What will Bob Dylan do on Desert Trip? Out of all the
performers his set seems to be the one no one can get a read on. Most of the
acts play their greatest hits and bring out guest stars but as always Bob Dylan
is a different cat. I saw him on his Americanarama tour with an all-star opener
of Wilco, Beck, and Sean Lennon and he didn’t play with any of them when his
turn came along. Hell he didn’t play when he toured with Mavis Staples and he
tried to marry her back in the day (she did say they talked all the time which
is a nice change of pace from the other stories I’ve read of late). Will he
stick with the set (his modern tracks mixed with Sinatra covers and only a
couple of songs pre 1997) or will he pull a Rome 2013 and decide to play all
his classics? The man is a mystery wrapped in a riddle and will probably have
the most divisive set amongst concert goers. I’d say since around 2012/2013 the
critics have mostly lauded his live shows but I’ve seen plenty of people
walking out or even complaining about his voice (shocker) or his setlist. I
always tell people that you have to be prepared if you choose to see the
Minnesota Bard live. He’s not going to play the songs like they sounded on the
album and to top that off he probably won’t play your favorite. Now to the
casual fan this sounds horrible but it’s really one of the most unique shows
out there. Here’s a man reinventing his music and defeating the nostalgia that
has gripped so many of his contemporaries and fans. He doesn’t care how you enjoyed
the way a song sounded back in the day because it’s a relic of the past. That’s
a static sound. When Dylan performs he’s discovering what’s relevant and
meaningful about the song to him in the present. It’s sort of like watching an
artist paint a picture in real time. He’s a true artist and I could go on and
on, and I have, but usually people start walking out on me so I’ll cool it a
tad with the worship.
So what will Dylan do? Will he play “Like a Rolling Stone”
with the Stones? Jam on “Blowin in the Wind” with Neil Young? Or just come out
do his vaudevillian dancing and croon out the classics? It’s going be
fascinating either way and my sole hope is that he’s in good voice. He’s a
competitive fellow and I doubt he’ll want to be the weak link in this pantheon
of greats. If anything Dylan will be the most divisive but that’s to be
expected. He’s Bob Dylan. When has he ever done anything but the things he
wants to?
