a most superlative evening
A good friend is visiting from up north (I wish another friend from down south was visiting as too). We went to see Willie Nelson and Bob Dylan. It was general admission at an AA League baseball park. We started out sitting up high. There was an excellent breeze and everything was visible. However, the acoustics were pretty lousy. We realized this later on and moved closer. Big improvement.
The opening act was a group of Australians called the greencards from Austin, TX playing bluegrass. They were real good and the crowd really enjoyed their music. It's funny how you notice no foreign accent whatsoever while they're singing, but when they just talk to the audience its real evident, they're not from around here. After their set they came up into the stands to listen to the rest of the show. They're just a bunch of kids! Or maybe at 40+(closer to 50) there are more and more "kids" around every day.
Willie Nelson came on and played all his old songs that his core fans wanted to hear. I really wanted to here some of the reggae tunes from his soon to be released reggae CD. I really like some of his more obscure stuff. I'm not an average Willie Nelson fan. And in retrospect, that's a good thing. I really don't want to be grouped in the "average Willie Nelson fan" category. His set was kind of flat. The highlight was when his son did a blues guitar thing. He played real well, just lacking the confidence of a more stage adjusted performer.
Dylan came on and lit the place up. He played some old stuff and some newer songs. I didn’t find out until 36 hours later that he played more of his old songs than I originally thought. I guess as long as he’s been playing those songs it would be real easy to get tired of playing them for him and listening to them for his fans. He changes them from time to time. The words are the same but the tunes and phrasing change. He’d start a number that didn’t sound familiar then a riff would ring a bell and a few audible lyrics would stumble from his mouth and shazam, “I have heard this one before.” It was great.
His band was great. He had a pedal steel guitar player who also played banjo, lap guitar, mandolin, and fiddle. It added a distinct flavor to the music. They were extremely tight all through the set. No question here about recognizibility. Dylan seemed to be enjoying himself, which probably leads to a higher energy show. He never played the guitar; the two guitarists on the stage would probably have showed him up. He played an electric piano and did several excellent harmonica solos. They left the stage and came back fir a two-song encore that ended with Watchtower, one of my all-time favorite songs.
What an evening! I got to see one of my favorite artists play one of my favorite songs with one of my favorite friends next to me.
The opening act was a group of Australians called the greencards from Austin, TX playing bluegrass. They were real good and the crowd really enjoyed their music. It's funny how you notice no foreign accent whatsoever while they're singing, but when they just talk to the audience its real evident, they're not from around here. After their set they came up into the stands to listen to the rest of the show. They're just a bunch of kids! Or maybe at 40+(closer to 50) there are more and more "kids" around every day.
Willie Nelson came on and played all his old songs that his core fans wanted to hear. I really wanted to here some of the reggae tunes from his soon to be released reggae CD. I really like some of his more obscure stuff. I'm not an average Willie Nelson fan. And in retrospect, that's a good thing. I really don't want to be grouped in the "average Willie Nelson fan" category. His set was kind of flat. The highlight was when his son did a blues guitar thing. He played real well, just lacking the confidence of a more stage adjusted performer.
Dylan came on and lit the place up. He played some old stuff and some newer songs. I didn’t find out until 36 hours later that he played more of his old songs than I originally thought. I guess as long as he’s been playing those songs it would be real easy to get tired of playing them for him and listening to them for his fans. He changes them from time to time. The words are the same but the tunes and phrasing change. He’d start a number that didn’t sound familiar then a riff would ring a bell and a few audible lyrics would stumble from his mouth and shazam, “I have heard this one before.” It was great.
His band was great. He had a pedal steel guitar player who also played banjo, lap guitar, mandolin, and fiddle. It added a distinct flavor to the music. They were extremely tight all through the set. No question here about recognizibility. Dylan seemed to be enjoying himself, which probably leads to a higher energy show. He never played the guitar; the two guitarists on the stage would probably have showed him up. He played an electric piano and did several excellent harmonica solos. They left the stage and came back fir a two-song encore that ended with Watchtower, one of my all-time favorite songs.
What an evening! I got to see one of my favorite artists play one of my favorite songs with one of my favorite friends next to me.
posted by steve | 2:05 PM
2 Comments:
When you say "up north," are you referring to Missouri? It's all relative. Are you coming to Jeff to see John in a couple weeks? I will if you will.
Can't go to Jeff when John will be in town. I'll be there this coming weekend. Leaving for 2+ week camping trip w/ Boy scouts on 7/20.
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