That said, I can’t say I still wasn’t still a little disappointed.
When I first saw him in 2006 I had a front row seat, which I thought would provide me with a great view. But he sat behind a keyboard at the back of the stage for the whole show, not looking at the audience. The sound was also terrible and you could barely make out the vocals if you already didn’t know the lyrics. About the only classic Dylan song he played then was “All Along the Watchtower.” (See the blog.)
So I had dialed my expectations way down this time.
Most artists usually tour to promote a new album and you expect to hear a few of their new tunes. Those less-familiar songs are often sprinkled in among the crowd-pleasing hits associated with the band.
At this show, Dylan promoted his new record “Rough and Rowdy Ways“ by playing all nine of the tracks on the first disc. Having heard about his previous shows on this tour I was expecting that. I had listened to the latest CD in the car on the way so I recognized some of the new songs he played.
One of the most covered artists of all time included a cover in his set. He played the song “Big River” that was made famous by another huge star, the late Johnny Cash. He did treat us to one of his own his classics, “You’ve Got to Serve Somebody.”
If exposing fans to his new music was the objective of the appearance it was mission accomplished.
The entire show was performed with few of the usual distractions from the audience because we all had to put our phones in a locked bag as we entered. That meant no people scrambling to get photos or videos and nobody posting live updates on social media sites.
I thought it was better than the first Dylan concert I saw because he seemed to connect more with the audience and the sound was better where I was sitting.
Of course the main reason to go to a live show like is for the experience of seeing a living legend live.
As the guy sitting next to me said, “He’s Dylan, he can do whatever he wants.”