I saw Bob Dylan at the Santa Monica Civic Auditorium tonight. I've never heard Dylan live before. He's more mythical to me than real, seen mostly in black and white photos, documentaries, and movies, played by a variety of actors.
I'm a lifelong developing Dylan fan. My first real exposure to Dylan came in high school as one of my friends was a huge Dylan fan and would play Dylan in the tape deck of his car all the time. Recently I found a good deal on Amazon for a used copy of the Bob Dylan SACD box set, and I've been working my way through it, one disc at a time. His sound transports me back in time and across America like a musical road trip in a convertible with its top down, with the wind tousling my hair.
I will remember tonight, but not for the venue. The Santa Monica Civic Auditorium is fugly, and the acoustics of the cement-floored space are awful and muddy. The speakers were balanced to lean to the left, and it sounded like Dylan was singing from a space floating about 20 feet over the left third of the stage when he was in fact standing about two thirds of the way to the right of the stage most of the evening.
It's a credit to Dylan's songwriting that despite the terrible acoustics (which made his already incomprehensible lyrics sound like the language used in Apocalypto), my toes were tapping the whole time. Given the state of my Achilles, that's no small feat. I nearly fell over from exhaustion a few times--for some reason, tearing your Achilles reduces your endurance for standing--but managed to stay upright to the bitter end, through the second song of his encore.
As a fan of speech, I admire Dylan for his sui generis command of the rhythms of English language. He really is the poet laureate of American music.
NOTE: You can download "Dreamin' of You", a previously unreleased track from Tell Tale Signs, from BobDylan.com.
Posted by eugene at September 4, 2008 2:06 AMEugene, Thank you for the accurate and personal view of an amazing evening. It's true, the acoustics were horrible..pretty much what I expected. But, I was not expecting to hear Mr. Dylan perform his songs with that kind of vocal delivery. Chop, chop, chop. So it has made me curious and, of course, I will never know the answer. Did he know the acoustics were a lost cause from the sound check..and decided to sing that way as the only recourse? Certainly not any delicate vocals were going to come across, so why not save his voice? I saw him the last night in Temecula..and it was a completely different show. He sang beautifully...the sound was perfect, the venue perfect. It was beyond great! It was perfection, the best show I have ever attended by him or anyone. And, he seemed happy about it, too. The Band ripped! I would even say they were (at least one was) ecstatic. I could dance all the way through the entire show (unlike the stinky sardine tin I was standing in at Santa Monica). After the show, I was really afraid he had lost his voice from the tour and I had no expectations for Temecula. But it isn't true. Mr. Dylan is as strong as singer as ever...and the songs were played...many of them close to the original melodies...not like the same ole beat and almost monotone delivery of Santa Monica. Thank you, Mr. Dylan. And, Eugene, keep trying to make it to another show. ps...I loved how the band played that night...and also...that's the longest I have heard him play. Wow!
Posted by: Lilly S at September 5, 2008 3:02 PM