1990 Beacon Theatre One-Offs

Let’s compare Dylan's 2017 five-night residency at the Beacon Theatre in NYC with the five-night residency that took place there in October 1990. On the 2017 tour, Dylan performed a highly-polished set of 20 songs per night with no setlist changes. In 1990, he performed 18-20 songs per night of which 35 were “one-offs,” i.e., songs performed only once during the residency. Things, have, indeed, changed!

“1990 Beacon Theatre One-Offs” compiles these 35 songs on two DVDs, each organized roughly according to set order. The first DVD contains several rarely performed songs, notably “Willin’, “Man Of Constant Sorrow,” “Dark As A Dungeon,”Two Soldiers,” and “Tight Connection To My Heart (Has Anybody Seen My Love).” One of these one-offs, the otherwise oft-performed “Maggie’s Farm” from the October 19th show, closes both DVDs, followed by credits over a still of Allen Ginsberg, who held court outside the venue after the show.

Due to the diligence and sharing spirit of our friend “The Caretaker” and his “Restoration Team,” the DVDylan browser now lists new, alternate camera DVDs of the 1990 shows. Taken with sources already in the browser, the compiler was able to choose the best quality shots for this set. Many video and audio tapers are also to be thanked, not the least of whom are the late Jon Casper and his partner, CJ Ghost, the team that recorded and shared the new submissions.