Bob Dylan in Melbourne

[froggie]

I went in not expecting much, but got a nice

surprise. As for the crowd, when RDW started, everyone stood up to clap.

Some people behind me (a few rows back) threw a scrunched up piece of

paper at the back of my head and told me to "fucking sit down". I sat down

and couldnt see a thing on stage (which was pretty high) due to the front

row still standing. Then there was a sudden rail rush for the first 3

rows, which I joined in on.

 

Those guys behind were yelling and swearing between the first 6 or 7 songs

to sit down. Like I payed $165 to watch someone

[mountain bed]

Thanks for the review Mende! Sounds like 2 fine nights of music. I'll totally disagree w/ ya on Thin Man...that's just about my favorite Bob song ever.

 

Blind Willie Mc Tell! I've caught a dozen Dylan shows, always hoping to hear that one. Never have .

[MIKEPUA]

I don't understand sitting down at concerts. It's music....most of the time it's purpose it to invoke emotion. Some of that emotion may induce standing and even the often feared "Dancing". I have no problem with sitting, but fuck people who sit and yell at standers.

 

This has been going on all year. I have been going to concerts for over 15yrs now and never before ran into this problem. While attending the Ovens show this year I was asked by the staff to be seated or they were going to throw my wife and I out. WTF? Standing during a concert is now bad? Bullshit!. And I would put good money on the bands feeling the same. You go to see a band play live and you sit there. I'm sure that's just what bands love. "hell yeah, we must be rockin' really hard, look, they're all sitting".

 

I felt mixed up about the Ovens thing for a few months. I commented on this before and got mixed opinions and that's fine, opinions are going to vary and often people won't see eye to eye...I can go along with that, but the second some asshole starts throwing paper or god forbid something worse I'm done with being calm and passive.

 

I got the impression after listening to the last two nights of Wilco webcast that the band likes an enthusiastic crowd. A crowd that conveys that they are moved by the music. Sitting on your asses looking like you could take it or leave it isn't going to fire up any enthusiasm on the bands part. And fuck man, should Tweedy really have to entice people to stand? That's fucking shameful. The band rocks, the crowd stands, they rock harder, the crowd dances.....it's a lot like sex. There I said it.

 

The short version. There's a setting for every environment. Wilco, (and I use Wilco as an example b/c this is a Wilco forum) at least from what I gather, is a rock band. I feel in every bit of my soul that they are intending to rock the venue. I associate rock music with getting down for the most part. Other more intimate settings might just call for a sitting situation. In these cases I fully encourage sitting, soaking it all up and taking it as it was meant to be taken.

 

I use to go to shows with this overwhelming feeling of unity. Unity with the fans and the band. The band gave and the fans gave back. It was a back and forth effort that came as effort-less as ever. The best shows I saw were the shows where the band was really on and the fans just flipped out and that made the band flip out. It always felt like give and take and at times very climactic, yep back to the sex theory. It's not to say that I don't still see shows like that, but they are indeed getting fewer and farther between.

 

I'm just a fan with an opinion, and my opinion is, as fans we also take part in making the show. If you want a great show, give a little.

 

Sorry for the temporary thread hijacking, but this subject pisses me off to no end. Never the less, sorry you got fucked with for standing froggie. At least you took it in stride and enjoyed the rest of the evening. I've seen Bob more times than I can remember, some good, other not so good. I took my mom to her first concert in 20yrs and it was a Dylan concert. 20yrs w/o seeing a live music act, i can't even imagine. What I do remember most is, my Mom had a kick ass time. I don't remember how good Dylan was that night, but he was good enough to get my Mom out of her seat, and she danced, without the band having to coax her out of her seat. It was a great night.

[froggie]

i actually did stand... after the guy threw something at me to sit down, everyone made a beeline to the stage, so i went with them.. only spent 30 seconds sitting down

[MIKEPUA]

indeed, and that's how it should be. Like I said, you seem like you took it in stride and didn't let it effect your good time. That's really the best thing you can do. I have for most of my life been a super passive person, but recently I have been getting angry at the way people interact with each other. At what point in your life do you think, "look at that asshole standing, give me something to throw at them so they'll sit down" People like that should be beaten and made example of. And that's where I'm at now with my passiveness. lol

 

Never the less, back to your Bob review.

 

I'm glad Bob was good for the shows you saw. The last time I saw him, 2003, he was awful. It was one of the worst concerts I've ever attended and I have been reluctant to see him again. I'm sure if he came back around I would, but that last time was that bad. I'm not the type who never gives another go round to a band...most everyone I have seen play numerous times has had a bad night and if I gave up on them after that, well, my summers would be wide open.

 

As many times as I have seen Bob I've never caught a "Leopard-Skin Pill-Box Hat". I love this song. Desolation Row is another of my favorites. It sounds like he's improved a bit, glad to hear that really. I've always liked Dylan, so it's bothered me for a while that I saw that horrible show. It's hard to see great musicians and not even be able to find a bit of good in what they're doing. It seems like all the reviews I read on Bob are mixed. But with Dylan I kinda feel that they always have been.

[Aeglos]

hear hear MIKE

[froggie]

what show did you see in 2003, mikepua?

 

if it was one of those joint shows with the Dead, they werent that good at all

[mountain bed]

what show did you see in 2003, mikepua?

 

if it was one of those joint shows with the Dead, they werent that good at all

I caught one of the '03 shows here. At least Bob did a mini-set w/ the Dead, but it wasn't too great. Also, when the Dead SBDs came out, they were mysteriously missing Bob sitting in with the band.

[MIKEPUA]

what show did you see in 2003, mikepua?

 

if it was one of those joint shows with the Dead, they werent that good at all

 

Indeed it was one of those joint shows....and let me tell you, I hated most every minute of the show. I was almost embarassed because i took my wife and a bunch of friends who are a little bit younger than I and I kept going on about traveling with the Grateful Dead and seeing Dylan...then we get there. The venue was horrible for starts. Then Dylan played...yikes, I need not say more. After Dylan came the Dead. I refer to the Dead's performance as the nights shit sandwich. They opened with Help on the Way and it was good. After that, complete shit. Then the show was closing to an end and I thought to myself, fuck yeah, the two hour tuning session is over, then they followed up with the Slip knot> Franklins and that too was good. So, I call the show a shit sandwich because it was like being fed a load of crap on two pieces of really good bread...ie, a shit sandwich. What I was impressed with is the Robert Hunter set....that was the highlight of the show and he only played for 20mins. After the show I woke up my wife who had fallen asleep from total lack of enthusiasm and apologized to everyone. LOL Ever sense I have had the Dylan fear.

 

I'm glad I'm not the only one who knows how bad those shows were. After we walked out of the show many people were talking about how "epic" the show was. #1. If you think a concert is epic, I instantly want to throw shit at you much like a monkey would at the zoo. People get so wrapped up in the nostalgia they don't pay attention to whats going on around them.