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MP3.com Live: Bob Dylan, sonic sage
Music's master storyteller leads a tight troupe through a sparkling mix of classics and new material in San Francisco.
Henry Timrod should be so honored.
Bob Dylan
If the words of the Civil War-era poet were indeed borrowed by rock icon Bob Dylan for his latest album, as alleged, those lyrics were put through the creative filter of music's greatest living wordsmith. That talent was on full display last night in a sparkling two-hour set at San Francisco's Bill Graham Civic Auditorium.
The night was a treat for baby boomers and young hipsters alike, mixing Dylan classics and material from Modern Times, the legend's first No. 1 album since 1976's Desire and his highest-selling debut ever.
Most of all, it featured the sort of expansive storytelling that rock and roll doesn't seem to have much time for anymore.
Backed by an extremely tight, five-piece band that, like its leader, was clad in black suits and narrow-brimmed, short-crowned black hats, Dylan played the entire set at a keyboard positioned sideways on the stage. His legendary peculiarities were in fine form, as he never moved closer than 12 feet from the front of the stage, rarely looked out into the crowd, and spoke only once to mumble some band introductions and to say, "Thank you."
Those eccentricities, coupled with Dylan's trademark, off-kilter vocal delivery, made last night's show wonderfully weird. Even diehard fans were forced to forgo singing along in favor of trying to decipher what song it actually was, as he sang most in a cadence that was virtually unrecognizable from its original.
Bob Dylan at San Francisco's Bill Graham Civic Auditorium.
That task was hindered a bit by the poor acoustics in the cavernous venue and the fact that Dylan isn't exactly deft at enunciation. The poor sound hurt opening act Kings of Leon even more, as the Southern rockers trudged through a short set that compensated for the echoes with sheer volume, leading some baby boomers to resort to the not-so-subtle, hands-over-ears maneuver.
But Dylan's classics like "Tangled Up in Blue," "Like a Rolling Stone," and "Don't Think Twice, It's Alright" shone through nonetheless, and he left his guitarists plenty of wiggle room, stretching several songs out to the 10-minute mark without jamming on senselessly. "Desolation Row" and its 10 verses clocked in at a full 15 minutes.
Bob Dylan's
Modern Times.
Dylan also dove into a few less-heralded tracks from his back catalog, including his 1981 tribute to comedian Lenny Bruce and 1978's "Senor (Tales of Yankee Power)."
But it was the new material that dominated the night, grounding the set firmly in the blues and country-tinged rock with which Dylan has filled his past three albums. From the up-tempo boogie-woogie of "Rollin' and Tumblin'" to the shuffling "Thunder on the Mountain," songs from Modern Times set the tone for the night, ensuring that it was far from a simple trip down memory lane.
No other artist occupies Dylan's historical real estate. As he tours the country in support of his latest critically acclaimed album, a traveling museum exhibit, "Bob Dylan's American Journey, 1956-1966," runs at The Morgan Library & Museum until January before moving to the Smithsonian. Meanwhile, The Times They Are A-Changin', a Broadway musical based on his work, opens next week, while the Lincoln Center will host a star-studded tribute to him next month. It must be quite a trip to see yourself etched into the history books long before your proverbial ride off into the sunset.
If last night's set was any indication, that won't be happening anytime soon.
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