Bob Dylan
When Bob Dylan sings, everyone listens -- even though half the time it's hard to figure out what he's actually saying.
Uptown at the United Palace Theater, at the first of his three-show engagement (concluding tonight), Dylan's vocals on his famous and not-so-famous songs were warped in distinct growls of self-parody, fast eruptions of words and strange sing-song phrasing that made the familiar strange and the strange absurd.
Yeah, it was another great show by the Zim.
You might not have been able to tell that by "Cat's in the Well," the opening song Tuesday night. During that one Dylan stood behind a keyboard stage left, shaking the rust from his pipes and turning the entire song title into a single word. He grooved a slight foot shuffle synched to the tune's beat.
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A hatted Bob Dylan, seen here in an earlier 2009 performance, was practically frisky Tuesday.
It was just OK, but one song later when Bob let loose on "It's All Over Now, Baby Blue" the legendary singer found himself. Sure, it wasn't immediately clear what he was singing, but under the shade of his big cream-colored Stetson, and playing guitar (rare these days), the song revealed itself in an array of grunts and vocal creaks that only Bob and wounded animals can make naturally.
It's always fascinating to see Dylan in concert. He's unpredictable, and enjoys dabbling in the erratic.
Take his version of "Tweedle Dee & Tweedle Dum." This is a propulsive song that has good bottom and usually rouses the audience, but not Bob. At this show Dylan did the tune standing center stage alone, with a mike in one hand and a harmonica in the other, as he hammed it up like a real rock star.
I've seen Bob at least once a year on his never-ending tour, and he's never put on the entertainer's hat like he did at this show. There were lulls at the center of the show, such as when he stacked "John Brown," "Summer Days" and "Po' Boy" one on top of the other. But he powerfully followed up with "Highway 61 Revisited," "Ballad of a Thin Man" and in the encore, "Like a Rolling Stone" and "All Along the Watchtower," all of which were really memorable.
Also outstanding was Dylan's choice of opening act -- Dion. This veteran architect of rock 'n' roll killed with rock standards of the '50s and his own early hits, such as "Runaround Sue" and "The Wanderer." He even showed he's still in the game with his more recent song "King of the New York Streets." If you're going to the show tonight, get there early enough for Dion's 7:30 start.
Read more: http://www.nypost.com/p/entertainment/music/tweedle_dee_lightful_DyEHXwaoLcWyXo4CG5jeAN#ixzz0XWlLvGNR
