Bob Dylan appears to be on a Grateful Dead kick lately. As previously reported, on Wednesday, April 12, Dylan performed the Dead classic “Truckin’” at one of his concerts at the Tokyo Garden Theater. Well, his tribute to the band continued at two more shows.
Rolling Stone reports that the next night Dylan started performing another Dead tune, “Brokedown Palace,” although he didn’t make it all the way through. Then on Saturday he performed another song associated with the Dead, “Not Fade Away.”
While “Not Fade Away” was actually written by Buddy Holly, the mag notes that it was often played by the Dead in concert. In fact, between 1969 and 1995 the band performed the track 566 times.
But this wasn’t the first time Dylan performed “Not Fade Away,” although it was the first time in his set in 14 years. Dylan played it for the first time in 1997, and then in 1999 he’d play it at shows to mark the 40th anniversary of Holly’s death. He also played it in 2009 during a show in Lubbock, Texas, which was Holly’s hometown.
Dylan remains in Japan for his Rough and Rowdy Ways tour, playing three nights in Nagoya April 18-20. Dylan returns to the road in June for a European tour that kicks off June 2 in Lisbon, Portugal. A complete list of dates can be found at bobdylan.com.
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