After returning from a tour of Eastern and Central Europe, Bob Dylan will continue his Never Ending Tour with a number of open air dates in the U.S., including a stop at Prospect Park in Brooklyn, New York on August 12, 2008. Other dates include:
August 9 Pittsburgh at The New American Music Union Festival
10 Baltimore at The Virgin Moblie Festival
30 Aspen at Jazz Aspen Snowmass
"I'm Not There" the Todd Haynes directed Bob Dylan biopic will be released on DVD on May 6th. In the event that you did not see the film on the big screen, here is a short quiz to help you determine if you should purchase the DVD.
1) You consider yourself a fan of Bob Dylan and have:
a) some of his official recordings (1 point)
b) have all of his official recordings except the gospel stuff (5 points)
c) have all of his official recordings including the gospel stuff (10 points)
2) The photo on the cover of "The Freewheelin' Bob Dylan" album features Bob Dylan and a woman, you:
a) don't know who the woman is (0 points)
b) know who the woman is (5 points)
c) know who the woman is and have read her recent memoir (10 points)
3) The Basement Tapes is the most famous bootleg in recording history, you:
a) don't have a copy of it (0 points)
b) have a copy of the official 2 disc Columbia release (2 points)
c) have a copy of the unofficial 4 disc fan project "A Tree with Roots" (4 points)
d) have both the official and unofficial versions (6 points)
4) You have a copy of "A Tree With Roots" and:
a) have never listened to it all of the way through (0 points)
b) have listened to it all of the way through once (1 point)
c) listen to it all of the time (1 point for each time you've listened to it all of the way through)
5) You hear the name "William J. Clinton", you think of:
a) Hillarys' Dude (0 points)
b) Monicas' Dude (10 points)
6) It's nighttime in the big city, you:
a) are home sleeping (0 points)
b) are home trying to tune in The Theme Time Radio Hour on your old Victrola (10 points)
c) are home trying to download The Theme Time Radio Hour from pirate bay (5 points)
7) Listening to the weather forecast you hear "expecting rain", you:
a) expect it to rain (0 points)
b) remember that you forgot to check last nights' Reykjavik set list on expectingrain.com (10 points)
If you scored:
More than 50: You already have the DVD pre-ordered
More than 25: Order the DVD
Less than 25: Better to start with "Live at Newport"
Bob Dylan will be headed toward Canada's Maritime provinces in mid-May on his way to Iceland and Europe. Tickets on sale for all of the Canadian shows on March 29th.
5/19 Saint John NB Harbour Station
5/20 Moncton NB Moncton Coliseum Complex
5/21 Halifax NS Halifax Metro Centre
5/24 St. John's NL Mile One Centre
Bob Dylan Tour Dates ( bobdylan.com)
Bob Dylan once covered Simon and Garfunkel's "The Boxer" on his Self-Portrait album and it looks like he's taken up the ancient art of pugilism to go along with his other modest talents. According to the statesman.com, while on tour recently in Mexico City:
Dylan did a little boxing at the Nuevo Jordan gym, impressing trainer Rodolfo “Guerco” Rodriguez, who had no idea the man in the ring was perhaps the most famous singer on the planet. “I said…these old guys are going to give each other heart attacks!” Rodriguez told the El Universal newspaper. “They told me that the oldest guy was Bob Dylan, He boxed with all his friends and he did well; you can tell he’s practiced for awhile because he landed some good shots and brought his own professional (equipment). He knows what pugilism is and he enjoys it.”
Bob Dylan’s curious tour of Mexico City (stateman.com)
So says Simon Napier-Bell who was the onetime manager of the Yardbirds and started in the music business in the mid-sixties. In "The Life and Crimes of the Music Biz", a funny and insightful article in the Observer Music Monthly, Simon doesn't exactly lament the changes that the internet has brought to the music business.
But outside of the industry, who cares? Pop music has never sounded better or more vibrant, never been more easily available to the listener. The only people who are suffering are the people who brought it on themselves. The major record companies.
The article includes this hilarious story where Simon is having a meeting with "a very dull man indeed" and Bob Dylan calls on line one:
To begin with, it wasn't too interesting but then Dick yelled, 'I've told you, Bob - no fucking religion! If you can't agree to that, the deal's off ...'
Bob was arguing the point but Dick was having none of it. 'Look, I'm telling you. There'll be no fucking religion - not Christian, not Jewish, not Muslim. Nothing. For God's sake, man - you were born Jewish, which makes your religion money, doesn't it? So stick with it, for Christ's sake. I'm giving you 20 million bucks - it's like baptising you, like sending you to heaven. So what are you fucking moaning about? You want 20 million bucks from us? Well, you gotta do what we tell you. And what we're telling you is ... No Torah! No Bible! No Koran! No Jesus! No God! No Allah! No fucking religion. It's going in the contract.'
The entire article is well worth reading. Find it here.
