[john_jcb]

My wife and I went to Chicago and saw Bob Dylan's opening night performance. It was a very good show and he has surrounded himself with a great band. It was a mixture of new work with a few of the old classics thrown in and reinterpreted. They were done differently that what you remember from his records. The tempo of many of the songs was more toward rock than the simple ballads I remember but it was fun. I wish we would have had more time for dinner before the show though I am getting too old to eat dinner at 11 PM.

 

[recstar24]

Where was the venue? Man, I had no idea he was going to be in town, I must be slipping...

 

[john_jcb]

He is at the Auditorium Theatre Downtown. The show starts out with Amos Lee and his band followed by Merle Haggard and the Strangers then Bob. Here is a link to the times and dates:

http://www.bobdylan.com/live/

 

[Emon]

I saw Bob Dylan at RIT sometime back in like November (I'm a student here). The concert overall was great, but I suppose that many years of cigarettes really does ruin your voice. Not to mention that I think the setup was making his voice even less understandable.

 

[Jahn]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Emon I saw Bob Dylan at RIT sometime back in like November (I'm a student here). The concert overall was great, but I suppose that many years of cigarettes really does ruin your voice. Not to mention that I think the setup was making his voice even less understandable.

huh? bob dylan was supposed to be intelligible?
dont worry about it, the less you understand what's coming out of his mouth, the more he's in form.

 

[john_jcb]

Actually after the first couple of songs I think they turned the music accompaniment down a bit and he was a lot easier to understand. It is harder on the new songs that you don't know the lyrics to to understand all of the words though. One good thing is that the crowd remained fairly quiet during the songs.

 

[Wmcmanus]

Quote:

Originally Posted by john_jcb Actually after the first couple of songs I think they turned the music accompaniment down a bit and he was a lot easier to understand. It is harder on the new songs that you don't know the lyrics to to understand all of the words though. One good thing is that the crowd remained fairly quiet during the songs.

John, I've been meaning to catch Dylan myself and missed him last year in Florida when something came up at the last minute.

My only concern is that I've read so many comments about how he'll either be "in voice" or "not in voice" these days, and this can vary considerably from night to night. What did you think, overall, about his voice, compared to what you might have expected?

 

[tyrion]

I saw Dylan when he opened up for The Dead a couple of years ago and it was horrible. I could barely understand what he was saying. Even songs that I knew well, like Maggie's Farm, Highway 61 and Queen Jane were unintelligible.

 

[john_jcb]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Wmcmanus John, I've been meaning to catch Dylan myself and missed him last year in Florida when something came up at the last minute. My only concern is that I've read so many comments about how he'll either be "in voice" or "not in voice" these days, and this can vary considerably from night to night. What did you think, overall, about his voice, compared to what you might have expected?

It seemed as though the ability to understand him increased as the show went on. The first song or two were tough partly because the band was too loud. They turned it down and it was an enjoyable concert. The latter half was quite clear. His voice is not what it once was but it was still fun. 40+ years would take its toll on anyone.

Merle Haggard was very good. When I lived in California he would perform at a local beer joint. He appears to have cleaned himself up since those days.

Amos Lee who opens the show from Philly is also worth listening to.

 

[bln]

I saw Dylan at a county fair a couple years ago. It was a great show. He still has three or four nights left in Chicago, I'll try to get tickets for early next week.

 

[elrod-tom]

I saw him last year...it was a good show, for sure, but I couldn't understand a thing that the man said.

The highlight of the evening was the guy who offered me a starburst. Uh, no thanks...I don't think that a Bob Dylan concert is the sort of place to take candy from strangers.

I do remember that his band was a lot more up-tempo, a lot more rock and roll speed than his album stuff. Looks like he's taken to that full-time. I'd still go see him again, and I'll have to check and see when he's coming through Detroit again.

 

[greenhorn]

I saw him live 3 years ago - he's the one responsible for a 40 dB or so drop at 8 Khz in my right ear... but he's forgiven

John_jcb, did he notice the audience this time? I mean, a nod, a smile... something?

 

[john_jcb]

Quote:

Originally Posted by greenhorn I saw him live 3 years ago - he's the one responsible for a 40 dB or so drop at 8 Khz in my right ear... but he's forgiven John_jcb, did he notice the audience this time? I mean, a nod, a smile... something?

He thanked the audience a couple of times. He dropped his harmonica once and almost kicked it across the stage when he went to pick it up. He smiled at that one.

 

[usc goose]

I saw Dylan a week ago Saturday at the Pantages in LA. He was okay. Totally unintelligable. I was never really much of a Dylan fan though. I mostly went for Merle Haggard, he was amazing.

 

[das_bill]

I saw the first show of his tour in seattle. It was fun. I didn't know haggard that well so that was a treat for me. Plus we got 3 encores which was pretty sweet. He didn't give us even a smile. Well maybe once.