After Neil Young and Crazy Horse left town with the critically acclaimed Rust Never Sleeps tour, Bob Dylan took over Madison Square Garden for two nights with a fully expanded band as was captured on his “Live at Budokan” live album.

The great Bob Dylan is unquestionably a genius however he often times challenges his fans with sometimes unrecognizable versions of his songs performed in concert. The 1978 shows were not received well by fans or critics particularly following the Neil Young and Crazy Horse legendary performances that had just taken place that same week.

I recall reading an interview with Neil Young wherein he expressed disappointment that his then recent shows were received so well while Bob Dylan’s were not. Neil apparently felt that a lot of musicians were indebted to Dylan and that he did not deserve the poor reviews.

Seeing Bob Dylan live us is always a crapshoot but well worth the effort because to catch him when he is at the height of is powers is a thrilling and memorable experience.

Shadows in the Night

Rock on

GQ