Bobtalk

November 19, 1978
Tucson, Arizona
McKale Memorial Center, University Of Arizona
Concert

Thank you. This song took ten minutes to write, ten years to live. (plays Tangled Up In Blue) Thank you! That was Alan Pasqua on the organ, Steve Douglas on the tenor saxophone!

Thank you. I was riding on a train one time to Mexico coming to Torreón. In the evening hours there was nobody on this car that I was on and a full moon was shining. So, we made one stop, I think it was near Monterrey. This old man got on the train, he had a blanket and he sat down on the side of me, the other side of….you know, the (pathway). And he looked at me one time and, this is true, his eyes, both his eyes were burning like they were on fire. And there was smoke coming out of his nostrils. He looked to be about 150 years old, but anyway, I just wanted to ask him everything. But I couldn’t think of where to begin. (before Señor (Tales Of Yankee Power))

Thank you. Thank you very much. Ladies and gentlemen, on the drums tonight, give him a warm welcome, Mr. Ian Wallace. On the bass guitar, Mr. Jerry Scheff. On the keyboards, ladies and gentlemen, from the Bahamas, the one and only Alan Pasqua. On the lead guitar, the oldest member of this group, born in 1921, Clearwater, Florida. Ladies and gentlemen, Mr. Billy Cross. All right, on the rhythm guitar, doesn't speak any English, but he plays his heart out, doesn't he? Ladies and gentlemen, Steven Soles. All right, on the violin and the mandolin, the youngest member of this group, only 15 years old, been with me now for five years. Doesn't smoke dope, drink whiskey, go out with women, doesn't swear or talk on the telephone. He's a real bore. Ladies and gentlemen, a great musician, David Mansfield. I'll write that on his tombstone. All right. On the tenor saxophone, a genius in his own right. He used to play with Duane Eddy. Remember Duane Eddy? Anyway, the phenomenal Steve Douglas. On the backup vocals tonight. Wait a minute. All right. On the left my ex-girlfriend, Jo Ann Harris. Right. I like to eat and she can't cook. Anyway, in the middle my current girlfriend, she loves to cook, Helena Springs. On the other side, my fiancée, Carolyn Dennis. On the conga drums, from Detroit, ladies and gentlemen, the most amazing Miss Bobbye Hall. All right, we're gonna get out of here real soon. (before It’s Alright, Ma (I’m Only Bleeding))

Thank you! We've got to go now, we're going to have to head-up!. So, I wrote this song for one of my babies when he was a baby. He’s not a baby anymore and he’s not here, but I wanna play this anyway. (before Forever Young)

Back in the Midwest in the 50’s they used to have these carnivals that come through town. Most every carnival had someone called a geek. If you don’t happen to know what a geek is I’ll tell you what a geek is. A geek is somebody who works on a sideshow, he bites the head off a chicken, eats the head and then bites the rest of the chicken and eats all of the chicken live. Costs a quarter to see this man. Let me tell you, if you think you’re funky, this geek is very low-down. Anyhow, he used to get insulted all the time, people didn't pay him too much respect, but I used to speak with him every once in a while. Never did get too tight with him, but I learned one thing from him; he used to think of other people as being pretty freaky. That’s helped me out a lot as I’ve traveled through the world to see the same guys. (before Ballad Of A Thin Man)

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