Entertainment For Lively Minds
Top 20 moments in "The Last Waltz"
About 5 years ago, on a now defunct music board frequented by mostly twee indie fans, someone posted this as a topic. The thread eventually petered out at top moment 157.
Anyway, here's 5 to get you going
1. Rick Danko's hat
2. The expressions on Robbie and Rick's faces as they realise just how out of it Neil Young is
3. Robbie's increasingly desparate introduction for Dr John ("You all know the doctor?...Dr John?...Mac Rebbenack?...")
4. Garth Hudson's hair flying around
5. Michael McClure reading the Prologue to the Canterbury Tales (just for the sheer pointlessness of it)
Over to you!
(As a suggestion, YouTube links may not be a good idea since we'll probably end up posting the whole film, but in the wrong order)
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Van the Man's..
...Tiller Girl routine. A good advert for Audio over Video
Van the Man's..
...Tiller Girl routine. An excellent advert for Video over Audio!
Off the top of my head..........
Neil Young - "they got it now Robbie"
Robertson's tale of joining the Hawks - "Son, you won't make much money, but you'll get more p*ssy than Frank Sinatra"
NY's cokey nostrils
yes, I know, TMFTL...
Airbrushed out on most editions.
Muddy - "Don't hurt me, don't hurt me, don't hurt me..."
Don't hurt *us*, Muds!
Ok yeh, and the bit where Helm says, "Sorry Marty, I can't understand your questions because you've still got Robbie's **** in your mouth"
...sorry, just been over on the "Pimp My Classic Album" thread and am imagining what *could* have been in the film....
Levon: That's kind of the
Levon:
That's kind of the middle of the country, you know, back there. So, Bluegrass or Country music, you know, if it comes down through that area. If it mixes there with rhythm, and if it dances, you've got a combination these of all these different kinds of music... Country, Bluegrass... Blues music, show music...
Robbie: A melting pot...
Marty: And, what's it called?
Levon: Rock and Roll.
Dr John taking an age
to leave the stage, as he shakes everyone's hands, grinning goofily.
"It ain't like it used to be!" after Rick's "eccentric" fiddling.
Richard's "Stuffin' balonies!" interjection to the shoplifting anecdote.
Rick's arms flapping around, during his sung verse in "The Weight".
Hawkins' shameless undermining of the occasion: "Big time!"
...and many, many more great moments.
I take it, of course, that we're going for the loopy bits, as opposed to the fantastic music(?)
I take it, of course, that
It can be either - I could add:
Rick's singing during Stagefright
We're a bit light on Richard and Garth moments at the moment, and very few of the guests
(By my reckoning we're at 17 "great moments" now, without any real effort)
Joni Mitchell
effortlessly changing the film's gear up one at the beginning of Coyote.
Bloody. Hell.
Apparently she didn't think..
..The Band were "up" to re-creating the music made by Pastorius, Geurin and Carlton on the original recording.
They weren't really, but it still sounds great.
Wasn't completely sure that even Pastorius
plus Metheny et al could do it live, but the contrast is interesting:
http://www.dailymotion.com/video/xcygfe_joni-mitchell-coyote_music
and looking at it again I guess they could.
it's worth getting the DVD
the sound quality, especially on this, is outstanding. It shows what great players they were.
Eric breaks a string
Robbie steps in
Not quite, its was Eric's guitar strap....
....coming unattached from the guitar. No strings broken.
God, this thread makes me want to dig the dvd out for a viewing.
Garth comes in...
...on soprano sax in "It makes No Difference".
Levon Helm- at any point.
But especially when he starts singing The Night They Drove Old Dixie Down, and everyone who has ever sung a song ever realizes that a masterclass is about to unfold...
Specifically, the dying fall at the end of the line
"In the winter of '65, we were hungry, just barely alive".
Pleasure/pain knot-in-the-stomach time.
When Levon strikes a match and then lights Robbie´s cigarett
And then keeps on talking slowly and keeps on talking slowly and keeps on talking slowly. Everytime I watch that scene I expect him to burn his fingers.
The Weight
Mavis Staples voice.
Quite...
so.
Robbie pretending to sing
on every song
Robbie pretending to sing
on every song
Forever Young
At 2.57 minutes into this Dylan leans towards the audience and acknowledges someone with a point and a grin. It's not exactly a pivotal moment in rock n roll history but I've always wondered who it was directed at.
And yes... Levon Helm for the duration of the whole thing. And Garth for just being Garth.
Dylan pretending to play Robbie's guitar parts
The start of Forever Young...
...The camera panning down onto Dylan's hat as the intro of Forever Young is picked out. Then the first words, like a line of grace on the proceedings:
'May God bless and keep you always'...
Dylan `n` Diamond
Apparently Neil Diamond walks of stage and says to Bob Dylan "Top that", Dylan answers "How am I gonna do that? Fall asleep on stage?"
It ain`t in the movie, but that would have been THE top moment.
Where to begin? 1. Rick
Where to begin?
1. Rick Danko. It Makes No Difference. What a talent.
2. The expression on Rick and Robbie's face as they look at each other and wait for Bob Dylan to decide what to do next before going back into Baby Let Me Follow You Down. If you've read Barney Hoskyn's book about The Band, and all the messing that went on around Dylan's performance, it's doubly pleasing.
3. I'm going to say it. Neil Diamond. I know all of the stories and all of the insults but, sorry, I actually like that song. Not a fan generally but in this instance it's fine with me.
4. Levon Helm yodelling in Up on Cripple Creek.
5. Argh!
Arrrgh!
Arrrrrrgh!
Arrggghhh!
Come on, Robbie!
6. Bob Dylan's hat.
I've watched The Last Waltz about a hundred times. I lived with a friend and almost every 2 or 3 nights we'd stick on the DVD and open a bottle or two and talk about it. Never seen it in a cinema before but next Saturday we're going to see it in an arthouse cinema in Dublin. I'm beyond excited!
Robertson's unbelievable self-importance
I love the film but Hudson and Manual are hardly in it as Scorsese spends an age on making Robbie look like a better looking Mick Jagger. I am sorry they have the interviews since none of them really say anything of substance; Richard just seems like the coke addict he was (tragic) Garth seems to have no existence other than music and Levon seems to understand that talking about music diminishes it. I think Robertson plays superbly and Mitchell is sublime. Diamond's song is fine despite the snobbery and Morrison shows that he is a better singer than anybody on that stage which is a phenomenal achievement next to Levon and Rick Danko. A bit disappointed that Dylan's set seems to me just a gag. I can hardly believe Bob bothered. The Band have been spoiled a bit by the self-importance that just falls out of Robertson everytime he offers his 'pearls of wisdom.' 16 years on the road. That was just a lie. Sounds great but they should try diggng ditches. Let's not confuse it with real work.