Dylan

As street cred for calling yourself a fan of an artist goes, my dad has more than most regarding Bob Dylan (my name is Dylan, after all). But, it surprised me a bit to find out that, of all the concerts my dad had been to over the years, he'd never seen Dylan live.

So, when he asked me if I wanted to come up to Kansas City and see if Bob Dylan was still freewheelin' after all these years (as part of my attempt to see one concert a month this year) I was very, very excited to accept.

First let's talk about the venue: The Starlight Theater. Everytime I go to any kind of an event in another state, it always reminds me of just how much Dallas gets it wrong. I went to a baseball game at Jacob's Field in Cleveland and despite how nice The Ballpark in Arlington is, the nestled-in-downtown-walk-from-work-to-the-ballgame Jake is pretty spectacular. Likewise, the Starlight theater is the nicest outdoor amphitheater I've seen. What a great venue with an amazing comfortable feel and great sound. The only bad thing was some of our fellow concert-goers (especially one guy) who walked in front of us, making us stand up from our seats a minimum of 20 times during the show... that got annoying.

While we're on the subject, it was pretty interesting to see the cross-section of people that a guy like Bob Dylan brings out. There were certainly people who hadn't yet quite left the 60's behind (Pachuli was a player) but there was also the KU student who was just as into it. It was a setting where you just wouldn't surprised to see a father and his 28 year old son sitting next to each other.

As we were driving in, I asked my dad to pick one song that he'd want to hear. He thought about it (it's fun when I can genuinely stump my dad for a few minutes) and after a bit he said Just Like a Woman. I told him that mine would be Stuck Inside of Mobile With the Memphis Blues Again. So, it was kind of a nice moment when, halfway through the set he played Just Like a Woman and then immediately followed it up with Stuck inside of Mobile. We couldn't have done that if we'd tried. I can't explain how cool a moment that was.

Here's a surprise from the show: Dylan played guitar for only two songs. He started with a newer song that I didn't recognize, followed it up with Lay Lady Lay after which he put the guitar down and stepped over to the keyboard where he would remain the rest of the night.

Here's an unsurprise from the show: Bob Dylan can't sing. Not that he ever could, but I don't really have to be too much of a salesman to say that his voice has always "worked" for his music. These days, though, he can't even hold a note. The result was they took most of his songs and uptempo'd them a bit so he wouldn't have to hold any notes out. There was rarely anything resembling a melody, merely one note at the end of each line that would raise a bit after he growled out the previous words ("ComeinletmegiveyoushelterfromtheSTORM").

That's not to say that the music wasn't great, because it really, really was. The band was really great. They alternated between folk-rock to country sounds for most of the show, but when they kicked it into gear they were really very good. Songs like Highway 66 Revisited, Ballad of a Thin Man (which was the highlight of the night for me) and All Along the Watchtower (which they ended on, despite the plaintive wails of a guy two rows behind us who REALLY wanted to hear Forever Young -- The Last Waltz has been on cable a lot lately) absolutely rocked.

I wish I had some grand theme to tie this all together, like the merging of generations united around a common symbol or the former most relevant artist in a generation still able to speak to this generation. There isn't one. I mean, he's doing what he's does. He's a musician and he tours every year making money playing music. He charges $30-$40 bucks for a tee-shirt just like everyone else in the business. That wasn't disappointing at all -- I certainly expected it -- it's just the reality. He's commercial and has been for some time. Not that there's anything wrong with that.

But I was there. I saw Bob Dylan. And I saw him with my Dad, who was seeing him for the first time. In what could very easily be termed as a role-reversal, it was very cool to watch the show through his eyes. He was seeing this musician who he thought so much of growing up that he named his first born son after him. More than that, he was seeing him for the first time with that son. I'm really glad that I got to be there with him for it. It's a memory that I'll never forget.

And, he played the two songs we both wanted to hear. How cool is that?

Comments

[pappy k]

i went to see dylan@ the paramount theater in seattle on his born again tour and as i was buying the ticket a bomb threat came through the box office. talk about irony."when i picked it up and said hello his foot came through the line".he had always used biblical references, and people get pissed off when he releases probably the first christian rock album. the show went on without delay. he appeared to be bored and tired but by no means afraid. the second time i saw him was @the western washington fair in puyallup washington.lucinda williams opened.it was late summer and the fairgrounds smelled of any type of livestock excrement you could think of.it was not as if he needed the money.he was having fun.bouncing around the stage,playing the hits interspersed with songs from his new album and joking with the crowd.a dancing dylan doing a vegas act in the venue of 4-H competitors,carnies and giant pumpkin growing afficianados.surreal and too real.i kept the ticket stub to prove it.

[d-o-d]

It was a blast sharing the experience with you, son!

Here is the set list:

Cat's in the Well
Lay Lady Lay
Watching the River Flow
Girl of the North Country
The Levee's Gonna Break
Shelter From the Storm
High Water (for Charlie Patton)
Just Like a Woman
Stuck Inside of Mobile With the Memphis
Blues Again
Spirit on the Water
Highway 61 Revisited
When the Deal Goes Down
Summer Days
Ballad of a Thin Man

encores

Thunder on the Mountain
All Along the Watchtower