1963, the fifties had just ended, the world was emerging into the, yet to come, hippy populated sixties culture. War was a word that had been feared but then was a concept that had softened as the World Wars were over and the Cuban Missile Crisis was resolved. However, it was also time that the United States were about to enter another brutal battle in Vietnam. Technology was changing, TV's were now populating most American households, and Martin Luther King was preaching about his dream(s). A lot had changed within the past decade and more change was about to come, but if there was one thing that has remained constant throughout time, it would be that New York City is the place to be.
New York City felt the buzz, the energy and the spirit of those full of hopes and dreams as well as those whose hearts were as heavy as their tired feet. It was a land of lights and chaos as well as a music scene that was about to set the world into a revolutionary spin. 12 April, 1963 a young man from Hibbing, Minnesota took the stage at The Town Hall on W 43rd Street, New York City. Around 1,000 bodies occupied the audience, 2,000 ears and eyes witnessed the breakout concert of this once called "Hillbilly singer" who called himself, Bob Dylan.
"Hibbings got corner bars and polka bands," stated the 1963s concert program as part of Dylan's "My Life In A Stolen Minute" excerpt. Well, current New York's got hundreds of stages and The Town Hall Band. Among those hundreds of stages all kept in chaotic organization on and off Broadway, there was no other venue or heel scuffed stage that I'd rather have sat in front of than The Town Hall's this past Thursday. Celebrating Bob Dylan's 77th birthday The Town Hall and Hal Willner produced
Tomorrow Is A Long Time: Songs from Bob Dylan's 1963 Town Hall Concert.
The show featured guest from the folk music scene to Rock and Roll icons to comedians, puppets and more, as well as the incredible Town Hall Band with musical director, Steven Bernstein. The Line-up included; Terry Adams, Laurie Anderson, The Milk Carton Kids, Lisa Fischer, Gina Gershon, Emily Haines, Mark Kozelek, Geoff Muldaur, Bill Murray, Bob Neuwirth, Greg Tate, Steve Buscemi, Teddy Thompson, Triumph The Insult Comic Dog, Anne Waldman, Joan as Police Woman, and Peter Wolf. Each artist came out, at least once, to perform a rendition arranged in styles sounding anything but early sixties Dylan; and some of the arrangements were brilliantly thought of.
Highlights of the night were Lisa Fischer and Teddy Thompson's emotional duet version of "Hollis Brown", as well as each of their own performances - Fischer's soulful and radiant stage presence during "A Hard Rain's Gonna Fall" and Thompson provided a moving and haunting interpretation of "John Brown". Mark Kozelek shouted and crooned his way through a passionate version of "Who Killed Davey Moore" and Terry Adams and Peter Wolf both put rock and roll, up beat vibes on Adam's version of "Highway 51" and Wolf's "Hero Blues". The Milk Carton Kid's harmonies were strong as the duo sang the Dylan classic "Blowin' in The Wind". The Town Hall Band as well as Steve Bernstein had arranged songs in some jungle pounding rhythms, some Cuban or island-y feels, as well as tracks that were soft and pure to match the vocals of singers like Emily Haines, who's voice can cut you like a knife with her effortlessly raspy but beautiful dream-state vocals in "Bob Dylan's Dream" and "Masters Of The War". Joan as Police Woman had created her own arrangement with the Town Hall Band for "Tomorrow Is A Long Time", as well as later come on stage to play guitar during Bill Murray's more spoken approach to "Don't Think Twice, It's Alright". As expected, it was a highlight to see folk singer- songwriter, Bob Neuwirth, whom provided rightfully somber and hanging tributes to "Walls of Red Wing" as well as reading the poem written by Dylan about his beloved hero, Woody Guthrie during Guthrie's hospitalization in the early sixties,
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| Bob Dylan at The Town Hall, 1963 |
Setlist;
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Ramblin’ Down Thru the World (The Town Hall Ensemble)
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Bob Dylan’s Dream (Emily Haines)
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Talkin’ New York (Laurie Anderson)
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Ballad of Hollis Brown (Lisa Fischer and Teddy Thompson)
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Walls of Red Wing (Bob Neuwirth)
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All Over You (The Town Hall Ensemble)
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Talkin’ John Birch Paranoid Blues (Steve Buscemi)
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Boots of Spanish Leather (Geoff Muldaur)
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Hero Blues (Peter Wolf)
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Blowin’ in the Wind (The Milk Carton Kids)
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John Brown (Teddy Thompson)
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Tomorrow is a Long Time (Joan As Policewoman)
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A Hard Rain’s a-Gonna Fall (Lisa Fischer)
INTERMISSION
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| Joan As The Police Woman and Bill Murray | | | | Picture via BrooklynVegan |
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Dusty Old Fairgrounds
- Who Killed Davey Moore? (Mark Kozelek)
- Seven Curses (Greg Tate)
- Highway 51 (Terry Adams)
- Pretty Peggy-O (Triumph the Insult Comic Dog & The Milk Carton Kids)
- Bob Dylan’s New Orleans Rag (Gina Gershon)
- Don’t Think Twice It’s All Right (Bill Murray and Joan As Policewoman)
- Hiding Too Long (Anne Waldman)
- With God on Our Side (Mark Kozelek)
- Masters of War (Emily Haines)
- Last Thoughts on Woody Guthrie ( Bob Neuwirth)
Overall I thought the performance was a lovely tribute to a man who's words have played a role in all of our lives. However, and those who saw the performance may disagree, I did feel that some arrangements were repetitive as well as lacking the pizazz factor. To continue off of that, there were tributes that were spectacular and arranged in such a way that I personally never thought a Bob Dylan song could be recited. All artist seemed to really care about the music and the lyrics that they were sharing with the room, which passion always makes a live performance memorable. As mentioned previously, the Town Hall Ensemble were beyond phenomenal, with trumpet, tuba, violin and other solos that made me wish I stuck with my fourth grade Alto Saxophone. Each member of the (mostly) fresh faced, youthful band looked engaged and joyous with each number they strummed, pounded, or exhaled into their instruments. Well done Hal Willner, The Town Hall, and everyone involved in this show.
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| Peter Wolf and I after the show |
"Hibbings got corner bars and polka bands," stated the 1963s concert program as part of Dylan's "My Life In A Stolen Minute" excerpt. Well, current New York's got hundreds of stages and The Town Hall Band. Among those hundreds of stages all kept in chaotic organization on and off Broadway, there was no other venue or heel scuffed stage that I'd rather have sat in front of than The Town Hall's this past Thursday. Celebrating Bob Dylan's 77th birthday The Town Hall and Hal Willner produced Tomorrow Is A Long Time: Songs from Bob Dylan's 1963 Town Hall Concert. 
