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teicholz' dylan...continued from p. 5coolr. iks and department store saleswomen. There wasn’t much marijuana in the air, it was more a beer crowd.During the concert itself, the crowd clapped enthusiastically at the end of each number.They seldom called out requests. With the exception of “Like a Rolling Stone,” and one Band number, the crowd hardly ever clapped along.Dylan and The Band walked on stage together like cool professionals, and without reply to the audience’s initial applause began to tune up.(The guitars for this tour were specially hand-crafted) They were * all dressed in jackets and looked quite elegant, but Montreal’s a dressy town.The audience was silent-reverent would be a better word, per haps.Everybody wondered what the little guy with the big name and scraggly beard would have to say.Suddenly-it caught me by surprise-the concert hall was filled with loud guitar, and surfacing above the rock and roll was a familiar nasal tone whining the song which will soon become the most quoted in articles on Dylan’s comeback. “Most likely you go your way (and I’ll go mine) is typical of Dylan’s arrogance.“Time will tell who fellAnd who’s been left behindWhen you go your way and I go mine!’But to tell the truth, after the first number I was a bit disappointed. Dylan’s' voice seemed unsure; the electric guitars seemed to obscure rather than enhance the songs.I was afraid that I had made Dylan out to be more than he was.How could he possibly live up to my expectations?The second number wasn’t much better, but the minute Dylan and The Band broke into “Lay Lady Lay,” I relaxed.I knew everything was going to be all right.He performed “Lay Lady Lay” in a warmer, richer version than I had heard before. It was just beautiful The funny thing is that Dylan performed all his songs differently.Some faster, some slower, some to allow The Band to show off, some to emphasize his words.Dylan demonstrated his vocal acrobatics and proved to me beyond a shadow of a doubt that the new Dylancould still sing old Dylan in beautifully nasal harmony, and then croon on the next song a simple country mel-o-dee.Dylan and The Band performed songs from all points in Dylan’s career, playing a good deal of old stuff ( “Bringing It All Back Home”) and also some new (two songs off Planet Waves and also “Knockin’ on Heaven’s Door, from “Pat Garrett and Billy the Kid!’Dylan also appeared after intermission and performed an acoustic set.He told the new generation that, The times they are a-changin’ ” ’cause, “Even the President of the United States must have to stand naked!’“The two best numbers were Just Like Tom Thumbs Blues,” which really hit the spot and “Ballad of a Thin Man,” which featured Dylan on the piano.The high point of the concert was their rendition of “Like a Rolling Stone,” during which the houseTights went on, and the crowd stood up and began to sing along. And God, it was incredible.Everyone young and old knew the words.When the song was finished and the lights went out again, Dylan received the crowd’s tribute of lit matches.ridder's dylan...continued from p. 5one of Dylan’s new songs. Nobody seemed to recognize it, but that was okay, because if you didn’t recognize his next song, “Lay Lady Lay”,, then you must have been locked in a sound proof cage for the last five years. The song has become a classic in the bastardized form of dentist chair music.Dylan didn’t try to pull any hi-jinks on the stage.The first part of the program was electrical.Dylan took an Elvis-like stance on the stage, but did little hopping around. The Band accompanied him with that rare ability to fully add to the main attraction’s music, without overpowering him.Some of the electrical music had a good beat, but the crowd didn’t boogie.They just sat and listened.lt was as if they were stunned that Dylan had actually appeared,bristol summer programBy LARRY SCHOENMiddlebury students have been treated to several special events recently, among them a recent folk concert in Proctor Lounge, which featured Middlebury talent, and the “shave the beard off Tom Plumb” campaign. These and other activities were designed to raise money for the unique Bristol Summer Program.The Bristol program is a summer day ca mp for boys and girls from the towns of Bristol, New Haven, and Monkton. It provides children of low income families with the chance of going to camp free of charge. The camprunsforsix weeks during July and August from 9 A.M. to 3 P.M., five days a week. Enrollment ranges from25 to 35 kids, aged ten to fourteen.The program is beautifully and simply designed as an “experience” for these children. It allows children in a mountain region to get together and have fun. Staff members of the program say that the children learn to respect each other when playing together in a group. Generally, the program attempts to teach children how to live with others, and to give them an enjoyable experience.A wide range of activities is offered in the program. Instructional and recreational swimming takes place at Mount Abraham Union High School. In the Arts and Crafts Room of the school, the children have the opportunity to develop their talents in many mediums, ranging from sewing to painting. The school’s manual arts shop is also utilized. But outdoor activities are also an important part of the daily schedule, with time allowed for various sports and games.The Counselor staff is comprised of Middlebury College students. Three men and three women live in tw'o houses owned by Bristol residents. Planning for the daily activities is done nightly over dinner. Living in the community, the staff come to know many of the parents whose children are in the program. One former counselor described his summer as a tremendously rewarding experience. Counselors and campers come to know' each other as friends, teachers, students, playmates. Some of the campers even form that famous first crush” on the;r counselors.Tom Plumb, who is presently the director of the program, seems to have a special relationship*with many of the children He goes up to Bristol each day now to spend time with some of the children who haveoeen in the program. During the summer he and his fellow counselors have taken their campers on trips to Fort Ticonderoga, local newspaper offices, local dairy farms, the Green Mountains and to Worth Mountain on an overnight camping trip. During the school year some of the kids come up with staff to the college to play football and other sports.The program, however, faces a number of perennial problems, particularly that of transportation. Most of the facilities and tools are donated by various members of the community, but it can become difficult to provide and coordinate rides for the campers.Financing is also a difficulty. The budget for six weeks amounts to$2(K)0.Most of the money comes from fund-raising events at the College. That is why each and every hair on Tom Plumb’s beard was so important. Six benefit concerts and some of the Youth Opportunity Unlimited activities have contributed to the program’s treasury. Some future plans for fundraising include a concert by the D-8 and a fiddler’s concert, including, hopefully, some amazing but little known mountain talents.Still another problem facing the program each year is staffing. In financial terms, the program may seem unattractive to prospective counselors. Counselors are provided room and board, and are paid at the end of the summer with the money from the treasury which has not been used. Last summer, each staff member was paid$85 for the summer. Persons who have served as staff are quick to emphasize, however, that the personal rewards, however, are unlimitedApplication for counselorship usually begins in March. In addition to the obvious qualifications of an ability to work with children, the program is looking for those with a knowledge of swimming (especially on the level of Water Safety Instructor), to help provide proper instruction and insure safety. Past experience shows that it is easier tofind female counselors, so men in particular are encouraged to apply.Needless to say, Tom Plumb’s enthusiasm for this program is boundless. One receives the same impression in talking to some of the previous counselors. The great number of activities at the College which are designed to aid the Bristol Summer Program point to this enthusiasm.The concert was billed as “Dylan/The Band” and true to form, The Band played two solo sets. They played well but not excellently. They stuck mostly to Rock of Ages” material.The crowd seemed to enjoy their musical togetherness, for not one cry of “Bring Dylan back” was heard during their two sets.Being more of a Dylan fan than a Band fan, I won’t attempt to judge them.As for Dylan’s “message”the concert was punctuated by a clenched fist salute after “The Times They Are A-Changin’ ”, and the whole selection of material seemed to be telling us that things haven’t changed as much as we’d like to think they have.Dylan’s two new songs were wholehearted, honest songs exuding goodness.So although Dylan has sung ushis songs of protest, it seems he no longer wants the conch shell. He’s out to play music.In “Wedding Song,” which is from Planet Waves, hesays:“It’s never been my dutyTo remake the world at large.Nor is it my intentionTo sound a battle charge!’and that he was far better in person than on any record. Despite the dumbfounded look on the faces in the crowd, one knew by the applause that they fully appreciated what they were hearing.Alter a few songs, Dylan left the stage. The Band played their routine.lt was apparent that the Band had played concerts for the last couple of years, because their routine was so refined They went from one song to another song with fluidity.It was a professional performance by The Band, maybe too professional. It was almost mechanical as they turned out “Rag Mama Rag”, “Cripple Creek”, “The Weight”, and others.It was enjoyable, though something was lacking in comparison to Dylan’s performance.lt appeared that Dylan had to prove that he was still good, and that The Band knew they were good Besides, everybody was there to see Bob Dylan.So Dylan returned.This time without The Band.He sat down alone and started singing.He mesmerized the audience with the depth and range of his voice. I’ve never seen a group of 18,(MM) people so quiet.I wondered if the Guru Mahara-Ji had such an influence over his disciples.Dylan strummed his guitar and blew his harmonica. Dylan isn’t much on the harmonica, but he can get away with it.One finds oneself thinking about the words of the songs, rather than his harmonica playing.When he sang “Just like Tom Thumb’s Blues”, one could watch the lips of the audience moving to the words, but making no noise. Dylan's voice had everyone spellbound.The Band returned, but Dylan left.They ran through a couple of songs before Dylan returned for the final set with The Band.Returning to some electrical music like “All Along the Watchtowor” Dylan had the audience beginning to swing in their seats, and singing the words aloud.It was a short set, but the final song, “Like a Rolling Stone” ended the evening where it began, with a bit of unreality.The lights had been turned on, the crowd was on its feet swaying and singing. But there was no jumping around or anyone trying to climb the stage They just stood singing with Bob Dylan, hoping that it could last all night, but realizing the end was coming.Dylan came back for an encore, but it was a let down after “Like a Rolling Stone”. I suppose that I have heard longer ovations, but I can’t remember one.The crowd cheered for close to ten minutes.They cheered so loud that the promoter, Bill Graham, could not be heard over the P.A. system saying that Bob Dylan had left the building.Dylan has received a great deal of bad press for his arrogance Throughout the evening there was never an inkling of this infamous arrogance. Dylan was consistently respectful to the audience, seemed to enjoy the concert, and was not in the least egotistical.This temperament gave him a charisma that pervaded the audience.Some newsweeklies have been talking about a regeneration of Bob Dylan as the leader of pop music during the seventies It won’t happen. There was so much a sense of the past at the concert that this was a reliving of the sixties, and an escape from the seventies.A new movement in music cannot begin by trying to recreate an era. Dylan’s concert was more a manifestation of “Monterey Pop” than a breakthrough in a wave of new music.the middlebury campus
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Middlebury Campus
Middlebury, Vermont, US
Thu, Jan 31, 1974
Page 14
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