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Home , Bobby Charles, Garth Hudson, Levon Helm, Richard Manuel, Rick Danko, Robbie Robertson

'age 12 Berkeley Barb, December 3-9. 1976 Dylan Digs In The 's

Last. by Michael Snyder Standless" with on chorus harmonies. A tribute to their common Canadian ori­ hey billed it as . gins. Fellow Canuck , in Catchy. An attractive logo for thrift shop calico and leotard, had the posters and T-shirts. A great consummate chutzpah to perform three title for a movie. The Band's songs off her latest rather than T something more fitting. farewell to live performance. In Pana- vision. The most awesome assemblage of When began "An Irish rock's nobility since the mud- Lullabye," it was inevitable that Van bath. Morrison should-join in. Morrison, who It happened as it had been foretold. recently returned to the British Isles Joni Mitchell with The Band's Robbie A coked-out (center) jammed Port-o-sans and peanuts maintained the after a number of years in Marin County, Robertson. with Bandmembers (left) and lucky 5000 who lined up outside Winterland was positively electrifying (maroon rhine- . on Thanksgiving. Carnations adorned the stone-encrusted leisure suit notwithstan­ Dylan show up and walk across a vat of for extra texture. Ringo sat behind the spiffy and the scuzzy alike. Two hundred ding). white wine? The word was that he had second and Ron Wood plugged and fifty turkeys went under the knife. During the midnight intermission, local imported the baked salmon for the vege­ in next to Clapton. The effect was bog­ Narsai's did the catering. At $25 a ticket, natural resources were tapped in the tarians, so he was surely present. But, gling. A spontaneous jam evolved out of this certainly wasn't St. Anthony's. Thank­ form of the Bay Area's poetry colony. ft was only the organ intro to "Chest Ringo and Levon making like Sandy Nel­ fully, it wasn't the Venetian Room, either. The lights went down again and an Fever".. .The Band cooked through that son's "Let There Be Drums." Ex-Dom­ Our Dutch uncle, , repor­ eerie sound radiated from the stage. Would favorite, debuted "The Last Waltz," a ino picked up a bass and Bill tedly took a financial bath to produce an lovely trifle written for the occasion, and Graham carried Clapton back onto the obvious labor of love. The former ice of course, performed "."They stage. Graham then pushed a totalled Neil palace was awash with splendor. The were marking time until they introduced Young out front and handed him an elec­ chandeliers and candelabras glowed ac­ "one more very good friend, ." tric . Young, Wood and Clapton star­ cordingly. Scenic elegance was provided A white Borsalino lowered over his ted in5 on the rhythm and let on stage by the S.F. Opera's set for La eyes and a leather jacket evoking his old the evening's MVP, Robbie Robertson Traviata. Red carpeting covered the wine- James Dean-isms, Dylan vamped into handle the lead. A second improv brought and-vomit-stained main floor during din­ "Baby, Let Me Follow You Down." It a chunky Steve Stills out to rumble with ner. recalled interpretations from the last Young and Wood, while R.R. split to un­ Throughout dinner, the patrons could 'Dylan/Band tour with its careening ar­ wind. trip the light fantastic to the smooth rangement and boundless energy. Sliding Musically, the two jams weren't really strains of the Berkeley Promenade. Or­ into a ballad, chock full o' angst, and then up to snuff, but on sheer personality pow­ chestra. moving to "I Don't Believe You" from er, they left the crowd stunned. The 15- , After-dinner doping spelled the fashion Another Side of Bob Dylan, Zimmerman minute ovation coerced the Band into a show and Dave Alexander's showed that the old arrogance was justi­ final encore, "Don't Do It," that more counter-pointed 'Tales From The Muir fied. than sated the people. Robertson toasted Woods." By about 9:00 p.m., the audience For "," the Band everyone with a sip of Heineken's and had tired of attempting the Golden Gate brought all the heavies back to harmonize said "Good night." An understatement, Park Be-in Two-Step to classical .syrup and added a Beatle and a Robbie. and bombast. The media vultures were poised. Questions, advance reports and rumors flew through the hall until the ANP He s wre, BUT He ..JUTHT A lights dimmed and the cameras whirred TH6 B6A/206D LAPY,HAVC into action. K M A I5MYHANPCC- "Let them retire every week!" said CARM'VAL SID1E6HOW— •• •« YOU Bill Graham. "This could only happen in THINGS t/rc#- !" All pontification became tfJTOrS meaningless as the Band strolled through golden columns to their instruments. From the first chugging bars of "," it 'was evident that they had come to merge myth and reality. Over the course of a dozen of their most famous songs, the Band forged the most powerful performance they may have ever given. I have never seen any musi­ cians play with so much vengeance and yet such economy and empathy. Every solo statement and instrumental fill, from 's liquid organisms and sweet sax to Robbie Robertson's succinct guitar work, was masterfully realized. 's vocals were warm and rich and his drumming was inspired. Rick Danko was steadfast on the bottom and sly upfront. Richard Manuel was the moving interpreter he's always been; one of rock's great voices. The first of the peerage to celebrate with the Band was the ebullient . "! Hey, Char­ lie!" shouted an ecstatic 17-year old. Sorry, kiddo. It was Ronnie and the Hawks doing "Who Do You Love?" Robbie laun­ ched into his solo. Hawkins clutched his heart and fanned the guitar with his flop- brim cowboy hat. The ultimate tribute from the legendary Band-leader. Dr. John offered a well-chosen rendi­ tion of "Such A Night" and smiled behind his shades. sang "Down South In " while Garth added zydeco flavorings on accordian. The phe­ nomenal put the breaks on "," stopping the show with some primeval evil on . Devastating. , directing his Wtf&J wg GeTTo IKE take of "Caledonia," infused Butter with the spirit ittle Walter. "I'm A Man DouOLE-CHECK was a lues litany, Muddy's sig nature :oo. Next the box was the velvet- jacketed . Strapping on an axe, he and Danko slackened the pace with "All Our Past Times," a country- ish ballad co-written for Eric's newest L.P. Disappointment was rampant at the lack of six-string fireworks, but suddenly he was the Clapton of old. Shuffling into "Farther On Up The Road," Robertson primed B.C. for the meanest dueling since Duane Allman and the Dominoes amped out. Derek can still shut 'em down. The screaming hordes were his testament. Eyes glazed and nose runny, Neil Young contributed an acoustic version of "Help­