Bob Dylan @ The Hollywood Bowl (10.26.12)



Bob Dylan

For the longest time Bob Dylan has been at the top my list of bands to see before they die.  This might seem an odd list to keep, but it all started when I just missed my chance to see the Greatful Dead for the first time. I had tickets to see them close the Boston Garden in the September of 1995 and Jerry sadly died that August.  I got nervous when I saw Obama give Dylan the medal of freedom and decided the next time he came around I had to see him.

There's always a crew of people that like to knock Dylan for half heatedly putting on shows and generally sounding terrible.  It's true that he didn't have the same energy he did when he was 30, he didn't touch a guitar all night, his piano playing was a bit sloppy and his voice sounded more like Tom Waits than Bob Dylan.  While all that's indisputable, it was still amazing to see him perform some of the best songs and lyrics ever written.  I've always maintained that Dylan sang poorly back in the day because it's not about how pretty his voice is, rather its about what the songs were about.  Nashville Skyline is evidence of the fact that he could sing clean if he wanted to back then. 

Dylan's setlist included a wide range of songs including some of my favorites like Desolation Row, All Along the Watchtower and Tangled Up in Blue.



As a singer-songwriter I did find myself compelled to shout the obligatory "JUDAS" during "Like a Rolling Stone."  Not because I hate rock and roll though. In fact Dylan plugging in was one of the best things to ever happen to rock.  It was more because that one action set the folk music movement back so far that it is only in the last 15 years or so that it has started to recover.  Don't worry... I wasn't loud about it.

Bob Dylan's songs have meant so much to me over the years. I often felt that what Woody Guthrie is to Dylan, Dylan is to me.  I've heard stories of him visiting Guthrie on his death bed and seeing him in various states for better or worse.  He didn't go because he expected Guthrie to be "on," he went because of the man's importance to both the music world and himself.  To all those thinking of going to see Dylan themselves, I suggest keeping an open mind and appreciate it for what it is, a chance to see a living legend.

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* Author's Note: The Hollywood Bowl is a good sounding venue, but has a terrible sound reinforcement system.  I was sitting in the middle of the bowl and even there, people were "shushing" each other for talking during the show.  I can't remember the last time I went to a rock show so quiet that was even an issue.