"You might say I'm unlearned..."

Maybe it's just the onset of fall, but somehow this shot sort of captures my mood at the moment... thanks to Suzi for being fearless when getting the shots from this set.

Went to see Bob Dylan and Elvis Costello play last night, and while these are two of my all-time favorite artists, something about the evening left me cold. I'm not sure if concertgoing has changed, or I've changed, or both, but all night it seemed like I was waiting for ONE song to sound just a little like the recorded version. I knew better than to expect it from Dylan (he's notorious for this... seems it becomes a losing game of "I can name that tune in two verses and a chorus,"). For instance, he played Masters of War, which still stands up as a great anti-war song, perhaps today more than ever, but apart from the first line, it was unintelligible, so rather than being moved by the lyrics, it was just another mid-tempo sleeper. I knew Elvis would be performing solo, but I really missed his band, and while he threw in a few of the "greatest hits" there was a lot of newer, slower stuff that even I wasn't familiar with.

I realize this isn't a very artistic attitude to take... perhaps it's best to view it as an evening of reinterpreting and expression, and rather than comparing everything to the "original" version, the songs should have been enjoyed for the manner in which they were performed -- which I managed to do to some extent. But it's also about money at this point, as both performers are promoting the umpteenth re-issue of their best known works, and a wide array of $40 t-shirts, so would it kill them to perform a couple songs the way at least some of the audience would hope to hear it? I guess I'm getting to the point (age?) where the experience of trying to decipher lyrics doesn't feel rewarding enough to merit an evening of my time and $60 for a good (but far from great) seat next to Mr. & Mrs. Thimblebladder.

Or as Bob himself said, "I used to care, but things have changed." At least, I think that's what he said.