Dylan in Concert
(I hadn’t intended to make this a Bob Dylan blog, but it seems that’s what it’s becoming)
Bob Dylan - Sioux Falls Stadium, Sioux Falls SD 9/8/06
Yakko came along with me, and was generally positive about the experience. There was a little complaining and the usual 8.4 questions per minute for first half hour or so of Dylan’s set, but by the end “Highway 61″ and “Summer Days” had him dancing and forgetting how cold it was.
Having trouble putting coherent sentences together, so here are random thoughts on the show:
I was very impressed with the band. Dylan said in the Rolling Stone interview that it was the best he’d had, and it would be hard to argue.
Bob’s voice was in pretty good form, and he generally refrained from spitting out three lines of lyrics at a time as he sometimes does.
There’s always a temptation to dwell on the omissions. I always have a mental list of a few songs I would love to hear when I walk in, and in almost every case at least some of them get skipped. It’s not fair, but it still happens. Tonight, no “Tangled Up In Blue,” no “Things Have Changed,” and nothing from “Oh Mercy.” Ah me.
The definite high points of the night for me were the violin-laced arrangement of “It’s Alright Ma” and a scorching stomp through “Love Sick.”
“Watching The River Flow” and “Desolation Row” were dead on. “My Back Pages” would have benefitted from being a little slower, but it was still a good take.
Jimmy Vaughn, gods bless him, is in retirement mode. His second guitarist took half the solos, he had a female vocalist take half the singing duties, and he just pretty much phoned it in. He did do an admirable job channelling his late brother on “Texas Flood.”
It’s interesting (to me, anyway) that the arrangements of “Stuck Inside Of Mobile” and “Lay Lady Lay”–which had morphed so much over the years–have now morphed right back to sounding a great deal like their original album takes.
His sunburst finish guitar was placed on stage but was never played. Ironically, at his first Sioux Falls show in 1990 there was a piano on stage that he never played.
September 8th, 2006 - Posted in Music, Parentgeekness | | 0 Comments
Dylan’s Modern Times
I’ve had it playing for over a week now, so I thought I’d weigh in. I love how punchy and immediate it sounds. Much more old-timey than the other recent records he’s done.
The lyrics are always the focus for a lot of people, and I like the modern day troubador feel his lyrics have taken on. Throughout his career, he’s had a folksinger’s tendency to tell a complete story, to create his own world inside the song. Here, he’s content to let context speak for itself, and concentrate on touching the vein of common experience rather than inventing it all from scratch.
I’ve seen several reviews point out what a great vocal performance he turns in on this record. If I tended to bitterness, I would be angered that people are only now catching on to what I’ve been saying for almost 20 years about his clever phrasing and his expert command of a less-than-perfect voice.
Also, I’m sure I’m not the only one who’s glad to hear those unmistakable two-note guitar lines again after listening to him pound the piano for so long on the road (for the non-obsessed, The Poet hung up the guitar in favor of the keyboard in 2003, and hasn’t played guitar on stage since). It’s no indication that he’s going back to the guitar on the road again, but a guy can hope.
September 7th, 2006 - Posted in Music | | 0 Comments
Music Thoughts
Things I’ve been listening to that are not Bob Dylan (which follows):
T-Bone Burnett - The True False Identity
Burnett is seen mostly as a producer, but the first record in 14 years to sport his own name is a thing of beauty. He could write a textbook on how to pristinely recreate the sounds a band makes in the studio, and he has plenty of sound to work with here. Reverbs, tambourines, snares, cymbal crashes, and even layers of fuzzy guitar squall are all rendered with mathematic precision. And once you get over the sound of the whole thing, there’s the small issue of his wonderfully observational songwriting and sweet voice. Just amazing.
Panic! At The Disco - A Fever You Can’t Sweat Out
Next great rock band or one-trick pony? That’s the real question here. What impresses me is the overall aesthetic of this record. Production, musicianship, and songwriting are all distinctive and interesting, if maybe not unique. Lyrically, you can build one album entirely on overheard conversations, as Panic! appear to have done. But I hope they’re able to reach out a little going forward. Otherwise, this album is getting filed in the “one great album” folder next to Howlin’ Maggie, Chagall Guevarra, and The Toadies.
Live - Songs From Black Mountain
The transition from smart, edgy rock band to slightly-more-interesting-than-average radiopop factory is now complete. I don’t blame them. In fact I’m happy that Ed has found a happy place that allows him to write pop songs and appear on American Idol. I just hope he understands if I don’t feel like hanging around to bear witness. Addendum 1:45 pm: I hadn’t really listened to the lyrics for “Where Do We Go From Here.” “I wanted a revolution / you said I was already free.” This kind of insight is why I loved them in the first place.
September 7th, 2006 - Posted in Music | | 0 Comments
Ammendment to TV Post
Michael pointed out that we can’t possibly watch that much tv. This is true. But with the help of TiVo and the internet we can watch what we want anytime we want without commercials. This means 40 minutes instead of an hour, even less if I skip over boring stuff or charcters I don’t care about and the theme song and the recap. So I guess that makes it more like 30 minutes. It also means we can save a season and watch it in June if we want. And we do. We just finished last season’s Lost. I will probably at least watch the first episode to see if it’s something worth the space to record. This means I watch it and tell Michael if it’s something he might like. And since the channels so nicely space out the premeres I can fit a weeks worth of new shows in before the next week. So anyway, none of you need to worry that I will be chained to the tv this fall just to watch all that stuff.
September 2nd, 2006 - Posted in TV, Uncategorized | | 0 Comments
