Dylan, Elvis - Columbia, MD, Sept. 28 '07
Dylan, Elvis - Columbia, MD, Sept. 28 '07
Anyone going?
Last edited by johnfoyle on Wed Sep 26, 2007 12:42 am, edited 1 time in total.
A Dylan fan comments -
http://my.execpc.com/~billp61/092807r.html
(extract)
Well it took nearly six of Bob's first songs to get me into his
concert...reason being Elvis Costello literally laid down the gauntlet for
His Bobness and the Boys in the Band...in brief Costello was hotter than a
$2 pistol...no one in the place wanted his set to end and when it did, the
lingering imagery of his music continued ringing in my ears...ringing in
the best sense of the word...
The night air was perfect, the venue has always been one of my
favorites...all told, a great evening...made so by the first time I've
seen Elvis Costello live...and he was worth the price of admission....
Seriously...there were a few seated near me and my son, Sam, who came just
for Elvis...I came for Bob Dylan but got the added treat of a master of
music in his own right, E.C.
http://my.execpc.com/~billp61/092807r.html
(extract)
Well it took nearly six of Bob's first songs to get me into his
concert...reason being Elvis Costello literally laid down the gauntlet for
His Bobness and the Boys in the Band...in brief Costello was hotter than a
$2 pistol...no one in the place wanted his set to end and when it did, the
lingering imagery of his music continued ringing in my ears...ringing in
the best sense of the word...
The night air was perfect, the venue has always been one of my
favorites...all told, a great evening...made so by the first time I've
seen Elvis Costello live...and he was worth the price of admission....
Seriously...there were a few seated near me and my son, Sam, who came just
for Elvis...I came for Bob Dylan but got the added treat of a master of
music in his own right, E.C.
Nice review... I just hope Elvis keeps it in check and doesn't overshadow Dylan through the remaining stretch of this tour. I know E.C. has some die hard fans on the east coast and I imagine it's hard to resist the energy of the audience. I don't know - is it proper/polite to play it low key as the opening act... As long as everyone on and off stage is having a good time, it doesn't matter.. I guess this is just one Dylan fan who couldn't adjust his ears to another sound... It's probably his first concert in 40 years (bummer)..
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sweetest punch
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Setlist (from wiki):
song order may not be correct
01. (The Angels Wanna Wear My) Red Shoes
02. Either Side Of The Same Town
03. Veronica
04. The River In Reverse - including I Don't Want To Be A Soldier
05. Bedlam
06. From Sulfur To Sugar Cane
07. Radio Sweetheart / Jackie Wilson Said
08. Alison
09. In Another Room
10. (What's So Funny 'Bout) Peace, Love And Understanding?
11. The Scarlet Tide
song order may not be correct
01. (The Angels Wanna Wear My) Red Shoes
02. Either Side Of The Same Town
03. Veronica
04. The River In Reverse - including I Don't Want To Be A Soldier
05. Bedlam
06. From Sulfur To Sugar Cane
07. Radio Sweetheart / Jackie Wilson Said
08. Alison
09. In Another Room
10. (What's So Funny 'Bout) Peace, Love And Understanding?
11. The Scarlet Tide
Since you put me down, it seems i've been very gloomy. You may laugh but pretty girls look right through me.
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martinfoyle
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- Joined: Tue Jun 03, 2003 5:24 pm
- Location: Dublin, Ireland
- Contact:
Dave, on the eclistserv writes
A fun show last night. Crowd was very appreciative, even to the third act, Amos Lee, who was quite good.
Elvis played about 45-50 minutes, 11 songs to the best of my memory. The set list and the commentary were almost the same as what has been reported out of Charlottesville. Not absolutely sure of the order but I think the set was
Red Shoes
Either Side of the Same Town
Veronica
The River in Reverse (with a bit of I Don't Wanna Be A Soldier)
Bedlam
Sulfur to Sugar Cane
Radio Sweetheart/Jackie Wilson Said
Alison
In Another Room
PLU
The Scarlet Tide
Highlights for me were In Another Room and Sugar Cane. The latter is fairly light in its approach, a bit of Randy Newman in there maybe.
(Or am I just associating it with the Huey Long/Kingfish/Good Old Boys because it was for that Sean Penn film?). Some funny lyrics (a whole verse is geographic and is about travelling from Louisiana up to Maryland....lyrics like "and if you continue (pronounced "continyuh"), you'll wind up in Virginia"). A music hall sound to it.
There couldn't be a greater contrast between the performances of EC and Dylan. Elvis was a real crowd pleaser, he talked to the audience, he took bows and raised his glass to them, the house lights went up for singalongs and such. He got standing ovations from the whole place several times. He was in powerful voice, hitting every note and even going falsetto twice on Either Side. He was in complete control of his vocals. Now I'm a big Dylan fan, since I was a lad, but it was tough last night, as Bob's voice was not mixed well for the first half and even when it improved, his singing was really hard to listen to. He's splitting lines in most songs into two-or-three-word bits, followed by pauses, and he's nearly unintelligible. The band was really good however. There were some very nice moments, the second half of the show heated up considerably. Masters of War and Blowing in the Wind were both given excellent new arrangements. Ain't Talkin' was great. Highway 61 was great.
I was really bummed that Elvis and Bob did not perform together, although I really wasn't expecting it since they haven't been doing so on the tour so far. They may just be thinking that it really woudn't work, artistically. Their voices will not mix at all. I'm not even sure they could trade lines effectively as they did in 1995. I hope that maybe when the tour ends, Elvis will come out at the end, but I guess I won't see it.
Which reminds me, where are the tapes of these shows? Is no one taping? I'd like to hear the new songs on tape. And for God's sake if they do perform together, will someone please get it on record?
Also there were several EC T-shirts for sale, pretty cheesy looking, some with the same designs as in May, and some with the tour dates with Bob, ending with Chicago. You could also buy the event poster, which I did.
A fun show last night. Crowd was very appreciative, even to the third act, Amos Lee, who was quite good.
Elvis played about 45-50 minutes, 11 songs to the best of my memory. The set list and the commentary were almost the same as what has been reported out of Charlottesville. Not absolutely sure of the order but I think the set was
Red Shoes
Either Side of the Same Town
Veronica
The River in Reverse (with a bit of I Don't Wanna Be A Soldier)
Bedlam
Sulfur to Sugar Cane
Radio Sweetheart/Jackie Wilson Said
Alison
In Another Room
PLU
The Scarlet Tide
Highlights for me were In Another Room and Sugar Cane. The latter is fairly light in its approach, a bit of Randy Newman in there maybe.
(Or am I just associating it with the Huey Long/Kingfish/Good Old Boys because it was for that Sean Penn film?). Some funny lyrics (a whole verse is geographic and is about travelling from Louisiana up to Maryland....lyrics like "and if you continue (pronounced "continyuh"), you'll wind up in Virginia"). A music hall sound to it.
There couldn't be a greater contrast between the performances of EC and Dylan. Elvis was a real crowd pleaser, he talked to the audience, he took bows and raised his glass to them, the house lights went up for singalongs and such. He got standing ovations from the whole place several times. He was in powerful voice, hitting every note and even going falsetto twice on Either Side. He was in complete control of his vocals. Now I'm a big Dylan fan, since I was a lad, but it was tough last night, as Bob's voice was not mixed well for the first half and even when it improved, his singing was really hard to listen to. He's splitting lines in most songs into two-or-three-word bits, followed by pauses, and he's nearly unintelligible. The band was really good however. There were some very nice moments, the second half of the show heated up considerably. Masters of War and Blowing in the Wind were both given excellent new arrangements. Ain't Talkin' was great. Highway 61 was great.
I was really bummed that Elvis and Bob did not perform together, although I really wasn't expecting it since they haven't been doing so on the tour so far. They may just be thinking that it really woudn't work, artistically. Their voices will not mix at all. I'm not even sure they could trade lines effectively as they did in 1995. I hope that maybe when the tour ends, Elvis will come out at the end, but I guess I won't see it.
Which reminds me, where are the tapes of these shows? Is no one taping? I'd like to hear the new songs on tape. And for God's sake if they do perform together, will someone please get it on record?
Also there were several EC T-shirts for sale, pretty cheesy looking, some with the same designs as in May, and some with the tour dates with Bob, ending with Chicago. You could also buy the event poster, which I did.
http://www.constantskeptic.com/index.ph ... s-concert/
(extract)
Elvis Costello was up next, and it was the first time I had ever listened to his songs, and I can say he was impressive. It was just him and his full bodied acoustic. His slapstick picking style and bellowing voice did wonders for my ear drums. I noticed the scale of the stage to this round faced man and the support structure of lights and wires.
(extract)
Elvis Costello was up next, and it was the first time I had ever listened to his songs, and I can say he was impressive. It was just him and his full bodied acoustic. His slapstick picking style and bellowing voice did wonders for my ear drums. I noticed the scale of the stage to this round faced man and the support structure of lights and wires.
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Otis Westinghouse
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yeah, no doubt Elvis was the highlight, and being both equally a Dylan and Costello fan, and speakin from a non-bias point of view.
It was atleast a really decent night for an outside concert, very clear sky, not too cold, not too hott, just about right. It was somewhat humorous how you could tell the Elvis fans from the Bob ones. Elvis fans were dressed in casual attire, in nice dress pants and shirt and ofcourse glasses. Bob fans were frizzled haired, everyday band T-shirt and jeans. just thought it was a humorous outside observation. but anyway. I bought a Shirt from the Merch booth, which absorbed 35 dollars from my wallet. oh well its a Costello shirt. i wanted to get my hands on a Elvis mug, but i figured i already blew 35 on the shirt, so why bother.
Amos Lee, was for an opener, pretty decent, just your typical Contemporary Blues-Rock/Singer Songwriter. nothing too special. He Played a half hour before the first intermition.
Costello, came out and everyone cheered, he opened with Red Shoes, and closed with Scarlet tide, like said above, he put on a good high energy show just with an acoustic, along with witty little jokes and chit chat in between guitar changes and songs, such as eating in a resturant where he sees Gov. Schwarzenegger and telling him "Listen Governor, you may not be able to be president, but MY son can". my highlights were "Radio Sweetheart", and "Sugar Cane", it was a very enjoyable show, and well worth the money.
Dylan came out and people in the feilds all stood up unsteadily due to the slant of the hill, to give Bob's entrance a standing ovation. He started out with a unrecognisable rendition of his "Rainy Day Women", but with all do respect, i really love Bob but he has really lost his touch, he was mumbling lyrics into his mic, had no stage presence, just stood at the far right at a keyboard, and hardly even distinctly playing it. He also didnt even bother to bust out the classic harmonica for a full song, and when he did, the crowd cheered and he'd put it right back in his pocket or where ever he got it from. the whole set, sounded like one long drawn out song, the "singing" arrangment didnt change througout the entire show, just mumbling and coughing, and all put in the Blues scale, you couldnt even tell when he went into the next song, cause there were all (re)arranged distinctly similiar, so the repetitiveness lulled you to sleep, Even my friend Damien who i brought along whose a die-hard Dylan fan was even disappointed by the performance. the only highlight of the Dylan portion were the drunken teenage/college kids that somehow weasled their way into the concert somehow, and were doing offbeat, interpretive dancing to Dylans music. it was interesting to watch, if you like watching mice walk into walls aimlessly.
but anyway, overall it was decent, Elvis alone was worth the 50 dollars. Costello rocked harder than both other artists, and he didnt have a band behind him. i think i would of rathered payed to see a Dylan concert when he was atleast 10 years younger.
It was atleast a really decent night for an outside concert, very clear sky, not too cold, not too hott, just about right. It was somewhat humorous how you could tell the Elvis fans from the Bob ones. Elvis fans were dressed in casual attire, in nice dress pants and shirt and ofcourse glasses. Bob fans were frizzled haired, everyday band T-shirt and jeans. just thought it was a humorous outside observation. but anyway. I bought a Shirt from the Merch booth, which absorbed 35 dollars from my wallet. oh well its a Costello shirt. i wanted to get my hands on a Elvis mug, but i figured i already blew 35 on the shirt, so why bother.
Amos Lee, was for an opener, pretty decent, just your typical Contemporary Blues-Rock/Singer Songwriter. nothing too special. He Played a half hour before the first intermition.
Costello, came out and everyone cheered, he opened with Red Shoes, and closed with Scarlet tide, like said above, he put on a good high energy show just with an acoustic, along with witty little jokes and chit chat in between guitar changes and songs, such as eating in a resturant where he sees Gov. Schwarzenegger and telling him "Listen Governor, you may not be able to be president, but MY son can". my highlights were "Radio Sweetheart", and "Sugar Cane", it was a very enjoyable show, and well worth the money.
Dylan came out and people in the feilds all stood up unsteadily due to the slant of the hill, to give Bob's entrance a standing ovation. He started out with a unrecognisable rendition of his "Rainy Day Women", but with all do respect, i really love Bob but he has really lost his touch, he was mumbling lyrics into his mic, had no stage presence, just stood at the far right at a keyboard, and hardly even distinctly playing it. He also didnt even bother to bust out the classic harmonica for a full song, and when he did, the crowd cheered and he'd put it right back in his pocket or where ever he got it from. the whole set, sounded like one long drawn out song, the "singing" arrangment didnt change througout the entire show, just mumbling and coughing, and all put in the Blues scale, you couldnt even tell when he went into the next song, cause there were all (re)arranged distinctly similiar, so the repetitiveness lulled you to sleep, Even my friend Damien who i brought along whose a die-hard Dylan fan was even disappointed by the performance. the only highlight of the Dylan portion were the drunken teenage/college kids that somehow weasled their way into the concert somehow, and were doing offbeat, interpretive dancing to Dylans music. it was interesting to watch, if you like watching mice walk into walls aimlessly.
but anyway, overall it was decent, Elvis alone was worth the 50 dollars. Costello rocked harder than both other artists, and he didnt have a band behind him. i think i would of rathered payed to see a Dylan concert when he was atleast 10 years younger.
Last edited by SkaDan on Sun Sep 30, 2007 6:52 pm, edited 2 times in total.
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And No Coffee Table
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Otis Westinghouse
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http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/co ... 01521.html
Mumblin' in the Wind, and Then Bringing It All Back Home
By Joe Heim
Washington Post Staff Writer
Monday, October 1, 2007; C03
Do you get to retain your title as America's greatest living singer-songwriter if no one can understand a single word you sing?
In the early stages of Bob Dylan's performance at Merriweather Post Pavilion on Friday night, even ardent fans must have grimaced at the guttural growling that emanated from the singer who once claimed his voice was equal to Caruso's. Unless you were there simply to bask in the Aura of Bob, the distressing, almost thoroughly unintelligible versions of "Rainy Day Women #12 & 35," "Señor (Tales of Yankee Power)" and "Just Like Tom Thumb's Blues" that led off the show bordered on unlistenable.
It was as if Dylan, looking the part of a well-dressed bandit in his black suit and light gray hat, was playing a practical joke on fans to find out how much deconstruction they'd put up with before reaching their breaking point. He has long reworked his songs to keep them from becoming banal crowd singalongs, but these versions sounded like some sort of diabolic sonic art project.
It wasn't until "Workingman's Blues #2," a full 30 minutes into his set, that Dylan either stopped joking or righted his listing ship. And the turnaround was so magnificent that the idea of the first few songs as a sort of prank seemed almost plausible.
The transporting version of "Desolation Row" delivered by the 66-year-old singer and his five-piece band brought many in the near-capacity crowd to their feet. The lovely, lilting "Beyond the Horizon," one of six songs on this night from last year's "Modern Times," was as revelatory as it was charming. As he rattled off the searing litany of charges in "Masters of War," he sounded as if he had penned the song earlier that very day, not 44 years ago. And the completely reworked version of "Blowin' in the Wind," which ended the show, was yet more proof that Dylan can drastically alter and recast his songs without ruining them for fans in the process.
Enunciation wasn't a problem for Elvis Costello, who preceded Dylan on Friday with a 50-minute solo acoustic set that plowed through favorites and a few obscure choices as well. The (formerly) Angry Young Man is older now (53) and seemingly much less angry. The sneer and snarl that served him so well early in his career have virtually disappeared. (Or maybe he just thought it was impolite to sneer and snarl at fans who had plunked down $75 to $125 on tickets.) Perhaps that's why when he sang "(What's So Funny 'Bout) Peace, Love and Understanding" it sounded less like a meaningful anthem than a party tune. And on "Radio Sweetheart" he even raised his cup and led the crowd in a cheery singalong.
Much better for fans of a far more bitter Elvis was an outstanding version of "Alison." Wringing it for all of its wistfulness, Costello could hardly have sounded more plaintive. And on "In Another Room," one of the more unexpected choices, he mixed longing and resentment in a fashion that seems practically his trademark. The real bonus? You could understand every word.
Mumblin' in the Wind, and Then Bringing It All Back Home
By Joe Heim
Washington Post Staff Writer
Monday, October 1, 2007; C03
Do you get to retain your title as America's greatest living singer-songwriter if no one can understand a single word you sing?
In the early stages of Bob Dylan's performance at Merriweather Post Pavilion on Friday night, even ardent fans must have grimaced at the guttural growling that emanated from the singer who once claimed his voice was equal to Caruso's. Unless you were there simply to bask in the Aura of Bob, the distressing, almost thoroughly unintelligible versions of "Rainy Day Women #12 & 35," "Señor (Tales of Yankee Power)" and "Just Like Tom Thumb's Blues" that led off the show bordered on unlistenable.
It was as if Dylan, looking the part of a well-dressed bandit in his black suit and light gray hat, was playing a practical joke on fans to find out how much deconstruction they'd put up with before reaching their breaking point. He has long reworked his songs to keep them from becoming banal crowd singalongs, but these versions sounded like some sort of diabolic sonic art project.
It wasn't until "Workingman's Blues #2," a full 30 minutes into his set, that Dylan either stopped joking or righted his listing ship. And the turnaround was so magnificent that the idea of the first few songs as a sort of prank seemed almost plausible.
The transporting version of "Desolation Row" delivered by the 66-year-old singer and his five-piece band brought many in the near-capacity crowd to their feet. The lovely, lilting "Beyond the Horizon," one of six songs on this night from last year's "Modern Times," was as revelatory as it was charming. As he rattled off the searing litany of charges in "Masters of War," he sounded as if he had penned the song earlier that very day, not 44 years ago. And the completely reworked version of "Blowin' in the Wind," which ended the show, was yet more proof that Dylan can drastically alter and recast his songs without ruining them for fans in the process.
Enunciation wasn't a problem for Elvis Costello, who preceded Dylan on Friday with a 50-minute solo acoustic set that plowed through favorites and a few obscure choices as well. The (formerly) Angry Young Man is older now (53) and seemingly much less angry. The sneer and snarl that served him so well early in his career have virtually disappeared. (Or maybe he just thought it was impolite to sneer and snarl at fans who had plunked down $75 to $125 on tickets.) Perhaps that's why when he sang "(What's So Funny 'Bout) Peace, Love and Understanding" it sounded less like a meaningful anthem than a party tune. And on "Radio Sweetheart" he even raised his cup and led the crowd in a cheery singalong.
Much better for fans of a far more bitter Elvis was an outstanding version of "Alison." Wringing it for all of its wistfulness, Costello could hardly have sounded more plaintive. And on "In Another Room," one of the more unexpected choices, he mixed longing and resentment in a fashion that seems practically his trademark. The real bonus? You could understand every word.
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martinfoyle
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martinfoyle
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