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I thoroughly enjoyed the Dylan show last night, two hours of hard rockin' fun by a 68 year old man. Bob's still setting the bar high! His band was excellent. His voice was rough as always, and as always it didn't matter. He mostly sounded like he gargled with Draino, a very gravelly voice like the late Boston Celtics announcer Johnny Most. But he was able to sound melodic when the mood struck him.
I saw him live once before (Sep 12, 1993, Mansfield, MA, with Santana). Since I sang three of his songs on my album (and have the licensing contract on my desk), I had a different interest this time. He writes such great lyrics, singing them differently every time, that he tells different stories with exactly the same words. I focused on the tonal and phrasing changes he made and learned some things. On his web site he has an interview which contains this quote: “Daltrey, Townshend, McCartney, the Beach Boys, Elton, Billy Joel. They made perfect records, so they have to play them perfectly … exactly the way people remember them. My records were never perfect. So there is no point in trying to duplicate them. Anyway, I’m no mainstream artist"
“Hightway 61” was a bone-crushing rocker, as of course was “All Along the Watchtower.” His lead guitarist quoted Hendrix’s solo after the first verse, but otherwise did his own thing. “Like a Rolling Stone” suffered not a whit from the deterioration of his voice. “Things Have Changed” was far more ominous live.
The lighting was interesting, changing for every song. Sometimes there were full spotlights, sometimes a candlelit feel, sometimes groovy backdrops and sometimes with footlighting to play up the shadows on the wall.
The band was crisp and tight. I paid more notice than I usually do to the instruments being played, how the sound changed from song to song. Dylan switched from keyboards to harmonica to electric guitar. His drummer rode the toms a lot, but was light on the cymbals. His bass player and rhythm guitarist alternated between electric and acoustic models. His pedal steel player picked up an electric guitar for a couple of songs. The lead guitarist switched between solid body and hollow body guitars. Blues, swing, ballads, and rockers all sounded great.
All in all, it was a powerful yet subtle show, most entertaining and interesting.