Bob Dylan addresses fans taking photos at his shows: “We can either play or we can pose, OK?”
Bob Dylan rarely addresses the crowd during his shows these days. Instead, the 77-year-old prefers to play his music and leave the talking well alone.
However, at a recent gig in Vienna, Austria, a fan decided to break Dylan’s ban on photographs while he was performing ‘Blowin’ in the Wind’. Clearly infuriated by the photograph, Dylan turned to the crows and said: “Take pictures or don’t take pictures. We can either play or we can pose. OK?”
Dylan seemed to be in an uncompromising mood throughout the band’s performance and was heard muttering something about photos into the mic before he decided to address the crowd.
Dylan’s night didn’t get much better, either. After mumbling his discontent into the mic, he then stumbled backwards on stage, tripping over a monitor and almost falling off the stage. After pausing to compose himself, Dylan and the band fell silent before going into a rendition of ‘It Takes A Lot To Laugh, It Takes A Train To Cry’.
The show ended with Dylan leaving the stage and his band performing an instrumental version of ‘Just Like Tom Thumb’s Blues’.
In more Dylan-related news, the musician has announced plans to open a whiskey distillery in Nashville, which will double up as a music venue.
The news comes off the back of Dylan launching his own whiskey brand ‘Heaven’s Door’ this time last year alongside Marc Bushala. “We both wanted to create a collection of American whiskeys that, in their own way, tell a story,” Dylan previously said of his new venture. “I’ve been travelling for decades, and I’ve been able to try some of the best spirits that the world of whiskey has to offer. This is great whiskey.”
Now, to celebrate the 50th anniversary of his album Nashville Skyline, Dylan is returning to the city to transform a 160-year-old Elm Street Church into his own distillery.
The building, which will be known as the Heaven’s Door Distillery and Center for the Arts, will be a distillery, a restaurant, a whiskey library, an art sanctuary and will be fitter with a 360-seat performance venue.
It is also understood that Dylan’s paintings and metalwork sculptures will also be on display at the new venue, which is being pencilled in for a 2020 opening date.
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