He'd only recently gone "electric" and many in the crowd did not approve--one ringing a cowbell to signal that he was "selling out." And who were these unknown guys backing him?
I first saw Dylan in 1963 or 1964 at the Gaslight Coffee House on McDougal St in New York's Greenwich Village. Some might have know him at the time but my buddy Walt and I had no idea who he was.
At the time we were making a pilgrimage to the Village on a nearly weekly basis. We couldn't afford any of the bigger venues like the Bitter End where many of the headliners of the day performed. We had both gotten hooked on folk music, gotten identical Guild dreadnought guitars and eagerly sought out performances (on the cheap.) A loophole in NYC zoning laws allowed coffee houses (no booze, no food) to operate as entertainment venues without heavy licensing fees and typical public safety requirements. We frequented a half dozen or so.
The Gaslight was probably our most visited. Down a flight of stairs from street level to one large room about 25 x 40, painted mat-black, pipes running along the ceiling, round pedestal tables that were probably 20 inches across and wobbly wooden chairs. Stage?- Nope. A 5X5', 4 inch high wooden platform toward the far end of the room with tables at the front and sides. Dave Van Ronk hardly fit on it and it boomed when he stomped to San Francisco Bay Blues. The tables were so close to the performers that Walt handed him a handkerchief without getting up.
Looking back, the coffee houses were a musical treasure chest that has taken me my life time to come to fully appreciate. We'd never heard or heard-of Dylan when we first saw him at the Gaslight. We were startled by his screechy wild-turkey of a voice and mesmerized by the music, harmonica, and the lyrics- the authenticity of the experience. Lucky us.
Saw him many times over the years in the village, at Newport and his first ever acoustic/electric performance at Forest Hills Tennis Stadium in 1965.
My first concert where the band showed up was Jethro Tull in ‘75 at the Spectrum. I say showed up because my girl friend and I went to see Sly in the early 70’s and Sly didn’t show up.
My best concert was seeing Springsteen at the Spectrum during the BITUSA tour.
Nice piece Greg, thanks. Watching the video of Newport raises a question. There seem to be two sets: one in daylight, with Bloomfield, Lay, Arnold and Al on organ. Then this night time set, with Like A Rolling Stone, where Barry Goldberg (with bandana) is on the organ and Al is playing what looks like Jerome Arnold's bass. My guess is the daytime picture, with the famous unidentified guy lounging on the stage's edge, is the Butterfield set, and Dylan and Kooper pop in? Been bothering me all day, esp as I've never seen a ref to Barry on the Like A Rolling Stone organ, nor Al on bass.
The story always goes they rehearsed at George Wein's....and there's that dude on the stage....but you could be right, you'd think someone over the years wouldve mentioned he'd taken the stage with PBBB....OTOH EVERYBODY always says Al was playing organ on LARS, and unless they switch after the lights go down, it's BG.
Greil Marcus did a whole book about it which I have but I'm too lazy to dig it out. Of course there have been 15 different stories about what Pete Seeger did or didn't do that day, also Peter Yarrow (seen fiddling with the cords to the amps). Allegedly Yarrow and some others were not so much opposed to the plugging but felt Bob and others did not take enough care with the sound set up.
Hey Greg. Really enjoying your daily posts. You are quite prolific these days in multiple venues, including your photos, congrats. I'm wondering if growing up in Buffalo you ever ran into or went to a show by Harvey and Corky? I took an ad from Harvey (Weinstein) for a concert in Boston in 1972 or 3 when I worked at the Boston Phoenix prior to my Crawdaddy days. Any chance of a reunion? Best of luck.
My first concert was Springsteen. Aug 28, 1985 on the Born in the U.S.A. tour, Capitol Centre, Landover, MD. After that I saw a ton of shows, mostly Grateful Dead, but also the Stones, R.E.M. and everything in between. To this day I sort of regret not taking a deeper dive into Springsteen. I still love him and his music and think of him as the Poet Laureate of the Quest for the American Dream, but I never took that deep dive the way I did with the Dead. Still, and maybe my love of the Dead and their many influencers and collaborators taught me this, there is too much music out there to be fixated on one band or one person.
Greg, My only Kleinhans rock concert was 2/24/88...Roy Orbison. I will never forget when he started to sing, barely moving his lips...and the most orchestral sound came out, filling the room. Not quite Dylan and The Band...but magical in its everlasting brilliance. 🎸
Yes, i saw Roy in NYC in Town Hall about 1980? Similar. I will soon be posting my experience interviewing Roy for a rare profile in 1974 and then him asking me to write liner notes for his next album, which naturally I did. He then gave me a rare copy of his first single "Ooby Dooby" as a 78. Sadly, it is now in two pieces...
I remember you screaming "HOW DOES IT FEEL" as well as mom begging you to play something else because Dylan sounded like he was moaning.
Greg, one of my my 1st Concert was Sha Na Na......opening band was Aerosmith! Imagine that!
I first saw Dylan in 1963 or 1964 at the Gaslight Coffee House on McDougal St in New York's Greenwich Village. Some might have know him at the time but my buddy Walt and I had no idea who he was.
At the time we were making a pilgrimage to the Village on a nearly weekly basis. We couldn't afford any of the bigger venues like the Bitter End where many of the headliners of the day performed. We had both gotten hooked on folk music, gotten identical Guild dreadnought guitars and eagerly sought out performances (on the cheap.) A loophole in NYC zoning laws allowed coffee houses (no booze, no food) to operate as entertainment venues without heavy licensing fees and typical public safety requirements. We frequented a half dozen or so.
The Gaslight was probably our most visited. Down a flight of stairs from street level to one large room about 25 x 40, painted mat-black, pipes running along the ceiling, round pedestal tables that were probably 20 inches across and wobbly wooden chairs. Stage?- Nope. A 5X5', 4 inch high wooden platform toward the far end of the room with tables at the front and sides. Dave Van Ronk hardly fit on it and it boomed when he stomped to San Francisco Bay Blues. The tables were so close to the performers that Walt handed him a handkerchief without getting up.
Looking back, the coffee houses were a musical treasure chest that has taken me my life time to come to fully appreciate. We'd never heard or heard-of Dylan when we first saw him at the Gaslight. We were startled by his screechy wild-turkey of a voice and mesmerized by the music, harmonica, and the lyrics- the authenticity of the experience. Lucky us.
Saw him many times over the years in the village, at Newport and his first ever acoustic/electric performance at Forest Hills Tennis Stadium in 1965.
My first concert where the band showed up was Jethro Tull in ‘75 at the Spectrum. I say showed up because my girl friend and I went to see Sly in the early 70’s and Sly didn’t show up.
My best concert was seeing Springsteen at the Spectrum during the BITUSA tour.
"It's All Over Now, Baby Blue" (Manchester, '65)--Hecklers..."You might like this one? I'll play it for you next time." Priceless!
Nice piece Greg, thanks. Watching the video of Newport raises a question. There seem to be two sets: one in daylight, with Bloomfield, Lay, Arnold and Al on organ. Then this night time set, with Like A Rolling Stone, where Barry Goldberg (with bandana) is on the organ and Al is playing what looks like Jerome Arnold's bass. My guess is the daytime picture, with the famous unidentified guy lounging on the stage's edge, is the Butterfield set, and Dylan and Kooper pop in? Been bothering me all day, esp as I've never seen a ref to Barry on the Like A Rolling Stone organ, nor Al on bass.
I think daytime photo is rehearsal....
The story always goes they rehearsed at George Wein's....and there's that dude on the stage....but you could be right, you'd think someone over the years wouldve mentioned he'd taken the stage with PBBB....OTOH EVERYBODY always says Al was playing organ on LARS, and unless they switch after the lights go down, it's BG.
Greil Marcus did a whole book about it which I have but I'm too lazy to dig it out. Of course there have been 15 different stories about what Pete Seeger did or didn't do that day, also Peter Yarrow (seen fiddling with the cords to the amps). Allegedly Yarrow and some others were not so much opposed to the plugging but felt Bob and others did not take enough care with the sound set up.
Yeah Ive read it and likewise. I figured I'd remember if Al had grabbed the bass, but at this age WTF knows.
Hey Greg. Really enjoying your daily posts. You are quite prolific these days in multiple venues, including your photos, congrats. I'm wondering if growing up in Buffalo you ever ran into or went to a show by Harvey and Corky? I took an ad from Harvey (Weinstein) for a concert in Boston in 1972 or 3 when I worked at the Boston Phoenix prior to my Crawdaddy days. Any chance of a reunion? Best of luck.
My first concert was Springsteen. Aug 28, 1985 on the Born in the U.S.A. tour, Capitol Centre, Landover, MD. After that I saw a ton of shows, mostly Grateful Dead, but also the Stones, R.E.M. and everything in between. To this day I sort of regret not taking a deeper dive into Springsteen. I still love him and his music and think of him as the Poet Laureate of the Quest for the American Dream, but I never took that deep dive the way I did with the Dead. Still, and maybe my love of the Dead and their many influencers and collaborators taught me this, there is too much music out there to be fixated on one band or one person.
Apparent set list:
https://www.setlist.fm/setlist/bob-dylan/1965/kleinhans-music-hall-buffalo-ny-63d7c6bf.html
Greg, My only Kleinhans rock concert was 2/24/88...Roy Orbison. I will never forget when he started to sing, barely moving his lips...and the most orchestral sound came out, filling the room. Not quite Dylan and The Band...but magical in its everlasting brilliance. 🎸
Yes, i saw Roy in NYC in Town Hall about 1980? Similar. I will soon be posting my experience interviewing Roy for a rare profile in 1974 and then him asking me to write liner notes for his next album, which naturally I did. He then gave me a rare copy of his first single "Ooby Dooby" as a 78. Sadly, it is now in two pieces...
Wow...to every single point!