Strange.
I was watching "The Last Waltz" last night. Bought the DVD for 5 bucks at one time or another like 2 years ago and finally got round to watching LAST NIGHT and here is a link to the Van Morrison performance from "the Last Waltz" today.
Yeah, they were all "that young" in the Last Waltz because it was 33 years ago.
I was watching the movie and snorted when Robbie Robertson was saying how they've been playing music together for 16 years. 16 years!! He seemed not able to believe it that 16 years was such a long time. Well, it's 50 years now Robbie!! (I thought it was kind of funny.)
I was never a HUGE fan of the Band, but I can appreciate them for sure. (Sometimes though, some of their songs get a little too "good ole boy" for me. (Probably Levon Helm's influence there) There was one scene in the movie towards the end where they are all in this room talking and on the wall is the Stars and Bars and I'm thinking "I wonder if Robertson would let himself be filmed today in front of the Stars and Bars" (More Levon.)) Though there was also a scene where Robertson was in a room standing in front of a wall with a huge Canadian flag on the wall.
Anyway, fascinating movie, I would have preferred to hear more of the Band just talking and reminising. Sadly Richard Manual committed suicide in 1986 I believe and Rick Danko balooned to be severely obese (another thing that was hard to square when you watch "The Last Waltz" cause he was so thin and angular) weighing in at around 400 pounds until his heart gave out 10 years ago due to drug abuse and obesity.
There are only 3 surviving members of the band - Levon Helm, Robbie Robertson, and Garth Hudson (who is in his 70's now). By all accounts, Robertson and Helm don't particularly like each other.
