Jackson Jambalaya

This WAS the worst concert I attended up to this point, but eclipsed for that title by Dylan’s appearance at Thalia Mara in the late 90s.

The worst was actually his appearance following Merle Haggard fifteen years ago. Horrible. People were leaving through his nightmare. His handlers realized he was too stoned to sing so they turned up the volume on his organ to the decibel level of a Navy A-6.

Anyone out there in attendance when the Rolling Thunder Revue played Hattiesburg on May 1, 1976? One of the best rock concerts I've ever seen. I drove down with the Notorious Taylor Kitchings. We kept looking at each other, asking "Is this as great as I think it is?" It was.

Baez, Roger McGuinn, T Bone Burnett, et al.,and a beautiful red=headed fiddler woman who was either Patti Scialfa or her twin sister. Perfect vibes, first to last.

Best rock concert in Jackson: Lynyrd Skynyrd and ZZ Top at the Coliseum.

HA! Funny to read the comments above. I, too, saw him, but it was in Oxford in the early 90's. Like the other posts said, it was EASILY the worst concert I've ever seen in my life! He came out in some sort of striped jacket, and it looked like he had thrown a complete bag of flour in his face on his way to the stage. Truth be known, based on the way he acted and sounded, he probably dunked his face in a bag of cocaine before coming out!

I never had been a big Dylan fan, but based on his notoriety from back in the day, I had decided I wanted to see him. Well, that was $$ and two hours of my life - not to mention the drive - that I'll never get back. COMPLETE waste of time......only thing I can figure is he must've gotten his good reputation from people who stayed as perpetually high as he did

11:38 - It was the worst concert you ever saw in 1978, so you were glad to plunk down $$$ again in the 1990s. That is a special kind of stupid.

2:49 - That gig with Merle Haggard was strange - heavily promoted and sponsored by a local country music station, although Dylan was the headliner. A huge chunk of the crowd left before Dylan came on, once the Hag had performed. You need your ears checked - he sang clearly that night, as the circulating tapes of the shows demonstrate (granted, the sound in that pit is atrocious, so it may have been to bad luck where you were sitting).

FWIW the Nobel Laureate in Literature received a rapturous reception after his performance at Thalia Mara last fall.

And KF - let us know if you dig up his 1963 show at what is now Thalia Mara Hall. His memorabilia is going into a museum in Oklahoma, and they are not aware of any tapes existing of that one.

Hattiesburg concert was one of the best ever; the violinist was probably Scarlet Rivera. Kinky Friedman was also there; “I’m proud to be an asshole from El Paso.” Until that 90s event, I kept hoping to see the magic again. Alas, after that concert, I said no more.

Haggard was not the headliner. I have the poster on my garage wall featuring Dylan saying 'Be in town early'. Haggard was an 'also mentioned' on the advance literature. I had great seats. The performance by Dylan simply sucked. But, I suppose if you were zoned and stoned it was eventful. The need for munchies was overwhelming. Waffle House across the street was packed for hours.

There are people who, to this day, hang on every word he every wrote or sang and who are guided daily by his odd philosophy. If he weren't Jewish, he'd be a great Pope.