Rolling Thunder IV: Lowell

1975-11-02, Technical University, Lowell, MA

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via Museum of Fine Arts, Boston

Wait, Rolling Thunder IV? What happened to Rolling Thunder III??

Unfortunately, the third Rolling Thunder show, on November 1 in North Dartmouth, MA, is one of the few with no recording. So before we get to tonight's show in Lowell, here's a little taste of what happened the night before in North Dartmouth from Larry "Ratso" Sloman's Rolling Thunder book:

This is the first large hall and the band is really pumping out a full sound, especially Ronson whose style is much more suited to amphitheaters. Stoner, too, is pulling out all the stops, playing Dylan’s unrecorded song about Catfish Hunter, doing a neat bass solo between verses. “Fuck,” George nudges me, “Stoner was born to be a rock ’n roll star.” By this time a fairly large crowd had gathered in the sound booth, Chris O’Dell, Jacques Levy, Ronee Blakley, all cheering the proceedings.

And when Dylan walks on, the audience erupts, giving him a standing ovation before the first notes of “Masterpiece” ring out. During “It Ain’t Me Babe,” Jerry the journalist finds us. “Who arranged this,” he gushes breathlessly, “I really like it.” Dylan plows through the same set as at Plymouth, but with tremendous assurance. I move down to stage left and from that angle Dylan looks like a caged animal, stalking the stage, punching out the words to “Isis.” At one point he turns his back and gestures, arms outstretched, and he looks like the IWW symbol, breaking chains like they were made of paper. He finishes “Isis” and exits to a standing ovation, and a waiting Barry Imhoff, who towels him off and walks him to the dressing room.

I watch the second half from a balcony behind the stage as Dylan roars through “I Don’t Believe You,” his foot keeping desperate time with the lyrics of betrayal. The band comes back and they sound like a machine, so tight and precise, especially Wyeth who’s hitting his vast array of drums with the regularity of a drill press. The sweat is pouring off Dylan’s face now, as he croons “Just Like a Woman,” with stiletto-sharp phrasing. “But you break just like a little girrrlll …” he sings, and at once, the lights fly on as McGuinn, Neuwirth, Baez, Blakley, Ginsberg, and David Blue race on for the finale. By 11:05, it’s over, the performers already hurtling toward the Sea Crest in their buses, the crowd slowly filtering out, and Jerry Seltzer, running through the kids like a banshee, shrilling that tickets are still on sale for next week’s concert in Providence.

Okay, on to tonight's show in Lowell, MA!

Bob's performed in Lowell five times - in 1975, 2000, 2010, 2013, and 2019 (I was at that one). While researching this, I heard rumor of a pamphlet that UMass Lowell had handed out at the 2013 show detailing Dylan's concert history there. I couldn't find it anywhere online, but that pamphlet's author Dave Perry, proprietor of local record store Vinyl Destination, was kind enough to mail me a copy.

It's pretty interesting, with a lot of local color about this show and Bob’s other times in town. So with Dave's permission (thanks Dave!) I'm sharing it below. Don’t you wish they handed out something like this at all shows? (If the text is hard to read, click here for a higher-res version).

Rolling Thunder IV: Lowell

The Venue

Small town college - the perfect Rolling Thunder venue, right? Here's how Ratso describes the ambience:

At the Lowell College gym, the promoters have decided on “festival seating,” a euphemism that means they try to cram as many sweaty bodies as possible onto every available square inch of hardwood floor. Only this floor has been covered by a pale green tarp that is emitting one of the most pungent odors known to man—the smell of jocksweat.

I like the way Ratso's friend puts it: "This place lends itself to chaos."