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DeanGoodman
Saw him last night, the third and final show at the Dolby Theatre in Hollywood. It was my 11th show since 1991. Pretty much each time I vow after the event, "Never again." Last night I was thinking "Never again" about 30 seconds into the opener, "Things Have Changed" - though I did not recognize the song until it was almost finished.

The show was sheer torture. Maybe I should have been better acquainted with his newish material, though his traditionally appalling delivery and bizarre phrasing would have rendered them all complete mysteries anyway. The "warhorses" - Tangled Up in Blue, She Belongs to Me, and Simple Twist of Fate - were murdered.

I didn't even care that skipped "All Along the Watchtower" and "Blowin' in the Wind". I just wanted it to be over. I would have walked out, but it's a nice venue, and I had an expensive $160 seat in Row H with a buffer zone of empty seats around me. It also would have been nice to see his face from said seat, but he was backlit by faint spotlights.

I saw just 2 dudes in Deadhead shirts. This demo used to dominate Bob shows post-Jerry, but they have thankfully disappeared. That did not stop one of the dudes from doing an awkward white-man dance throughout the show. (The elderly crowd was seated throughout.)

How bad was it? I was thinking I could be home watching the completely inane "Homeland."

><

May I ask, what brings you back to see old Bob again and again, even it seems to be a torture every time? I mean, 11 times since 1991... you might have gotten an idea what he's shows are like, and what to expect from him...

- Doxa

So true. But he was literally playing down the hill from my place - and I thought it would be a shame not to take advantage of the proximity. I was weak!

But at least I saw my best show in USA this year - Italian superstar Ligabue at the Whisky on Wednesday - so I will focus on the positive.

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DeanGoodman
The show was sheer torture. Maybe I should have been better acquainted with his newish material, though his traditionally appalling delivery and bizarre phrasing would have rendered them all complete mysteries anyway. The "warhorses" - Tangled Up in Blue, She Belongs to Me, and Simple Twist of Fate - were murdered.


I saw just 2 dudes in Deadhead shirts. This demo used to dominate Bob shows post-Jerry, but they have thankfully disappeared. That did not stop one of the dudes from doing an awkward white-man dance throughout the show. (The elderly crowd was seated throughout.)

Yes, maybe you should have familiarized yourself with the last album, because it's damn good. Agree about the Dead component though. One Dylan show I had 4th row seats and some stupid girl in front of me insisted on hippie dancing through the entire show, even though nobody else was doing this.

[/quote]

Agree about the Dead component though. One Dylan show I had 4th row seats and some stupid girl in front of me insisted on hippie dancing through the entire show, even though nobody else was doing this.[/quote]


It's funny, I have complained for 20 years about the damn old people at concerts that are glued to their chair. No room for energy, dancing, fun of any kind. Knopfler 15 years ago in a beautiful venue in San Diego...filled with old people who refused to dance. I think age is the antidote to a good time for many.

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sdstonesguy

It's funny, I have complained for 20 years about the damn old people at concerts that are glued to their chair. No room for energy, dancing, fun of any kind. Knopfler 15 years ago in a beautiful venue in San Diego...filled with old people who refused to dance. I think age is the antidote to a good time for many.

This has nothing to do with age. There is a certain decorum and sensitivity in a public place (or their should be). A nice theatre with expensive reserved seats is not the same as a mosh pit or a festival. It's about respect. If you think people should be "dancing" and 99% prefer being able to enjoy the music by taking it in while seated (a more conteplative but equally valid way to experience music) and you feel the need to stand up and block people's views, I would humbly suggest that the problem might not be the other people. There are different kinds of show. I am always fascinated by people who feel that "dancing" is some sort of requirement at all live shows. Go to a festival and dance to your heart's content. Don't block my view because of your selfishness.



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 2014-10-27 21:04 by 71Tele.

Yeah, I've met people like you that just shocked that I would want to dance at Stones gig. I get it...it's my fault I want to dance at a rock concert....but it isn't age that makes you equate that to a mosh pit.

What a drag it is getting old.

I used to get stick for standing up when Keith did The Worst on the VL tour. I thought it was important to show him - telepathically - that at least one person cared. In hindsight, I should have been more sensitive to the majority wish, or at least moved out of their way.

Not sure a Mark Knopfler concert is dancer-friendly in the way that a Stones concert (for the most part is). Do people wanna boogie to "Brothers in Arms" and "Sailing to Philadelphia"?

As stated above, it really depends on the venue. Also, it depends on whether the dancer is a hot college girl not wearing much, or a fat bald dude.

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sdstonesguy
Yeah, I've met people like you that just shocked that I would want to dance at Stones gig. I get it...it's my fault I want to dance at a rock concert....but it isn't age that makes you equate that to a mosh pit.

What a drag it is getting old.

We weren't talking about a Stones gig. And you obviously did not bother to read my post carefully. It's simple: Go with the flow. If you insist on dancing (i.e. standing up and blocking other people's view) at a show where almost nobody else is doing it or wants to do it, you are merely a selfish entitled a-hole. And I have met some who have nearly ruined great shows, unfortunately. And it has nothing to do with age. It has to do with good manners and respect.



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 2014-10-27 22:43 by 71Tele.

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71Tele

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sdstonesguy
Yeah, I've met people like you that just shocked that I would want to dance at Stones gig. I get it...it's my fault I want to dance at a rock concert....but it isn't age that makes you equate that to a mosh pit.

What a drag it is getting old.

We weren't talking about a Stones gig. And you obviously did not bother to read my post carefully. It's simple: Go with the flow. If you insist on dancing (i.e. standing up and blocking other people's view) at a show where almost nobody else is doing it or wants to do it, you are merely a selfish entitled a-hole. And I have met some who have nearly ruined great shows, unfortunately. And it has nothing to do with age. It has to do with good manners and respect.

I've read you can taser people for that...seems reasonable.

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71Tele

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sdstonesguy
Yeah, I've met people like you that just shocked that I would want to dance at Stones gig. I get it...it's my fault I want to dance at a rock concert....but it isn't age that makes you equate that to a mosh pit.

What a drag it is getting old.

We weren't talking about a Stones gig. And you obviously did not bother to read my post carefully. It's simple: Go with the flow. If you insist on dancing (i.e. standing up and blocking other people's view) at a show where almost nobody else is doing it or wants to do it, you are merely a selfish entitled a-hole. And I have met some who have nearly ruined great shows, unfortunately. And it has nothing to do with age. It has to do with good manners and respect.

Got it...don't dance at a Stones gig or 71Tele will be upset. Maybe Tele should have bought a better ticket.

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sdstonesguy

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71Tele

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sdstonesguy
Yeah, I've met people like you that just shocked that I would want to dance at Stones gig. I get it...it's my fault I want to dance at a rock concert....but it isn't age that makes you equate that to a mosh pit.

What a drag it is getting old.

We weren't talking about a Stones gig. And you obviously did not bother to read my post carefully. It's simple: Go with the flow. If you insist on dancing (i.e. standing up and blocking other people's view) at a show where almost nobody else is doing it or wants to do it, you are merely a selfish entitled a-hole. And I have met some who have nearly ruined great shows, unfortunately. And it has nothing to do with age. It has to do with good manners and respect.

Got it...don't dance at a Stones gig or 71Tele will be upset. Maybe Tele should have bought a better ticket.

Question: Can you read English? We were not talking about Stones gigs when this first came up, then I said again that we weren't talking about Stones gigs (I have highlighted the relevant sentence above for your convenience).
So, if we weren't talking about Stones gigs, why then would I be upset if someone danced at one? Or did you just not let the factual content of my actual post get in the way of a snide comment?

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DeanGoodman
Saw him last night, the third and final show at the Dolby Theatre in Hollywood. It was my 11th show since 1991. Pretty much each time I vow after the event, "Never again." Last night I was thinking "Never again" about 30 seconds into the opener, "Things Have Changed" - though I did not recognize the song until it was almost finished.

The show was sheer torture. Maybe I should have been better acquainted with his newish material, though his traditionally appalling delivery and bizarre phrasing would have rendered them all complete mysteries anyway. The "warhorses" - Tangled Up in Blue, She Belongs to Me, and Simple Twist of Fate - were murdered.

I didn't even care that skipped "All Along the Watchtower" and "Blowin' in the Wind". I just wanted it to be over. I would have walked out, but it's a nice venue, and I had an expensive $160 seat in Row H with a buffer zone of empty seats around me. It also would have been nice to see his face from said seat, but he was backlit by faint spotlights.

I saw just 2 dudes in Deadhead shirts. This demo used to dominate Bob shows post-Jerry, but they have thankfully disappeared. That did not stop one of the dudes from doing an awkward white-man dance throughout the show. (The elderly crowd was seated throughout.)

How bad was it? I was thinking I could be home watching the completely inane "Homeland."

Wow ok well I guess what you get out of a show and I are quite different. I thought he played the gear from Blood On The Tracks sublimely and some of his newer gear that I was unfamiliar with I thought was so good on first listen I now own it all. I saw the show in perth a cpl months back but from glancing at the setlist it appears it was basically the same show.
You're a hard man Dean...

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OzHeavyThrobber

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DeanGoodman
Saw him last night, the third and final show at the Dolby Theatre in Hollywood. It was my 11th show since 1991. Pretty much each time I vow after the event, "Never again." Last night I was thinking "Never again" about 30 seconds into the opener, "Things Have Changed" - though I did not recognize the song until it was almost finished.

The show was sheer torture. Maybe I should have been better acquainted with his newish material, though his traditionally appalling delivery and bizarre phrasing would have rendered them all complete mysteries anyway. The "warhorses" - Tangled Up in Blue, She Belongs to Me, and Simple Twist of Fate - were murdered.

I didn't even care that skipped "All Along the Watchtower" and "Blowin' in the Wind". I just wanted it to be over. I would have walked out, but it's a nice venue, and I had an expensive $160 seat in Row H with a buffer zone of empty seats around me. It also would have been nice to see his face from said seat, but he was backlit by faint spotlights.

I saw just 2 dudes in Deadhead shirts. This demo used to dominate Bob shows post-Jerry, but they have thankfully disappeared. That did not stop one of the dudes from doing an awkward white-man dance throughout the show. (The elderly crowd was seated throughout.)

How bad was it? I was thinking I could be home watching the completely inane "Homeland."

Wow ok well I guess what you get out of a show and I are quite different. I thought he played the gear from Blood On The Tracks sublimely and some of his newer gear that I was unfamiliar with I thought was so good on first listen I now own it all. I saw the show in perth a cpl months back but from glancing at the setlist it appears it was basically the same show.
You're a hard man Dean...

Yeah, you're a hard man DeanGoodman, but I thoroughly enjoyed your review almost as much as I enjoyed the first two nights at the Dolby!
Different perspectives and opinions should be welcomed and appreciated rather than completely dismissed and ignored. Different strokes for different folks...

With that said, I would love to read a review from you of the abysmal Dylan show I saw two years ago at the Santa Barbara Bowl.

_____________________________________________________________
Rip this joint, gonna save your soul, round and round and round we go......

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treaclefingers

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71Tele

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sdstonesguy
Yeah, I've met people like you that just shocked that I would want to dance at Stones gig. I get it...it's my fault I want to dance at a rock concert....but it isn't age that makes you equate that to a mosh pit.

What a drag it is getting old.

We weren't talking about a Stones gig. And you obviously did not bother to read my post carefully. It's simple: Go with the flow. If you insist on dancing (i.e. standing up and blocking other people's view) at a show where almost nobody else is doing it or wants to do it, you are merely a selfish entitled a-hole. And I have met some who have nearly ruined great shows, unfortunately. And it has nothing to do with age. It has to do with good manners and respect.

I've read you can taser people for that...seems reasonable.

I hadn't thought of that, but since asking nicely for them to stop doesn't seem to work perhaps it's worth a try.

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Hairball

Different perspectives and opinions should be welcomed and appreciated rather than completely dismissed and ignored. Different strokes for different folks...

With that said, I would love to read a review from you of the abysmal Dylan show I saw two years ago at the Santa Barbara Bowl.

It made me appreciate the Stones, esp, Mick Jagger, even more. But can you imagine if they did a tour where the warhorses were, say, Beast of Burden + Rocks Off + She's a Rainbow, and everything else was off the last 4 albums?!

I did see Dylan in Santa Barbara - but it was the UCSB Events Center in October 2001, kinda like a high school gym. A Deadhead convention.

The difference there is that Dylan's last five studio albums (Time out of Mind, Love and Theft, Modern Times, Together through Life, and Tempest), while not equal to his very best albums, have all been damn good (Love and Theft may be among his ten best). And a Dylan ticket doesn't cost more than my monthly rent in the early 90s.

I've seen him nearly 40 times and haven't gone a year without seeing Dylan since 1996. I like that he can carry a show with new material and that he constantly changes his delivery and arrangements. Granted, some nights fall short, but he's not stagnating, even when the setlist stays the same.

Dylan plays to his "more selective" cult that can embrace the phlegm. You get it or you don't. And, if you don't, Bob isn't going to help you. He's the world's strangest jazz singer, but he works in a country/blues band. Go figure.

If you want things to sound like the old albums, stay home. Buy the new Mobile Fidelity pressings of those albums instead. They're jaw-dropping!



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 2014-10-28 06:38 by ab.

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DeanGoodman

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Hairball

Different perspectives and opinions should be welcomed and appreciated rather than completely dismissed and ignored. Different strokes for different folks...

With that said, I would love to read a review from you of the abysmal Dylan show I saw two years ago at the Santa Barbara Bowl.

It made me appreciate the Stones, esp, Mick Jagger, even more. But can you imagine if they did a tour where the warhorses were, say, Beast of Burden + Rocks Off + She's a Rainbow, and everything else was off the last 4 albums?!

I did see Dylan in Santa Barbara - but it was the UCSB Events Center in October 2001, kinda like a high school gym. A Deadhead convention.

I was thinking the same thing regarding what if the Stones played mostly stuff from their last 4 or 5 albums. While some might be giddy at the thought of this notion, most would be hankering for the old warhorses (Sympathy, Start Me Up, Satisfaction, IORR, etc., etc.) from start to finish. Personally I'd prefer a warhorse laden Stones concert vs. a show focused on their last 4 or 5 albums, so I see your point.
But as ab mentioned above, Dylan's last 5 studio albums have enough great material to carry him through, while the Stones' last 4 or 5 studio albums leave alot to be desired by most anyone's standards - give or take a decent tune here and there.

I also saw Dylan at the UCSB Events Center, but I think it was 2004 (?)...had horrible seats in the back corner by the exit/entrance and the sound sucked from my location.

Also at the Ventura Fairgrounds in 2001 with Phil Lesh of the Grateful Dead co-headlining.
While Dylan was in pretty good form, the entire evening was somewhat marred by a plethora of Deadheads.

_____________________________________________________________
Rip this joint, gonna save your soul, round and round and round we go......



Edited 3 time(s). Last edit at 2014-10-28 07:27 by Hairball.

One thing remains the same with Dylan...He does what HE wants to.

After reading some of the negative deadhead comments here I thought I would point out that Dylan obviously liked the Dead. I enjoyed watching them perform together and thought at the time that they were a GREAT backing band for him (it might have been the drugs). But it seemed that they definately put some new life into some of his old tunes.

In any case Bob obviously liked the Dead and performed some of their tunes. "Friend of the Devil," "West L.A. Fadeaway" and "Black Muddy River" to name just three. After Jerry died, he made "Alabama Getaway" a regular part of his set for a tour.

So I guess in a way Bob is a deadhead.

I only got into their music after spending considerable time with them in Hawaii and being a guest at several of their shows afterward. It was quite a scene those deadheads in the audience but far different than what the band was supporting and experiencing. The band weren't really deadheads is about the best way I can describe it. peace

Selections from the Basement Tapes 6-disc set can be listen on NPR...

First Listen: Bob Dylan, 'The Basement Tapes Complete: The Bootleg Series Vol. 11'

Bob Dylan's by far the best Live-performance participation is in '' The Concert for Bangla Desh ' and I am afraid that it will remain the best ...

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Hairball

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DeanGoodman

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Hairball

Different perspectives and opinions should be welcomed and appreciated rather than completely dismissed and ignored. Different strokes for different folks...

With that said, I would love to read a review from you of the abysmal Dylan show I saw two years ago at the Santa Barbara Bowl.

It made me appreciate the Stones, esp, Mick Jagger, even more. But can you imagine if they did a tour where the warhorses were, say, Beast of Burden + Rocks Off + She's a Rainbow, and everything else was off the last 4 albums?!

I did see Dylan in Santa Barbara - but it was the UCSB Events Center in October 2001, kinda like a high school gym. A Deadhead convention.

I was thinking the same thing regarding what if the Stones played mostly stuff from their last 4 or 5 albums. While some might be giddy at the thought of this notion, most would be hankering for the old warhorses (Sympathy, Start Me Up, Satisfaction, IORR, etc., etc.) from start to finish. Personally I'd prefer a warhorse laden Stones concert vs. a show focused on their last 4 or 5 albums, so I see your point.
But as ab mentioned above, Dylan's last 5 studio albums have enough great material to carry him through, while the Stones' last 4 or 5 studio albums leave alot to be desired by most anyone's standards - give or take a decent tune here and there.

I also saw Dylan at the UCSB Events Center, but I think it was 2004 (?)...had horrible seats in the back corner by the exit/entrance and the sound sucked from my location.

Also at the Ventura Fairgrounds in 2001 with Phil Lesh of the Grateful Dead co-headlining.
While Dylan was in pretty good form, the entire evening was somewhat marred by a plethora of Deadheads.

While Dylan was in pretty good form, the entire evening was somewhat marred by a plethora of Deadheads.

been there. the gd may be my least favorite band of all time. i tried for awhile but their fan base drove me away as much as the music. i had a co-worker (& former friend) who had to listen to them every single day & could talk about nothing else. i still cannot listen to them & probably never will. & altamont was jerry's fault!

I think the Dead phase is the worst period for Dylan. He was in bad shape and musically adrift at the time. Frankly I can't think of more different artists in many ways. Dylan was never a hippie. The fact that Deadheads show up at Dylan shows has always been an annoyance. I never could stand that band, and still can't.

From LA Weekly:

Bob Dylan - Dolby Theatre - October 24, 2014
By Falling James
Mon, Oct 27, 2014 at 8:37 AM

> L.A. Dylan

“Things have changed,” Bob Dylan warned during the first song at his first of three nights at the Dolby Theatre this past Friday, and he wasn't kidding.

This wasn't the guitar-strumming folk singer of the 1960s or the Bible-rattling born-again preacher of the late ’70s. This wasn't even the same Dylan who’s passed through Southern California in recent years, casting thunder from the mountain like a fortune-telling bluesman.

“People are crazy and times are strange,” he snarled. “I’m in the wrong town, I should be in Hollywood.”

Dylan was still steeped in the blues Friday, but he also dialed things down with a heavier dose of countrified ballads. Gone from the set were such mainstays as “Like a Rolling Stone,” “Ballad of a Thin Man” and the updated, hard-rocking version of “Highway 61 Revisited” that’s been anchoring his concerts for much of the past decade, including his appearance at the Hollywood Bowl in October 2012.

Instead, Friday night’s set was closer in mood to Dylan’s stop last year at Verizon Wireless Amphitheater in Irvine, but there were still several significant differences.

Perhaps as a rare concession to age, the 73-year-old singer split up his 19-song set with an intermission. The Minnesota native was dressed in white, while his longtime backing band was suited up in black. The stage lighting was low, with long, autumnal brown shadows obscuring the musicians’ faces. Dylan didn’t say a word to the audience, not even introducing the band, which is usually the only time he does talk between songs.

Of course, Dylan had plenty to say during the songs, and he was in curiously strong form and relatively smooth voice at the Dolby.

In recent years, Dylan’s vocals have often sounded husky and scarred, which has actually suited the grizzled persona and insomniac-blues style he’s been dipping into since his late-career critical and creative revival began in 1997 with the release of Time Out of Mind. The bigger problem has been his habit of getting behind the beat and rushing some of his best lyrical punch lines.

Friday night, though, Dylan was rhythmically solid and involved, and his singing was clearer and warmer than usual. If lead guitarist Charlie Sexton didn’t get to tear it up quite as flagrantly as he’s sometimes done in the past, he and rhythm guitarist Stu Kimball still shuffled together some subtly mesmerizing patterns for Dylan to wander in.

Another change is that Dylan’s playing a big black piano instead of the organ and electric keyboards of recent tours. His stately roadhouse piano licks on the third song of the night, “Beyond Here Lies Nothin’,” drew applause and settled comfortably and easily into the bittersweet smear of multi-instrumentalist Donnie Herron’s pedal-steel guitar.

By the next song, “Workingman’s Blues #2,” Herron was crafting marvelously waxy soap bubbles of pedal-steel shine that lifted the rootsy tune from dreamland into space. But the crowd cheered loudest when Dylan brought the song back down to Earth with such blue-collar homilies as, “The buyin’ power of the proletariat’s gone down” and “Some people never worked a day in their life.”

Following the soupy, pleasantly laid-back waltz of the semi-obscurity “Waiting for You” (from the soundtrack of the 2002 film Divine Secrets of the Ya-Ya Sisterhood), the uptempo light swing of “Duquesne Whistle” was another early highlight, with drummer George Receli and bassist Tony Garnier really popping as the chameleonic singer mused about his seemingly permanent outsider status: “The lights of my native land are glowing/I wonder if they’ll know me next time ’round.”

“Tangled Up in Blue” was one of the few oldies, but it might as well have been a new song, with additional lyrics (something about names “written in blood”) and yet another arrangement — more of a loping country blues, laden with Herron’s honeyed pedal steel. It felt more resigned and accepting than desperately romantic, but the reinvention was oddly affecting in its own vocally clipped way.

The first set closed with the ominous hard-reggae guitars of “Love Sick,” as Dylan saw “silhouettes in the shadows” and howled, “I’m trying to forget you,” his voice echoing unsettlingly in the rafters afterward like an angry curse.

Kimball came out by himself and played the distant and lonely chords of “High Water (For Charley Patton)” to start the second set before the rest of the band ambled out and kicked into the song. As Herron laced things together with banjo, Sexton and Kimball impressed by pushing their string bends into the shape and curve of Dylan’s sneering vocals and answering his piano riddles with mimicking rejoinders.

Dylan became tongue-twisted on “Simple Twist of Fate,” found his decisive footing again on the balefully leering and searing blues stomp “Early Roman Kings,” and cut up “Forgetful Heart” with judicious slices of harmonica. Sexton’s solos on “Kings” spilled like quarters out of a slot machine, whereas Herron managed to make his simmering violin on “Forgetful Heart” hum like a buzzing synthesizer.

After taking a leisurely spin through the jaunty, jazzy swing of “Spirit on the Water,” from 2006’s Modern Times, Dylan wrapped himself up in the enigmatic swirl of “Scarlet Town” before ramping down the night with two more country ballads from Tempest, “Soon After Midnight” and “Long and Wasted Years.”

The first encore, “All Along the Watchtower,” had more of an acoustic feel compared to the electric, Hendrix-style guitar rampages of recent tours, and Dylan shifted the arrangement cleverly with climbing piano chords.

The last song of the evening, “Blowin’ in the Wind,” was initially unrecognizable but ultimately charming as an elegantly reworked piano ballad. It was as if Dylan were saying you can go home again, but by the time you get there, the place won’t look the same.

_____________________________________________________________
Rip this joint, gonna save your soul, round and round and round we go......

A review of Sunday's show from the Orange County Register:
(Dean Goodman "The show was sheer torture" - take note. )

At 73, Bob Dylan continues to surprise

The singer focuses on newer material before encoring with a bit of Ol’ Blue Eyes.

BY PETER LARSEN / STAFF WRITER
Published: Oct. 27, 2014 Updated: 4:53 p.m.

L.A. Dylan

The dim lights and long shadows on stage at the Dolby Theatre for Bob Dylan’s show on Sunday brought to mind the kind of glow you get in the galleries where rare masterpieces are displayed, but make no mistake: Dylan at 73 isn’t a relic of the past; his restless muse would never allow that.

Which isn’t to say there aren’t plenty of Dylan fans who’d love for him to tour on the foundation of his classics, all those songs of the ’60s when the legendary singer-songwriter had praise and expectations thrust upon him that he never asked to receive. And on many nights of his Never Ending Tour, the annual 100-some shows a year he’s played for a quarter century now, they’d surely love him to sing ’em like he used to, and not in the rearranged versions he’s often offered up.

But Dylan does what Dylan wants, and though casual fans might have stopped paying attention years ago, his run of albums over the past 15 years has provided remarkably strong material. That work made up most of his 18-song set, which delighted a nearly full theater Sunday in the third of three shows there this weekend.

He walked onto the stage where the Academy Awards now are held and opened the night with “Things Have Changed,” the song that won him an Oscar in 2001 after its appearance on the soundtrack to “The Wonder Boys,” and a song full of the kind of premonitions and foreboding much of the night would include.

The last time I’d seen Dylan, a few years back at the Santa Monica Civic, he’d stayed buried amid the band at his keyboard for nearly the entire night, but at the Dolby he gave a bit more of himself to the performance and the fans. Dressed in the three-quarter-length Western-style frock coat and cream-colored Stetson he’s long favored on stage, Dylan sang the first few songs – including “She Belongs To Me,” the only ’60s tune in the set – from an array of four microphones on stands at center stage, occasionally with a little shuffle of a dance or a gesture with his hands as he sang.

Even so, he’s not a between-song talker, letting the songs tell whatever story he wanted to share while he simply moved from mid-stage microphone to grand piano, which he played terrifically all night, depending on the tune. What that story he’s sharing here is I’ll leave to the hard-core Dylanologists out there, but there is an unsettled quality to songs such as “Beyond Here Lies Nothin’” or “Pay In Blood,” the latter with its threatening chorus of “I pay in blood, but not my own,” and a cautionary couplet near the end, “I came to bury, not to praise.”

It’s also worth noting that Dylan’s arrangements were easier to follow, and his vocals easier to understand, here than in Santa Monica a few years back, suggesting the truth in reports he’s found renewed interest in making the effort to make that kind of connection with listeners. Yes, he’ll still go to the grizzled bark he’s used for years at times, but perhaps more so when the song, say a “Love Sick,” which closed the first set, or an “Early Roman Kings,” requires it.

On other songs, such as “Tangled Up In Blue” and “A Simple Twist Of Fate,” a pair from 1975’s “Blood On The Tracks,” there was more of the balladeer in his tone. And on “Forgetful Heart,” from “Together Through Life” in 2009, he sang with a purity to his voice that I’d not heard from him in years – and wasn’t even sure he still was able to do.

His 35th and most recent studio album, “Tempest,” provided six songs in the set, with the shuffle and roll of “Duquesne Whistle” and country vibe of “Soon After Midnight” among the best of those. (Do yourself a favor, casual fans, and give this record, or really any one of the past 15 years, a try. Bob is doing good stuff and you shouldn’t overlook it in favor of your old copy of “Highway 61 Revisited” or “Blonde On Blonde.”)

The only significant change Dylan made on Sunday from his first two nights at the Dolby, and indeed most recent dates on this tour, came with the encore, where he ditched “All Along The Watchtower” and “Blowin’ In The Wind” – two of his best-loved songs ever – in favor of the live debut of “Stay With Me.”

“Stay With Me” is a song most identified with Frank Sinatra, who sang it as the theme song to Otto Preminger’s 1963 film “The Cardinal.” Fans on Dylan websites after this first-ever performance seemed to its appearance here suggests there’s truth to the rumors that his next album, which might be called “Shadows In The Night,” will include a lot of Sinatra.

A bit of a bummer not to get to hear those two expected classics in the encore, but then we got something no one else ever has heard from Bob as Dylan continues to zig when everyone expects him to zag. And that’s a good thing indeed.

_____________________________________________________________
Rip this joint, gonna save your soul, round and round and round we go......

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71Tele
I think the Dead phase is the worst period for Dylan. He was in bad shape and musically adrift at the time. Frankly I can't think of more different artists in many ways. Dylan was never a hippie. The fact that Deadheads show up at Dylan shows has always been an annoyance. I never could stand that band, and still can't.

While I agree Dylan's collaboration with the Dead was not a high point, I find it hard to fault the Dead. Dylan has given them credit for leading him out of the horrible funk he was in by the mid 1980s. They got him to rethink his approach to live performing. In terms of execution of that vision the fall 1987 tour with Tom Petty & The Heartbreakers (Temples In Flames) was much better but the Dead deserve credit for getting Dylan to move into the next phase which became the so-called Never Ending Tour. They got him to do material he had never played live or had rarely played.

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stewedandkeefed

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71Tele
I think the Dead phase is the worst period for Dylan. He was in bad shape and musically adrift at the time. Frankly I can't think of more different artists in many ways. Dylan was never a hippie. The fact that Deadheads show up at Dylan shows has always been an annoyance. I never could stand that band, and still can't.

While I agree Dylan's collaboration with the Dead was not a high point, I find it hard to fault the Dead. Dylan has given them credit for leading him out of the horrible funk he was in by the mid 1980s. They got him to rethink his approach to live performing. In terms of execution of that vision the fall 1987 tour with Tom Petty & The Heartbreakers (Temples In Flames) was much better but the Dead deserve credit for getting Dylan to move into the next phase which became the so-called Never Ending Tour. They got him to do material he had never played live or had rarely played.

While you make a valid point...

... I still hate the Dead.

I've got nothing against the Grateful Dead, it's their music and fan base that I don't like.


Seriuosly though, I like several of their songs when I hear them on the radio.
Even saw them live once in c. '79 when I was in High School. I was higher than shit at the concert, but still couldn't relate to the endless jams and the overall vibe of the show.

With that said, several people I sort of knew at the time were full on Deadheads and it showed by their appetite for acid, lack of personal hygeine, and anything remotely hippy-ish (tye-dye, incense, etc.)

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Rip this joint, gonna save your soul, round and round and round we go......



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 2014-10-28 23:25 by Hairball.

There are people who enjoy the Dead, Phish, and their ilk, and people who just don't. The whole jam band thing never appealed to me. The point here though is that I can't understand why Dead people like Dylan. He doesn't jam, his approach to his audience couldn't be more different. Dylan's Dead period was a lost weekend for him. He was in a bad way personally, had lost his confidence, was creatively dried up, and was drinking a lot. I think he fell in with the Dead because he didn't know what else to do.

Bob went to Jerry's funeral. Deadheads needed a new band to follow, and Dylan filled the bill - the Little Jerry. (They might have followed the Black Crowes instead if it had been 1993.)

I remember crazy old Deadheads kept Dylan's security folks on red alert during his 5-night El Rey stand. And, come to think of it, the place was quite smelly.