Should I go see Bob Dylan?

[ralph]

tomorrow night, 1/2 price tickets?  Never seen him before but I read as many bad reviews as good reviews these days.

I really should, shouldn't I as there may not be another opportunity?

Discuss amongst yourselves and I'll check back after a good nights sleep!!! 

[Jon T.]

tomorrow night, 1/2 price tickets?  Never seen him before but I read as many bad reviews as good reviews these days.

I really should, shouldn't I as there may not be another opportunity?

Discuss amongst yourselves and I'll check back after a good nights sleep!!! 

I'd say go, it is Bob Dylan after all.  That being said, keep your expectations looooow.   :P
I'd consider myself a little more than a casual fan.  I saw him about ten years ago, and i'm glad I did, but I don't really care to ever see him again.

[wolof7]

Depends, I guess, on how big a fan you are and what you are hoping to hear...I own pretty much everything he has put out and consider myself a big fan. I've seen several shows. Some of which I left merely satisfied but othertimes I've left spellbound. A lot of extraneous factors go into your enjoyment of a dylan show (e.g. if you go with friends expecting to hear Rolling thunder quality and don't know the newer stuff, the crowd, the venue).

Expect to hear 15-18 songs, around 1/3 of recent output, maybe he'll throw in a rarer song like this wheels on fire and all his popular early stuff is re-worked (e.g masters of war, highway 61). It's hard to distinguish his voice but that's a tired excuse fairwhether fans use, I love his most recent albums and love how he has settled into embracing this "cowboy band" persona. I mean he is who he is now, it's obvious he will never try and replicate who he was in the 60's-70's, he's never been into that as his biopic 'I'm Not There' puts pretty clearly.

I'd say yes, considering tix are 1/2 price. Don't go in expecting MMJ obviously. Try to bone up on his newer stuff if you haven't already. Like taking trippy trippy mushrooms  :D, If you go in prepared and knowing what to expect it usually makes for a better experience. His band is always pretty tight.

[bold99]

if you have never see him go..just to say you saw him.

Other than that i'd say no....I gave up on seeing Dylan...it is really painful.  The last good show I saw was probably in the mid 90's.

[johnnYYac]

What a great question!  I've seen him many times and it just gets more and more painful.  If you've never seen him, I'd agree with others that its worth the experience, especially for cheap and if you're not going too far out of your way to attend.  I hate such a conditional endorsement, but he is a true enigma these days.

[ophidiophobia]

I saw Dylan in the fall of "08, and other than the fact that it was Bob Dylan it was one of the worse shows I've saw. I absolutely love Bob, but he is almost 70 now and that doesn't make for a good show. I'm happy I can say I've saw Bob Dylan live but I think I'd pass on seeing him again and instead just listen to Blood on the Tracks or Live at Budokan if I wanted a live album.

Go see him if you haven't just don't expect much more than a mumbling 70 year old man :-\   

[ALady]

Depends, I guess, on how big a fan you are and what you are hoping to hear...I own pretty much everything he has put out and consider myself a big fan. I've seen several shows. Some of which I left merely satisfied but othertimes I've left spellbound. A lot of extraneous factors go into your enjoyment of a dylan show (e.g. if you go with friends expecting to hear Rolling thunder quality and don't know the newer stuff, the crowd, the venue).

Expect to hear 15-18 songs, around 1/3 of recent output, maybe he'll throw in a rarer song like this wheels on fire and all his popular early stuff is re-worked (e.g masters of war, highway 61). It's hard to distinguish his voice but that's a tired excuse fairwhether fans use, I love his most recent albums and love how he has settled into embracing this "cowboy band" persona. I mean he is who he is now, it's obvious he will never try and replicate who he was in the 60's-70's, he's never been into that as his biopic 'I'm Not There' puts pretty clearly.

I'd say yes, considering tix are 1/2 price. Don't go in expecting MMJ obviously. Try to bone up on his newer stuff if you haven't already. Like taking trippy trippy mushrooms  :D, If you go in prepared and knowing what to expect it usually makes for a better experience. His band is always pretty tight.

Right on, wolof.  This is exactly what I'd advise (in especial agreement with the bolded).

I've been seeing Bob since before I remember (parents are big fans, I'm named after a song, etc.) and I still really enjoy his shows - I try to see him at least once a year.  I think folks who walk away disappointed aren't expecting to see a grizzled old bluesman - which is who he is these days.  Personally I think this "persona" is great.

[ralph]

Thanks for the help guys. I'm gonna go - with no expectations. that way if it's great then excellent and if it's not, well I can still say I did see Dylan. Win-win situation!

It's tonight, I'm kind of excited!

[jordan]

Definitely go so you can say you've seen him.  But as others have said his shows can be hard to sit through, well that may be pushing it.  Just don't expect the Bob Dylan of old. 

The greatest thing about Dylan for me is that he led me to My Morning Jacket when I went to see him in '03 and they opened for him in Louisville. 

[ralph]

That was equal parts mesmerizing, excruiating and heartbreaking. I honestly don't know what to make of it. I am glad I went (I think...). :-\

[johnnYYac]

Yep.

[ChiefOKONO]

good thing you went.. his band is great and even though he isn't as good as he used to be, its worth it.

[ALady]

That was equal parts mesmerizing, excruiating and heartbreaking. I honestly don't know what to make of it. I am glad I went (I think...). :-\

That sounds about right.  Curious to get an expanded review, if you have the time (or inclination).

[ralph]

Here ya go Maggie!

After having a day to process this show, I've come to the conclusion that this was a pretty brilliant show.  I was unfamiliar with at least two-thirds of the setlist which made it pretty tough going in places as you really couldn't distinguish a single work Bob was mumbling. I had steeled myself for that fact from the info I had read beforehand.  I tried to just treat his mumble as another instrument and just get into the 'feel' of the night.

There were a few songs that it worked pretty well though, the opener - Gonna Change My Way of Thinking, was a great start, and my initial thought was that people of blown his 'shot' voice out of perspective, but it was the exception to the rule. Sure, you still couldnt understand him, but it didnt sound too bad.  (I'll add here that if you were familiar with the songs and knew what he was singing, it would have been a whole lot easier to 'enjoy' the show.)

Not Dark Yet was the one that particularly blew me away, there just seemed to be so much emotion in the delivery that I couldn't help but be affected by it.  Here's a man who has been doing this for just on 50 years still out there doing it his way and not giving a fuck if the audience was with him or against him, and just belting it out for him and no-one else. Pretty much been that way his entire career and I guess he's not about to change now.  First time I had ever heard Not Dark Yet, but I will have to buy the album its on now so I can listen to the words and see what the hell the song is about!  But you know, at the time the words just didn't matter.  I was mesmerized the entire time.

Of the songs I did know, Highway 61 Revisited was great with the band just chugging along nicely with a big jam towards the end with Bob trading organ licks with Sexton's guitar. Took me two verses to even realise Tangled Up In Blue was being played! Hard Rain was a bit of a fizzer for me, probably the one song where his voice just made it a little too tough to listen to. Simple Twist of Fate had a great bar-room feel to it. Ballad of A Thin Man was a pretty faithful and satisfying rendition.

Probably the biggest highlight for me though came form the most 'obvious' source. To see the man who changed everything play the song that changed everything - Like  A Rolling Stone - was pretty special.  There was 1/2 a century of a live lived in that performance, and it will stay with me for a long long time.

The night ended with the one-two of Watchtower and Forever Young. What a perfect last song.  Summed up the whole night for me really...

So what to make of it all? There's no rule that says a great performance has to be enjoyable or comfortable for the audience. Hell, I doubt Bob even cared we were there, it just doesn't matter to him.  If he comes through town again I'd dare say I'll be buying a ticket on the day they are released. 

And I would encourage anyone who was in the same boat as me to grab the chance to see this legend perform while you can. You may not like it, you may even hate it. But you will be affected by it.  And isnt that what its all about?

[jordan]

Really great review Ralph.  One thing you nailed on the head is that Dylan is gonna play it his way regardless of anyone else's opinion.  He is a legend most definitely.

[Crispy]

Really great review Ralph.  One thing you nailed on the head is that Dylan is gonna play it his way regardless of anyone else's opinion.  He is a legend most definitely.

Exactly right, and the same conclusion I drew after seeing Dylan twice -- both times after having MMJ warm up the crowd for him (to some avail). Barely recognized a word, and then only after hearing a few bars that he deigned to make recognizable, but you know what? It's fucking BOB DYLAN, and he has always done that, like it or not. I didn't like it so much at the time, but I might like it more now -- his band is outstanding.

[ALady]

Cheers Dave!     Really enjoyed your review.  "Not Dark Yet" always brings a tear to my eye...and you're right on about not recognizing the more popular songs, he's really reworked the heck out of them!  I like to think of it as his way of giving the audience what they want, while still dictating the terms of how he's gonna give it to them.   ;D  I respect that; I think it'd be kind of sad and/or disingenous for him to play the songs as if he was still the idealistic twentysomething who wrote them...you know?  You hit the nail on the head - you are seeing every year of his experience when he performs these days.

I remember seeing him in Austin a few years ago and he closed (?) with "I Shall Be Released"...and as soon as I figured out what it was  ;D I just wept.  Really affecting to hear some of these songs as last, songs that you've lived with so long they've become part of your DNA.