Bob Dylan Live

Gern Blansten

The Rock said:

100% go for it.  Sounds like i'm in the minority, but I saw him 3 times this year and I thought he was brilliant.

Sure, his voice has taken a beating over the years. But this year he's sounding better than he has in a while. Singing the old standards by Sinatra and co. has really helped his vocals. A song like Scarlet Town, from Tempest, is sounding lovely this year. Dylan's vocals are warm and clear.

He's had some very rough years, but 2019 has been a great year for him and I'd go and see him again without hesitation.

Did you see the video I posted above?  That was from a few months ago.

I don't mean to beat him up but that was awful.

dudeman

Dylan has been the most frequent ticket purchase I've ever had. I've seen him every time he's been anywhere near me for the last 22 years. Sometimes multiple times in the same year.

It used to be a different show every night, much like PJ. For the last few years, the set list is pretty much the same each night and is a nice mix of classic Dylan songs and newer songs from recent albums.

The band is incredible and very, very tight. Tony Garnier is worth the money for the ticket alone, IMO. 

I keep going because he has been a part of my life soundtrack since birth and my Dad is maybe his biggest fan of all time. We always go together. 

It's a little different for me than a new or casual fan though. I can listen past the condition of Bob's voice, I like the song choices and I don't go in expecting it to be a spectacle of a big rock show with lights, lasers and super high energy. 

If you understand that, I think there is a lot to appreciate about seeing Dylan live at this point in his career. 

Also, let's be honest: has anyone ever gone to see Bob Dylan for his vocal ability? If his singing voice is your main priority, you would probably be disappointed and are missing the point entirely. 

If you decide to go, I hope you have a great time!

cp3iverson

Its like seeing Michael Jordan on the Wizards.   All those kids who only saw him for those two years obviously didn't see the Jordan that we grew up with. But they still get to tell their kids that they saw MJ. 

If you like Dylan then go.  

Gern Blansten

dudeman said:

Dylan has been the most frequent ticket purchase I've ever had. I've seen him every time he's been anywhere near me for the last 22 years. Sometimes multiple times in the same year.

It used to be a different show every night, much like PJ. For the last few years, the set list is pretty much the same each night and is a nice mix of classic Dylan songs and newer songs from recent albums.

The band is incredible and very, very tight. Tony Garnier is worth the money for the ticket alone, IMO. 

I keep going because he has been a part of my life soundtrack since birth and my Dad is maybe his biggest fan of all time. We always go together. 

It's a little different for me than a new or casual fan though. I can listen past the condition of Bob's voice, I like the song choices and I don't go in expecting it to be a spectacle of a big rock show with lights, lasers and super high energy. 

If you understand that, I think there is a lot to appreciate about seeing Dylan live at this point in his career. 

Also, let's be honest: has anyone ever gone to see Bob Dylan for his vocal ability? If his singing voice is your main priority, you would probably be disappointed and are missing the point entirely. 

If you decide to go, I hope you have a great time!

Yeah that makes sense....like I said, I always respected him but I was never exposed to much of his music.  I think the first time I saw him was on SNL doing "Serve Somebody" which I thought was really weird but I was probably only 12 years old when I saw it.  

That Netflix show was impressive though.  

My current impression of him might be wrong. It just seemed more like a "this is how I'm going to do it tonight whether you like it or not" attitude rather than "hey this is the best I can do right now."  I'm just referring to the singing....he hasn't seemed to have lost any musical ability that I notice.

FR181798

If ýou havent seen Dylan, I would go see him at least once. Dont expect the songs to sound like the records but he's one of the greats so something to tell the grand kids.

Wobbie

Spiritual_Chaos said:

Gern Blansten said:

brianlux said:

My take is, go for it.  But don't go with any expectations beyond knowing that you will be seeing a living legend.  Honor that, and hope you get in on one of the better shows.    I've only seen Dylan once and it was when he was touring with Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers as his backing band.  It probably doesn't get any better than that these days but remember, the man is 78 years old!

And this leads me to the point where I need to vent a bit here.  I've read too many posts on these forums about people bitching about "what a shitty show Bob put on".   I heard the same weak whining from people who saw B. B. King is his last years and didn't get the stellar show they expected.   That kind of attitude at seeing an elderly performer is childish at best.  Who here will be able to perform the work they did in their 20's through 50's or 60's as well when they are 78?  I can't.  I can't do one damn thing as well as I could in my prime and I'm 10 years younger than Bob Dylan. 

In the mid 80's I saw Dizzy Gillespie play at a jazz festival in Berkeley.  Dizzy was old and getting a bit frail and no way did he blow that horn like he did with Bird in the 50's but, man, what a thrill to see that great legend play!  And the crowd showed due respect, big time. 

I missed seeing one of the greatest American music legends ever by just a few weeks because I'd waited too long.  Duke Ellington.  By the time I got tickets for a show it was too late.  That show was cancelled due to Ellington being sick and he died two weeks later.  If I had gone a little earlier and he had played only a fraction as well as he did in his prime I would not have cared one tiny bit.  I would have gotten to see the great Duke Ellington. 

So go, have a great time and be thankful you had the chance!

I'm sorry for being childish.  I just saw Robert Plant and Willie Nelson....they both acted like they gave a shit.  Bob Dylan is capable of sounding like a human being.  He is capable of making noises with his mouth that don't sound like someone is constantly cutting one of his toes off.

Oh....I just saw the Who this summer as well.  They kicked ass.

His voice is wrecked. You want him to lipsync like Paul Stanley instead?

Spiritual_Chaos

My friend just scored two tickets to the Bob Dylan concert this September here in Gothenburg - first row!

155 dollars though. 

static111

Spiritual_Chaos said:

My friend just scored two tickets to the Bob Dylan concert this September here in Gothenburg - first row!

155 dollars though. 

Saw him in Austin in April and he nailed all the songs from the new album.  Like he really cared about them.  With the classics it seemed like he had the energy of, "I have to play these again". Either way it was totally worth it.  I've seen Bob more times than anyone starting in 1999.  I hope for a bootleg of the 99-2003 period, pre piano only bob.  Those shows were amazing and each was unique with an insanely varied setlist.

Spiritual_Chaos

static111 said:

Spiritual_Chaos said:

My friend just scored two tickets to the Bob Dylan concert this September here in Gothenburg - first row!

155 dollars though. 

Saw him in Austin in April and he nailed all the songs from the new album.  Like he really cared about them.  With the classics it seemed like he had the energy of, "I have to play these again". Either way it was totally worth it.  I've seen Bob more times than anyone starting in 1999.  I hope for a bootleg of the 99-2003 period, pre piano only bob.  Those shows were amazing and each was unique with an insanely varied setlist.

Yeah. Looking forward yo it!

Here is my history with Bob:

2003: What the fuck is this?

2011 with Knopfler: What the fuck is this? I get while people are leaving in droves after Knopfler. 

2019: This is amazing

Spiritual_Chaos

ON THURSDAYYYYYYY

https://youtu.be/sU_bstoTRUk

Get_Right

I have seen Bob Dylan a dozen or so times since 1986.  Agree with others.  50-50 chance of it sounding good and hearing songs you want. But if you are a live music fan and the tickets are not too expensive, I say go.  Unless you have something better to do on that night. Keep expectations in check and go have a good time seeing one of the all time greats perform.

Loujoe

Saw him at 90's Woodstock.  They rocked out. 

Spiritual_Chaos

TOMORROW. CAN YOU FEEL THE EXCITEMENT

Spiritual_Chaos

The Rough and Rowdy Ways songs are not made for a half full arena

hrd2imgn

When I saw him, it was with my sister who loves him. Both of us were seeing him  for the first time and were really excited to see a legendary artist. He didn't play a single "hit song"  just stood and sang unintelligible songs without a word to the audience the entire show .  I cannot say I know much of his new stuff but I expected some type of hit here or there.....just mumbles and songs that all sounded the smae to me
 If that is your cup of tea go for it.  We both left thinking this was the worst show we ever saw, and we have seen some real doozies over the years

Wobbie

I have heard from many his shows are awful.

legendary dude, but he shouldn’t be touring anymore.

pledgeagrievance

Wobbie said:

I have heard from many his shows are awful.

legendary dude, but he shouldn’t be touring anymore.

I’m not age has anything to do with it. I saw him 20 years ago and it wasn’t good. 

brianlux

pledgeagrievance said:

Wobbie said:

I have heard from many his shows are awful.

legendary dude, but he shouldn’t be touring anymore.

I’m not age has anything to do with it. I saw him 20 years ago and it wasn’t good. 

My sister saw Dylan in Sacramento about that same number of years ago and she said it was one of the best shows she has ever seen.  I think getting in a great Dylan show is petty much luck of the draw.  If I were still going to live shows, I would take my chances, especially if I had never seen him (I'm luck, I did see him with Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers and that was a knock out show!). 

I don't understand why people go to see old performers who are well past their prime and then bitch about it. The point of going to shows like that is to see a living legend and be glad you could.  When I saw Dizzy Gillespie late in his life, of course he could blow that horn like he did in the 50's!  But I got to see him! 

Spiritual_Chaos

brianlux said:

I don't understand why people go to see old performers who are well past their prime and then bitch about it. The point of going to shows like that is to see a living legend and be glad you could.  When I saw Dizzy Gillespie late in his life, of course he could blow that horn like he did in the 50's!  But I got to see him! 

There is an eternity of difference between watching an artist "not in their prime" and what Bob Dylan is doing on stage.

dudeman

Spiritual_Chaos said:

brianlux said:

I don't understand why people go to see old performers who are well past their prime and then bitch about it. The point of going to shows like that is to see a living legend and be glad you could.  When I saw Dizzy Gillespie late in his life, of course he could blow that horn like he did in the 50's!  But I got to see him! 

There is an eternity of difference between watching an artist "not in their prime" and what Bob Dylan is doing on stage.

So......you really enjoyed the show?

brianlux

Spiritual_Chaos said:

brianlux said:

I don't understand why people go to see old performers who are well past their prime and then bitch about it. The point of going to shows like that is to see a living legend and be glad you could.  When I saw Dizzy Gillespie late in his life, of course he could blow that horn like he did in the 50's!  But I got to see him! 

There is an eternity of difference between watching an artist "not in their prime" and what Bob Dylan is doing on stage.

I don't see what the big deal is.  Dylan still performs because it's what it loves doing.  If you don't like it, save your money and don't go.  It's that simple.

ZoSoTim

I haven't seen Dylan in a few years but I'd go see him again. Yeah his voice is pretty shot but he was never a great singer anyway. What annoys me more is how much he changes the songs which makes it impossible to sing along to. Lol.

Gern Blansten

Spiritual_Chaos said:

brianlux said:

I don't understand why people go to see old performers who are well past their prime and then bitch about it. The point of going to shows like that is to see a living legend and be glad you could.  When I saw Dizzy Gillespie late in his life, of course he could blow that horn like he did in the 50's!  But I got to see him! 

There is an eternity of difference between watching an artist "not in their prime" and what Bob Dylan is doing on stage.

exactly....it's almost like he tries to sound like shit

brianlux

ZoSoTim said:

I haven't seen Dylan in a few years but I'd go see him again. Yeah his voice is pretty shot but he was never a great singer anyway. What annoys me more is how much he changes the songs which makes it impossible to sing along to. Lol.

LOL, yeah, that would be next to impossible.

To my ears, the cool thing about that is that it keeps the songs from becoming too stale or rote.   Years ago, a friend pointed out that Willie Nelson never plays any of his songs the same way twice.  When I finally got around to seeing him and his Family Band live, I saw/heard exactly what he meant.  Each song sounded fresh, even the more well known songs I had heard many times before.  I (in my own limited way) try to do the same thing when I play my guitar.  It makes playing more fun and interesting. 

static111

Gern Blansten said:

Spiritual_Chaos said:

brianlux said:

I don't understand why people go to see old performers who are well past their prime and then bitch about it. The point of going to shows like that is to see a living legend and be glad you could.  When I saw Dizzy Gillespie late in his life, of course he could blow that horn like he did in the 50's!  But I got to see him! 

There is an eternity of difference between watching an artist "not in their prime" and what Bob Dylan is doing on stage.

exactly....it's almost like he tries to sound like shit

It is so weird how he can sound so terrible some nights but sound so great others.  I wonder how much is due to sound checking etc.  At this point I know I am getting the worn out gravel voice so that is not the problem, I actually enjoy it.  Why I can understand every sandpaper scraped word some nights but have no idea what is happening other nights is the mystifying part.  It isn't due to age either, this is just the way it is when going to see a Bob Dylan show since my first concert in 1999.

Gern Blansten

brianlux said:

ZoSoTim said:

I haven't seen Dylan in a few years but I'd go see him again. Yeah his voice is pretty shot but he was never a great singer anyway. What annoys me more is how much he changes the songs which makes it impossible to sing along to. Lol.

LOL, yeah, that would be next to impossible.

To my ears, the cool thing about that is that it keeps the songs from becoming too stale or rote.   Years ago, a friend pointed out that Willie Nelson never plays any of his songs the same way twice.  When I finally got around to seeing him and his Family Band live, I saw/heard exactly what he meant.  Each song sounded fresh, even the more well known songs I had heard many times before.  I (in my own limited way) try to do the same thing when I play my guitar.  It makes playing more fun and interesting. 

I don't follow that take at all...not criticizing you, it just doesn't jive with me. 

brianlux

Gern Blansten said:

brianlux said:

ZoSoTim said:

I haven't seen Dylan in a few years but I'd go see him again. Yeah his voice is pretty shot but he was never a great singer anyway. What annoys me more is how much he changes the songs which makes it impossible to sing along to. Lol.

LOL, yeah, that would be next to impossible.

To my ears, the cool thing about that is that it keeps the songs from becoming too stale or rote.   Years ago, a friend pointed out that Willie Nelson never plays any of his songs the same way twice.  When I finally got around to seeing him and his Family Band live, I saw/heard exactly what he meant.  Each song sounded fresh, even the more well known songs I had heard many times before.  I (in my own limited way) try to do the same thing when I play my guitar.  It makes playing more fun and interesting. 

I don't follow that take at all...not criticizing you, it just doesn't jive with me. 

That's cool, Gern.  Different strokes, that all.  I love hearing songs being reinvented, others like consistency. 

Years (several decades ago, actually, lol), a friend of mine went to see Creedence Clearwater Revival.  The next day I saw him and asked him how it was.  He said, "They sounded exactly like their recordings.  I could have saved the money and stayed home and listened to the fucking record."   
I totally get that.  I'm always more interested in seeing something fresh created on stage.  To me, that kind of spontaneity is close to being a privilege.  It's like watching music being born.

dudeman

brianlux said:

Gern Blansten said:

brianlux said:

ZoSoTim said:

I haven't seen Dylan in a few years but I'd go see him again. Yeah his voice is pretty shot but he was never a great singer anyway. What annoys me more is how much he changes the songs which makes it impossible to sing along to. Lol.

LOL, yeah, that would be next to impossible.

To my ears, the cool thing about that is that it keeps the songs from becoming too stale or rote.   Years ago, a friend pointed out that Willie Nelson never plays any of his songs the same way twice.  When I finally got around to seeing him and his Family Band live, I saw/heard exactly what he meant.  Each song sounded fresh, even the more well known songs I had heard many times before.  I (in my own limited way) try to do the same thing when I play my guitar.  It makes playing more fun and interesting. 

I don't follow that take at all...not criticizing you, it just doesn't jive with me. 

That's cool, Gern.  Different strokes, that all.  I love hearing songs being reinvented, others like consistency. 

Years (several decades ago, actually, lol), a friend of mine went to see Creedence Clearwater Revival.  The next day I saw him and asked him how it was.  He said, "They sounded exactly like their recordings.  I could have saved the money and stayed home and listened to the fucking record."   
I totally get that.  I'm always more interested in seeing something fresh created on stage.  To me, that kind of spontaneity is close to being a privilege.  It's like watching music being born.

I am the same way, too. Much prefer to hear differences in live performance as compared to studio recordings.

When I look at things from the perspective of the performer, I can totally understand why they sometimes want to do things differently, especially when they have been playing the same songs for several decades. Must get boring after playing "Blowin' In The Wind" for over 50 years.

One of the reasons I saw Dylan so many times is that it was different every night. Sometimes it was bluesy or reggae-ish. Sometimes more gospel/roots oriented. In the late 90's when he was playing guitar, many nights were straight up, dirty rock and roll. Each show was its own thing and it was beautiful.

brianlux

dudeman said:

brianlux said:

Gern Blansten said:

brianlux said:

ZoSoTim said:

I haven't seen Dylan in a few years but I'd go see him again. Yeah his voice is pretty shot but he was never a great singer anyway. What annoys me more is how much he changes the songs which makes it impossible to sing along to. Lol.

LOL, yeah, that would be next to impossible.

To my ears, the cool thing about that is that it keeps the songs from becoming too stale or rote.   Years ago, a friend pointed out that Willie Nelson never plays any of his songs the same way twice.  When I finally got around to seeing him and his Family Band live, I saw/heard exactly what he meant.  Each song sounded fresh, even the more well known songs I had heard many times before.  I (in my own limited way) try to do the same thing when I play my guitar.  It makes playing more fun and interesting. 

I don't follow that take at all...not criticizing you, it just doesn't jive with me. 

That's cool, Gern.  Different strokes, that all.  I love hearing songs being reinvented, others like consistency. 

Years (several decades ago, actually, lol), a friend of mine went to see Creedence Clearwater Revival.  The next day I saw him and asked him how it was.  He said, "They sounded exactly like their recordings.  I could have saved the money and stayed home and listened to the fucking record."   
I totally get that.  I'm always more interested in seeing something fresh created on stage.  To me, that kind of spontaneity is close to being a privilege.  It's like watching music being born.

I am the same way, too. Much prefer to hear differences in live performance as compared to studio recordings.

When I look at things from the perspective of the performer, I can totally understand why they sometimes want to do things differently, especially when they have been playing the same songs for several decades. Must get boring after playing "Blowin' In The Wind" for over 50 years.

One of the reasons I saw Dylan so many times is that it was different every night. Sometimes it was bluesy or reggae-ish. Sometimes more gospel/roots oriented. In the late 90's when he was playing guitar, many nights were straight up, dirty rock and roll. Each show was its own thing and it was beautiful.

How cool that you have seen so many sides of Bob!  This could be the album that defines your experiences!

dudeman

He contains multitudes.