Bob and The Band Take Madison Square Garden
1974-01-30/1, Madison Square Garden, New York, NY
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On paper, Bob Dylan and The Band’s three Madison Square Garden shows - just after the halfway point of Tour ’74 - look a lot like the month of shows that preceded them. Same musicians, same sound, same songs (mostly). The vibe in the room, however, was quite different.
For one, could Rolling Stone have run a photo spread like this from the audience in Landover or Montreal?
Yes, practically every celebrity music person in the world came out. So many that newspapers remarked upon the few who didn’t show (George Harrison, who Bob had last performed at the Garden with, was in India apparently). Rumors circulated of some sort of all-star jam—maybe even a Beatles reunion up there—but no one appeared onstage besides the five Band-members and Bob.
The show, as I said, was more or less as it had been. The energy was not.
These concerts were also being recorded—not just by audience tapers, but for the live album that became Before the Flood. Phil Ramone, the future Billy Joel producer (and Blood on the Tracks engineer) who was at this point most notable for engineering The Band’s Rock of Ages, handled recording duties. You can see a very small photo of him at work in this trade ad hyping his company’s console they shipped in to record the Madison Square Garden shows, alongside one of the tape boxes from night one:
Bob and the Band even did a special afternoon soundcheck, to ensure the best sound and make sure they’d be playing at their peak. Per the New York Times:
Earlier in the day, Mr. Dylan and his group, the Band, visited the Garden to perform a “sound check” of the equipment in the yawning arena. This rare tuneup was to insure maximum conditions, since all three concerts here are to be recorded, presumably for the release of an album.
Wearing a peaked cap, black leather jacket, dungarees, platform shoes and sunglasses, in the darkened arena, Mr. Dylan seemed relaxed and tossed a rubber ball occasionally. He and the Band “jammed” for about 15 minutes until they were satisfied.
However, for all that effort, they only used one song from all three of these New York shows on the final album (“Knockin’ on Heaven’s Door”). The other 20 tracks on Before the Flood all come from Los Angeles. I don’t know exactly why, but my guess is because his voice here sounds strained at times. And no wonder—between these three shows and the Nassau duo that preceded them, he played five concerts in four days! That is an insane pace, especially for someone out of practice and especially when the shows are long and extremely high-energy. It’s amazing he still sounds as good as he does. The Band themselves, according to one press report, rated the opening night’s show only “mildly okay.”
The crowds didn’t seem to mind. By all accounts, the fan response was near ecstatic. So much so that, for the first time all tour, Dylan had to do extra encores. The first night, he played another song after the usual “Most Likely You Go Your Way” big finale. The audience wouldn’t settle down when he left the stage, so he and The Band returned to debut a full-electric “Blowin’ in the Wind.” It went so well, as you can hear by the clapping that drowns out the music, that it became a tour staple.
That still wasn’t enough encore though. Five minutes after they finished that, the house lights were on but the crowd was still cheering. Promoter Bill Graham hustled Dylan back on stage yet again, alone, to take one final bow. He’d already changed out of his stage clothes, assuming he was done for the night, so we get these wonderful photos of him wearing a Maple Leafs hockey jersey I assume someone gave him at the Toronto stop (or maybe he borrowed it from one of his Band-mates).
Other than excited, what were the crowds like? Three descriptions I enjoyed from local reports:
Two young men danced arm in arm down the front aisle; a young girl handed Mr. Dylan a bouquet of flowers that he accepted straightfaced. And a crowd of celebrities and Dylan freaks and young marrieds from the suburbs, with plenty of graying beards and middle‐aged wrinkles (most of them dressed in their finest faded jeans), came to hear the man deliver his familiar songs of love and protest and alienation.
…
Outside on Seventh Avenue, the scalpers and the hawkers and the jugglers and the Hare Krishna dancers mingled in a sidewalk mélange right out of Mr. Dylan's most exotic visions. But the scene was certainly more mellow than for concerts by the Rolling Stones or other groups who attract young, giddy, costumed crowds. — New York Times
The concert crowd came dressed shabbily, elegantly, all the ways that people who can afford the choice turn themselves out. They lit up $40 an ounce grass, snorted coke, flashed gold rings and fancy boots, wore pre-faded jeans and expensive Indian jewelry, snapped pictures with the most expensive photographic equipment money can buy. — The Village Voice
Audiences complied with Graham’s request to keep aisles clear; a few people crept up near the stage to take a snapshot, but immediately went back to their seats. As Graham said, “They don’t want to conquer that terrain. This is not a physical dexterity contest.” Joe Cohen, a Madison Square Garden employee, said that there were fewer security personnel inside the Garden than there were at the Ali-Frazier superfight. — Rolling Stone
One reason for the relatively glitzy, upscale audience was the ticket prices. Many media outlets remarked throughout the tour how expensive they were. That is, relative to a time where concert-going was a much more affordable leisure activity (the supposedly outrageously expensive top price, $9.50, works out to $56.15 today). But New York is the only place where the Paper of Record ran an open letter begging Bob for a free show for the youngsters.
Believe it or not, Bob saw that letter. When an interviewer asked him about it a few days later, he “laughed incredulously” then said:
“I couldn’t believe that article, the New York Times printing an open letter to Bob Dylan. It’d be one thing if something I knew was writing me a letter. Anyway, who deserves a free concert? Whaddya mean, ‘free concert’? Free for who? If I’m over at somebody’s house, I’ll play. Maybe that’s a free concert.”
Other than the “Blowin’ in the Wind” finale (which he repeated at all three shows), the only other major set change at these not-free concerts was the addition of “Highway 61 Revisited.” To those of us who listen to a lot of live tapes, this is not wildly exciting on paper, but it absolutely smokes. A perfect addition to these high-energy shows, it’s surprising this wasn’t a nightly staple from day one. Dylan seems to enjoy shout-singing it, and both Robertson’s guitar licks and Hudson’s chiming organ come through strong.
After the final show, David Geffen held a late-night afterparty. No photos, alas, but a summary from writer Stephen Pickering:
At nearly 3:00 in the morning, high above New York on the roof of the St. Moritz Hotel, a quiet party was being held. Dylan, listening and smiling, walked about. "I'm exhausted," he told Lois Timnick of the St. Louis Globe-Democrat. Dick Cavett offered him a carrot stick; he said no. Bette Midler hugged him. ("He's fabulous," she would say later—and reported in Rolling Stone—“I even pinched his ass.") Judy Collins, Jack Nicholson, Harold Leventhal, Lou Adler, Angelica Houston, Art Garfunkel, Clive Davis, Robbie Robertson, Mrs. Dylan, Bill Graham—all sat and relaxed. "The first part was stronger last night," Dylan said to Ms. Timnick, "but we finished up stronger tonight." Earlier in the day, on a shopping trip with his wife, some reporters tried to ask him questions. He just stared at their rudeness, then said: "Who wants to hear about somebody else's life? I'd rather go fishing."
1974-01-30, Madison Square Garden, New York, NY [Bob audience/Band soundboard]
1974-01-31, Madison Square Garden, New York, NY - early show [audience]
1974-01-31, Madison Square Garden, New York, NY - late show [soundboard]
I listened to the afternoon show.....my sixteen year old self was there, stood on line for hours at a ticketron on Fordham road to get the tickets, using my work money to get them...steep price...8 bucks I think. I think my memory of the show was largely forged through repeated listenings to Before the Flood....the show was actually a lot different....Bob seemed to be singing more, with vocal nuances and inflections that seem to disappear by the time they recorded the live album in LA...it was great to relive the afternoon, a thrill for me both then and now.....a verse into All Along the Watchtower, you hear a guy ask his buddy, "what song is this?" LOL What the fuck was he doing there...
Love the pic of Bob in the Hockey jersey! :-)
Fantastic writing… thank you.