attended a fantastic concert in San Jose on the 19th of
May. Featured were Van Morrison, Joni Mitchell and BOB
DYLAN.
I last saw Bob in 1974. So I approached this
experience with the awe
and wonder of one making
a pilgrimage. We sat in row
29 which had a great view of
the stage but was in a muddled,
acoustic niche. I'm not complaining,
though it took some effort to
imagine what these three stellar
performances might have sounded
like in a smaller venue with kinder
sound distribution.
Van's show was everything I could have
hoped for. It might
not have been the magical, mystical experience
I've read
about, but he moved me.. I was riled
by comments in the
men's room during intermission.
Guys were disappointed
they didn't get "Brown Eyed Girl" or "Domino"
or, on and on..
Is art a consumer item? Is it just
one among many available
commodities? I can begin to imagine
the kind of frustration
an artist like VTM must feel on any given
night. Anyhow....
Joni came on-stage looking like herself.
In spite of a few
technical glitches and some nervousness
(all the more human)
her show was great. I loved the
"for Bob" verse in "Big
Yellow Taxi". I'm sadly lacking
in Joni music at home. (only
have "Blue", "Court and Spark" and "Chalk
Marks...") I'll
be taking care of that as soon as possible.
Bob.. My ears were still ringing
the day after.. "Masters
of War" stands out in my mind as
the most eloquent and moving
song of the evening; that and "Make You
Feel My Love".
Perhaps other people had better luck with
sound but for me
these two were the only songs that did
not get muddled in the
sonic soup of the arena. The nuances
of Bob's voice came
through no less than on any recording
of his I've ever heard.
Then there was the rock n' rollin' Bob...
Seeing him noodlin' that
guitar, shaking his head and shufflin'
his feet during "Highway 61"
and "Rainy Day Woman" made me think of
still photos I've seen
of him playing with the Band in the mid-60's...
I've left out so much of what I saw and
felt that night.. But I'm
sure you get the picture.... I definitely
had me a "Bob Dylan Experience"!