Bob's behaviour towards MK

[twm]

I'm quite touched by some of the comments above. Thank you.

I may be perceived as "loyal" to Dylan and it's true that Dylan has provided a great deal of "sustenance" in my life but it isn't blind loyalty, I assure you. I do try to keep a perspective but I also try to see the good in musical offerings. And I enjoy lots of other music, too.

I also "enjoy", in a perverse way, some of the criticisms of Dylan. As it happens, not so long ago, I gathered together a collection of reviews of his second U.K. single, Subterranean Homesick Blues", not from the British music papers but from regional newspapers around the country. I might submit them to ISIS for a "spread" some day. Some of the reviews were quite positive but some, like this little lot, were not:

(1) I'm not kidding, until I listened carefully, I thought he was singing in German,
(2) This week it is at No.15; musically it doesn't deserve to be in the top thousand,
(3) Typical of the trash out this week is the new song by Bob Dylan "Subterranean Prison Blues" [sic],
(4) It is difficult to know if he made this record as a straight song or just to see if anybody would be silly enough to buy it,
(5) The feature side turns out to be a very commercial beater with a lyric that sounds like bad Swahili for all you can understand of it.

As I said in another thread, when it comes to criticism of Dylan, I've heard it all before. These were from 1965 (4 years into what turned out to be a 50-year career). You have to laugh, sometimes.

[vgonis]

Wow, talk about signs of genius in retrospect. Only art ahead of its time gets such reviews (also crap art gets the same reviews but nobody cares to revive them after 50 years). Thanks twm.

[Hophead]

Pottel it is just semantics, but you assume that none of us has real knowledge! 
OK, just a little joke here to break the ice:

I read an add yesterday, saying:
" A 53 volume set of the Larousse Britannica encyclopedia is given away to anyone that cares to come and pick it up. I just got married and my wife knows everything"

LOL!   I think that I would have to pass on that one. 
As far as the whole 'invite to play' thing goes...it's quite possible that Mark decided not to do it...maybe he just wanted to spend more time on this tour with his bandmates. After all...he did just write a song a few months back about how much he loves touring with these guys.

[IrisRose]

And, superval, I was very happy with Mark!   That matters to me!        And what else matters is that both these artists have super loyal fans, a testament to their genius.    See you in May, I hope!   All Mark on that tour!    (Unless BD wants to open for him.    Don't nobody get mad now.     Meant in fun.)

[superval99]

And, superval, I was very happy with Mark!   That matters to me!        And what else matters is that both these artists have super loyal fans, a testament to their genius.    See you in May, I hope!   All Mark on that tour!    (Unless BD wants to open for him.    Don't nobody get mad now.     Meant in fun.)

Hi IrisRose!    I'm glad you enjoyed the show and that MK is on good form!   I'm really looking forward to meeting you next year too, after all this time - see you in May!   

[ingridswing]

twm,  I have never found you in the least disrespectful, rude or unpleasant on this forum and I always enjoy reading your posts - even the Bob related ones!    I was purely expressing my feelings about Bob.  Every evening on stage, Mark thanks Bob for inviting him on his tour -all Bob needs to say is "Thanks Mark for joining me" - it only takes a couple of seconds and is a mark of respect. 

I second that. Krusty seems to be a strange person to me, not doing soundcheck with his band, not saying hi to the band who is in the same venue every night. Just nothing. To me it's not a normal behavior. Sure, the why is all guessing but still it's not polite and I really think it's strange. That we know about it is thanks to the diaries. That it's mentioned there looks like they have their thoughts about it too

[silentguy]

In the end it's Mark's decision to play on this tour.

I am enjoying it, and it appears he is too.

I dont begrudge Dylan as the headline act.

I dont sense any ill feelings from Mark to Bob, or else he would have ended the tour in Europe,
and not come back out for NA.


You have to remember Bob was one of MK's  heros.

So it would be like me getting invited to tour with MK as the opening act.

I prob wouldnt care much if I got invited on stage.

MK also is not sticking around to see and hear all of Bobs shows,
due to scheduling.

[Mona Dee]

Guy wrote in his latest diary:

Bob's band arrived at roughly the same time as us and we greet them in our usual friendly manner. They really are lovely guys and we share many laughs and chats backstage in our respective dressing rooms.

Maybe he is reading our comments secretly  and this is his answer .

So Bob`s Band is friendly and maybe Bob is too... we shouldn`t judge about him...just my opinion...

[Rail King]

Well, trying to read Bob's mind is interesting (and somtimes even fun), but we'll hardly ever succeed at it. Last night, he seems to have invited his former guitarist Freddy Koella to play two songs. Something not even the most die-hard Dylan fan would have expected. I remember that when Koella left the band in 2004 or when it was, people were saying he was kicked out rudely and that Bob simply couldn't stand him anymore. Now we know that there was hardly any truth in that. You just never know what's on Bob's mind (and sometimes I have the feeling that he doesn't know, either, just read his Rolling Stone interview ...) He's known to be strange and difficult, that's what he's famous for.

He must have a lot of respect for Mark, though, otherwise he would never have invited him on stage last year. He didn't do that with other artists that toured with him in the past. Actually, Bob was showing more respect for Mark than for any other musician in the world!

And regarding Mark's interview earlier this year, where he said that he and Bob would chat during soundchecks: I can't imagine Bob taking offense or even reading this (as some people on Expecting Rain suppose). He must have a reason not to invite Mark at the moment, yes, but I don't think this is it. Whatever it is, he may change his mind anytime, like he changed his mind about so many things, all his life.

[kaleo74]

I D'ONT WANT THEM TO PLAY TOGETHER !

I maybe wrong, but it seems to me like it is the opposite... With the presence of Mark, Bob is promoting his album and Mark is helping the old man selling some !

It is just perfect like that... it's over now, it was another time, another place !

[dmg]

Guy wrote in his latest diary:

Bob's band arrived at roughly the same time as us and we greet them in our usual friendly manner. They really are lovely guys and we share many laughs and chats backstage in our respective dressing rooms.

Maybe he is reading our comments secretly  and this is his answer .

So Bob`s Band is friendly and maybe Bob is too... we shouldn`t judge about him...just my opinion...

Old Indian proverb say: "never judge a man until you've walked a mile in his shoes."

[nababo]

My two cents to this bucket of assumptions (all in conditional mode)...

Mark is more than happy of playing with BD. For him, it doesn't matter if Bob talks to him or not. It's all about music, all about playing with one of his greatest musical heroes.

Everything was previously arranged. The soundcheck schedule, the time on stage. Maybe even for some reason they decided that, this time, they would not play together at all. Commercial issues. Any hidden physical trouble with the troubadour. Both being tired of playing more than the time that was fixed. Or yet maybe Bob knew he would play in a totally diferent way even the well-known songs he didn't want to expose Mark to a non proposital error...

From the reviews, I tend to see that both are pleased with this tour. So, I think they made the arrangments and everything is going the way they wanted it to be.

[superval99]

Mark is more than happy of playing with BD. For him, it doesn't matter if Bob talks to him or not. It's all about music, all about playing with one of his greatest musical heroes.

But the point is, that he's NOT playing with Bob or hearing Bob's set!    Up to now, Mark plays his set, then he and the band go to the next venue whilst Bob is doing his set.  Maybe now that they are staying in the LA area for a few days, that will change.

[Rail King]

I still hope it will happen again. Not because I think it makes much musical sense (honestly, I think that Bob's band works better without Mark; he'd have to spend much more time with them to really fit in). But just because I love to see the two greatest songwriters I know together. In that respect, last year was like a dream come true.

[Jules]

I still hope it will happen again. Not because I think it makes much musical sense (honestly, I think that Bob's band works better without Mark; he'd have to spend much more time with them to really fit in). But just because I love to see the two greatest songwriters I know together. In that respect, last year was like a dream come true.

The thing is that if it happens, BD should had asked MK before the tour, and MK shoud had joined BD and his band for some rehearsals, and do the things like its meant to be.

I