V 47 (approx) of the never-ending tour - Dylan.
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1bobmcconnaughey
Caught Bob Dylan's latest incarnation on tour w/ Willie Nelson and John Mellancamp. @ the Durham Bulls ball park Tuesday evening.
I'm not a fan of Willie's voice/songs though i think he's a pretty neat person so his set was neither here nor there. He kind of phoned the set in from stage front.
Mellancamp's show was very good, excellent showmanship, neat arrangements (he's almost always had a violinist - but having the primary keyboard be an accordion worked v. well). The only problem (and it was not trivial) was that the bass drum was way overmiked so that too often the strength of the arrangements was lost in the thud of the bass drum. The acoustic songs were v. well done. The semi-pro drummer I went to the show with had exactly the same reaction..too much drum miking. (not enough cowbell ;-)
Dylan sounds like he's ripped his larynx to shreds. His voice was always a matter of taste - but it was a voice that I liked. But this time round - if you didn't KNOW it was Dylan, except for brief moments of phrasing, i'd bet you'd be hard pressed to identify his singing..er croaking, like Tom Waits w/ a really REALLY bad case of laryngitis.
However his new touring band was sensational. VERY electric - reminded me very much of the early electric sessions w/ the Butterfield band - but amped up and even more skilled players. A lot of the arrangements were standout - but it also seemed to be the case that there was much more allowance for instrumental breaks, perhaps to allow Dylan to rest his voice a little (more bluesy I IV V boogies than i expected) I was as bit taken aback when i realized he was playing what looked to be an old Farfisa organ (to v. good effect) throughout instead of guitar. And then the thought occurred that keyboards - esp. electric organs - are MUCH easier on the hands than even a very easy playing guitar and that this might have been another concession to getting older. (I was back far enough, and wearing an old pair of glasses, so that for the first couple of songs I thought the 2nd lead guitarist - who had the center of the stage - WAS Dylan and that he'd become a hell of a lead guitarist. But his organ playing fit the songs very well - ala Al Kooper rather than Garth Hudson.).
Oh - the closing arrangement of "all along the watchtower" was very eye (or rather ear) opening. A very dramatic and driving electric version that is nothing like the Hendrix version (on a previous recent tour Dylan said that Hendrix "owned" the song and then recapitulated HIS version of Hendrix doing Dylan)
Anyway, I'm glad i went though i think i'll stick to the documentary "Dylan at Newport" or clips of him touring w/ the Band when i want my fix of live, electric Dylan.
Chatting w/ singers - the consensus was that Dylan has serious problems w/ nodules on his vocal chords - I could barely understand his spoken introduction of his (stellar) band members.
I'm not a fan of Willie's voice/songs though i think he's a pretty neat person so his set was neither here nor there. He kind of phoned the set in from stage front.
Mellancamp's show was very good, excellent showmanship, neat arrangements (he's almost always had a violinist - but having the primary keyboard be an accordion worked v. well). The only problem (and it was not trivial) was that the bass drum was way overmiked so that too often the strength of the arrangements was lost in the thud of the bass drum. The acoustic songs were v. well done. The semi-pro drummer I went to the show with had exactly the same reaction..too much drum miking. (not enough cowbell ;-)
Dylan sounds like he's ripped his larynx to shreds. His voice was always a matter of taste - but it was a voice that I liked. But this time round - if you didn't KNOW it was Dylan, except for brief moments of phrasing, i'd bet you'd be hard pressed to identify his singing..er croaking, like Tom Waits w/ a really REALLY bad case of laryngitis.
However his new touring band was sensational. VERY electric - reminded me very much of the early electric sessions w/ the Butterfield band - but amped up and even more skilled players. A lot of the arrangements were standout - but it also seemed to be the case that there was much more allowance for instrumental breaks, perhaps to allow Dylan to rest his voice a little (more bluesy I IV V boogies than i expected) I was as bit taken aback when i realized he was playing what looked to be an old Farfisa organ (to v. good effect) throughout instead of guitar. And then the thought occurred that keyboards - esp. electric organs - are MUCH easier on the hands than even a very easy playing guitar and that this might have been another concession to getting older. (I was back far enough, and wearing an old pair of glasses, so that for the first couple of songs I thought the 2nd lead guitarist - who had the center of the stage - WAS Dylan and that he'd become a hell of a lead guitarist. But his organ playing fit the songs very well - ala Al Kooper rather than Garth Hudson.).
Oh - the closing arrangement of "all along the watchtower" was very eye (or rather ear) opening. A very dramatic and driving electric version that is nothing like the Hendrix version (on a previous recent tour Dylan said that Hendrix "owned" the song and then recapitulated HIS version of Hendrix doing Dylan)
Anyway, I'm glad i went though i think i'll stick to the documentary "Dylan at Newport" or clips of him touring w/ the Band when i want my fix of live, electric Dylan.
Chatting w/ singers - the consensus was that Dylan has serious problems w/ nodules on his vocal chords - I could barely understand his spoken introduction of his (stellar) band members.
