Essays on Bob Dylan live recordings
An index
Welcome to Flagging Down the Double E's by me, Ray Padgett. I edit Cover Me and wrote the books Cover Me: The Greatest Cover Songs of All Time, I’m Your Fan: The Songs of Leonard Cohen (a 33 1/3 on Cohen and tribute albums), and, most recently, an outgrowth of this newsletter: Pledging My Time: Conversations with Bob Dylan Band Members.
This newsletter explores Dylan concerts on the given date in history. They’re not usually straight reviews; more like essays, researched articles, or original interviews inspired by the show in question. Each entry includes a downloadable recording of the show in question.
Sign up for the newsletter here:
Below find an archive of many of the Dylan concerts I’ve explored so far, organized by year. Note: The downloads only stay up a week or two, so most of these links will just have the essays. You can also go the pages for some individual series:
Last Night in… [dispatches from current shows]
Dylan Shows Covered So Far
* = for paid subscribers only
1961
09-06, Gaslight Cafe, New York, NY *
10-01, Gerde's Folk City, New York, NY
1962
10-??, Gaslight Cafe, New York, NY
12-21, King & Queen Pub, London, England
1963
03-31 (?), Gaslight Cafe, New York, NY
05-10, Brandeis Folk Festival, Waltham, MA *
1964
02-25, The Steve Allen Show, Hollywood, CA *
05-17, Royal Festival Hall, London, England *
11-13, Massey Hall, Toronto, Ontario
1965
03-17, Syria Mosque, Pittsburgh, PA *
05-01, Odeon, Liverpool, UK
07-25, Newport Folk Festival, Newport, RI
09-03, Hollywood Bowl, Los Angeles, CA *
11-14/15, Massey Hall, Toronto, Ontario
1966
02-04, Convention Center, Louisville, KY
02-05, Westchester County Center, White Plains, NY
02-06, Syria Mosque, Pittsburgh, PA *
02-10, Ellis Auditorium Amphitheatre, Memphis, TN *
02-11, The Mosque, Richmond, VA *
02-12, Municipal Auditorium, Norfolk, VA *
03-25, Center Arena, Seattle, WA *
04-19, Festival Hall, Melbourne, Australia *
05-15, De Montfort Hall, Leicester, England *
05-24, Olympia, Paris, France
05-27, Royal Albert Hall, London, England *
1969
1969-08-31, Isle of Wight, England
1974
[Note: Click here for a separate series on every single 1974 show!]
01-03, Chicago Stadium, Chicago IL
01-04, Chicago Stadium, Chicago IL *
01-06, Spectrum, Philadelphia, PA *
01-07, Spectrum, Philadelphia, PA
01-09/10, Maple Leaf Gardens, Toronto, ON *
01-11, Forum de Montreal, Montreal, Canada *
01-14, Boston Garden, Boston, MA
01-25, Tarrant County Convention Center Arena, Fort Worth, TX *
01-31, Madison Square Garden, New York, NY *
02-14, The Forum, Inglewood, CA *
1975 [a series tracking every Rolling Thunder show]
10-30, Plymouth Memorial Hall, Plymouth, MA
10-31, Plymouth Memorial Hall, Plymouth, MA *
11-02, Technical University, Lowell, MA
11-04, Civic Center, Providence, RI (two shows) *
11-06, Civic Center, Springfield, MA (two shows)
11-08, Patrick Gymnasium, Burlington, VT *
11-09, University of New Hampshire, Durham, NH
11-11, Palace Theater, Waterbury, CT
11-13, Veterans Memorial Coliseum, New Haven, CT *
11-15, Convention Center, Niagara Falls, NY
11-17, War Memorial Coliseum, Rochester, NY *
11-19, Memorial Auditorium, Worcester, MA *
11-20, Harvard Square Theatre, Cambridge, MA *
11-21, Music Hall, Boston, MA
11-22, Brandeis University, Waltham, MA *
11-24, Civic Center, Hartford, CT
11-26, Civic Center, Augusta, ME *
11-27, Municipal Auditorium, Bangor, ME *
11-29, Coliseum, Quebec City, Canada
12-01, Maple Leaf Gardens, Toronto, Canada
12-02, Maple Leaf Gardens, Toronto, Canada *
12-04, Forum, Montreal, Quebec
12-07, Correctional Institute, Clinton, NJ
12-08, Madison Square Garden, New York, NY *
1976
04-18, Civic Center, Lakeland, FL
04-29, Expo Hall, Municipal Auditorium, Mobile, AL
05-03, The Warehouse, New Orleans, LA
05-08, Hofheinz Pavilion, Houston, TX
05-12, Municipal Auditorium, Austin, TX
05-19, Henry Levitt Arena, Wichita, KS *
05-23, Hughes Stadium, Fort Collins, CO
+ another
11-25, ‘The Last Waltz’, San Francisco, CA
1978
02-20, Nippon Budokan Hall, Tokyo, Japan
03-27, Entertainment Center, Perth, Australia
06-26, Westfalenhalle, Dortmund, West Germany
09-27, Nassau Coliseum, Uniondale, NY *
1979
11-01, Warfield Theatre, San Francisco, CA
11-26, Gammage Center, Tempe, AZ
12-09, Music Hall Community Center, Tucson, AZ *
1980
01-13, Paramount Theatre, Seattle, WA *
02-27, Grammy Awards, Shrine Auditorium, Los Angeles, CA *
04-17, Massey Hall, Toronto, Canada
04-20, Massey Hall, Toronto, Ontario
05-01, Kleinhans Music Hall, Buffalo, NY *
05-16, Stanley Theatre, Pittsburgh, PA *
11-15, Warfield, San Francisco, CA
1981
07-10, Drammenshallen, Drammen, Norway
07-25, Place des Sports, Avignon, France *
10-25, Stabler Arena, Bethlehem, PA
11-04, Music Hall, Cincinnati, OH
1984
03-22, Late Night with David Letterman, New York, NY
+ another
05-23, Beverly Theater, Los Angeles, CA
05-27, Unidentified Studio, Verona, Italy *
06-09, Ullevi Stadion, Gothenburg, Sweden
06-10, Idrætsparken, Copenhagen, Denmark
06-11, Stadion am Bieberer Berg, Offenbach, Germany *
06-21, Palaeur, Rome, Italy *
07-05, St. James' Park, Newcastle, England
07-07, Wembley Stadium, London, England
07-08, Slane Castle, Slane, Ireland
1985
07-25, First International Poetry Festival, Moscow, USSR
09-19, Universal Studios, Los Angeles, CA
09-22, Farm Aid, Champaign, IL
1986
02-05, Athletic Park, Wellington, New Zealand
02-19, Sports And Entertainment Centre, Melbourne, Australia
02-24, Entertainment Centre, Sydney, Australia *
+ another
03-08, Aichi-ken Taiikukan, Nagoya, Japan
06-09, Sports Arena, San Diego, CA
07-07, RFK Stadium, Washington DC
07-24, Sandstone Amphitheater, Bonner Springs, KS
07-26, Red Rocks Amphitheatre, Morrison, CO *
1987
07-12, Giants Stadium, East Rutherford, NJ
09-13, Palasport, Turin, Italy *
09-20, Messehalle 20, Hanover, West Germany *
10-14, Wembley Arena, London, UK
1988
01-20, Rock and Roll Hall of Fame Ceremony, Waldorf Astoria, New York, NY *
06-07, Concord Pavilion, Concord, CA
06-15, Fiddler's Green Amphitheatre, Denver, CO
07-02, Great Woods Performing Arts Center, Mansfield, MA *
08-02, Greek Theatre, Los Angeles, CA *
08-04, Greek Theatre, Los Angeles, CA
09-07, Champlain Valley Fairgrounds, Essex Junction, VT *
10-13, The Tower Theater, Upper Darby, PA *
10-16, Radio City Music Hall, New York, NY
10-19, Radio City Music Hall, New York, NY
1989
07-29, Kingswood Music Theatre, Maple, ON *
08-04, Dane County Memorial Coliseum, Madison, WI *
10-20, Mid-Hudson Arena, Poughkeepsie, NY
10-22, University of Rhode Island, South Kingston, RI *
11-04, Indiana University Of Pennsylvania, Indiana, PA *
1990
01-12, Toad's Place, New Haven, CT *
02-08, Hammersmith Odeon, London, England *
08-27, Holiday Star Music Theater, Merrillville, IN *
09-04, Riverpark Amphitheater, Tulsa, OK *
10-13, United States Military Academy, West Point, NY
1991
02-20, Grammy Awards, Radio City Music Hall, New York City, NY *
05-04, Lawrence Joel Veterans Memorial Coliseum Annex, Winston-Salem, NC
05-09, Northeastern University, Boston, MA *
1992
03-18, Perth Entertainment Center, Perth, Australia *
03-28, Entertainment Centre, Brisbane, Queensland, Australia *
03-29, Royal Theatre, Canberra, Australia *
04-22 - Royal Lahanina Tennis Stadium, Maui, HI *
05-04, Warfield Theater, San Francisco, CA *
07-01, Parc des Expositions, Reims, France *
07-05, Festa Comunale Unita, Correggio, Italy *
08-17/18, Massey Hall, Toronto, Ontario
08-20, Lake Conneaut Park, Meadville, PA *
08-21, Great Hall Hamilton Place, Hamilton, ON *
09-06, Liberty Memorial Park, Kansas City, MO
10-24, Gampel Pavillion, Storrs, CT *
11-03, Cincinnati Music Hall, Cincinnati, OH *
1993
01-17, Lincoln Memorial, Washington, DC *
02-17, Muziekcentrum Frits Philips, Eindhoven, Netherlands
04-16, Dedmon Center, Radford, VA *
06-29, Palais des Sports, Marseille, France *
09-02, Canadian National Exhibition, Toronto, ON *
09-03, New York State Fairgrounds, Syracuse, NY
09-04, SPAC, Saratoga Springs, NY *
09-05, Montage Mountain, Scranton, PA *
09-12, Great Woods Performing Arts Center, Mansfield, MA
10-09, Shoreline Amphitheatre, Mountain View, CA *
1994
02-16, Hiroshima Kousei Nenkin Kaikan, Hiroshima, Japan *
04-26, Municipal Auditorium, Sioux City, IA *
05-20-22, Great Music Experience, Nara, Japan
07-17, Stadion Cracovia, Kraków, Poland
08-21, Ohio State Fair, Columbus, OH *
10-09, Orpheum Theatre, Boston, MA
10-30, Warner Theater, Washington, DC *
11-09, Ryman Auditorium, Nashville, TN *
1995
03-14, Stadthalle, Furth, Germany *
03-29-31, Brixton Academy, London, England *
04-06, Edinburgh Playhouse, Edinburgh, Scotland *
04-11, The Point, Dublin, Ireland *
06-15, Franklin County Airport, Highgate, VT
06-21, Theater Of Living Arts, Philadelphia, PA *
06-29, The Spectrum, Oslo, Norway
09-02, Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, Cleveland, OH
09-30, Sundome, Tampa, FL
A special series on the Dylan/Patti Smith ‘Paradise Lost’ tour:
12-07, O'Neill Center, Danbury, CT
12-08, Worcester Auditorium, Worcester, MA *
12-09, Orpheum Theatre, Boston, MA *
12-10, Orpheum Theatre, Boston, MA *
12-11, Beacon Theatre, New York, NY *
12-13, Lehigh University, Bethlehem, PA *
12-14, Beacon Theatre, New York, NY *
12-15, Electric Factory, Philadelphia, PA *
12-16, Electric Factory, Philadelphia, PA *
12-17, Electric Factory, Philadelphia, PA
1996
05-14, Michigan Theater, Ann Arbor, MI *
08-04, House Of Blues, Atlanta, GA
11-13, Dane County Memorial Coliseum, Madison, WI *
1997
03-31, Memorial Stadium, St. Johns, Newfoundland, Canada
04-10, U of Southern Maine, Portland, ME *
04-22, Fisher Auditorium, Indiana, PA
05-22, Beverly Hilton Hotel, Los Angeles, CA *
08-03, Loon Mountain, Lincoln, NH *
08-07, Molson Amphitheatre, Toronto, Canada *
08-23, Wolf Trap, Vienna, VA
12-01&02, Roxy, Atlanta, GA - soundchecks *
12-04, 9:30 Club, Washington, DC *
1998
01-14, Garde Arts Center, New London, CT *
01-18, Theater at Madison Square Garden, New York, NY *
02-02, Symphony Hall, Springfield MA
02-14, Public Hall, Cleveland, OH *
02-17, Fabulous Fox Theatre, St. Louis, MO *
02-25, Grammy Awards, Radio City Music Hall, New York, NY *
04-13, Estádio Ícaro de Castro Mello, São Paulo, Brazil *
05-17, The Gorge, George, WA
06-12, Stadtpark, Hamburg, Germany
11-01, Madison Square Garden, New York City, NY
1999
01-26, Everblades Arena, Fort Myers, FL *
02-07, Boutwell Auditorium, Birmingham, AL
06-20, Arrowhead Pond of Anaheim, Anaheim, CA *
07-03, Bayfront Festival Park, Duluth, MN *
07-26, Tramps, New York, NY *
10-12, 20th Century Fox Lot, Los Angeles, CA
11-09, Temple University, Philadelphia, PA *
11-13, Continental Arena, East Rutherford, NJ *
11-14, Centrum Centre, Worcester, MA *
2000 [A special series covered every spring concert]
03-10, Sun Theatre, Anaheim, CA
03-11, Cal Poly Recreation Center, San Luis Obispo, CA
03-12, Bakersfield Centennial Garden, Bakersfield, CA *
03-14, Visalia Convention Center, Visalia, CA *
03-15, Civic Auditorium, Santa Cruz, CA *
03-16, Civic Auditorium, Santa Cruz, CA
03-17, Reno Hilton Theater, Reno, NV
03-19, Holt Arena, Pocatello, ID *
03-20, Idaho Center Arena, Nampa, ID
03-21, Beasley Performing Arts Center, Pullman, WA *
03-22, Adams Event Center, Missoula, MT *
03-24, Brick Breeden Field House, Bozeman, MT *
03-25, Shrine Auditorium, Billings, MT
03-26, Casper Events Center, Casper, WY *
03-27, Rushmore Plaza Civic Center Arena, Rapid City, SD *
03-29, Civic Centre Arena, Bismarck, ND *
03-30, Civic Memorial Auditorium, Fargo, ND
03-31, Mayo Civic Center Arena, Rochester, MN *
04-01, Sioux Falls Arena, Sioux Falls, SD *
04-03, Five Seasons Center, Cedar Rapids, IA *
04-04, Omaha Civic Arena, Omaha, NE *
04-05, Bicentennial Center Arena, Salina, KS *
04-06, Fillmore Auditorium, Denver, CO
06-27, House Of Blues, Las Vegas, NV *
2001
05-02, NorthWest Georgia Trade & Convention Center, Dalton, GA
07-08, Montreux Jazz Festival, Montreux, Switzerland *
08-16, Century II Convention Center, Wichita, KS
08-18, Colorado State Fair, Pueblo, CO *
10-21, Denver Coliseum, Denver, CO *
10-23, Orpheum Theatre, Sioux City, IA *
11-19, Madison Square Garden, New York, NY *
2002
02-09, Phillips Arena, Atlanta, GA *
02-27, Grammy Awards, Staples Center, Los Angeles, CA *
04-20, Filaforum, Milan, Italy *
04-21, Hallenstadion, Zurich, Switzerland
04-30, Le Zenith, Paris, France
08-03, Newport Folk Festival, Newport, RI *
08-09, Harbour Station, Saint John, NB
08-15, Erie County Fair, Hamburg, NY *
10-04, Key Arena, Seattle, WA *
10-08, Memorial Auditorium, Sacramento, CA
11-01 Allstate Arena, Rosemont, IL *
11-13 Madison Square Garden, New York, NY *
2003
02-26, Westpac Trust Entertainment Centre, Christchurch, New Zealand *
04-26, Municipal Auditorium, New Orleans, LA
04-29, The Trap, Nashville, TN
05-13, Amphitheatre at Regency Park, Cary, NC
07-27, Orange County Fair, Costa Mesa, CA
08-05, Verizon Wireless Amphitheater, Noblesville, IN
08-20, Hammerstein Ballroom, New York, NY *
10-04, Shea Stadium, Queens, NY [Bruce Springsteen show]
2004
03-05, Aragon Ballroom, Chicago, IL *
03-21, Kool Haus, Toronto, ON *
04-12-14, Tabernacle, Atlanta, GA
06-06, Borgata Hotel Casino and Spa, Atlantic City, NJ *
11-21, Harvard University, Allston, MA
2005
03-07, Paramount Theatre, Seattle, WA
07-17, Save-On Foods Centre, Victoria, British Columbia *
07-19, The Orpheum, Vancouver, BC *
07-21, The Orpheum, Vancouver, British Columbia
10-17, Stockholm Globe Arena, Stockholm, Sweden *
11-27, The Point Theatre, Dublin, Ireland *
2006
08-12, Fifth Third Ballpark, Comstock Park, MI *
08-13, Cooper Stadium, Columbus, OH *
08-30, Frontier Field, Rochester, MN
2007
04-08, Heineken Music Hall, Amsterdam, The Netherlands *
10-22, Fox Theatre, St. Louis, MO
2008
02-21, House of Blues, Dallas, TX *
02-29, Arena Monterrey, Monterrey, Mexico *
03-11, Arena Santiago, Santiago, Chile *
08-19, Marvin Sands Performing Arts Center, Canandaigua, NY *
10-25, Interior Savings Centre, Kamloops, BC *
11-11, John Labatt Centre, London, Ontario
11-12, General Motors Centre, Oshawa, Ontario
2009
03-28, Malmo Arena, Malmo, Sweden *
2010
03-11, Zepp Osaka, Osaka, Japan
05-31, Cemil Topuzlu Open-Air Theatre, Istanbul, Turkey
2011
02-13, Grammy Awards, Staples Center, Los Angeles, CA
06-22, Alcatraz Club, Milan, Italy *
08-16, Merriweather Post Pavilion, Columbia, MD *
2012
11-08, Bradley Center, Milwaukee, WI
2013
07-14, DTE Energy Music Theatre, Clarkston, MI
08-03, Verizon Wireless Amphitheatre, Irvine, CA *
11-23, Opera House, Blackpool, England *
2014
07-15, Tradgardsforeningen, Gothenburg, Sweden
09-07, Sydney Opera House, Sydney, Australia
2015
04-14, Johnny Mercer Theater, Savannah, GA *
2016
04-04, Bunkamura Orchard Hall, Tokyo, Japan *
07-06, Wolf Trap, Vienna, VA *
10-07, Desert Trip, Indio, CA *
2017
04-01, Stockholm Waterfront Auditorium, Stockholm, Sweden
06-14, Capitol Theatre, Port Chester, NY
2018
10-20, Ruth Eckerd Hall, Clearwater, FL *
11-02, DPAC, Durham, NC
2019
07-12, Hyde Park, London, England
10-14, Frost Amphitheater, Palo Alto, California
10-26, The Eagles Ballroom, Milwaukee, WI
11-12, UMBC Event Center, Baltimore, MD
11-13, Virginia State University, Petersburg, VA
12-02, Beacon Theater, New York, NY
2021
07-18, Bon Bon Club, Shadow Kingdom *
11-02, Riverside Theatre, Milwaukee, WI *
11-03, Auditorium Theatre, Chicago, IL *
11-10, Knoxville Civic Auditorium, Knoxville, TN
11-15, UPMC Events Center, Moon Township, PA
11-29, The Met, Philadelphia, PA *
12-02, The Anthem, Washington DC
2022
03-03, Arizona Federal Theatre, Phoenix, AZ *
03-04, Tucson Music Hall, Tucson, AZ
03-19, Saenger Theatre, New Orleans, LA *
03-30, Ovens Auditorium, Charlotte, NC
05-28, First Interstate Center for the Arts, Spokane, WA
06-15, Pantages Theatre, Los Angeles, CA
10-23, London Palladium, London, England *
10-24, London Palladium, London, England *
10-28, Motorpoint Arena, Nottingham, England
11-04, New Theatre, Oxford, England *
11-07, 3Arena, Dublin, Ireland
2023
04-06, Festival Hall, Osaka, Japan *
04-07, Festival Hall, Osaka, Japan *
04-08, Festival Hall, Osaka, Japan *
04-12, Garden Theater, Tokyo, Japan *
04-14, Garden Theater, Tokyo, Japan *
04-15, Garden Theater, Tokyo, Japan
04-16, Garden Theater, Tokyo, Japan
06-15, Plaza de Toros, Alicante, Spain
06-21, Palacio de los Deportes de La Rioja, Logroño, Spain *
06-26, Theatre Jean-Deschamps, Carcassonne, France
06-29, L’Amphithéâtre, Lyon, France
09-23, Farm Aid, Noblesville, IN
10-01, Midland Theater, Kansas City, MO *
10-06, Cadillac Palace Theatre, Chicago, IL *
10-07, Cadillac Palace Theatre, Chicago, IL *
10-08, Cadillac Palace Theatre, Chicago, IL *
10-27, Massey Hall, Toronto, ON
10-29, Place Des Arts, Montreal, QC *
11-07/8, Capitol Theatre, Port Chester, NY *
11-12, Symphony Hall, Springfield, MA *
11-14, Kings Theatre, Brooklyn, NY
11-19, The Fillmore, Philadelphia, PA *
11-20/1, NJ Performing Arts Center, Newark, NJ *
12-03, Aiken Theater, Evansville, IN *
2024
03-01, Broward Center for the Performing Arts, Fort Lauderdale, FL *
03-17, Belk Theater, Charlotte, NC
03-18, Crown Theatre, Fayetteville, NC
03-26/27, Brooklyn Bowl, Nashville, TN *
03-29/30, Orpheum Theatre, Memphis, TN
04-06, ACL Live at the Moody Theatre, Austin, TX *
06-21, Ameris Bank Amphitheatre, Alpharetta, GA
06-22, PNC Music Pavilion, Charlotte, NC *
06-23, Coastal Credit Union Music Park, Raleigh, NC *
06-28, Empower Federal Credit Union Amphitheater at Lakeview, Syracuse, NY *
06-29, Jones Beach Theater, Wantagh, NY *
07-02, Xfinity Center, Mansfield, MA *
07-06, Bethel Woods Center for the Arts, Bethel, NY
08-10, Gorge Amphitheatre, George, WA *
09-07, Credit Union 1 Amphitheatre, Tinley Park, IL *
09-11, Riverbend Music Center, Cincinnati, OH *
09-15, Pine Knob Music Theatre, Clarkston, MI *
10-04, O2 Universum, Prague, Czech Republic *
10-24/25, La Seine Musicale, Paris, France
2024-11-03, M&S Bank Arena, Liverpool, England
2024-11-05/6, Usher Hall, Edinburgh, Scotland
11-08, Motorpoint Arena, Nottingham, England *
11-09, Civic Hall, Wolverhampton, England *