Bob Dylan 961101 in Tupelo, Mississippi

Subject: Lost Weekend, Part I - Tupelo MS, 1 Nov 96 (long)
From: Joe Cliburn (jcliburn@flintcreek.win.net)
Date: Tue, 05 Nov 1996 08:09:11 -0600
Organization: BDBDB

Be Forewarned:
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
This is a lengthy post from a fellow who doesn't see a lot of Dylan.
It is NOT the Tupelo setlist. It has a lot a chatty personal-type stuff
in it & if that's not your cup of meat, just go to the next post & don't
bother me with your flames. Now's not the time for your tears.

Pilgrim's Progress (Travel Notes):
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
As late as Thursday, it looked like I wasn't gonna be able to go to the
concert in Tupelo. My wife had gotten a tentative diagnosis of mono & my
gymnast daughter had a competition in Birmingham. Gotta quit sending 'em
to those Arabian doctors... The prognosis improved marginally when the
lab tests came back & my beloved spouse's "quarantine" was lifted. The
plan was to drive 5 hr up to Nawth Miss'ippi, catch the show, drive back
to the Coast & fetch the family back to B'ham. (This would place me in
Alabama too late for the Saturday night show, but one must take what one
can get.)

Friday AM found your ever-faithful EDLIS Who Has Which agent on the road
rain fallin' on his shoes (via a slightly cracked windshield ;-) I was
praying that the radiator hoses in my brown GMC Stepside wouldn't fall
onto me & the cassette deck died for good in Heidelburg. What fun: 
Nothing but 4 hr of FM radio en route to a Dylan concert :-( But beggars
can't be choosy...

By Meridian MS, it was definitely the 5th day of May in the drizzlin'
rain & by Scooba MS, US 45 had trickled into a muddy 2-lane. Through
Shuqualak (say "Sugah Lock") MS, the trusty FM played Hendrix' cover of
AATW, so life wasn't too bad. Plus, they play the blooze on the radio
up in the Black Prairie. 

        "I'm from Mississippi, don't take no stuff from you...
         Goin' to Alabama, got my pistol by my side... 
         You can run but you sure can't hide."

It was raining cats & dogs in Egypt (MS), probably in deference to the
Isis cult of cat worshippers. But somebody in Tupelo requested JLAW on
the FM radio & things were improving, even though the traffic was 
slowed to 40 mph by the weather... Oh, the cruel rain & the wind...

Parties & Gatherings:
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
I trust Charlie Smith will elaborate on a most excellent pre-concert
gathering. Held at the home of a totally baffled & thoroughly congenial
fellow, the party was a nice place to get outside the rain. Fans from
all over were present for the festivities: Texas, Rhode Island, 
Miss'ippi, Louisiana, Georgia, Missouri, even Switzerland & Norway.
Great job, Charlie!

Driving to the venue, Colin Hulin passed around copies of his tape
list. I asked where he'd gotten his copy of a particular RTR tape & he
pointed to Rhett Thomas in the passenger seat. Rhett laughed & pointed
to me, "I got my copy from him." Round & round she goes. That sort of
thing doesn't happen every day, Bobfans...

For the rest of the world: This was what a pre-concert party should be.
Dylan fans networking & sharing experiences. Putting faces to names
previously known only from email, meeting old friends for the 1st time,
meeting new friends for the last time. The world is a lot smaller than
we give it credit for being.

1 November 96 - Tupelo Coliseum, Tupelo MS
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
The Kenny Wayne Shepherd Band opened with loud, blues-rock. KWS wants to
be Stevie Ray Vaughan badly, but SRV he ain't. I don't mean to find
fault with anyone who lives in a vault, mind you, but KWS could easily
get a job playing for $3.00 cover at my local barbeque joint. Or, the
band that plays there could be opening for Bob Dylan, or we just have
high standards of standardness when it comes to the electric bluze in
Miss'ippi, take your pick.

Dylan wore a black jacket, silver trousers & white straw cowboy hat. The
"men in hats" weren't wearing 'em, although Tony G. was wearing a beret.
Somebody closer than the 15th row will have to remark on the details of
dress, which have significance to some...

Incense smoke rose from behind the drums. Not as thick as last year but
a definite presence even back to the 15th row. No harp rack. There would
be no harmonica in this show.

And then the crowd began to stamp their feet & the house lights got dim,
and in the darkness of the room there was only us & him...

First Electric Set:
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
"Down In the Flood (Crash on the Levee)" - There was no surprise opener,
    but nothing tentative in the way this one started. Dylan, the Band,
    and the sound crew were all in it, punching strong from the git-go.
    
"Lay Lady Lay" - Here's a crowd pleaser, rendered nicely & pitched to
    an enthusiastic crowd... Bucky played some really smoooooth steel on
    this one.

"AATW" - What's the probability that Bob will play anything else in the
    3rd slot? Slim or none? Good, cookin', up to par.

"Just Like A Woman" - Another crowd pleaser, played tighter than when I
    heard 'em in Biloxi. The final riff was exact with no sloppiness.
    (I always hold my breath when Bob plays that "ping ping ping-ping
    piiiinnnggg" closing, just to see if he's paying attention...)

"Just Like Tom Thumb's Blues" - An interesting arrangement that I (who
    can ordinarily "name that song in 3 notes") didn't recognize until
    the lyrics started. Evidently, it threw Bill Pagel totally, as he
    listed "Positively 4th Street" on the setlist page. This one built
    and built. 

        "I started out on burgundy but soon hit the harder stuff!"

"Silvio" - No surprise in the number 6 spot. This one was "deader" 
    than I've ever heard it & for a brief moment, I'm positive I saw
    the beaming face of Jerry Garcia hovering larger-than-life up 
    above the stage lights. (This was a spiritual manifestation & not
    the light show, mind you.) The guitar solos seemed to go on 
    forever, which of course they'd didn't else I'd still be there
    listening ;-)

Acoustic Set
~~~~~~~~~~~~
The acoustic set wasn't as impressive as in Biloxi last year. My 
scribble sheet contains one note: "problem? drummer?" My initial 
opinion changed as the set went on, but the post-concert consensus was
that the acoustic set was a bit lax. A backdrop was raised during this
part of the show for a simple but attractive light show.

"Mr Tambourine Man" (a) - Nicely done, this one was another crowd
    pleaser. *Please* Mr Tambourine Man, play your *harp* for me,
    but it was not to be...

"Masters of War" (a) - The regular arrangement had its great metric
    thrust enhanced by the drummer. The lights featured a slide of
    faces that I vaguely recognized (Rembrandt? Da Vinci? I ain't no
    art critic, but it fit.)

"It's All Over Now, Baby Blue" (a) - Others considered this the high
    point of the show. My initial scribble sheet mark was a big minus
    sign, but it built up to a great finish. Nevertheless, this one
    missed the harmonica very badly, IMO.

Second Electric Set:
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
No band introduction. I guess we're all supposed to know who they are
by now, hats or no hats ;-)

"God Knows" - Good version but I missed Winston's machine gun drum 
    entrance. The crowd surprised me by really getting into this one.
    I was too far back to enjoy a stage press this time, but the
    side aisles began to fill...

"It Takes A Lot to Laugh, It Takes A Train to Cry" - Here's a good
    blues tune that gave Bob & J.J. a chance to do some extended 
    3-chord jamming. During the song, a woman gained the stage waving
    a copy of the poster from Greatest Hits Vol. 1. Afterwards, Bob
    signed it & I guess she died happy.

"Like A Rolling Stone" - Yet another play for the crowd, which worked
    well. At the end, high fives all around for the front row 
    denizens...

Encores:
~~~~~~~~
"Highway 61 Revisited" - Another basic blues, maybe too basic. I think
    H61R loses its identity when rendered as a thudding 3-chord
    rock rave-up, but I'm probably alone in the crowd. More extended
    blues jamming, more high fives & more stage dancers.

"One Too Many Mornings" (a) - Very nicely done... Much better than the
    regular acoustic set, IMO.

"Rainy Day Women #12 & 35" - Again, no surprises for the closer. A big
    crowd shout-along. Bunches of women onstage, including Jim (Emmett)
    Tillman's missus. No women in white flashing expensive undies like
    in Biloxi last year, but hey, I go to see Dylan & not the burlesque
    revue...

Final comments:
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
This was a good show! No sign of the (reported) friction between J.J.
& Bob. (I think this is largely wishful thinking from the J.J.-hating
faction, who IM(NS)HO can go get a life: J.J. did just fine. Even 
better than that!) Big smiles all over the stage & an enthusiastic
audience. 

Rene from Switzerland noted that many had left the hall after the
acoustic set, but I'm not sure they hadn't moved forward from our 15th
row position... He *was* standing beside a couple of young girls who
were clearly out of their element. I repeated the old hang about a
prophet in his own land, but I'm not sure that means anything to the
Swiss, who evidently hold our Amerikan prophets in high esteem...

Rhett introduced me to the "check your i.d. lady" as his father, which
astoundingly, I am old enough to be. Thanks, Rhett, I needed that! And,
a special treat at the post-concert gathering came when a lady stepped
up & said, "Hi, I'm Christine. I decided to stop here to meet you."
Such fun to meet someone who has provided tapes & commentary through
the past couple of years (and to photograph the back of the "most Dylan
vehicle" I've ever seen :-)

But wait, there's more... in the next post. Or as Rhett's namesake's
girlfriend once said, "Tomorrow is another day." That, and tomorrow is
a long time...