Going to Bob Dylan concert tonight - know nothing about him - what do I need to know?

Listen to Live 1966 (the bootleg series), Blonde on Blonde, Highway 61 Revisited, and Blood on the Tracks. That was Dylan in his prime. If he did nothing else, he'd be a legend. Even his second rate stuff from 1965 to 1980 or so is the stuff of greatness. His more recent writing is less accessible to me, but maybe that says more about me than him.

His voice is ragged now-I saw him with Merle Haggard at the Fillmore in Denver about 10 years ago. I'll never forget it. It's sad-Dylan barely filled two nights at a 1500 seat former roller rink a decade ago-and last month Garth Brooks filled the basketball arena in the same city for a week straight. 30 years from now, it will be Garth Who? But Dylan will be remembered and listened to in a century, like Stephen Foster, or Woody Guthrie, or Samuel Taylor Coleridge.

not bob.. wrote:

Shnozolla wrote:

Here he is with his big-nosed girlfriend;

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=mIC7KQPDuDc

That song was written by Joan Baez.

Are you sure? I researched for hours before posting. Does she have a large shnozolla?

Diamonds and Rust was written by Joan Baez. It's a song about Dylan.

She had another song on the same album (Diamonds and Rust) about Dylan called Winds of the Old Days.

They were love-ahs.

The less you know, the better. It would be really cool to be in your shoes, to go see Bob with a clean slate, no expectations.

Bob is a chameleon. You never know which Bob will show up. I've seen him phone it in from planet nowhere, just dismal, and I've seen him play bad-ass, down and dirty but kicking sublime shows, among the best of any rock & roll shows I've ever seen.

Enjoy.

EPO is my middle name wrote:

Bob Dylan is famous because he has personally written many of the greatest song lyrics the world has ever heard. I would expect the crowd to be two extreme ends, the old who knew him from the 60s, and the young in their 20s who want a chance to see the poet laureate of rock and roll while they still can. You should wear either casual clothing or a teletubby costume. Will you like the music? I have no idea. It might speak to you. It might not. Nowadays he never stops touring, and he pretty much does whatever he feels like every time, each show is very different so its hard to know what to expect. I would say he's not as good live as recorded anymore, but definitely a great opportunity, one you shouldn't miss.

If he only stuck to the songs he wrote he'd have over 260 to choose from.

If he only sings songs he covered he'll have over 120 to choose from.

If he only did songs he wrote that more than 50 people covered he'd have at least 15 to chose from.

Blowin' In The Wind has been covered by at least 170 artists and by covered I mean professionally produced and released not just Cousin Bill doing a set at the corner bar's open mike night.

Heck he even wrote Mighty Quinn and the music for Flatt and Scruggs' Nashville Skyline Rag.

Dylan wrote 'em Joan sang 'em

Maggie the farmer wrote:

Hey, BW, Dylan was famous before he went electric. Try to keep up.

I am obviously talking about Dylan's fame today, TTKU asswipe guy. If not for his going-electric thing, he would not play a big role in 60's lore. Nobody would be calling him GOAT songwriter.

Music history is distorted by the progression of genres. Anyone who pioneers a new style has the potential to become legend, even if the style itself quickly dies out. And even if he has little or no talent, like Cobain. That was Dylan's ticket to lasting fame. Ironically it also ruined his future, as he was typecast by his own creation and failed to adapt when music evolved away from it.

Disagree as his masterpiece Desolation Row was acoustic but after he had 'gone electric'. That one song alone is enough to make him the greatest singer songwriter ever. Also his classic mid seventies stuff like Desire and Blood on the tracks doesn't rest on a reputation from either the folk/protest era or the acid rock era either, nor does the Basement Tapes.

Seen him twice, once in 1984 with Santana as support and a guest appearance from Van Morrison, he was ok. Saw him again in 1990 and I could barely work out which song was which.

Bad Wigins wrote:

Maggie the farmer wrote:

Hey, BW, Dylan was famous before he went electric. Try to keep up.

I am obviously talking about Dylan's fame today, TTKU asswipe guy. If not for his going-electric thing, he would not play a big role in 60's lore. Nobody would be calling him GOAT songwriter.

Music history is distorted by the progression of genres. Anyone who pioneers a new style has the potential to become legend, even if the style itself quickly dies out. And even if he has little or no talent, like Cobain. That was Dylan's ticket to lasting fame. Ironically it also ruined his future, as he was typecast by his own creation and failed to adapt when music evolved away from it.

This is just idiotic on so many levels. You are trying to sound knowledgeable and relevant, but you just trip all over yourself. The fact that you resort to insulting another poster is indicative of your precarious position.

Yes Dylan is a legend, but his early styles have far from died out. And to suggest he has "little or no talent" just screams of your ignorance. As for failing to adapt, you must live in a cave. Dylan has continuously evolved and used his prominence in the industry to shed light on various styles.

As the other poster so aptly stated, try to keep up.

amarylander wrote:

Please tell - why Boy Dylan is famous?

What should I wear?

What can I expect? What will the crowd be like (age, sex, etc)? Will I like the music?

Dylan is a cultural icon as a song writer, but he shoulda hung up his spikes 40 years ago. Saw him in a music tent in Cork city of all places about 8 years ago,as he was prepping for a European tour and although his back up band was fantastic, Dylan was awful, stumbled through songs, quit on a couple and his voice is a god-awful croak.

Springsteen has essentially ripped him off with his songs for a new generation of losers.

Don't be so hard on yourself. Just because you went to see Dylan perform doesn't make you a loser. Though you might be.

If you get a seat close to the stage and Robert Zimmerman, you'll get a good appreciation as to why running is a better lifestyle choice than doing drugs.

So how was the concert?

I"ve met Dylan and I have also played a gig with him before at a festival in Spain in 2010.

Musically these days the shows are just awful. He certainly always a has a fantastic band and I'm pretty sure that Tony Garnier (bass) is the longest tenured member of his band and I think of anyone who has ever played with him. That being said, whoever mentioned that the arrangements that they're playing these days have rendered the songs unrecognizable, was 100% correct. Having seen him twice, I generally think that it's a complete waste of time. There is no magic there anymore and it's not even as if you're seeing someone who is a shell of his former self, you're seeing someone who doesn't even seem to be related to his former self.

If you want to get to know him some more, read about him. If you'd like to familiarize yourself with the music, the easiest way would be to start with the popular songs and take it from there. It's difficult to comprehend now how much of an impact his songs had on society back then. Music can't and doesn't do that anymore.

As far as him being a genius, I have no idea if he is or he isn't but he's not just a guy who's written a bunch of incredible songs. The guy is a walking encyclopedia of music. I guess he would be referred to as an "amateur" musicologist because he doesn't have a degree in music but he knows the history of American music about as well as anyone could possibly know it. He didn't just randomly happen upon an acoustic guitar and then write Blowin in the Wind. He studied music and all the folkies and other musicians who came before him. He lives an insulated life for certain. Luckily I was able to meet him through a mutual friend. When I met Dylan he was acting like a regular guy. He was joking around and boxing a little bit with my friend. It was strange to see some person of whom you'd created this image of some legendary person, just acting playful like a child almost at 60 something years old. He was somewhat frail and his hand was pretty small when I shook it. He seemed genuinely nice and was easy going. When I played with him in Spain I didn't get to see him or Tony and talk to them. Our dressing rooms were all in the same place but theirs was all the way down the other end of the hall from ours. We played after Dylan on another stage so we were sound checking during their performance (there were two stages at opposite ends of each other so when one artist was done you could just pretty much turn around and watch the next one) but we could hear them and I could watch them on the jumbotron (there were two jumbotrons on either side of the stage) while I was checking). Anyway, that's all I got.

coach wrote:

So how was the concert?

I'm fairly certain this was a troll thread. But I didn't want to be the one to spoil the fun. After all the OP did give us fodder for reminiscing and some good natured banter on a Saturday evening that otherwise would have been oh so meaningless.

Here's one for you, OP, for adding meaning to our non-Dylan like lives.

Agree on Desolation Row, and the Dylan legend, but everybody depicting Dylan as the "greatest" singer-songwriter should at least contemplate the works of Leonard Cohen, who is as old as Dylan and still writing unique and original songs and unlike Dylan even performing them effectively despite a similar deterioration of his voice.

I thought he had done all he could till the last three records.. Amazing how he is still able to articulate feelings, political climates and be relevant.. I mean he's a millionare,legend,recluse, and his performances are a crap shoot but in the studio its good. The phrasing and melodies have gotten a little more complex and his voice has found a way to transcend. I feel fortunate to have been influence by him.. I think he will be taled about in 300 years..

I thought he had done all he could till the last three records.. Amazing how he is still able to articulate feelings, political climates and be relevant.. I mean he's a millionare,legend,recluse, and his performances are a crap shoot but in the studio its good. The phrasing and melodies have gotten a little more complex and his voice has found a way to transcend. I feel fortunate to have been influence by him.. I think he will be taled about in 300 years..