Monday, July 2, 2007

Bob Dylan Dreamscape

This is a painting I started a few years ago, and it seems to represent the dreaminess of the Catskill Mountain Region. I never finished it, and probably will leave it unfinished. The Bob Dylan concert in Bethel on Saturday night had a lot of dreamy moments. The setting could not have been more beautiful. Sixteen thousand people gathered together could not have been more friendly and easygoing. It was incredible. Before the concert began, we walked around the beautiful site, looking at the panoramic views. George Harrison songs were played over the speakers, and it seemed so right that George's voice should be floating overhead. It seemed like a very good mix tape of his work.


Bob played a lot of great songs, and I like to hear lively new intrepretations of old classics. His performance of "It's Alright Ma" was hypnotic, and he seemed to be having great fun performing "Tangled Up in Blue" and adding some fun lyrics. A selection of harmonicas were sitting on a speaker, for bluesy solos, and his Oscar from the Academy Awards was resting on an amplifier. Bob looked happy and the show was marvelous.

I will just give you part of Adam Bosch's review:
Bethel — When the legendary songwriter Bob Dylan played Bethel Woods Center for the Arts last night, the parking lot was packed with a lot of things you might expect.
There were plenty of eclectic T-shirts, one Volkswagen bus and soft notes played by acoustic guitars.
But there was also something surprising in the crowd — young people, and a lot of them.
So what would make the American Idol generation have a hankering for some Dylan?
"Nobody can string words together like he can," said Jon Weir, 25, of Albany. "It's music that stands the test of time."
Oh, but there's a little more to it. Many 20-somethings in the crowd said they can relate to Dylan's lyrics. After all, he wrote songs about an unpopular war and others tunes about environmental problems.
"His song 'Licensed to Kill' was all about people wreaking havoc on the environment," said Bob Early, who drove from Syracuse where he's getting a Ph.D. in English. "It's from a 1983 album, and things have gotten even worse since then."

Setlist:
1. Leopard-Skin Pill-Box Hat
2. The Times They Are A-Changin'
3. I'll Be Your Baby Tonight
4. It's Alright, Ma (I'm Only Bleeding)
5. Just Like A Woman
6. The Levee's Gonna Break
7. The Lonesome Death Of Harrie Carroll
8. High Water (For Charlie Patton)
9. Spirit On The Water
10. Tangled Up In Blue
11. Blind Willie McTell
12. I Don't Believe You (She Acts Like We Never Have Met)
13. When The Deal Goes Down
14. Highway 61 Revisited
15. Blowin' In The Wind

(encore)
16. Thunder On The Mountain
17. All Along The Watchtower