Shows & Show Schedule

In the three decades before its official release in 1998, this was the most famous live bootleg around, breeding both mythology (a heckler calls Dylan "Judas"; Dylan yells back, "I don't believe you! You're a liar!") and myths (it was recorded in Manchester, not at London's Royal Albert Hall). The legend goes that Dylan's shift from acoustic folk revivalism to electric rock & roll had left his old fans feeling betrayed, and he and his new band (assembled mostly from members of Ronnie Hawkins' group) had to win over a hostile audience by force. In fact, he opened the show, like every show on that tour, with an acoustic set. However, on the electric half of the concert he becomes maniacal and riveting, spitting out every word like a curse. "It could be arsenic music, or perhaps Phaedra music," he told Playboy that year. "Folk music is a bunch of fat people." Douglas Wolk