Monday, April 18, 2011

Up Front

I was going to mention something about how irritating I found it that people near the front of the cheap section at the Dylan concert started to loudly move backward right in the middle of a gorgeously mellow Simple Twist of Fate. But since we were able to push up into their space I can't say it detracted from the whole experience that much. Just served to prove a point - that a lot of people don't seem to have much capacity for actively listening even when there's a huge amount to gain from doing so.

But since this is the last thing I'm intending to write about a great night it seems churlish to leave things on a critical note. So I'll just mention how powerful it was to see Dylan centrestage pretty much alone, with no guitar or keyboard for a shield, on three songs (I think, though I may have lost count - certainly on Tangled Up In Blue and Ballad of a Thin Man.) Framed by a back light, stance slightly side-on to the audience, his white hat shrouding his upper face, he looked for all the world like a distinctly untrustworthy gambler who intended to take you for everything he could.

It was theatrical in the truest sense. It was commanding in a deeply powerful way - fuuny-serious, like so much of his recent material. Something was happening and I wasn't quite sure what it was. Vital. Something alive.

3 comments:

Anonymous said...

"Framed by a back light, stance slightly side-on to the audience, his white hat shrouding his upper face, he looked for all the world like a distinctly untrustworthy gambler who intended to take you for everything he could."

I think your description is as close as it comes to being there.

Brian Connor said...

Nice of you to say so, but it doesn't do anything like justice to the sheer presence of the man. And that voice!!

But as a muso of note yourself, were you not there in person?

Anonymous said...

Nope, and I regret it now haha. I haven't actually been going to many shows this year. The next concert I'm lined up to watch is the Mahler Chamber Orchestra playing Brahms in early June. I should look out for more, though.