25 October 1994

 

HEY OTIS:

 

I don’t know what/whose  show YOU saw last week, but what I saw was the best show I’ve seen Dylan do in maybe FIFTEEN years, a MASTER at the height of his POWERS, singing (singing real good!)  and playing just INCREDIBLY, with a CRACK band supporting him (finally!), playing songs from EV’RY PERIOD of his lengthy CAREER and just doing everything right.  I’m talking about before, LONG BEFORE Neil and Bruce came out during 3rd encore and place went ultra-nuts.  When they were sitting with GINSBERG (& GE Smith) in VIP area, and Dylan was singing ‘Only TIME WILL TELL who has fell and who’s been left BEHIND’, how could they have felt???   Here he was, just beautiful, singing strong and loud, no mumbles - if you stop trying to force the songs to sound like his old vocal stylings and just lissen, he is doing really amazing versions—of MY BACK PAGES, JOEY, BOOTS OF SPANISH LEATHER—songs from ev’ry one of his MANY times.  Dressed in impeccable black pin-striped suit, I felt he’d finally come through, after a decade of alkie/druggie/sexxee troubles and lame shows, he finally seemed ready to assume the mantle which he RIGHTLY DESERVES - the same respect that Neil (f’rinstance)  has.  It also occurred to me that in a way his lame shows of past years have actually PROTECTED him, that his not succeeding to be more successful has PREVENTED him from having to try to get over to ARENA-ROCK  size audiences—the slow death of anybody good.  He played fukkin’ ROSELAND!  THREE NIGHTS!  Hello, Axl?  Mad Donna?  Oh JaggerKeefHenleyMichaelPink....  Eddie... Stipe... Fukkin WEEZER n SHIT....   WAKE UP!!!

 

Now you know how many Zimmie boots I’ve got, and you probably also know that I lose most interest 1980 onwards, but maybe, JUST MAYBE it’s time to start collecting the ‘94-5 show pirate copies again. 

 

 

AMEN! 
(I like Slow Train Comin though….)

 

Now Bob, about producing that next elpee, here’s how I think it should go down...

 

Kind regards ,

           Lee

 

 

P.S.  In case you were wondering:  Neil looked comfortable like he was sittin’ in an old easy chair, he was playing for fun and makin’ Bobby laugh; whereas Bruce couldn’t even follow the easy chord changes, all stiff and just watching the gtr player’s hands all through both Rainy Day Wimmen (Dylan finally giving the crowd a real chorus to sing {EVERYBODY MUST GET STONED!}  after confounding their lyrical expectations all night long  with brilliant new forms) and  Highway 61.  How could I have left this  show, even for Sebadoh?