Just got home from a Dylan concert

I too have seen Dylan twice in the last few years. I have also seen him another four times in my life. The satsifaction index has varied all over the map through my experience. Of all his concerts I've seen (and forgive me for not remembering the dates) the one tour he did when he was broadcast from, I think, Australia during the Grammys was his best by far. He rocked, and nailed every song with stunning vocals rivaling his best recording. Very true to the originals. Less than one year later when String Cheese Incident was his opening act and he was playing the piano I considered it the worst of his concerts I've heard. No doubt the piano was turned on as I could clearly hear it. He's a genius and I wish him well but I sense that he doesn't give a hoot about his fans and never has nor never will. In spite of this he remains one of my all time favorites for giving us what we need by sharing his/our pain in a poetic fashion with tunes that will last forever. Remembering as I do the guitar battles he was having with the other lead player at his best concert and how exciting it was I wish someone would convince him to return to that instrument. With the piano set to stage left he never even looked at the audience once. Besides, his facial profile is not complimentary at all. Gimme a full facial with a guitar in his hands any day.

I saw him twice this year, once on his college tour and once on his tour with Merle Haggard. Yes, it is true that his words can't be understood. Personally, I see his voice as just another instrument in his band and don't worry about the words. I like the sound of it, goes well with the rock-a-billy music he is playing. I hope to see him more in the future.

Some people go to a Dylan concert in spite of his voice; some go because of his voice. This night Dylan was on. On all but a few songs the words in large part were understandable. When I heard him a year ago, he was not quite so good. Sometimes he changes up the song arrangemants too much for my taste. I guess one of the things we need to keep in mind is that he is 64 years old. Men half his age find it hard to get it up every night (figuratively and literally.)

I first saw Bob Dylan in 1965 and many times since, you never know which Dylan will show up. It's like the opening line in The Tale of Two Cities, "It was the best of times and the worst of times" But whatever it was it was it is always entertaining. See Dylan while you can, once he is gone we will never see the likes of him again.

Have been a Dylan fan since his first album in the early 60s. After the last two concerts, I have to say he played on automatic. IMHO he is essentially a troubadour traveling the country at this stage of his career. I admire him for letting people hear him in all the little venues he now visits. His endurance is amazing. You are hearing and viewing a legend. But often his concerts are uninspiring muscically even though he is inspiring as a professional musician who is still willing to make the show go on regardless of whether he is having a good or bad day.
Bad live music still has an ambiance that is different than canned music. I certainly sympathize with people who no longer are moved by his live performances. In an interview a couple of decades ago in Rolling Stone or Playboy, Dylan said he was not sure how much longer he could be on the road because of all the drugs you have to take to be "up" every night. Well, like Neil Young says, "He is a survivor." Dylan, amazingly, just keeps on going even if he often looks like warmed over death. I guess you assess the man as a whole including his pluses and minuses. Many of us still feel a debt of gratitude for his early on standing up to protest the abuses of power. And he always did so in a most poetic way. He is a driven soul. May he find peace.

Jon