The Times, They Ain't A'Changin'
When I saw Dylan play the O'Keefe Centre back 20 years ago or so I swore I'd never lay down money to see him again. I came away feeling I had been ripped off, .... that Bob and the band had had an off night, ... it seemed to me he was drunk because he kept having to be saved by his second guitarist when his fingers got tangled up in phrases. I was really disappointed because he was one of the few major acts I had never seen and I was up for it; wanted to see and hear a good show.
Fast forward to Tuesday night. Deja vu all over again. Never, ever again. Hyped up and let way down. One reason I wanted to go was that we have a new hall in town and Dylan is the first big name headliner to grace us at the GM Centre. So, what was wrong? Well, neither he nor the band once acknowledged the crowds presence - they might as well have been jamming through a rehearsal. The sound production was so bad that you couldn't recognize most of the songs. I could see the guy on the sound board fiddling with slides and switches and there were some minor improvements but not enough to make a real difference. Between Bob's chording on his keyboard and the bass & drums it created a prevailing muddy bottom end that the guitars couldn't get through. Vocals were unintelligible. Vocal delivery was harsh and hoarse. About the only thing that came through clearly was Dylan's harmonica playing. Song arrangements weren't good. The pedal steel player was so low in the mix that he might as well have had the night off - couldn't hear him. (which is a shame; very talented guy who used to play for BR5-49)
Like I said in my previous post I ran into a number of people I knew there. No one was happy no matter where in the hall they were seated. One of the counsellors I work with was there with his wife and were seated a couple of sections closer to the stage. He used to be a professional musician and said he could have produced better results on the sound board than what he heard.
Was there anything to like? Yes, a few flashes of brilliance from either of his two guitarists, his harmonica playing and they did a nice understated version of 'Nettie Moore' from 'Modern Times'. That's about all folks. Bad choice by me for a night out.
* To be fair I just checked online reviews - there were three of them - and they all glowed. One of them did mention the muddy sound mix. All I can say is they must have been right up front or they are such fans that they won't say anything bad about him. Or were they at the same show as me??
Fast forward to Tuesday night. Deja vu all over again. Never, ever again. Hyped up and let way down. One reason I wanted to go was that we have a new hall in town and Dylan is the first big name headliner to grace us at the GM Centre. So, what was wrong? Well, neither he nor the band once acknowledged the crowds presence - they might as well have been jamming through a rehearsal. The sound production was so bad that you couldn't recognize most of the songs. I could see the guy on the sound board fiddling with slides and switches and there were some minor improvements but not enough to make a real difference. Between Bob's chording on his keyboard and the bass & drums it created a prevailing muddy bottom end that the guitars couldn't get through. Vocals were unintelligible. Vocal delivery was harsh and hoarse. About the only thing that came through clearly was Dylan's harmonica playing. Song arrangements weren't good. The pedal steel player was so low in the mix that he might as well have had the night off - couldn't hear him. (which is a shame; very talented guy who used to play for BR5-49)
Like I said in my previous post I ran into a number of people I knew there. No one was happy no matter where in the hall they were seated. One of the counsellors I work with was there with his wife and were seated a couple of sections closer to the stage. He used to be a professional musician and said he could have produced better results on the sound board than what he heard.
Was there anything to like? Yes, a few flashes of brilliance from either of his two guitarists, his harmonica playing and they did a nice understated version of 'Nettie Moore' from 'Modern Times'. That's about all folks. Bad choice by me for a night out.
* To be fair I just checked online reviews - there were three of them - and they all glowed. One of them did mention the muddy sound mix. All I can say is they must have been right up front or they are such fans that they won't say anything bad about him. Or were they at the same show as me??
Labels: Bob Dylan, concerts, disappointment, live music, rip-off
posted by Norm at 11/14/2008 02:38:00 AM
4 comments
