I went to see Mr. Dylan at Massey Hall in Toronto. It would have been in 1964, possibly 1965. First time live in The Six, no records then released. He just came out on the stage with his guitar and harmonica rig and sat on a stool and sang his songs. He sang Mr. Tambourine Man and I swear I have never been in such magical moment before or since. The audience was absolutely stunned. It had not been recorded. Nobody had heard it before. It was simply magical. The only thing vaguely close was Jim Morrison singing Light My Fire at Toronto Pop at Varsity Stadium in 1968. By then, it was an insurrection. Everybody in the audience lit their matches and lighters and state security for a brief anarchic moment disappeared in time.
Excellent article. Thank you for posting it. It reminded me of the War of 1812-14 in which the US attempted repeatedly to invade and occupy Canada under the mistaken impression that a warm welcome awaited invaders. It ended with the border in exactly the same place but with the US treasury near bankruptcy, the White House in ashes, and many many dead civilians on both sides of the border. I guess the American armed forces were not yet the finest whatevers at that early stage.
Combative invaders are seldom welcomed, intentions notwithstanding, and no matter how much finer they are in their own eyes than other folk.
I might add that many current political practices have been exported to other countries by the American politics industry. Things like deceptive robocalls, push polls, advanced tv propaganda to knock down the opponent's positives, and voter suppression techniques like draconian voter id laws. The notion of the permanent campaign has also spread undermining inter-election civility. All in all, its a nasty bag of treats which only some countries have succeeded in resisting.
I went to see Mr. Dylan at Massey Hall in Toronto. It would have been in 1964, possibly 1965. First time live in The Six, no records then released. He just came out on the stage with his guitar and harmonica rig and sat on a stool and sang his songs. He sang Mr. Tambourine Man and I swear I have never been in such magical moment before or since. The audience was absolutely stunned. It had not been recorded. Nobody had heard it before. It was simply magical. The only thing vaguely close was Jim Morrison singing Light My Fire at Toronto Pop at Varsity Stadium in 1968. By then, it was an insurrection. Everybody in the audience lit their matches and lighters and state security for a brief anarchic moment disappeared in time.
Hundreds of Thousands of Widows, Orphans in past 15 Yrs?
Don't be bashful. Lets make that:
Millions of Widows, Orphans over the past 60 years.
Excellent article. Thank you for posting it. It reminded me of the War of 1812-14 in which the US attempted repeatedly to invade and occupy Canada under the mistaken impression that a warm welcome awaited invaders. It ended with the border in exactly the same place but with the US treasury near bankruptcy, the White House in ashes, and many many dead civilians on both sides of the border. I guess the American armed forces were not yet the finest whatevers at that early stage.
Combative invaders are seldom welcomed, intentions notwithstanding, and no matter how much finer they are in their own eyes than other folk.
I might add that many current political practices have been exported to other countries by the American politics industry. Things like deceptive robocalls, push polls, advanced tv propaganda to knock down the opponent's positives, and voter suppression techniques like draconian voter id laws. The notion of the permanent campaign has also spread undermining inter-election civility. All in all, its a nasty bag of treats which only some countries have succeeded in resisting.