Late to the Party

Bob Dylan - Bangor Municipal Auditorium, Bangor, Maine, November 27, 1975

Fifty Thanksgivings ago! Bob Dylan was going down (up?) to Bangor, Maine, with the entire Rolling Thunder Revue. An absolutely killer performance from start to finish captured on a far-better-than-average audience tape.

With his mom in the audience, Bob sounds revved up and righteous; his vocals are a thing to behold. As in 1974, he's still bellowing, but during the fall of '75, he found a way to sing and shout, never losing melody and warmth even in the most energetic moments. Check him out on "It Ain't Me Babe" or "Isis" as he rides the cascading waves of the band, Mick Ronson and David Mansfield shredding up a storm, the rhythm section of Rob Stoner and Howie Wyeth keeping it all (barely) together.

The Baez duets are a hoot, too. "Come on, goddamnit," Joan laughs as Dylan botches (purposely?) the end of "The Times They Are-A Changin'". I could be wrong, but it seems to me that Bob is having a whole lot of fun at this show! Imagine that. He dedicates "Romance In Durango" to D.H. Lawrence ("If he's here ...").

Sam Shepard: Maine still looks like a state of innocence. The cops aren’t looking crazed. In fact they look more like the last remnants of a formality they have to go along with because all the newspapers claim these things are “potentially explosive situations.” Dylan appears with huge white crosses on his cheeks, coming closer and closer to a Sioux medicine man and further and further from Children of Paradise. The evolution of his make-up on this tour could take up a whole other book. His hat is growing yellow flowers now with a sprig of pine shaking like a turkey feather from side to side. This is definitely where the tour makes sense. A communal giving of spirit energy through music. No big promotional scams. No tense preparations for putting the show over the top. Just incredible music received by incredible small audiences who take it all in. It’s Thanksgiving to boot. A snowstorm outside is making the inside seem even more on fire. Almost like a ritual.