It's a blast from the past this week in Plymouth, where local history is being celebrated, but it's not about the Pilgrims, Mayflower, or even the famed Plymouth Rock—it's about Bob Dylan and his legendary Rolling Thunder Revue. The Plymouth Police Department took to social media to mark the 50th anniversary of Dylan's iconic concerts at Plymouth’s Memorial Hall, which kicked off his 1975 tour with a bang on October 30th and 31st.
The Rolling Thunder Revue tour has been a storied chapter in music history, featuring names that resonated across the echelons of rock and folk music—Joan Baez, T-Bone Burnett, Roger McGuinn, and Mick Ronson just to shake things up the Byrd’s Roger McGuinn with his own following, not to mention the stylish David Bowie guitarist Mick Ronson, with tickets selling for what now seems like a steal at $7.50. The tour's essence, a nod to the small-town vibes and intimate concert experiences, has been immortalized in the 2019 documentary "Rolling Thunder Revue: A Bob Dylan Story by Martin Scorsese," capturing the fever-pitch excitement of Dylan's descent upon Plymouth.
A tantalizing tidbit from the Plymouth Police Department's nostalgia-laden post reflects the comparatively low-key security challenges of the time, except for Stephen from Kingston, who memorably got the boot from Dylan's show for a ticket snag, yes, the ticket still was the golden pass to music nirvana back then, too. The Plymouth Police Department reminisced, "as far as we can tell here at the police department, Mr. Dylan’s pair of concerts didn’t stir up much trouble, with the notable exception of Stephen from Kingston, who came into the station—back then located at the top of Russell Street—to make complaints after being kicked out of the show." A moment that undoubtedly became local lore for years to come.
Adding to the veritable treasure trove of memorabilia, an album cover for "Desire" boasts a photograph of Dylan, a stone's throw away from the iconic Plymouth Rock—a serendipitous moment of convergence between music history and the town's deep cultural roots. These two memorable concerts, now entrenched in Plymouth's rich tapestry of historical events, reflect a time capsule of the '70s music scene, a small waypoint in Dylan's enduring legacy as a cultural icon who touched even the smaller towns like Plymouth with his troubadour spirit. And Stephen, if you're out there, it seems your infamous ejection has become part of the town's quirky historic anecdotes.
