Bob Dylan's June 7, 1988, concert at Concord Pavilion in suburban San Francisco wasn't considered a landmark event in music history at the time. It was the lowest point in Dylan's career after two truly disastrous albums ( Knocked Out Loaded и Down in the Groove ), two years of non-stop touring, during which he was supported by Tom Petty and the Heartbreaks, as well as the Grateful Dead, and many nights when it seemed like he was playing half-heartedly. He even starred in a film «Hearts of Fire» , where he played a hard-drinking rock star. The film was such a box office failure that many of Dylan's devoted fans didn't even know it existed.
Because of all this, the aura of mystery that had surrounded Dylan throughout the 1960s and 1970s had largely dissipated. A couple of days before the concert at Concord Pavilion, the newspaper The Sacramento Bee listed it in small print on her concert calendar alongside upcoming performances by Heart/Michael Bolton ($18.50), The Jets ($17.50), Robert Cray ($17.75), and Iron Maiden/Guns N' Roses ($18.50). "Perhaps his plan is to become so accessible that he can shed the Dylan myth that has dogged him for over 20 years," she noted. The Oakland Tribune newspaper in his June 5, 1988 concert announcement, "and just be Dylan the artist.".
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As he himself recounted in his 2004 memoirs «Chronicles: Volume One» , this wasn't far from the truth. He describes in meticulous detail how he told his manager, Elliott Roberts, to schedule 200 shows in 1988 and maintain this frantic schedule throughout 1989 and 1990. "I thought it would take me at least three years to get there, to find the right audience, or for the right audience to find me," Dylan wrote. "The reason I thought it would take three years was because after the first year, many of the older fans wouldn't come back, but the younger fans would bring their friends the second year, so the attendance would be about the same. And the third year, those people would bring their friends too, and that would form the core of my future audience.".
«"I definitely needed a new audience, because my existing audience had grown up on my records and no longer perceived me as a new artist," he continues, "and that was understandable. In many ways, that audience was past its prime, and its reflexes had weakened. They came simply to watch, not to participate. That was fine, but the audience that needed to find me was an audience that didn't remember what happened yesterday.".
The plan came to fruition at Concord Pavilion when he took the stage with guitarist G.E. Smith, bassist Kenny Aaronson, and drummer Christopher Parker—the smallest band of his career—and performed the first live version of «Subterranean Homesick Blues» since 1965. It was the first of many stunning moments of the evening, including the debut performance of the classic song from the album Blonde on Blonde «"Absolutely Sweet Marie," the first performance of "You're a Big Girl Now" since 1978, the first performance of "Gotta Serve Somebody" since 1981, the first performance of "Boots of Spanish Leather" since 1963, and the first performance of "Gates of Eden" since 1978. And if that weren't enough, unannounced guest Neil Young spent most of the show onstage, despite not being familiar with the material or the arrangements. Dylan ended the set with "Like a Rolling Stone" and "Maggie's Farm," but otherwise didn't perform any of his best-known compositions.
The reviews were simply appalling. «Dylan stumbled at every turn,” wrote Joel Selvin of The San Francisco Chronicle . "There were uneven endings, sloppy mixing, and an uncertain, hesitant ensemble sound, which was certainly not helped by the presence of an untrained guitarist like Young. Smith shouted chord changes and directed the band with constant hand gestures, but chaos nonetheless reigned. Dylan, for his part, mumbled lyrics, never delved into his songs with any real feeling, and generally performed the melodies as if he were itching to get away.".
Selvin concluded his review with a few pointed final thoughts: "Dylan once mattered. All his records were personal, artistic statements, possessing a coherence rare in pop music. Even when he began releasing a steady stream of obscure albums, he could be counted on for rare masterpieces. His concert on Tuesday seemed to suggest that he himself could no longer define what was special about his work.".
Joel Selvin didn't know it, and couldn't have foreseen it in the summer of 1988, even Dylan himself, that he had just witnessed the first concert of a tour that has now spanned 36 years and more than 3,700 performances.
And the plan laid out by Dylan in «"Chronicles", was flawlessly executed. A significant portion of casual fans and baby boomers have long since stopped coming to his concerts. All that remains is a dedicated group, young and old, who come knowing exactly what to expect. No one expects "Mr. Tambourine Man," "Knockin' on Heaven's Door," or "Like a Rolling Stone." If he chooses to perform almost every song from his 2020 album, «Rough and Rowdy Ways »"For five years in a row, they will continue to come to his concerts whenever he comes to town.
This week marks the beginning of a new phase. Unlike the concerts at the beginning of the year, these are not billed as concerts. Rough and Rowdy Ways . Furthermore, they will be held in large outdoor venues, where he will share the stage with the likes of Lucinda Williams and Jimmie Vaughan. This could mean a setlist similar to the one at the Outlaw festival in the summers of 2024 and 2025, where he abandoned most of Rough and Rowdy Ways in favor of covers such as Bo Diddley's "I Can Tell," Bobby "Blue" Bland's "Share Your Love With Me," and several of his older hits, including "Desolation Row," "All Along the Watchtower," and "Don't Think Twice, It's All Right.".
On the other hand, maybe he'll just stay true to the album. Rough and Rowdy Ways . It's impossible to predict what will happen on the next leg of Dylan's tour until it begins. It's safe to say people were wrong about the 1988 premiere. Listen to the recording. It's an incredible concert. The chaos Neil Young creates and the band's unfamiliarity with the songs make it even better.
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