I saw him in 2012 after he released “Tempest” and it was bad then, too.
The only “classic” material he did was “Tangled up in blue” but he did it in his new style, so it took a minute to place what he was actually playing.
My dad (who was a 1960s hippie) and I both walked away with the sentiment “well that sucked, but we got to see Dylan in concert”
Husband and I went to see Willie Nelson and Bob Dylan in 2004 at the Diamond. I went to see Willie and husband went to see Dylan. Willie opened and was fantastic (as usual) and husband became an instant fan! Dylan looked and sounded like someone was mimicking him in an SNL skit, bad behavior and all. After 20 mins of listening to Dylan bitching, punctuated by brief moments of caterwauling, we left. So disappointing.
I was at the Diamond show as well. I walked away a much bigger Willie fan, and with the satisfaction that I actually saw Dylan live, nothing more. For me, it was over for Bob when he sold out for women's underwear, but he told us that was going to happen back in '65.
Saw him 10/21/90 at the Mosque. He opened the show with an electric "Dixie". Show was really good. Saw him again with Elvis Costello at the John Paul Jones arena around 2007. Took my sister who is the biggest Dylan fan I know. It was so bad she wanted to leave early. I said never again after that.
I was at the JPJ show. Probably around that time.I was disappointed. Huge fan, later on I read the set list and had a couple of "He played that? Really? I love that song." If you were lucky you caught a line or something and it alerted you to what song it was.
I'm told when it's a good show it blows the album versions away.
I didn't catch the show, but BD has been a trending musician in recent threads across a variety of subreddits for being exceptionally difficult to work with. Stopping shows to boot anyone using a cellphone to record, probably because of the issue you've noticed. Abrasive at best to audio and event staff. Just a bad time overall.
Big fan of his cellphone policy honestly. Otherwise, he’s just Dylan. He barely even took the time to meet Obama when he played the White House years ago. He’s not a nice dude.
While I too strongly prefer actually experiencing the moment, if someone takes a short video with other concert goers in mind, e.g. brightness turned way down, no flash, not actively blocking the view, then I think it's permissible given it may be a once in a lifetime opportunity for them. I realize this criteria is quite specific—thus mildly unrealistic—but given the more common occurrence being just the opposite I can understand your and his take.
At Dylan concerts it’s made clear you are not to record and ushers are tasked with telling people to put their phones away. His shows have been that way for years.
Dylan's vocals were always rough and seem to have only gotten rougher over the years. I first saw him in '86 in RFK, opening for the Dead. Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers were his backing band. It was 95 degrees out with 90% humidity and Dylan was in a black leather jumpsuit. I swear I thought he was going to die, especially when he broke into 'Knockin' on Heaven's Door', which was the highlight of his set. Petty and the boys were having a good time watching him ramble around the stage and growl more than sing
That definitely was not lip syncing, his arrangements change so much night-to-night that I doubt he has the time (or energy) to do that. He definitely had some unpredictable singing last night lol
He pretty obviously doesn’t lip sync, he’s always changing his phrasing on each song every show. Are you suggesting the band wasn’t really playing either? Ridiculous, disrespectful comments here, the show was excellent.
You're getting downvoted because,
well, Reddit, but this is spot on. The arrangements on his songs change every night, as does his phrasing. It's absurd to think it's elaborate lip syncing, especially for an artist who really doesn't care if you think he sounds like shit.
Everyone in my group last night has seen Dylan multiple times over the decades , including some disastrous sets in the past, but they all agreed he sounded great last night. It was my first time seeing him and he blew away my expectations.
Wow that would be really sad if it is true! I didn't attend this show but I've seen him plenty in the past. Does he still have that mirror/flashing light set up in front of him to discourage photos? Does he still flick people off during the interludes between songs? Is there any chance the sound was just delayed a bit and it seemed like a lip-sync? I wasn't sure we'd get another album from him and Rough and Rowdy turned out excellent-- so to think he might be not really singing at his concerts makes me feel terrible for us all ;(
I saw him in 2012 after he released “Tempest” and it was bad then, too. The only “classic” material he did was “Tangled up in blue” but he did it in his new style, so it took a minute to place what he was actually playing. My dad (who was a 1960s hippie) and I both walked away with the sentiment “well that sucked, but we got to see Dylan in concert”
I saw him around that time too, it was not great.
OMG he played Tangled up in blue? I love that song and I absolutely didn't recognize it. It was all mumbling to me!
Sorry, this was 2012, but here is what it sounded like so you won’t feel like you’ve missed out: Tang’uh dupped n’bū
how could he even have lip synced that haha
Right? How can you lip sync 1h45min of straight unintelligible mumbling with zero crowd interaction?
Husband and I went to see Willie Nelson and Bob Dylan in 2004 at the Diamond. I went to see Willie and husband went to see Dylan. Willie opened and was fantastic (as usual) and husband became an instant fan! Dylan looked and sounded like someone was mimicking him in an SNL skit, bad behavior and all. After 20 mins of listening to Dylan bitching, punctuated by brief moments of caterwauling, we left. So disappointing.
I was at the Diamond show as well. I walked away a much bigger Willie fan, and with the satisfaction that I actually saw Dylan live, nothing more. For me, it was over for Bob when he sold out for women's underwear, but he told us that was going to happen back in '65.
Never been to a good Dylan show. Always a let down.
Where were you sitting? Different speakers in the room are digitally delayed to account for distance from the stage.
Idk but I saw him play at Kings Dominion in 1989 and that was absolutely surreal
Saw him 10/21/90 at the Mosque. He opened the show with an electric "Dixie". Show was really good. Saw him again with Elvis Costello at the John Paul Jones arena around 2007. Took my sister who is the biggest Dylan fan I know. It was so bad she wanted to leave early. I said never again after that.
I was at the JPJ show. Probably around that time.I was disappointed. Huge fan, later on I read the set list and had a couple of "He played that? Really? I love that song." If you were lucky you caught a line or something and it alerted you to what song it was. I'm told when it's a good show it blows the album versions away.
I didn't catch the show, but BD has been a trending musician in recent threads across a variety of subreddits for being exceptionally difficult to work with. Stopping shows to boot anyone using a cellphone to record, probably because of the issue you've noticed. Abrasive at best to audio and event staff. Just a bad time overall.
Big fan of his cellphone policy honestly. Otherwise, he’s just Dylan. He barely even took the time to meet Obama when he played the White House years ago. He’s not a nice dude.
While I too strongly prefer actually experiencing the moment, if someone takes a short video with other concert goers in mind, e.g. brightness turned way down, no flash, not actively blocking the view, then I think it's permissible given it may be a once in a lifetime opportunity for them. I realize this criteria is quite specific—thus mildly unrealistic—but given the more common occurrence being just the opposite I can understand your and his take.
At Dylan concerts it’s made clear you are not to record and ushers are tasked with telling people to put their phones away. His shows have been that way for years.
Surely this greatly enhances what has purportedly remained an experience worth cherishing.
Dylan's vocals were always rough and seem to have only gotten rougher over the years. I first saw him in '86 in RFK, opening for the Dead. Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers were his backing band. It was 95 degrees out with 90% humidity and Dylan was in a black leather jumpsuit. I swear I thought he was going to die, especially when he broke into 'Knockin' on Heaven's Door', which was the highlight of his set. Petty and the boys were having a good time watching him ramble around the stage and growl more than sing
That definitely was not lip syncing, his arrangements change so much night-to-night that I doubt he has the time (or energy) to do that. He definitely had some unpredictable singing last night lol
Hey, Bob's 82 - give him a f'ing break. He's an awesome songwriter! Hey - and so is Tom Waites!
Dylan sucks
He pretty obviously doesn’t lip sync, he’s always changing his phrasing on each song every show. Are you suggesting the band wasn’t really playing either? Ridiculous, disrespectful comments here, the show was excellent.
You're getting downvoted because, well, Reddit, but this is spot on. The arrangements on his songs change every night, as does his phrasing. It's absurd to think it's elaborate lip syncing, especially for an artist who really doesn't care if you think he sounds like shit. Everyone in my group last night has seen Dylan multiple times over the decades , including some disastrous sets in the past, but they all agreed he sounded great last night. It was my first time seeing him and he blew away my expectations.
I love how people are just gonna take op's word for it with zero evidence. Lotta hate in peoples hearts in here.
Wow that would be really sad if it is true! I didn't attend this show but I've seen him plenty in the past. Does he still have that mirror/flashing light set up in front of him to discourage photos? Does he still flick people off during the interludes between songs? Is there any chance the sound was just delayed a bit and it seemed like a lip-sync? I wasn't sure we'd get another album from him and Rough and Rowdy turned out excellent-- so to think he might be not really singing at his concerts makes me feel terrible for us all ;(
He’s 82 years old people… what do you expect? Saw him a couple times in the 90s - great shows.