From The Pope to Soy Bomb: Larry Campbell on 11 Unusual Shows He Played with Dylan

Plus Dylan's return to Newport, playing catch with Paul Simon, and Larry's final show

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via La Repubblica

Update June 2023: This interview is included along with 40+ others in my new book ‘Pledging My Time: Conversations with Bob Dylan Band Members.’ Buy it in hardcover, paperback, or ebook here!

Earlier this week, I published a lengthy conversation with the great guitarist-and-more Larry Campbell about the eight years he spent in Bob Dylan’s band. We spoke about the highs and lows of his time with Dylan, why he joined the band and why he left. If you missed it, catch up here.

As a fun little postscript, at the end of our conversation I ran Larry through some performances I thought he might particularly remember. These aren’t normal concerts for the most part. They’re awards shows, movie tapings, all-star tours, and assorted one-offs. Sure enough, he remembered them all, and had some great behind-the-scenes anecdotes to share.

So, going chronologically from Larry’s early days with Dylan in 1997 up through his final show in 2004, here’s Larry on eleven of the most strange or unusual performances he gave with Dylan.

September 27, 1997 - Performing for the Pope

That I remember really well. There's 400,000 people out there. The Pope's been up there all day long with all these international acts performing, acrobats and magicians. Then we get up to play a few songs. We're facing the audience and off on stage left is the Pope's throne. He's sitting there, and he's got his chin in his hand. He must have been exhausted.

We play a couple of tunes. I'm at stage right and Bob is doing-- I forgot what song, maybe it was “Knockin' on Heaven’s Door” or something like that. The TV director with his headphones on comes walking up to me [as I’m playing]. He says, "He’s got-a go meet-a the Pope! He’s got-a go meet-a the Pope!" He's looking at me like I'm supposed to do something about this. Typical Italian fashion, man. He's shaking his head, he's looking at his watch. "He’s got-a go meet-a the Pope!" And I'm trying to play this song.

The song ends, and I walk over to Bob and I go, "Hey, Bob, this guy is telling me you got to go and meet the Pope." Bob looks around like, "What?" Then the TV director looks at him with hand signal and he points to the Pope. So Bob hands his guitar to somebody and goes over and shakes the Pope's hand. The Pope gives him a rosary or something. He comes back, and we play one more tune, and then that's over. That was an experience I never expected to have. It was just surreal.

February 25, 1998 - “Love Sick” at the Grammy Awards

Bob had this really cool idea that he wanted this segment of us performing to be like an old Shindig performance, where you just had a bunch of kids hanging out behind the band, moving and grooving. They hired all these extras from central casting or whatever. They were just behind us in a circle.

We did the soundcheck, and it went great. Then it comes to the performance. We start the tune and, before I knew it, one of these extras comes running up, starts dancing, pulls off his shirt. On his chest is written “Soy Bomb” and he's standing next to Bob dancing. Bob turns to me and says, "Who the hell is this guy?"

I said, "I don't know, man. I don't know." But before he gets those words out of his mouth, two stage guys came running out and grabbed the guy and pulled him off. That was his 60 seconds or whatever it was of fame right there. Bob just kept his cool and continued. He wasn't too rattled by it, I don't think. For a second, I thought this was planned or something, but when he turned to me and asked, "Who the hell is this guy?" I realized, no, it's not. Bob was laughing about it afterwards.

May 1998 - All-star tour with Van Morrison and Joni Mitchell

Hanging with them was great. We'd be in the hotel lounge after a show and talking about music and stuff. Van talked about his road experience and things. Listening to Joni every night, good god, man. Wow.

That was a great tour. It was really great. I felt like the competitive thing was sort of there, but in a good way. Bob wanted to up the show every night, and it wasn't coming from a place of frustration, which could happen with Bob. It was coming more from a place of, "We're all in this together. Let's get out there and do something cool." And we did. The gravity of the artistry of these three people was a good launching pad for us to get out there and do the best we could every night.

What did you mean when you said the competitiveness sometimes came from a place of frustration? Was that something that was happening elsewhere?

Yes. Sometimes you'd get this feeling if there was a particularly good show from an opening act that Bob would get competitive and seemingly insecure. Seemingly. I don't know that for sure, but that's my amateur psychiatry analyzation of it. We're all insecure, and this would seem to come out in him sometimes.

How would that affect you and the band? Something you noticed on stage or you're getting really drilled during soundcheck the next day?

Both. You see him uncomfortable on stage and there's nothing you can do about it. Just play the best you can play and move on. But I don't want to seem like Bob is the only cat that does that, because everybody does that. That's a normal thing when you're trying to be the best artist you can be. That kind of insecurity and frustration and not feeling like you're delivering what you want to deliver for whatever reason.

April 18, 1999 - “Train of Love” at Johnny Cash Tribute Show