Bob Dylan in Concert

Having been a huge Bob Dylan fan for most of my life I jumped at the chance at seeing him in concert last week in Birmingham. Being in his 60s it is quite impressive that he can still sell out the NIA! We took our seats at the back (the more expensive front seats were sold out long before we bought tickets!).

I do have to say I was slightly disappointed by the concert. I watched with curious, if slightly morbid, fascination as some of my favourite blues folk tunes were massacred by the poet himself! I had heard that Bob had a tendency to perform Bootleg versions of his own songs and this concert ran true to that with the second song being a droned rock blues version of the age old favourite "It ain't me babe". The words were barely audible, the tune unrecognisable & the whole effect sounded more like a bad cover version of a Stevie Ray Vaughn tune! "Its all right ma (I'm only bleeding)" met a similar death. A random song was sung to the tune of "Lay lady lay" and what should have been "Joey" simply went on and on without any of the expected lyrics.

In an attempt to make some sort of sense of the playlist we bought a programmee. For £12 (!) we recieved a beautiful glossy booklet with photos & interviews with random people about how great Robert Zimmerman is. How useful.

So am I glad that I went? Yes I think I am. I'll be able to tell my (potential) future grandchildren that I saw him. I might however, be vague on the details of the experience.

I imagine that seeing him 30 years ago would have been a much more mind blowing experience. Before he started doing an electric guitar bootleg versions of Jimmy Hendrix's cover version of "All along the watchtower"!

I think perhaps Bob should now fade from the modern music scene with dignity rather than continue to migrate from blues folk to mainstream blues rock! But then I'm sure he would question why he should! His concerts still sell out!