BOB DYLAN, BOB DYLAN, BOB DYLAN………….
I MEAN, THAT IS REALLY ALL YOU NEED TO SAY, isn’t it?
OK, maybe perhaps LEGEND, ICON, AMERICAN TREASURE!
After all, what more could you say to describe a man, who is a literal genius, and among whose accomplishments and accolades are the following: having been involved professionally, and personally in the case of Arlo Guthrie, with the likes of Joan Baez, The Band, and The Grateful Dead, being a member of the Traveling Wilburys (fellows members included George Harrison, Roy Orbison, and Tom Petty), playing successful festivals such as The Isle Of Wight festival in 1969 and George Harrison’s Benefit Concert For Bangladesh, playing to Pope John Paul II in 1997, appearing in the movie “Pat Garrett and Billy The Kid”, and then there are the countless awards such as Grammys, Golden Globes, and Academy Awards. There was the special citation from the Pulitzer Prize jury for his “his profound impact on popular music and American culture, marked by lyrical compositions of extraordinary poetic power.” With 16 platinum and multi-platinum records, and 22 gold records, and 5 number 1 records to boot, Bob Dylan, in one sense, goes into the stratosphere of the realm of “the indescribable, and it’s just too hard to find the true and accurate words that do him justice”.
One thing for sure though is that Bob Dylan, born Robert Allen Zimmerman, certainly is bigger than life in person and he, without a doubt, lit the town on fire October 18, 2009 at the amazing Joint.
For the most part, the fans went wild from the second he walked out on stage. No big fan fare or wild intro, it was just simply, “Everyone, Bob Dylan”! He was as humble as he was rockin’…
It was a bit hard to hear his first song actually, over the screams from the excited to see him in life fans! It was like a rock love in. I do think some of the fans eventually got a bit upset at first because they wanted to hear the hits of old Dylan. The first half was more of a blues, not rocker, Dylan with songs from his new album. But at last, came the famed Dylan songs and the fans went crazy as expected. From what I saw, Bob is an ever changing artist and you get what he wants to give or too bad… If you love me than go with me!
What I found really fascinating was the age of the audience. There were of course more people between the ages of 45 to 65 there who grew up with the genius. However, it was cool to see a whole new and younger Dylan generation there as well. I spoke with many 18 to 35 year old fans. I asked, how they even knew of Dylan, to which they replied, “It’s all about the lyrics. My parents first introduced me to him and I love his lyrics”. So play on Bobbie… You have a whole new fan base out there.
The songs performed by the master rocker and poet and his Band were: Leopard-Skin Pill-Box Hat, The Man In Me, Don’t Think Twice, It’s All Right (Bob on guitar), Beyond Here Lies Nothin’, Spirit On The Water, Forgetful Heart, Tweedle Dee & Tweedle Dum, Beyond The Horizon, Cold Irons Bound, Tryin’ To Get To Heaven, Highway 61 Revisited, Po’ Boy, Thunder On The Mountain, Ballad Of A Thin Man, (encore) Like A Rolling Stone, Jolene, All Along The Watchtower… So the fans did get some of the old Dylan that they yearned for and were more than satisfied.
Needless to say, Bob Dylan’s influence and impact on popular music is endless and timeless. He has been a major figure in popular music for five decades.
As a songwriter, he pioneered several different schools of pop songwriting, from confessional singer/songwriter to winding, hallucinatory, stream-of-conscious narratives. As a vocalist, he broke down the idea that in order to perform, a singer had to have a conventionally fantastic voice, thereby redefining the role of vocalist in popular music. As a musician, he sparked several genres of pop music, including electrified folk, rock, blues, and country-rock. And that just scratches the tip of his achievements. A number of his songs, such as “Blowin’ in the Wind” and “The Times They Are a-Changin’,” became anthems for both the Civil rights and Anti war movements. He was like the pied piper and the lyrical voice back in the day, and most likely even to some today.
So Mr. Bob Dylan, you are still loved, appreciated, and the king of lyrics that speak to many generations, and generations to come.
Keep rockin’ and ever changing !!!!
