PART
FIVE
1984.
And
the unbelievable happened. One of my wild dreams came true: Dylan
will play in Nantes (my home town) June 30, 1984.
28
concerts are announced in Europe with Carlos Santana and Joan Baez
.... The King and Queen together again?
Nantes June 30,
1984.
At 10 a.m. two of my sisters and I are at the gate of
the stadium. A few early risers are already there, there are even
those who have slept there. Doors should open at noon and the first
group should be on at 4:00 p.m. The queue lengthens. We become
nervous. The doors will finally opened at 2:15 p.m.. A sprint to the
front of the stage and we take a well deserved snack. The afternoon
will be long for Bob will be on at 9:00 p.m. I wonder if I'll see Jim
or Stan or Meyers.
The local music groups are trying to defend
themselves against an unrespectful crowd.
The Queen appears. There
are rumors that it will be her last concert on that tour.
"I
had problems with my manager," said she "because it's a
woman."
No
problem with moody Bobby?
Her
show is the same as 78,79,80,81,82,83 ... she has more wrinkles and
white hair and her smile seems stuck. Her French has not improved. It
is faullty. But is it not on purpose? But the audience is clearly
there for Dylan. We are just polite. She asks the front row to seat.
Is she mad? We are pressed against the fence!
Santana shows
up: gaunt but in good shape. Macrobiotics had worked out. His band is
rather eclectic: white, black, Chicano ... percussion in all
directions. He escapes in a song that never ends by turning to the
image of his Guru and ignoring the public.
I see Stanley and
beckoned him to approach. A hug, a kiss.
"I wondered when I
would see you? "
"Is Jim here? "
"No, he
works for Neil Diamond"
Meyers does not seem to be around,
it's a Tour organized by Bill Graham.
"I could put you on the
stage but you seem to have a good seat here. You go to Paris and
Grenoble? "
"No, no money"
"Ah, pity!
"
"How is Bob? "
"Good"
"Will
he Tour in America? "
"Nothing for several years”
"Tell
him hello for me!"
I
chew some cherries that I swallow raw because sooner than I
expected here He walks on stage.
White shirt, long black shirt
over it, no hat, no glasses.
At
full speed he starts "Highway61" I have trouble
recognizing.
Mick
Taylor on the left, swollen and old. Lost behind the material three
"punks" with no personality. The
worst group I've ever seen. He,
alone with an acoustic guitar would fit the bill. No need to sign to
him because he sees nothing, it's almost if he does not bump into the
microphone.
"Highwai61," "Jokerman,"
"All Along the Watchtower," "Just Like A Woman,"
"Maggie's Farm", "I and I", "license to
kill", "A hard rain's a gonna fall" " Girl of The
North Country "," It's Alright Ma, "" Simple
Twist of Fate, "" The Ballad of Hollis Brown ","
Ballad of a Thin Man, "" Masters of War "," Every
grain of sand "," Like a Rolling Stone. "
He
presents his musicians before going on.
"The Lonesome
Death of Hattie Carol," "The Time's They Are a-Changing",
"It Takes a Lot to Laugh, It Takes a Train to Cry,"
"Leopard skin pill box hat", a still with Santana "Blowing
in the wind "" Tombstone Blues ".
Mick
Taylor, who did mistakes on one of the songs, comes to apologize :
"This
is the first time we made the song"
Dylan
to respond
"that
is not true, we do it all the time ".
Mr
D is in a bad mood. He seems bored. We have almost enjoy it from the
first songs but it soon became déjà vu (French in the text).
The
fact that he does not wear glasses suggests to me that he did not
want to see us.
I am both pleased and disappointed. If the
whole Tour is like this I do not regret not being part of it.
The
usual rumors circulate: he escapes just after the show, he travels by
private jet, he stays in few secret hotels. Everything is false
according to my friend Claude Angel Boni who intimately encounters
him during this tour (story told in her book 'Stuck Inside of Mobile:
a Rhapsody for Bob Dylan).
"Oh
a false clock tries to tick out my time
to disgrace,
distract and bother me.
And the dirt of gossip blows into my
face,
And the dust of rumors covers me.
If the
arrow IS straight arrow
And the point IS slick,
It
Can pierce-through dust no matter how thick.
So I'll make my
stand
And Remain as I am
And bid farewell and do
not give a damn "
