Rock n' Folk

Freedom! Bob and Tom on the 4th of July (Part 1)

Tom Petty and Bob Dylan-RS 478/479 (July 17, 1986) - photo by Aaron Rapoport

It would be most fitting to post this 4th of July show on Independence Day, but given that this is my first post on my new host (Hostmonster), and we’ve got a new theme and some new banners, I’m feeling free and refreshed, so here goes.

3 cheers to Michael for the awesome banners! Michael is indeed the sh-t.

This show comes from a great tour that took place over the summer of 1986: Bob Dylan with Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers. I was in the midst of my high school years, and there were two things consuming my life at the time (besides my studies, of course): Prince and girls. So while I was busy gallivanting about on this particular 4th of July – probably drinking Old Style beer on a Lake Michigan beach (while the girls drank White Mountain or Seagram’s wine coolers) – Bob, Tom & the boys were on the shores of another great lake, playing their hearts out in Buffalo, New York.

Here comes a two-parter. I’ll hit you with part deux in a few days. For now, take in some of the show….

Bob Dylan with Tom Petty & the Heartbreakers
Buffalo, NY
July 4th, 1986

Part 1:

1. So Long Good Luck & Goodbye
2. Positively Fourth Street
3. Clean-Cut Kid
4. Emotionally Yours
5. Trust Yourself
6. We Had It All
7. Masters Of War
8. Straight Into Darkness
9. One Of These Days
10. The Waiting
11. Breakdown
12. To Ramona
13. One Too Many Mornings
14. A Hard Rain’s Gonna Fall

5 Comments

  • Dan

    This was back in the days before I was married and when I had a little money in my pocket and I lived in Queens. I used to take the subway to Madison Square Garden and try to score a single ticket to concerts. When Dylan and Petty played together I went 3 nights in a row. Great shows, but more than the shows, I remember how exhausted I was by the day after the 3rd one. I was getting up at 5 AM everyday for work and those shows took a lot out of me. And there may or may not have been some consumption of illegal substances.
    Of course, given the chance, I’d love to do it all again.
    Thanks for this!

  • Pete

    Dan! I envy your close proximity to NYC – would have loved to catch those shows… you must have been exhausted – but it’s a good exhausted. Similar to how I felt after my Vegas / Grateful Dead trips I’m sure…

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