| Wow, look how many posts I've made this month. Pretty exciting.
So finals have started here at Tulane. My days are numbered. Yesterday was the last day of classes, but I decided to go to Jazz Fest instead to see Bob Dylan for the second time this year. I can't remember if I wrote about when I saw him back in July, so I'll recap:
I was very excited -- I bought two tickets (for myself and an unnamed guest) the minute they went on sale (for $60 each!). It turned out that I couldn't find anyone to go with, so my dad went with me instead. Dylan was touring with Willie Nelson, and they were only playing in minor league baseball stadiums. So, I drove to Sauget to see him in whatever stadium they have there. I had to sit through some crappy bluegrass opener. Then, I had to sit through Willie Nelson's set, while all the rednecks from who knows where cheered. (A defining moment: Willie says something like "feels good to be in St. Louis" and some useless redneck yells, in a perfect redneck accent, "You ain't in St. Louis!!" This was followed by cheers from his fellow rednecks, who were so ashamed to be associated with the only place within 100 miles with any sophistication.) Anyway, finally it was Dylan's time! This was at the time when I had really started getting into his music -- reading endlessly and listening to the famed concerts of the 60s -- and I was ready. My "Big Three" artists are (no surprise): Jimi, Beatles, and Dylan -- Dylan being the only one I would ever get a chance to see live. The show was all right. It was more that it was Dylan, than the music itself. He really didn't sound good at all and was totally disconnected from the crowd. Finally, Like A Rolling Stone came as an encore, and it was nearly ruined by the drunken mid-30s man screaming the words. (Actually, I'm positive now that I've told this before...) Anyway, I was/am very happy that I saw him, but it was a bit anti-climactic.
But yesterday I had a chance to see him again. I don't feel like going into any details about getting into Jazz Fest and finding a place to stand -- let's just say it was very crowded and it took a lot of effort to navigate through the sea of people to find a place to stand close to the stage and in the center. This time, no bluegrass, no Willie Nelson (in fact, I got to catch the second half of Keb' Mo's set --- really good). Dylan took the stage about 20 minutes late, which was really surprising because Jazz Fest runs on a pretty tight schedule usually. The set list was better than it was in July, I thought. Off the top of my head, I remember: Maggie's Farm, It's All Over Now Baby Blue, Highway 61 Revisited, Most Likely You Go Your Way And I'll Go Mine, Love Minus Zero/No Limit (I think...), and for the encore (didn't think it would happen at Jazz Fest) Like A Rolling Stone and All Along The Watchtower. Watchtower was great. He didn't play it in July, so this was my first time hearing him play it live. I had always read that after Jimi's cover, Dylan realized that was "the way the song was meant to be played" and started playing the song more like Jimi's version than his own, and I finally got to see for myself. The solos and the rhythm were very similar -- very cool. Here's a photo:
Now, other than the slightly different set list, it wasn't that much different. Watching him --- this old, skinny man hunched over a keyboard (no more guitar for Bob) dressed like a funny-looking cowboy --- I kept thinking that this couldn't be the same guy as my Dylan. In my head, he's still the Dylan from the '60s, with the crazy hair and the dark sunglasses, telling the band to "play fucking loud!" (...for those who pay attention). But, he just wasn't the same. He looked like, I'm sorry to say, a remnant of what was once the "Great Bob Dylan." He sounded like someone else, with a scratchy, old man voice howling words that someone else had written. It was like he was covering himself -- playing the same songs, but they didn't sound anything alike. If it weren't for the words, I wouldn't have known which song he was playing. I read an interview with him last year where he said that he didn't know how he wrote those songs in the '60s like Like A Rolling Stone or Visions of Johanna -- they just flowed out of him without any effort, and he said that he could never write songs like that ever again. The show was great -- but it was great because it was like an homage to what once was.
...I wrote way more than I wanted to or planned on about that! With all that said, I had my first final today and now my next one isn't until next Thursday, so I've got quite a break. My last final is next Saturday, but I won't be leaving New Orleans for a couple of weeks. My dad has to fly down and rent a truck so we can move everything back home. Speaking of which, next year I'll be living with Julian and his friend Neil in (what looks like from the photos) a very nice place near Wash U. I'm real excited to have a place of my own in St. Louis (especially for the summer). I don't know what to think, really, about leaving Tulane and New Orleans. I'm pretty sad to leave New Orleans -- I think it's the best place in the country to go to school in, hands down. But, I think I'm ready to move on, I guess. It's gonna be a good time being back home and getting to see everyone more often, and graduating from Wash U will mean a whole lot. It's just the next phase, that's all.
I'm sure I'll update at least one more time before I leave...(and I'm still considering moving this to blogspot! I think I'll do it after my last final here or after I leave New Orleans --- fitting with the next phase bit). |
