indy81

I was kind of shocked at how rough Jeff looked on The Tonight Show. Guy looks to have gained 20-30 lbs. It's obviously been a really hard year for him and his family. Hopefully Sue will be well very soon, if she isn't already.

I was really impressed by the live Quadrophenia release that just came out. If you love the album it's a must-watch. Despite their age, Townshend and Daltrey play with a lot of sincere intensity and the stripped-down presentation (no narration, no special guests) is much more effective than the '96-'97 tours.

Wish they'd found those acetates before they released a whole set of outtakes from the same period! Now we'll never hear them.

I dunno. I'm an "old school" Pearl Jam fan, and I know plenty others, and I can't think of anyone who doesn't like Yield. Outstanding album that has only gotten better with time. But hey, you like what you like. 

I like the new Jack White 'cause it plays up his musical eccentricities (his personal eccentricities grew tiresome a long time ago). But he still hasn't been particularly interesting since Get Behind Me Satan. The guy is almost 39 after all - nearly every rock-and-roller's best days are long gone at that age. Seems to me White peaked a long time ago and has been playing in the same sandbox for 10 years without replacing the sand. But there's some weird, satisfying stuff on Lazaretto.

Also, it's a stretch to say the Stripes are responsible for the garage revival, since they really didn't break out until 2001. They were part of that whole Detroit scene, but the Hives, Strokes, etc. were doing their own thing before the Stripes took off. A lot of this stuff was going on independently and coalesced around 2001-02.

Both the White Stripes and Wilco are a lock for the HOF. After Radiohead is inducted in 2017, the pickings are incredibly slim. I wonder if they will even continue to induct bands. Wilco might not sell out arenas, but they're one of the biggest rock acts of the last twenty years. A testament to the genre's decline in popularity, perhaps, but still.

New song is decent; much better than the Nelson Mandela song.  I give U2 credit for continuing to act as though their new material is going to make or break their career, even if that's obviously no longer the case.  It can be easy to forget that right now they're the equivalent of Bridges to Babylon-era Stones, in terms of age.

Should I go? I have never seen Springsteen, and am a casual fan at best - I like Tenth Ave. Freeze Out, Born to Run, Rosalita, but not much else. He would be playing a lot of stuff I have never heard, or heard once and didn't get into. I own nothing but his greatest hits, and I'm not even crazy about some of those. Decisions, decisions...Maybe I need to see the ticket prices first.

Seeing Springsteen live turned me from a casual fan to a die-hard fan.  One of the most transcendental concerts I've ever seen.  Having said that, you sound like you don't want to go.

Isn't it generally accepted that Dylan has worn a wig for a long time?

These days he hardly ever plays new material after its initial release.  One of the reasons why I've lost interest in his new stuff.  If there isn't a single decent song that can remain in the setlist a year later, why bother?

Gotta say, you guys are making this sound like it was a completely miserable experience.

Yeah, Nels replaced Jay on lead guitar (just took a while), while Pat replaced LeRoy.

Has anyone put together a compilation from all the audience recordings?  Why wait for the Roadcase?

It's a shame this stuff costs so much. I would like to have the other disc of this current Self Portrait box, but there is no way I am paying 100 bucks for music releases anymore.  I would rather like to have Bob's take on Wild Mountain Thyme.  It is streaming online, at least. (You can't beat Sandy Denny's version of that song though.)

You can download the Isle of Wight show from iTunes for $1.29 a song.

Really enjoying the new release -- most of it will never be top-shelf material, but there's some very nice stuff here.

I listened to the Red Rocks shows when they were released and thought the performances were great but the sound quality was pretty lousy compared to Okonokos.

Wow, "Solitaire."  Very underrated tune -- glad to see it show up.  Hopefully some of these rarities find their way into the set on the next tour.

People always think long songs are jams when they haven't heard them before.  Most of the MMJ "jams" are just long songs that have a structure, with little improvisation.  It's like when people say Wilco is a jam band when they hear "Handshake Drugs" and "Impossible Germany" for the first time.  

I'd strongly recommend the live album Okonokos over any of the studio albums, honestly.  It's two discs, so it's a lot to swallow at once, but once you get into it, it's incredibly rewarding.

Yes, no witnesses... and given that he killed the only other person who really knows what happened that night, I'd hope you understand why many of us have a hard time believing that his account is 100% accurate.  

Yes, thank you!  Especially when "You're gonna die tonight!" and "He went for my gun" are exactly the kind of bullshit things someone would make up after the fact when they realized they would need to prove legal self-defense.  Seeing them constantly trotted out as justification for Martin's death has been frustrating.  

We'll never know if those things were said or happened, but we must at least acknowledge that it's possible they weren't and Zimmerman simply tragically overreacted to getting his ass kicked by a kid he was stupidly following around like Paul Blart Mall Cop.

Gone home instead of attacking Zimmerman.

Martin's not allowed to "Stand His Ground" in the face of a threatening stranger?

With the less-than-sellout crowds at most of the stops thus far, I guess maybe a lot of people aren't being enticed by the concept of AmericanaramA, but I, for one, appreciate the effort being put in by MMJ, Wilco and yes, even Dylan to make this thing at least a somewhat unique event each night when they easily could have just gone through the motions.

It's funny; when I first heard of AmericanaramA, I thought it would be a home run in terms of attendance.  I thought, what Wilco or MMJ fan doesn't love Dylan?  And what Dylan fan wouldn't be impressed by Wilco or MMJ?  But reading this board and the Dylan board, I'm disappointed to see that there isn't as much crossover among the different fan bases as I had hoped.  

But even the weird mix within the audience hasn't kept the bands from enjoying themselves, obviously.

I'd love to buy the 4-disc version, but Amazon is listing it at $125...

Vitalogy

Vs.

No Code

Ten

Yield

Pearl Jam

Binaural

Backspacer

Riot Act

Really?!  Much like Wilco fans, it takes all kinds and you never know what you're going to get.  I call Binaural, and Riot Act their later classics, self titled a ho-hum album and Backspacer their fall from grace.

 

Also like with Wilco, it's cool that while they're disappointing some people, others are getting pumped.

I like all of PJ's albums, but I tend to agree with the standard story that S/T is a strong comeback album and Riot Act is a "we're trying to destroy our fan base and piss off the record company" album.

Again, not to bash Dylan (or old hippies  ), he has contributed greatly to the culture of music and inspired countless musicians but... I had to almost feel sad or sorry for him.  I get the impression that in his mind he is a god.  There are many aged musicians that have gotten better in their old age, Jonny Cash comes to mind, the American recordings series (thanks Rick Rubin) were brilliant. 

Didn't you mention in a previous post that you hadn't listened to any of Dylan's recent albums?  'Cause overall they're better than the Rubin/Cash albums.

Man, I'm sure glad this tour came around!  To think they were going to take the summer off.  I'd rather have them hit the studio later with the inspiration from these concerts lingering.

I am inclined to agree with this. To add to the speculation, I doubt he knows he is being blown off the stage because he likely has not seen MMJ or Wilco play on the tour. Ignorance is bliss.

Deb and I chatted very briefly during dinner about what to expect for the tour, and we agreed that maybe this was Bob's way of acknowledging that he's past his prime as an actual performer of his own brilliant songs, and maybe he would be encouraging the other performers to carry some of the weight on vocals during his set. Now, she didn't say this with any implication that she knew what was really going to happen, but it made so much sense and I kind of figured she was right. So, once again, Bob confounds and frustrates us!

Not to put too fine a point on it...but is it really Bob confounding and frustrating you when he doesn't meet your completely unrealistic expectations for the tour, based on unfounded speculation from Wilco's publicist?  You thought Dylan would bring Jeff and Jim James up to sing his songs, even though that would be completely unprecedented?  Dylan has been doing these baseball festivals for years -- I'm not sure how this one is any different just because his management brought in two "younger" bands instead of Willie Nelson.  

But I'm certainly enjoying the collaborations among the different supporting acts.