Flagging Down the Double E's

Last night, Bob Dylan brought the Long Hot Summer Tour to Richmond, Virginia. Scholar and writer Anne Margaret Daniel was on hand to tell us about the show, and about the city’s importance in Dylan’s—and the country’s—history. Here’s Anne Margaret Daniel reporting in from Richmond: Among its other names, they call my hometown of Richmond, Virginia the River City—or to be more accurate, Rivah City, since that’s how we say it.

Last night, Bob Dylan played Forest Hills Stadium in Queens. Forest Hills was the site of his first electric concert after Newport ’65. Furious fans famously rushed the stage at that show, causing a small riot. No one rushed the stage last night, but, to make up for me not delivering on my promised Gilford recap (I got sick and couldn’t go—damn), we’ve got two of our veteran correspondents to report in on this major milestone on the Long Hot Summer Tour, Lee Ranaldo and Adam Selzer.

Flagging Down the Double E’s is an email newsletter exploring Bob Dylan performances throughout history. Some installments are free, some are for paid subscribers only. Sign up here: King Orba back right with cigarette. Craig Stark center with hand raised. Photo via IMDB Five years ago today, Bob Dylan released his performance film Shadow Kingdom. Last year, I spoke to one of the onscreen musicians (plus one of the offscreen guitarists who recorded the music).

The Long Hot Summer Tour has been a strange one to follow remotely, full of whiplash shifts in vibe, fan excitement, and, notably, the band lineup. Opening night led to initial disappointment, as the first reports indicated a much less exciting setlist than the previous two (Outlaw) summer openers. But by morning, the vi… Keep reading with a 7-day free trial Subscribe to Flagging Down the Double E's to keep reading this post and get 7 days of free access to the full post archives.

When subscriber Josh requested this show, he noted that he saw 42 shows in 1996 (damn!) and that the “unexpected European highlight” that year was Magdeburg. High praise indeed from someone who saw so many shows. It’s not a particularly well-known show. I’ve never heard of it. Hell, I’ve never even heard of the city he’s playing in… Keep reading with a 7-day free trial Subscribe to Flagging Down the Double E's to keep reading this post and get 7 days of free access to the full post archives.

Photos by Nat Tracey-Miller Another show, another surprise new guitarist. Last night in Cincinnati, Jad Tariq made his Long Hot Summer debut. He’s the fifth guitarist Dylan has played with in the past month! Here to tell us about it is local music journalist and high school librarian Nat Tracey-Miller. Nat has a long history covering the local music scene for various regional publications and recently returned to promoting experimental music events after a long hiatus.

When I interviewed Heartbreakers drummer Stan Lynch, he recalled a specific song he played just one time with Dylan. Here’s what he told me: We’re playing a big gig.

Last night, the Long Hot Summer Tour touched down in Chicago. Since our last dispatch, jazz favorite Julian Lage has returned to the band, now sharing guitar duties with local Chicago boy Joel Paterson. But Lage has European dates this coming weekend, so presumably he’ll be gone again by Cincinnati tomorrow night. We’ll have a dispatch from there, but first, to report on the goings on from the new two-guitarists lineup, is Steven Rings.

Forty years ago today, Bob Dylan and the Grateful Dead completed their first short tour together. A test-run, of sorts, for when they’d team up properly the next summer. Dylan was still backed by Tom Petty & The Heartbreakers, but once again sat in for a few songs with the Dead. All week, writer Jesse Jarnow has been exploring these Dylan & The Dead ’86 shows in a short mini-series, and he completes his look back today covering the two final shows at giant RFK Stadium in Washington, DC.

“We carried you in our arms on Independence Day” “Leaving Texas, fourth day of July” Both Bob Dylan and the Grateful Dead have iconic Fourth of July songs.