The concert was originally to have been at a stadium. I don't much like them for concerts, so I was quite pleased to discover that it had switched to a smaller venue. The Eisstadion was, as the name implies, an ice hockey venue and it turned out to be roofed but open to the elements between the top of the sides and the bottom of the roof. There are photos of Dylan there in one of the Dylan books, or one of his records, and the structure of the building is clear.
Arriving too late to get a decent spot on the floor of the Eisstadion, I ended up in one of the stands along the side, with a clear view of the stage as the stands were tiered. Having already attended a few of the U.K. shows, I was quite pleased that the girls opening 4-song (?) set had been dropped and, almost from the start, the crowd on the floor moved forward to the stage. and Dylan seemed to respond to this. And, compared to more recent show,s it was a long set list.
The Mannheim show holds one distinct mystery for me. Behind me were two young Americans 'in mufti' but U.S. servicemen from one of the many bases then in West Germany, and my memory is of one turning to the other, during "Watchtower", and commenting that Dylan was doing a Jimi Hendrix song. The mystery is that Dylan didn't play "Watchtower" at Mannheim!
It is possible that, in my mind, I have gotten mixed up with the show, a couple off days later, in Munich, where "Watchtower" was on Dylan's 'menu'. That said, unlike Mannheim, where I was some distance from the musicians, I sat very close to the stage that night in Munich and was more intent on what was happening in front of me, on-stage, rather than what was happening behind me.
And finally on Mannheim, the tickets themselves were of a wonderful design, which was a giant "B" superimposed on a giant "D", the whole cut to the shape of those two overlapping letters. The images on "Dylanstubs" do them a disservice because, as tickets go, they were huge - a little over 5" x 4" (14 x 10 cm, roughly) - providing a nice souvenir in their own right, even after the counterfoil part had been removed. My Mannheim ticket was No. .10001, incidentally.
I attended the Mannheim show in 1981,
The concert was originally to have been at a stadium. I don't much like them for concerts, so I was quite pleased to discover that it had switched to a smaller venue. The Eisstadion was, as the name implies, an ice hockey venue and it turned out to be roofed but open to the elements between the top of the sides and the bottom of the roof. There are photos of Dylan there in one of the Dylan books, or one of his records, and the structure of the building is clear.
Arriving too late to get a decent spot on the floor of the Eisstadion, I ended up in one of the stands along the side, with a clear view of the stage as the stands were tiered. Having already attended a few of the U.K. shows, I was quite pleased that the girls opening 4-song (?) set had been dropped and, almost from the start, the crowd on the floor moved forward to the stage. and Dylan seemed to respond to this. And, compared to more recent show,s it was a long set list.
The Mannheim show holds one distinct mystery for me. Behind me were two young Americans 'in mufti' but U.S. servicemen from one of the many bases then in West Germany, and my memory is of one turning to the other, during "Watchtower", and commenting that Dylan was doing a Jimi Hendrix song. The mystery is that Dylan didn't play "Watchtower" at Mannheim!
It is possible that, in my mind, I have gotten mixed up with the show, a couple off days later, in Munich, where "Watchtower" was on Dylan's 'menu'. That said, unlike Mannheim, where I was some distance from the musicians, I sat very close to the stage that night in Munich and was more intent on what was happening in front of me, on-stage, rather than what was happening behind me.
And finally on Mannheim, the tickets themselves were of a wonderful design, which was a giant "B" superimposed on a giant "D", the whole cut to the shape of those two overlapping letters. The images on "Dylanstubs" do them a disservice because, as tickets go, they were huge - a little over 5" x 4" (14 x 10 cm, roughly) - providing a nice souvenir in their own right, even after the counterfoil part had been removed. My Mannheim ticket was No. .10001, incidentally.
Fantastic recollections Ian. Thank you so much for sharing them!
I saw Bob on June 10, 1981, at Poplar Creek outside of Chicago.
Here’s the setlist:
Gotta Serve Somebody
I Believe in You
Like a Rolling Stone
'Til I Get It Right
(Tammy Wynette cover)
Man Gave Names to All the Animals
Maggie's Farm
Simple Twist of Fate
Ballad of a Thin Man
Girl From the North Country
Dead Man, Dead Man
(Live debut)
Abraham, Martin and John
Lenny Bruce
(Live debut)
Covenant Woman
Solid Rock
Just Like a Woman
Watered-Down Love
(Live debut)
What Can I Do for You?
When You Gonna Wake Up?
Forever Young
In the Garden
Blowin' in the Wind
It's All Over Now, Baby Blue
Oh man do I envy you! Woah
Wow. What great detail! Very impressive!!! Thanks!!