I`m going to see Tony Bennett and Bob Dylan Live in Concert

[jbfinscj]

Hey Everyone,


Ok now that I have your attention, every year I try to get to at least two concerts a year. I have tickets to go and see Bob Dylan on September 3rd in State College, PA. This will be the fourth time that I have seen him live. With that being said I am going out to New Jersey to see my girlfriend next week. For whatever reason I was looking at ticketmaster.com and noticed that Tony Bennett was going to be playing in Atlantic City next Friday night. I just couldn't resist going to see one of the greatest voices in concert. Tony Bennett has always been on my top five list of who I wanted to see in concert. Has anyone seen Bennett in concert? I think the last time I was this excited for a show was for the first time I saw Buffett live.

[surfpirate]

Hey Everyone,


Ok now that I have your attention, every year I try to get to at least two concerts a year. I have tickets to go and see Bob Dylan on September 3rd in State College, PA. This will be the fourth time that I have seen him live.

I just got in from seeing Bob Dylan tonight at Harry Grove Stadium in Frederick, Maryland. This is my 7th time (I think that's about right) seeing Bob Dylan live in concert. 3 of the WORST concerts I have ever seen were Bob Dylan. Of course 3 of the BEST concerts I have seen have also been Bob Dylan concerts (the best being 1980 when he toured with "The Band"). It's always hit or miss with Dylan. Of course even his best shows he tends to mumble and change the key and tempo of his classics sometimes so much you hardly recognize the tune.

I'd put tonight's show somewhere in the middle. I was worried he'd focus too much on his new album due out this fall, but he didn't. He started out with Maggie's Farm and These Times They Are A Changing and kept on rolling with classics. By the time he got to the encore we had worked our way up pretty close to the stage, so when he did Like A Rolling Stone we were right up close. I must admit it was pretty chilling being that close to a legend and the crowd really got into the encore.

Typical Dylan ... he didn't even look up or even acknowledge the crowd until the encore when he mumbled a short "Thanks for being here" and introduced the band. The man lets his music do the talking.

[jbfinscj]

I have to agree about being close to the stage at a Dylan show. I was in the first row the second time that I saw him. The man has a larger then life persona when he is on stage. He said very little and has you put it let the music do the talking. The show was exactly two months after September 11 and when he performed "Blowin in the Wind," it just sent chills down your spine. I never heard him snarl the line "how many deaths...." like the way he did that night. I have it captured on a bootleg.

[surfpirate]

I have to agree about being close to the stage at a Dylan show. I was in the first row the second time that I saw him. The man has a larger then life persona when he is on stage. He said very little and has you put it let the music do the talking. The show was exactly two months after September 11 and when he performed "Blowin in the Wind," it just sent chills down your spine. I never heard him snarl the line "how many deaths...." like the way he did that night. I have it captured on a bootleg.

Wow. That must have been great. I was disappointed in not hearing Blowing In The Wind last night, since it may be one of the few songs my wife really likes. My wife is not a huge Dylan fan and only recognized Like A Rolling Stone. If you are not a Dylan fan and thus don't really appreciate his legend and impact on music and our culture over the past 40+ years ..... well .... the show won't be much fun for you. His tendency (still) to mumble and talk his way through some of his songs, not to mention changing the key and tempo of some of his standards makes it hard for any casual fan to enjoy his shows.

[East Texas Parrothead]

I've seen Tony Bennett twice. In Dallas. At the Fairmont Hotel. He is amazing.

The first time, I was coming into the room about the same time he was set to go on. There's no real "venue," just the Venetian Room . . . and he was standing right there.

I must have looked a fool, but he was *so* nice. Shook my hand and got a piece of paper from the guy with him so he could give me an autograph. I can't remember what I said, except that my mom and stepfather had seen him at the Baker Hotel (Dallas) on their first date and that my mom's favorite song was ILMHISF.

When he sang it for the finale, he said, "This is for Terry and her mom."

Needless to say, the man is way up there on my list of favorites.

What a gentleman. In every way.

You're going to love him. He's no dancer and he's sometimes almost shy up on the stage, but when he sings, it's from the heart.

Enjoy!

[daddymention]

I just got tickets for Tony Bennett's 80th Birthday party (part 2 ) in Hollywood at the Kodak theatre. It will be awesome!!! It's on November 9th.

[surfpirate]

And now back to Bob Dylan .....

From the Washington Post review of his Saturday night, 8/19/06 show at Harry Grove Stadium in Frederick, Maryland:

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Dylan, Wheezin' In The Wind

By Chris Richards
Special to The Washington Post
Monday, August 21, 2006; Page C01

Ah, the sights, smells and sounds of the ballpark. A grown man dancing with a sunflower. The smell of reefer blowing in the outfield. A mother lecturing her fidgety child: "He is a legend !"

"He" is Bob Dylan, and yes, kiddo, he is a legend. Dylan's third annual summer tour of minor league ballparks stopped Saturday night at Harry Grove Stadium in Frederick, where parents got to hear one of America's greatest living songwriters wheeze through his greatest tunes while their kids just watched, confused.

It's not breaking news that Dylan's voice has withered over the course of his storied 65 years. Nor is his tendency to rearrange the phrasing and melodies of his songs to suit those battered pipes. But these days, the man sounds less like a rock-and-roll icon and more like Cookie Monster with a head cold.

He played the hits, but would you have recognized them? The opening one-two punch of "Maggie's Farm" and "The Times They Are A-Changin' " was full of promise, but Dylan's run-down vocal delivery rendered the songs almost unrecognizable. The lyrics are still trenchant -- "There's a battle outside and it is ragin' / It'll soon shake your windows and rattle your walls / For the times they are a-changin' " -- but good luck finding them in the garble of huffs, puffs and croaks.

Even more disappointing was Dylan's lack of engagement with the audience. From a stage erected in deep center field, he stood hunched over a keyboard, rarely facing the thousands of fans flooding the ballpark's field and stands. During his 90 minutes onstage he thanked the crowd only once.

He also thanked his band, which brought a bluesy hue to his songbook. After a lean, driving version of "Cold Irons Bound" (a tune from Dylan's 1997 comeback album "Time Out of Mind"), the band slipped into the twinkling, nimble "Girl From the North Country." Dylan reined it in and sang quietly over the song's sparkling guitars before blowing a plaintive harmonica solo.

Despite the ragged vocal performance, the crowd mustered enough applause for an encore in which Dylan cued up two of his masterpieces, "Like a Rolling Stone" and "All Along the Watchtower." It was a once-in-a-lifetime moment: One where you wished those drunk dudes singing behind you would cut loose and drown out the guy onstage.
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[jbfinscj]

Tony Bennett cancelled his show for tonight with no rescheduled date

[CapnK]

you see? That's what you get for bragging about a Dylan / Bennett romp.

Just kidding. Sorry to hear it.