Dylan, Haggard tour together

Subject: Dylan, Haggard tour together
From: Cool Beans
Date: 03 Mar 05 - 11:30 AM

Bob Dylan and Merle Haggard are touring together, the icon of everything 1960s and the anti-icon of everything 1960s ("We don't wear our hair all long and shaggy/ Like those hippies out in San Francisco do.")
I think this augurs well for the world.
Peace in our time.
Or maybe we all become the same when we get old. (I am not putting down aging; I'm getting there myself.)

Subject: RE: Dylan, Haggard tour together
From: Peace
Date: 03 Mar 05 - 11:33 AM

Who will corrupt whom? Pat Sky's take-off on "Okie from Muskogee" was a hoot. I wish the world well for this one.

Subject: RE: Dylan, Haggard tour together
From: PoppaGator
Date: 03 Mar 05 - 07:26 PM

The Grateful Dead covered several Merle Haggard tunes for many years, dating back to the early 70s and maybe even the late 60s. (Not "Okie," though ~ or, if and when they did play that one, they couldn't have treated it as seriously as they did, say, "Mama Tried.") So this isn't all that earth-shaking a development.

Also on the bill with Merle and Bob is a young singer-songwriter named Amos Lee. I had never heard him before seeing him play one song on Letterman's Late Night TV show earlier this week. Very nice: good song, good delivery.

His band has nearly-standard rock 'n' roll instrumentation, but their approach is so subtle and low-key that the effect is almost that of a "folk" group, allowing Amos' acoustic guitar picking to be heard.

There's a second guitar (electric Les Paul, played with great restraint by a seated picker), a drum kit (played with brushes), an electric organ (I think a Hammond B-3), and a stand-up acoustic bass fiddle.

Of course, I only heard the one song, one carefully selected for the kid's network TV debut. For all I know, there might be other numbers for which the drummer drops the brushes in favor or sticks, and the lead guitar stands up and turns all his dials up to eleven. But somehow, I don't think so.

Subject: RE: Dylan, Haggard tour together
From: Jerry Rasmussen
Date: 03 Mar 05 - 08:16 PM

And then of course, the Beach Boys recorded "We'll Fix Your Flat, Merle."

Jerry

Subject: RE: Dylan, Haggard tour together
From: number 6
Date: 04 Mar 05 - 12:03 AM

When Merle's Oakie was high on the charts Bob was/had been recording such songs as Country Pie, Copper Kettle, Ballad of Ira Hayes, Can't Help Falling in Love. I don't think Bob was that far away on the spectrum from Merle. I'm not surprised they are together in this tour at all.

sIx

Subject: RE: Dylan, Haggard tour together
From: Big Al Whittle
Date: 04 Mar 05 - 05:42 PM

They're both pretty eclectic. When MH came and played the wembley country festival in the 70's in England , I think a lot of country fans were surprised how jazzy Merle's backing musicians were.

Two of my favourite songwriters.

Subject: RE: Dylan, Haggard tour together
From: number 6
Date: 04 Mar 05 - 06:06 PM

Electic, well put weelittledrummer. They both are.

Subject: RE: Dylan, Haggard tour together
From: goodbar
Date: 04 Mar 05 - 08:07 PM

50 friggin' bucks for crap seats. no way.

Subject: RE: Dylan, Haggard tour together
From: pdq
Date: 04 Mar 05 - 08:36 PM

Unfortunately, sticking two half-shot performers together does not make a whole one, sad to say.

Subject: RE: Dylan, Haggard tour together
From: GUEST,Art Thieme
Date: 14 Mar 05 - 04:22 PM

If Bird and Diz were still blowing I'd be in their audience for sure. In the "Why Doesn't Anyone Mention Leadbelly" thread I talked about all the great and seminal bluesmen who were re-found in the '60s --- Eddie Son House, Booker T. Washington White, Sleepy John Estes---so many others--all of 'em. It sure would've been sad if none of us had bothered to go see 'em because the tickets were thought by some to cost too much. It's a once-in-a-lifetime chance to see these two kings. So what if it's a stretch and even rather bizarre for them to team up.

Art

Subject: RE: Dylan, Haggard tour together
From: Big Tim
Date: 15 Mar 05 - 02:33 AM

Why bizarre? Why shouldn't two great musicians and songwriters who like and respect each other play together. "It's a free country, at least where I come from." - Dylan.

Subject: RE: Dylan, Haggard tour together
From: GUEST,Art Thieme
Date: 15 Mar 05 - 11:52 AM

"Bizarre" was just my own feeling and perception that some might/could/maybe see the justopositioning of these two behemoths of their own artistic niches in that light. Definitely not a definitive value judgment at all.

Art

Subject: RE: Dylan, Haggard tour together
From: Big Tim
Date: 15 Mar 05 - 02:21 PM

Fair comment Art.

Subject: RE: Dylan, Haggard tour together
From: GUEST,Weary Traveller
Date: 21 Mar 05 - 05:50 AM

Brucie, is "Pat Sky's take-off on 'Okie from Muskogee'" posted on Mudcat yet? If so, please provide a link and if not, the lyrics.

thanks!

Subject: RE: Dylan, Haggard tour together
From: GUEST,Stew
Date: 21 Mar 05 - 08:14 AM

Now that their tour is in full flow they still haven't done an expected duet together - maybe later ?

One interesting thing is that Dylan has a new band line-up which is sounding much more country/acoustic/swing/jazz than his recent rock-blues orientated line-up.
6 musicians now including Elana Fremerman on violin (of 'Hot Club of Cowtown') and another violinist & steel guitar player, Donnie Herron.

Subject: RE: Dylan, Haggard tour together
From: pdq
Date: 21 Mar 05 - 11:08 PM

Elana Fremerman is hot, but you don't need to spend $200 per ticket to see her. "Hot Club of Cowtown" puts on as good a show as three people can. Here is website (with tour dates):

            http://www.hotclubofcowtown.com/

Subject: RE: Dylan, Haggard tour together
From: Ebbie
Date: 21 Mar 05 - 11:28 PM

Hot Club of Cowtown were/was? the guest artists at the Alaska Folk Festival two years ago. Each one of the three is just an amazing musician and put them together they are hard to beat. Thoroughly nice and engaging human beings too. They jammed with us and put on workshops and talked with us- in fact, at one performance their guitarist was under the weather and Hot Club had one of our local guys, Don Drew, fill in. They presented him with a signed photograph later.

Subject: RE: Dylan, Haggard tour together
From: GUEST
Date: 22 Mar 05 - 01:00 AM

Jerry -- the Beach Boys did "I'll fix your flat tire, Merle"? Are you sure about that? I thought that was a Pure Prairie League song.

Cheers,
Michael

Subject: RE: Dylan, Haggard tour together
From: michaelr
Date: 22 Mar 05 - 01:02 AM

Sorry, that last post was me sans cookie.

Michael