The officially unofficial site for details and discussion about the history and legacy of Mike Porco's Center of Folk Music, Gerde's Folk City (&other pertinent stuff)
Showing posts with label Rolling Thunder Revue. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Rolling Thunder Revue. Show all posts
Bob Dylan Acknowledges his New York Father before a packed house at MSG in 1975
Bob Dylan was busy in the Summer and Fall of 1975. He was spending a lot of time in Greenwich Village and surrounds.
🎼He was recording the Desire album and assembling the troops for the Rolling Thunder tour. This is a snippet of the Gerde's Folk City doc pointing just how important Mike Porco was to Bob Dylan.The first leg of the Rolling Thunder Tour culminated in a benefit concert for framed-boxer Reuben 'Hurricane' Carter at the World's Most Famous Arena. Mike was there to the delight of Dylan.
They had both come a long way from Dylan's first weeks in NYC in 1961 when Mike sponsored Dylan's Union and Cabaret cards as his PARENTAL GUARDIAN. AND Mike gave Bobby a little red wine and roast beef. Not a bad deal.
The Italian immigrant found himself on the stage at Madison Square Garden with all of his famous friends.
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Built in 2014, used as a naked base reel for another clip with images and music, held on tightly and stowed away in a harddrive, laying in wait for the right deal, THIS clip is mostly about how Bob Dylan's Rolling Thunder Review began on Mike Porco's 61st birthday at Folk City.
Savvy tech peeps will recognize the reel as just the first layer saved from a video program unbothered by Ken Burns style images and copywritten music. It's youtube friendly. THANKS to Rob Stoner, Ratso Sloman, Angelo Porco and my dad RIP Bob Sr you have the whole story. Dan Behrman supplied the voice of Mike Porco.
It's been a long time coming. Nine fookin years later, it sits. I'd like to give this and part 2 of 'Dylan talk assembly" away. The rest is for sale.
In the words of David Bowie, "I can't give everything away." But wait, wait, there's more.
The ending is a glowing description by Ratso and Stoner of Mike Porco the man, how they viewed him in history and how they felt about him. Three Cheers!
Rolling Thunder Revue observations by Rob Stoner, Larry Sloman, Rod MacDonald and my father, Bob Sr
A Father's Day post for the men in my life. Mike Porco did something so noble and good in his lifetime that he is my all time hero. I forgive him for not coming around to birthday parties too much. He was busy at his club getting people together.
My grandfather made his film debut in Martin Scrorses's Rolling Thunder Re-Vue. Look again, you'll see him. Camera A resting on his shoulder like a pirate's parrot, it shows Bobby's face as he greeted his surrogate father on his birthday. BIG KISS on Mike's cheek. A second big kiss on Bob's cheek. Knocks his hat off. Sweet. Sweet!
And then he was gone. Out of picture. But the vibe at Folk City was thickly captured for a couple minutes immediately after. Patti Smith handed my grandfather a tiny horse as a gift. The birthday cake fell on the cabaret carpet.
''What a mess''
What's important is that the moment was used in the film. I'm proud and happy that Mr. Porco was recognized by Martin Scorsese and the look on Mr. Dylan's face was worth the price(s) of admission. The respect shown profusely by Bob Neuwirth is gushing out of the silver screen. Mike has that kind of energy to this day. I think I saw my grandfather lunge at another man in order to kiss him. But I'll have to watch the flick again to see for myself.
'The hug' was the image I was expecting to see when I caught up with the June 12 release. Lincoln Center is a walkable jaunt from my apartment through the Park and I bought two consecutive showings. The first show had much laughter by a large crowd. The second show was curiously quieter.
Like when Dylan says, 'Allen Ginsberg was a great dancer' or that he doesn't remember Von Dorp it's taken as fact because the audience trusts Bob implicitly.
I was hopeful as I watched the rest of the film. Would they come back to Folk City again towards the end, I asked. You'll have to see for yourself. I was not disappointed although I thought they would show Bob and Joan perform at Folk City after midnight of the birthday party. Maybe we heard a bit and don't quite know.
Another wonderful clip Martin Scorsese chose was the scene at the bar.
Do you like my dress?
Why'd you get married?!
Why'd you get married before me!?
Thinking will fuck you up.
THIS MYTH GOES TO ELEVEN
Are we watching touches of Spinal Tap or just an inside joke?
Some Twitterati are upset that there are 4 instances where Martin Scorsese takes poetic license.
Firstly, for those who write reviews of the Revue, ball the critique up and shove it high up. Do these people watch the discovery channel and critique the dusting methods of the archeologist in the pit with the bones? please
I call this clip observations of the birthday party. Before it was a Tour, it had to be-a Birthday Party for someone somewhere with witnesses processing the event. Cool. (That's what I have here for youtube view. I'm even posting my own observations directly to the Google cloud before I save these words. Take it leave it ball it up wait for it in the Positively Porco doc)
Secondly, the slight of hand Martin Scorsese tossed in did not diminish the stunning footage he chose to use. Kudos and many thanks for that.
Scorsese didn't choose any apparent long shots from the back of the hall. Any long shots were from the stage out. The rest of the time, he chose on-stage camera shots and front row shots from under Bob's hat.
Not much else for the songs. Seemingly, 3 or 4 songs were from the same show. Awesome. Count the hairs in the brow. Study.
Many shots punch one in the face from the screen. Mick Ronson sounds so FUCKING GOOD with these remasters. The camera kneels at his feet.
Stoner, Howie Wyeth, Mansfield et al all speak for themselves in the film. So tight it's hard to imagine what supergroup could be assembled with todays players. Untouchable tightness.
Yet the film put us all on the Stage. Right there in plain sight of other camera and sound men. Von DorFP was off that day.
Which also makes me think that it would be silly to ask Mike Porco, or Stoner or Ratso or Scarlet Rivera for a review of the movie. They were inside. I bet they rest easy seeing what 2:22 was used. It took 44 years. Nuff Said.
This clip is part-a something else I've made for the film on Gerdes I'm doing. Patience is a thing.
This small audio talk is about the preamble with a little street action with Dave Van Ronk thrown in. It ends with a note from the Dec 8, 1975 concert. Stoner, Ratso and my father continue on speaking in film in the 'big clip' to discuss the tour and Phil Ochs.
By the way, as far as my observations (not a review) go, I saw Phil Ochs, Grandpa, David Blue, 3rd Street, Highways, byways, friends like Ramblin Jack, Stoner Ratso, Eric Andersen and Scarlet. The emotion and energy in Bob's voice during this period was for all to see.
In October of 1975, Mr. Dylan was hanging around the Village quite often.
He was wrapping up his recording sessions for the DESIRE album and was spending time
with lyricist and Broadway producer, Jaques Levy, in New York. They were plotting a tour. What kind of tour…?
only they knew.
Dylan had returned to the road with The Band in 1974. His most critically acclaimed album,
(perhaps ever)
BLOOD ON THE TRACKS, was on the store shelves for less than a year. The Basement tapes
had finally been released only 4 months prior.
His fans were eager for more. He had returned to the front of the pack with a vengeance.
Any ol' tour could have satisfied. But Dylan had something majestic in mind.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Jack Hardy, Odetta, Mike Porco
Well, it turned out that Mike Porco was having a birthday.
Folksinger Jack Hardy had it in mind to gather some of Mike's friends
(read: musicians) and throw him a surprise party at his own club.
Thursday October 23rd 1975 was his 61st birthday. Mathematicians and can
deduce that today would be Mike's 101st birthday.
We had a 100th party for Grandpa last year. BUT TODAY
we celebrate THE ROLLING THUNDER REVUE
being born this day 40 years ago at FOLK CITY.
David Amram, David Massengill, Rob Stoner amongst Mike Porco's friends
celebrating Mike's 100th last year
So….back to 1975! Jack Hardy quietly spread word around that Mike will have a surprise serenade for his birthday. Word travels fast in this small town. Mike's old friend and prodigal son, Bob Dylan, got wind of the bash and decided that ''tonight is the night.'' The tour he was plotting with Levy will be brought to the light at Folk City.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Dylan had confided in his DESIRE bass player, Rob Stoner, that, with some help, ''auditions'' were going to be held at Folk City for the stage show he had planed with Levy. There was nothing specific discussed, but like lightning, a buzz was generated around NYC that Dylan was going to crash Hardy's party for Mike.
Dylan also had it in mind to record the entire tour on film. This night would become part of the film Renaldo and Clara. Cameras and lights were set up at Folk City with a little lie told to Mike that it was for a documentary on Folk Music.
I hung out with Stoner
on the 9th day of May
I knew right away
he was not
ordinary
Many great tales and stories were offered by Mr. Rothstein. I shared a few of my own with him since he was very curious about his old friend, Mike Porco.
Apart from details from the early 70s at Gerde's and some fun anecdotes about being the bandleader (that's right, bandleader) of the Rolling Thunder Revue, the most intriguing tidbit to me was that Rob quite possibly created the word 'stoner.' It wasn't part of the lexicon yet when he changed his stage name to sound more like a rocker. The irony is that his birthday is 4.20 before 420 became a de-facto holiday and street code for a certain botanical herb….coincidence? yeah right!
Rob has chops. He gave me a brief lesson. Lots of fun was had talking about good ol' Folk City. Clips will be seen in the upcoming documentary about my grandfather's place called POSITIVELY PORCO. It's shaping up nicely. It's due out next year. BE SURE TO GO SEE IT!!! Like Rob and I, you might learn something.
