believe for any UK gathering.) He turned up early in the day, desperate to meet his hero, and spent several hours quizzing anyone around with "Where's Bob ?" etc..and driving eveyone crazy - no-one knew where Bob was as usual. Eventually forgetting his obsession he was side-stage engrossed in some support act and happened to glance over his shoulder and ...( I forget his exact words, but something like....)....."Jesus ! There he was standing beside me, and man I nearly had a hairy canary ! "

Dylan apparently greeted him with "hey ! how're you doin' ?" or something and Billy, for once in his life just about speechless, mumbled some reply !....." Yeah, Bob said it like he knew who I was, so that was good enough for me man !!"

I forget now if he said he saw much of Dylan to speak to thereafter, but he stayed on for his great late-night set that finished the show. Sometime later he managed to find this photo of them onstage together( photograher unknown).

More recently I believe they appeared together on the David Letterman Show on November 18, 1993 but have no other details of that. I would be glad to learn more of this or any other encounters they may have had! As it happens, it was my first time at a Bob show too though I was about a mile back in the crowd recovering from a gruelling overnight van trip south from Scotland ! Great show it was though, among the first of Street Legal material I think.

Some months afterwards, on meeting Billy, I learned about his adventures that day, and later was to acquire this picture [that Connolly took]. I've only met him twice since about 1982, the last time being in 1995 in a crowded bar at a Glasgow folk festival at 2 a.m. or something! Unfortunately I've never met Dylan but have heard he digs Scotland, so you never know ! On his tour to Glasgow in 1989 he was reported later as having hired a bicycle (pedal-variety) from his hotel to explore the environs and also to having gone along to a fairly public swimming pool for a dip, but who knows for sure ? !!

A more corroborated tale about that tour here and to Ireland in June 1989 was told me by a friend who was a ship's officer with an Irish/Scots ferry company at the time,and who heard this from another staff member who frequented the bar here described!

After playing Dublin and bound next for Glasgow with a day to spare, Dylan and some others elected to travel by road and ferry rather than by air.En route they booked into a small village hotel on the Antrim coast in Northern Ireland. Early evening some of them were in the bar and chatting with the landlord, who at this stage had apparently no idea of his guests' identity other than their obviously American origins. Asked if he ever had music sessions there, the landlord said " Oh sure but nothing planned for tonight ( it being a Monday),....feel free to start something up yourselves though if you like !"

So the piano gets opened up and a few guitars are produced and the evening goes "just grand", as they say in Ireland, even though the bar was very quiet ! As the landlord was to recount later, come closing time, one of his older regulars being sufficiently moved by these odd Americans' repertoire, claps Dylan on the back with " Ah boy you should keep up with that music...you could really get somewhere !! " Unfortunately, any response of Dylan's to this is unknown ! It seems that the landlord was only alerted to his guests' true identity the following day by younger villagers who had spotted Dylan leaving town, and only then did he realise who the tousled-hair piano-player had been !

Anyhow Dylan remained the local subject of conversation for some time and my friends from the ferry were kicking themselves ever-after for not being in the pub that night as " nothing ever happens on a Monday " !! As slight consolation some of them got tickets to the Glasgow concert from Dylan's party when they were on the ferry the next day and my officer friend got a few words with Bob himself !

More might otherwise remain to posterity of a rare Dylan session and of what songs were actually heard that night in a sleepy Antrim town! I know that in summer of 1994 Dylan reputedly had a two-week ramble around southern Ireland with Van Morisson but have not been able to find any details—any other information on this would be welcome ! [You can send the information to rkxyz@yahoo.com and I'll pass it along to Stewart.]

Here's one from the webmaster: In December 1997, Dylan played Philadelphia's Trocadero Club, the greatest place ever to see a Dylan concert. Everyone had a fine view so there was none of the usual crowding and shoving to get up front. After the show, I saw Bucky Baxter standing out front, trying to help to some guy whose recording devices were confiscated. (He did speak to the management on the taper's behalf, but also said gently, "You really shouldn't do that.") Bucky was signing autographs and in my usual way, I stood there trying to summon up the nerve to ask him for one until he finally wandered away. So my friends and I went for a bite at this Mexican place nearby. All the other restaurants were closed. As we walked up to the door we noticed that Tony Garnier was sitting in the window having a bite to eat with another fellow, maybe one of the roadies. My inclination would have been to do nothing except sneak a glance or two. Luckily one of my friends is real outgoing, otherwise, this wouldn't be an anecdote. Anyway, after Tony and friend had eaten, he walked up to their table and struck up a conversation. Naturally our whole party got up and crowded around. I sort of hung back, feeling embarrassed and yet obviously starstruck. Tony said to me, "You back there, don't be shy, come on over here!" So I did! I hope I told him how much I enjoy his music, but I probably just mumbled Hi. We all returned to our table so they could finish their beers in peace. On their way out they walked past us...some more conversation with my outgoing friend, and I asked Tony to sign my ticket, which he kindly did, making an already memorable concert into a pretty unique experience.

Real Live

Here's a few memorable concert experiences submitted by readers:

[At the 1998 Grammy Awards] It seems if you are a Dylan fan any concert you go to you are totally involved in him and the music and there is no one else there but you and him. It's amazing how the words and music take you to your own place and make you feel so many emotions you want to express in your daily life but don't.

I was sixteen in 1966. He was in my town—I had to go.

The first time I heard of Dylan was about three years ago when I heard "Like A Rolling Stone" on the radio. At the time, I had no idea who he was, but I loved the song. I heard the song a couple more times and my dad told me it was Bob Dylan. For Christmas, I asked for Greatest Hits, and I got it. I was in love. Over the past two years, I have gotten many more CDs and read a whole lot on him. He just expresses everything that I wish I could say. Even though he doesnt realize it, he has taught me to just be myself. I don't need to change myself for anyone. I saw him in concert in July for the first time. Let me just say, it will be a day I will never forget. Just to see him on the stage, singing, "Hey Mr. Tambourine Man", was almost too much to handle!!! I'm seeing him in concert on Halloween too, and I can't wait. He has definitely made me think that I needed to accept myself for who I am.

I was at my first Dylan concert in Montreux on Saturday. I own a few of the albums and have always loved the lyrics but was so blown away by the guitar playing dynamism of this concert that I felt I should share my views with someone. Bob was dressed in a black suit the darkest cloud amongst a storm of grey axe wielding band members who seemed to love following their leader through a huge number of songs,some of which are for sure the greatest of all time and when he wailed them in that croaky soul sound I thought man this cat is finally smiling at the blues. He was a cowboy on stage and they all looked like his gang and I wanted to shout out thanks to him,not just for that night but for all the hours I have spent listening to his songs and smiling and getting myself tangled up in blues. so there you go.

I attended Bob's two concerts in Sydney Australia in September 1998. It was amasing as I was the first time I've seen Dylan play live. Bob started the first night with "Maggie's Farm" which sent tingles down my spine. The set included such sings as "Desolation Row", "Tangled Up In Blue", "Highway 61 Revisited" with an encore of "Blowin' In the Wind", "Love Sick", an amasing "Rainy Day Women..", and "Forever Young". On the second night I had floor tickets, however I was 19 rows back so I made a charge for the front when the lights went out, slipped past to guards and made it into the 5th row or so next to Patty Smith's guitarist (Patty was the support act). It was amasing to be up front so close to a man of Bob's statue. The set that night was changed somewhat from the previous nights set and included a performance of "My Back Pages" which included a harmonica solo. A hush went over the croud of about 15000 people. All eyes and ears focused on Bob and the sound of his harmonica. Amasing stuff as I felt I would never get to see Dylan play on Australian shores.I hope he blesses our shores again, maybe during his current tour with Paul Simon. Anyway the Dylan fans down here in Australia need (or want) more Bob.

Touring with Tom Petty in 1986, Dylan said, "Here's one you can take a couple different ways"; and proceded to play Rainy Day Women.

When I went to his concert in Montréal, Canada, in August 1997, it was only his third concert after his illness. A few minutes before the show, my brother and I saw him walking to the stage. Some other people saw him too. Everybody applaused. He was looking shy, embarrassed, but most of all, he was looking tired, very tired, walking like an old man. A few minutes later, when he went on stage, he was looking all right, having good time. We could see he was not in his "best shape", but he was all right. A lot better than when we saw him walking to the stage, a few minutes before.

My first Dylan show that I went to my friend and I got jumped, the second one I got pulled over and almost killed by a semi. At the third and fourth one we got lost. I have two more to go to now, hopefully they go better. It doesn't really matter though because the concert always kicks a**!!

I saw bob at Earls Court 01/07/1981 , incredible long show , i taped the show and played it to myself on the train home. Two couples gave me their address and I sent them a copy. Listening to the tape today brings back amazing memories.

More anecdotes will be added as I collect them. If you've got one you'd like to share, please send it to rkxyz@yahoo.com


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