27 NOVEMBER 1979
GRADY GAMMAGE MEMORIAL AUDITORIUM - TEMPE, AZ
SETLIST:
SERVE SOMEBODY/I BELIEVE IN YOU/WHEN YOU
GONNA WAKE UP?/WHEN HE RETURNS/MAN GAVE NAMES TO ALL THE ANIMALS/PRECIOUS ANGEL/SLOW
TRAIN COMING/COVENANT WOMAN/PUT YOUR HAND IN THE HAND (Regina McCreary,
vocals)/GONNA CHANGE MY WAY OF THINKING/DO RIGHT TO ME BABY/SOLID ROCK/SAVING
GRACE/ SAVED/WHAT CAN I DO FOR YOU/ IN THE GARDEN
COMMENTARY:
After two nights facing exceedingly hostile
individual audience members in Tempe, Dylan is back among the faithful in San
Diego. The audience response throughout,
though particularly to “When He Returns,” is rapturous. Dylan takes this opportunity to recall a
concert in San Diego one year earlier at which time a small silver cross was
thrown up on stage. Dylan delights the
scripture-versed audience with the statement, “I looked down at this cross
and I said, “I got to pick that up.”” Dylan subsequently thanks the
individual who threw the cross up on stage, explaining how it helped him emerge
from a dark period in his life.
Later
in the concert, Dylan again addresses the crowd, outlining the biblical
metaphor of lamb’s blood linking the Passover story to the Passion story. He ends this story with an admonition, “If you
don’t know this, you better check into it.”
These statements are notable for their tone, marked contrast
to the Tempe concerts and later concerts in Tucson and Albuquerque. Before a sympathetic crowd, Dylan simply
acknowledges his faith and offers allusions to its symbols.
The
overall performance is quite strong as well.
“I Believe In You” and “Solid Rock” are highlights, but the centerpiece
of the evening is a marvelous “What Can I Do For You.” Despite a muffed beginning, Dylan approaches
this song with total ease, filling the latter half of each measure, clearly
enjoying the opportunities the song offers him to alter cadences, and swoop and
bob within the melody. Dylan’s first harp solo, loping around the
chordal structure of the melody, complements the rhythmic approach he takes
with his singing.
ANNOTATIONS:
MONOLOGUE – (Regina McCreary)
IF I'VE GOT MY TICKET, LORD
IT'S GONNA RAIN
DO LORD, REMEMBER ME
LOOK UP AND LIVE BY FAITH
OH FREEDOM
THIS TRAIN
Recording begins with audience
pounding feet and chairs
SERVE SOMEBODY
CROWD: "Yeah, Bob!"
I BELIEVE IN YOU
WHEN YOU GONNA WAKE UP?
WHEN HE RETURNS
crowd free-for-all with a lot of
yelling
MAN GAVE NAMES TO ALL THE ANIMALS
PRECIOUS ANGEL
Dylan:
“Last time I was here in San Diego – I was here about a year ago
(indecipherable/cheering) – wasn’t it a year ago? I don’t know but . . . I was coming from someplace and I was
feeling real sick when I got through here.
And on the day of the show, I, I don’t think it was in here, in this
place -- I think it was in another
place --
Crowd: “Talk about Jesus!”
(indecipherable/shouting)
anyway, after, it was just about a year ago I
think, after it was just, just about, towards the end of the show somebody,
up,er, out of the crowd – they knew I wasn’t feeling too well, I think they
could sense that – and they threw a silver cross on the stage. Now, usually I don’t
pick things up that are thrown on the front of the stage. Once in a while I do, but sometimes—most
times I don’t.
But, uh, I looked down at this cross and I said,
“I got to pick that up.” I picked up
that cross and I put it into my pocket.
It was a silver cross, I think maybe about so high -- and I put it,
brought it backstage and I brought it with me to the next town which was off in
Arizona,
(indecipherable/shouting)
Phoenix.
Anyway, ah, when I got back there I was feeling even worse than I had
felt when I was in San Diego, and I said, “Well, I really need something
tonight,” and, I didn’t know what it was, I was using all kinds of things, and
I said, “I need something tonight that I never really had before.” And I looked in my pocket and I had this
cross that someone threw before when I was in San Diego.
(indecipherable/shouting)
so if that person is here tonight I want to
thank them for that cross.
Now, you know you don’t read in the newspapers
about that type of thing – you read about people in Turkey revolting; and
Russians don’t have any food; you know all that trouble in Ireland; and of
course you know about Iran – they got a
funny bunch of people over in Iran they have a religion called “muslims” you
know. And, ah, but the Bible says,
“”Vengence is mine,” sayeth the Lord.”
And the only thing
____________(indecipherable)________________ to get it right.
audience member near taper: “Amen!”
But, uh, we don’t care about any of that, we’re
not bothered by it, we’re just ___?___;
we know this world as we see it is going to be destroyed.
(cheers/shouting)
Christ will set up his kingdom in Jerusalem for
a thousand years; we know that’s true.”
(indecipherable/shouting)
SLOW TRAIN COMING
COVENANT WOMAN
EDIT#:
Drop out clips last notes of “Covenant Woman” and edits out intro and
performance by backing singer
GONNA CHANGE MY WAY OF THINKING
DO RIGHT TO ME BABY
Dylan: (VERY DIFFICULT
TO DECIPHER -- Best Guess:) “A request
here. There is a request for a song, a
song called, “Solid Rock” “Hanging On To A Solid Rock Made Before The
Foundation Of The World.” Does that
mean anything? Anyway, we’re gonna do
it real fast.”
CROWD:
“Highway 61!”
SOLID
ROCK
SAVING
GRACE
SAVED
WHAT CAN I DO FOR YOU
Dylan: “John the
Baptist said, when he saw Jesus coming, “Behold, the lamb of God who taketh
away the sins of the world.” He said
the “lamb of god” because, when Moses went back to the land of Egypt, to get
the Hebrew children out, he told Pharoah to let the people go -- Pharoah didn’t
want to do that. So Moses said, “Well,
God told me what to tell Pharoah; he’ll send all kind of plagues into this
country” -- a lot of different plagues too: you know, hail, frogs,
(indecipherable), just all kind of plagues came, and so, anyway, the last
plague was, “You got to go to tell Pharoah that all the first born sons are
going to die. And Moses, he wondered
about the Hebrew children, and God told Moses: “You put the sign of blood on
every door. Kill a lamb and put the
sign of blood on every door and so the children won’t die.” So if you’ve got the sign of blood on the
door—you’ll live. And that’s how John
the Baptist, when he saw Jesus coming, said, “Behold, the lamb of God who
taketh away the sins on the world.”
If you don’t know
this, you better check into it.
Loud applause
(Indecipherable)
Louder applause
IN THE GARDEN
EDIT# - during applause
Dylan: “On the
keyboards tonight. On the keyboards
tonight - give him a warm hand of applause – Spooner Oldham. On the other set of keyboards - Terry
Young. Playing lead guitar tonight,
Fred Tackett. On the drums tonight, Jim
Keltner. Playing electric bass guitar,
Mister Tim Drummond. Singing on the bottom,
(indecipherable) Miss Helena Springs. Regina
McCrary, Regina McCrary Singing on the
top, Miss Mona Lisa Young. We want to
give all praise and glory to God tonight.
(Indecipherable/loud
applause) (“We’ll be back tomorrow night.”??)
BLESSED IS THE NAME
audience pounding
floor and cheering for encore
PRESSING ON
SOURCES:
One known reference recording circulating:
The first (271179RCMD) is a dual mono audience recording which lacks the seven opening songs performed by the band, and the introduction and performance of an eighth song, most likely, "What Are You Doing With Your Heart" by the band and sung by Helena Springs following "Covenant Woman."
This recording is only of fair quality, likely a distant descendant of the original. Both high and low notes are muffled and tend to drone in places. There is a destructive edit clipping the drum intro to “When You Gonna Wake Up,” another clipping the final notes of “Covenant Woman” and both the intro and performance of the gospel song performed by a backing singer which followed.
Last Updated: 25-Sep-02