With the end of  Bob Dylan’s recent fall tour, we now enter the ‘off season’ and will wait in anticipation for Mr. Dylan to fire up the band and commence touring again sometime in late February or early March 2010.

On the occasion of Dylan’s recently released new “Must be Santa” video I thought it would be worthwhile to assess some of the key moments on film and video featuring none other than Robert Zimmerman.  I’ve assembled these in no particular order or ranking and I’m limiting my number to what you see below.

I’m sure there will be arguments and observations made on other video moments that perhaps should have made the Subrosacafe cut.  Feel free to let me know your thoughts and enjoy the show!  Do you have kids who are in need of a Dylan primer course?  Sit ‘em down in front of the family PC and show ‘em this. 

Dylan management, when will we get a career retrospective live performance DVD set?

(Click on each Video below for full-screen views)

The Last Waltz Concert, final curtain call for the original line-up of the Band, Winterland, San Francisco, 1976

My favorite Dylan celluloid moment; sublimely filmed by Marty Scorcese and his crew, this ground breaking concert took place  in San Francisco on Thanksgiving Day, 1976.  We see Dylan giving a commanding performance here, in stellar voice and iconic form with the penultimate rendition of “Forever Young”.  Some fine lead guitar work courtesy of Robbie Robertson included. 

If you only have time to watch one of these videos, make this the one you watch.

Forever Young, The Last Waltz, 1976

Like a Rolling Stone, Newport Folk Festival, 1965 – Dylan goes electric for the 1st time

Hot on the heels of the release of this classic song as a single, Dylan appeared at the Newport Folk Festival and famously plugged in along with Mike Bloomfield on lead guitar, Al Cooper on organand other members of Paul Butterfield’s touring band.  The crowd loves the new song and sound in equal measure with those that can’t seem to wrap their head around Bobby Dylan going electric.  Check out the hailstorm of boos at the end of this video.

Girl from the North Country – with Johnny Cash, 1969

A ragged duet that somehow works.  Dylan’s late 60’s Nashville Skyline honey hued voice is on full display here to great effect.

Don’t start me Talkin’ – Late Night with David Letterman, 1983

Dylan had agreed to appear and perform 3 songs on David Letterman’s popular late night talk show, originally on NBC. The new album, Infidels had recently been released and Dylan and his management had agreed to make a rare television appearance. As usual, Letterman introduced Dylan and held up the latest LP for the camera. Rather than kick off the mini set with a song from the very strong new album, Dylan decided at the last minute to perform an obscure 1950’s R&B jump blues song by Sonny Boy Williamson instead.

Think about it. Rock and roll’s penultimate songsmith chose to do a throwaway cover as his first song for this national TV appearance. But..that’s how Dylan is, inscrutable and will refuse to bow to expectations. And…even better yet, Dyaln had brought along a young and rough backing band, known as the Plugz to appear with him on the show. Nearly live television didn’t get any better than this!

Love Sick, 1998 Grammy Awards (the Soy Bomb incident)

Dylan’s 1997 Time out of Mind album was a grammy winner and Dylan was at the Grammy’s in ‘98 as a performer. Displaying phrasing finesse and a strong late career growl, Dylan simply shrugs off the Soy Bomb freak who jumps into the mini stage mid song. Watch bass player, Tony Garnier crack up as Dylan simply stays the course, ignores the fool onstage at about 3:00 and delivers an epic version of this song. Seek out the HD version on Youtube which has the soybomb boy edited out for best quality.

Blowin’ in the Wind, 1971, the Concert for Bangladesh

George Harrison’s benefit concert that birthed a hundred other benefit concerts to follow.  This was Dylan’s first live appearance in the United States since his self-imposed late ’60s exile and motor cycle accident.  The memorable cover art for the Greatest Hits 2 album was taken at this concert.

In the Garden, 1980, Toronto

Just a taste of Born-again period Dylan featuring some of his most impassioned performances.  Powerful & rightgeous stuff here.  Aficiondos would be well served to seek out the 1980 Warfield show bootleg with Jerry Garcia sitting in on guitar.

I pity the poor Immigrant, 1976, from the Hard Rain TV special

Filmed at the tail end of Dylan’s Rolling Thunder Revue spring ‘76 tour, here’s a duet with Joan Baez on this reworked John Wesley Harding track.  Dylan and Baez share the mic and have fun on this song which didn’t appear on the forthcoming live album.

Must be Santa, 2009 (Video)

Ok, time to lighten it up, here’s a bewigged Bob presenting a surreal take on a holdiay party gone bad. Hilarious. All proceeds from this album are being donated to feed the poor.