Willie Nelson, John Mellancamp, Bob Dylan, Sauget ball park, 7/2/09

Had a great time at the Dylan-Mellancamp-Nelson show last week.

My directions said the exit would be closed at 4:00 but well before that I was forced to drive past it to the detour, going right past the venue and seeing a dismayingly large number of cars there already (dammit!). the detour wound through a small town via large 'CONCERT TRAFFIC' signs that I hoped to heavens would be there on the way out - it was very confusing. anyway, finally got there around 3:30. I was surprised to see that a lot of people seemed to be tailgating or something - at an all GA show that you care enough about to get there early, why hang around in the parking lot? GET IN LINE IDIOTS. the line was disconcertingly long but I went 'hmmm' and asked a security guy whether there was a different line for 'early entry' internet presale holders, and YES, it is around the building, where the line is much much shorter and we even have our own portajohn so yay! during all this, could plainly hear Mellancamp soundchecking Pink Houses and Rain on the Scarecrow.

anyhoo, I do okay in line with hidden water bottle and sun hat and all, and I get second-back at the rail at what I hope is still Bob's side eventually. However, it's only like 4:45 p.m. at this point! long night ensues. I asked the guy next to me to watch my spot - this early, people have blankets spread out and stuff, so it's not like pushing and shoving anyway - and he asks me to get him a bottle of water, which No Prob. so I have the chance to hit the real bathrooms, refill my bottle at a fountain, buy his water, buy me a pepsi, get a handful of ice out of the cooler, yay. lots of time to sit around, and the crowd seems way less annoying than last time, fewer already-drunk guys, although this one guy takes his shirt off and lies on a blanket and he's like a walrus out there. dude. your boobs. cover them.

finally finally after the chick right in front of me and the guy says she got there at 5 a.m. about a hundred times (and for what? she's right in front of us) the opener opened, and I can't remember their name at all, but they were like a more gimmicky Old Crow Medicine Show, the guy had a washboard with like little cymbals and horns and aooogahs and megaphones and stuff hanging off him, he was a little much, but it was neat. it was like string band plus pedal steel kind of combo. I always like a mando-banjo.

then a quick break and Willie Nelson and his Elderly Band. I've seen Willie FOUR times now, three times opening for Dylan and once at Crossroads. SIGH. I mean, fine, he's a legend, he wrote great songs, but enough. so anyway, I decided to just jot down what I knew, which was:
whisky river
beer/horses
mama, don't let your
funny how time slips/crazy
money honey/time
blue eyes cryin'
georgia
take all of me
on road again
always on my mind
circle be unbroken/I'll fly away
I ain't superman
I saw the light
and here's the real list from the STL paper:
1. Whiskey River
2. Still Is Still Movin' to Me
3. Beer for My Horses
4. Mamas Don't Let Your Babies Grow Up to Be Cowboys
5. Funny How Time Slips Away/Crazy/Night Life
6. Down Yonder
7. Me and Paul
8. If You've Got the Money I've Got the Time
9. Blue Eyes Crying in the Rain
10. I Been to Georgia on a Fast Train
11. Georgia
12. All of Me
13. On the Road Again
14. Always on My Mind
15. Will the Circle Be Unbroken/I'll Fly Away
16. I Ain't Superman
17. You Asked Me To
18. Nowhere Road
19. I Saw the Light
He was fine, he made a big deal out of waving to a little girl and making sure she got his bandanna, and he's just a fun guy, basically. really really old. but fun. his sister still plays a pretty mean pianny and his harmonica player still looks like Mandy Patinkin.

after that there seemed like a kind of long break before Mellancamp. I have to admit that Mellancamp is one of those guys like Melissa Etheridge, I like their hits, I recognize their import, and still I just never really got into them and bought the albums and stuff. I don't really know why; it just happens that way with some people. anyway he brought a really fun show, high energy but not annoyingly so, venue-appropriate, he had a 7-piece with a violist and accordian/KB, and his guitar player who looked like a young Jeff Beck was really good. Of course I was in front of the rhythm guy, I'm never in front of the lead guy if I'd like to watch him, but still, good stuff indeed.
Here's a phone picture of him over in our area:

Here's what I wrote down for his list
pink houses
paper & fire
check it out
small town (acoustic)
rain scarecrow
what if I came knockin'
walls tumblin' down
authority
there were kind of a lot of songs I didn't know, so I guessed they might be newer, but the ones I didn't recognize, I thought were really good. and I really like 'rain on the scarecrow' and the whole neil young farm aid alt country thing. as J said, it's funny how we never really got into him but he sounds just like everything we listen to now. here's his 'official' set from the STL paper again:
1. Pink Houses
2. Paper in Fire
3. Deep Blue Heart
4. Check It Out
5. Don't Need This Body
6. Small Town
7. Old Rugged Cross
8. Rain on the Scarecrow
9. The Real Life
10. If I Die Sudden
11. What If I Came Knocking
12. Crumblin' Down
13. Authority Song
Small Town was really good, although I share the experience without the sentiment of the song. also there was a cameraman and also a still photographer, and the photographer was a hot blond chick, and she also handed him water sometimes when he ran over to the side, and during Small Town he sang 'my wife was 13 years old when I wrote this song,' and she cracked up and he cracked up and it was evident that's who hot babe was. anyway, he was personable and stuff too. would see again for cheap.

at that point I was feeling pretty tired and also anticipatory, because I am (as you might know) a big and long-time Dylan fan and this was maybe my eighth or ninth time seeing him over the years and I always always always really really look forward to it. Bob is ... I mean, he's my hero, man. DUDE. He's Bob Freaking Dylan. also it was time for a bit of a crowd press forward and this really tiny wee chick hurtled herself forward and tried to claim the rail between the three teenage boys in front of me. she was totally wasted but she wasn't like 'is there room for me to squeeze in here, I'm so short' she was more like 'let me in front of you, asshole, you're a foot taller than me! fuck you.' so she backed away and cursed and bothered everyone, and the kids called security over, and they left and she cursed and bothered everyone, and rinse and repeat a few times and security was really great about it and told her she simply had to move away either far to the right or far to the left because of all the complaints, or else leave. and there she went, away, and there was much rejoicing, because I do so hate having to deal with that crap for a whole show. I hate assholes - regardless of height - who feel entitled to push and shove to the front. if you want it so badly, get there earlier, for the love of god. It's not that hard for most shows.

anyway, finally, there was time to observe that Bob's had really a lot of the same roadies for 15 or 20 years now, I especially always recognize this one guy with a pronounced limp, even though he's had so many different bands, shoot, I've seen him with Charlie Sexton and G.E. Smith and so on and on. but this band he's had for the last few years is really hot and happening. Bob, now, he's, well, yes, his voice, obviously, that's been problematic for some years, has it not? yes. but I am happy to say that Bob was in relatively strong voice. coming off a month off with only one show the night before, so a little rested after Europe, and honestly his voice has gotten stronger over the last few years, he has strength to play harmonica more and more, so that's good too. so here's the list from bobdylan.com:

1. Watching the River Flow
2. Don't Think Twice, It's All Right
3. The Levee's Gonna Break
4. Spirit on the Water
5. Things Have Changed
6. Just Like a Woman
7. Honest With Me
8. Forgetful Heart (apparently first live performance of)
9. Highway 61 Revisited
10. This Dream of You
11. Thunder on the Mountain
12. Like a Rolling Stone
(encore)
13. Jolene
14. All Along the Watchtower

In fact, speaking of good voice, this is a rarity, but I was surprised, and pleased to realize that I was able to recognize nearly all the songs immediately. I must've been standing in a sweet spot; I could understand most of the words, even. the songs I didn't really recognize immediately were the new ones, too. context: bob is legendary for rearrangements, wandering off melody, etc. in addition to the voice and vocal mannerisms. but this time, woah. the first two are great classics, but Just Like A Woman was a real high point for me, and Highway 61 was righteous, and Rolling Stone and Watchtower were smokin' too. and I noted this last time, but last time I was busy with heatstroke and so couldn't fully appreciate it, but when you're really close you can see that Bob is interacting with the audience in an extremely small and eccentric way, and you can see him signal the band and even SMILE yes he was smiling OFTEN. SHOCKING. He also said "Thank you! Right now I'd like to introduce the band," before he did so. (Bob is also known for not speaking to the audience AT ALL when not in the mood, so "thank you" is awesome!)

I know, I'm making him sound like an asshole, but no, he's just bob dylan, and in my book he's totally entitled. when you've shaped modern culture then you can bitch.

so there you go, a happy happy time for me, good show, and bless his elderly heart, bob just keeps doing it. so yeah. I grinned a lot. the end.

Here Bob is in the middle of the stage; I think he must've been doing 'Forgetful Heart' here:


and here he is over at the keyboard; you can see his oscar on the amp at right (blurry glow):

Elvis Costello & Bob Dylan

I got out of town just a bit later than I wanted Saturday evening, but I made very good time to Bloomington. I pulled into a parking garage when I knew I was near, but there weren't a lot of people about, and I'd checked a map I printed out of downtown Bloomington and figured out that this garage was really a few blocks further than I wanted to have to walk afterwards. So I pulled back out and drove a few more blocks and around the corner and into a busier, better, better lit and closer garage. It wasn't too hard to find the venue and I took care to remember the name of the street the parking garage was on.

The opener Amos Lee wasn't too bad. He had a full band and was more rootsy than bluesy; I liked his set, but it didn't really spark me to go buy the cd or anything.

Since I had a single ticket I ended up sitting next to another single guy who was recording. I often seem to end up next to the guy who's recording Dylan. So that meant I hooted and yelled less than I would have because I didn't want to screw up the recording - you know how annoying it is when there's a hooter on the bootleg! So I had a bit more subdued of a time than I might otherwise have had.

There were "no pictures" signs about, and although there was no patdown or search whatsoever, not even the pretence of peeking into purses, I did see security halt the picturetaking of a number of people during Elvis Costello. In fact, I called a friend during "Alison," and although it was difficult to hear, I'm pretty sure I got her voice mail, and while I was holding the phone, security came and made me hang up! I've never in my life seen that happen before. dude wtf.

Anyway, I don't know a ton about Elvis Costello. I mean, I know who he is and we have a couple of albums, but I'm not exactly a fan, so I didn't know what I was hearing a lot of the time. I jotted down the names of songs I knew or ones that seemed pretty obvious. This list is in order but doesn't indicate blanks where I didn't write down stuff I didn't know.

(The Angels Wanna Wear My) Red Shoes
Watching the Detectives
Wake Me Up
"At Last"
Can You Hear Me
Sugar Cane
Alison
Radio Sweetheart
Not Fade Away
(What's So Funny About) Peace, Love & Understanding
Scarlet Tide

The sound was good and I liked his (solo acoustic) set. He did a bit of talking and said it was his father's 80th birthday, and so he played "At Last," which I recognized but don't know anything about except that it's probably from the 40s. "Scarlet Tide" was awesome too. It was about a war widow. "Admit you lied and bring the boys home." Amen.

Here's one of the few pictures I snuck; hard to get a good one because everyone was sitting and security was roaming.


There was a pretty quick changeover to Bob (who's had some of the same roadies for these 15 or 20 years, bless'm).

Here are a couple of reviews.

Bob's set list:
1. Rainy Day Women #12 & 35
2. Don't Think Twice, It's All Right
3. I'll Be Your Baby Tonight (Bob on guitar first three songs)
4. Tangled Up In Blue (awesome version; I was very happy)
5. 'Til I Fell In Love With You
6. When The Deal Goes Down
7. The Levee's Gonna Break
8. Workingman's Blues #2
9. High Water (For Charlie Patton)
10. Spirit On The Water
11. Highway 61 Revisited
12. Ain't Talkin'
13. Summer Days
14. Masters Of War
(encore)
15. Thunder On The Mountain
16. All Along The Watchtower

I guess my only complaints were that I'd have liked a couple more big classics (e.g. Like A Rolling Stone). I was also hoping for Hattie Carroll because I've never heard him do that one and I saw it was in some of the recent set lists. Also I expected Bob to come out and do a song with Elvis or vice versa, as happens on some of the dates this leg, but it didn't happen in Bloomington.

However, the sound was good, the band was smokin' as usual, I love bassist Tony Garnier more every day, and Bob was in very fine voice. Don't get me wrong: while I'm a big huge big Dylan fan, I do have ears, and I do know that his voice is basically a wreck and has been for quite some time. So 'Bob's voice was really good!' is pretty subjective or whatever. But he had quite a bit of strength and used a lot of range, and particularly he was strong in his upper range, which is where his voice breaks less, so I was very, very pleased. He didn't tell any jokes this time, but he did introduce the band, and he pointed at the audience with both hands a few times, and I did see some minimal shimmying over there behind the keyboard. He also glanced at the audience a few times, which is his way of smiling and giving everyone high-fives, so Bob was having a good night.

I'll keep doing it as long as Bob does. I just wish we could have gone also to the St. Louis show, but alas. I never have enough Bob.

Here are a few pictures I sneaked of Bob:







Then I drove to Decatur - after Mapquest made it much more more confusing than it should have been to get out of Bloomington - and hit J's last set and a few beers on an empty stomach. We grabbed a bit of fast food on the way out of town and were probably in bed by 2:30, ready to get up and get ready and hitch our ride to Chicago. More on that bit later.

FINALLY

Additional fall dates announced for Bob Dylan:

Thu 10/11 - Pittsburgh PA - Univ. of Ptts. Peterson Events Center
Fri 10/12 - Ypsilanti MI - Eastern MI University Convocation Center
Sat 10/13 - Columbus OH - Ohio State Univ. Schottenstein Center
Tue 10/16 - Dayton OH - Wright State Univ. Nutter Center
Wed 10/17 - Louisville KY - Freedom Hall
Fri 10/19 - Bloomington IN - Indiana Univ. Assembly Hall
Sat 10/20 - Bloomington IL - US Cellular Coliseum
Mon 10/22 - St. Louis MO - Fox Theatre
Fri 10/26 - Omaha NE - Qwest Center

Looks like it'll have to be the Bloomington, IL show for me - stag! If it works out, I can go to Bloomington, see Bob, then drive to Decatur and see the end of J's gig there, then we can come home together.

We'd definitely go to the Fox, but that's when we're planning to see the Truckers in Chicago.

I was contemplating the Bloomingon, Ind. show too, but I don't think that date will work out either.

Anyway, Bob hates me. Something will go horribly wrong.
Fact: Last time Bob played in St. Louis I was away eloping.
Fact: Before that I nearly got heatstroke at the ballpark show in Sauget and hardly remember the encore because I had my head down after chugging the (warm and open) water security brought me. And didn't have the wherewithal to try for a setlist! Even though I was Right There!
Fact: Before that there was a serious lightning storm on the way to the Peoria show
Fact: At the St. Louis show at the pageant, for which we had tickets, I got the Wish I Were Dead Flu and we couldn't go.
I mean, I've succeeded in seeing him a number of times, sure, but lately it's been a struggle! The marriage thing is working out fine, yes, but still. Always with the bad timing and such.

Nevertheless, I have that giddy sensation that only the prospect of Dylan tickets brings.

Bob Dylan - New Yorker article

I was behind in my magazine reading, so I hadn't seen the thing in the last New Yorker about a collection of interviews with Bob Dylan coming out in book form.

The author (of the article) says that Dylan is, at least, a better interview than Elvis, because Elvis really just didn't have anything to say. But the thing about Dylan is, he lies. He lies like a dog. He also doesn't brook fools. But, of course, the other thing is that interviews used to be so much worse for musicians because the interviewers were a thousand years old and the music was new. I mean, you've seen the footage of interviews with the Beatles and Stones and Bob and everyone back then. Nobody in the media knew what to do.

(We saw a very funny example of this recently - a retrospective on drugs and pop culture and music, in which an interviewer asked Lou Reed whether, given that he made so many drug references in his songs, he himself used drugs. Perfectly straight, perfectly sincere, Lou replied that he was high on life, thank you very much. J and I nearly peed our pants laughing. It was nice not to hate Lou Reed for a minute.)

But back to the Dylan piece.

In one excerpt, from 1978, Bob talks about the "wild mercury" sound from Blonde on Blonde and before Highway 61, the Byrds and Beatles and "That ethereal twilight light, you know. It's the sound of the street with the sunrays, the sun shining down at a particular time, on a particular type of building. A particular type of people walking on a particular type of street. It's an outdoor sound that drifts even into open windows that you can hear. The sound of bells and distant railroad trains and arguments in apartment buildings and the clinking of silverware and knives and forks and beating with leather straps. ... All pretty natural sounds. It's water, you know water trickling down a brook. It's light flowing through the -"

Interviewer: "Late-afternoon light?"

Bob: "No, it's usually the crack of dawn. Music filters out to me in the crack of dawn."


And, at the end of the article, the author won my heart unreservedly:
"Dylan is also, despite the silly things people said about his voice when he started out, one of pop music's greatest vocalists. His chief weakness is a tendency to shout, particularly in performance (and he is, let us say, an inconsistent performer); but, when he is in control of the instrument, no one's voice, with that kind of music, is more textured or more beautiful. Ninety percent of musicianship is phrasing, and the easiest way to appreciate Dylan's genius for phrasing is to listen to him, on bootlegs or on the late albums of traditional songs, perform songs that he didn't write - "Folsom Prison Blues," or "People Get Ready," or "Froggie Went A-Courtin." He gets it all. When my children were little, we used to have a cassette around the house of songs for kids by pop stars, on which Dylan did "This Old Man" ("With a knick-knack paddywhack, give the dog a bone"). That performance had the weight of the whole world in it. I listened to it a hundred times and never got tired of it. You can refute Hegel, Yeats said, but not the Song of Sixpence."

Ahhhhh.