Tension builds for Dylan at King

Wednesday, August 11, 2010

By Aaron Davis

Jackson Hole, Wyo.-Generations of Bob Dylan fans have developed varying perceptions of the living music legend. Thirty-eight years after releasing his first album, critics and fans alike tie themselves in knots trying to figure him out. It appears that Dylan has not given an interview in 2010, but it was worth a try anyway.

Fans (myself included) that attended his last show at Snow King on July 15, 2003, saw Dylan behind the keys for the entire night. Many were disappointed by his worn vocal performance, but for those who had seen the masterful folk poet several times before, Dylan was gitty at that show.

“Bob rarely speaks but the fact that he told two jokes in Jackson has always been amazing to me,” said longtime fan and Driggs resident Stephen King.
I decided to scour the fan blogs and reviews of his most recent shows in order to get an idea of what he’s been playing, and what the reactions were. His early summer was spent in Europe, and diehards made comments like “vocals were better than I’ve heard in a long time;” “high energy and hard rocking” and “animated”—even for the last show of tour.

His setlists, vocal inflections, and even melodies are known to be unique to each show. Surprisingly, “Ballad of a Thin Man” has closed most shows in the last six months. For a guy who is prideful of being unpredictable, maybe he’ll read this and close with “Goin’ to Acapulco” instead.

Dylan released two albums in 2009—the chart-topping Together Through Life and the unforeseen Christmas in the Heart, his 47th album. Neither album touches his best of the decade, Love and Theft (2001), but the charm is there. Together reflects the sounds of 1950s Chicago blues, is very relaxed, and has a particular strut with a crooked top hat. But take it all with a grain of salt, because after all…
"Critics are [usually] on the outside looking in,” Dylan said in a November 2009 interview with Bill Flanagan. “They are definitely not fans or the audience that I play to. They would have no gut level understanding of me and my work…what I can and can’t do—the scope of it all. Even at this point in time they still don’t know what to make of me."

The recent Europe band featured Tony Garnier (bass), George Recile (drums), Stu Kimball (rhythm guitar), Charlie Sexton (lead guitar) and Donnie Herron (electric mandolin, pedal steel, lap steel and fiddle). JHW

Bob Dylan and his band will perform at 7:30 p.m., Saturday at Snow King Amphitheater. New York rootsy-blues trio The Dough Rollers will open. All ages.
Doors open at 6:30 p.m. Tickets are $65.50, available via www.BobDylan.com.

photo by WILLIAM CLAXTON
Bob Dylan’s last performance in Jackson Hole was in 2003.


PERMALINK:
Tension builds for Dylan at King | Planet JH News Article: Music Box

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