Dylan - Nottingham 2005 | Is there food?

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Dylan - Nottingham 2005

By Dan ⋅ November 16, 2005 ⋅ Post a comment

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After the tedium of Sigur Ros on Monday night I had higher hopes for Bob Dylan's performance in the Nottingham Arena. Having been informed that Dylan was taking the stage promptly at 7:30 and that there would be no support, I had high hopes for a few hours of classic Dylan; I couldn't have been further from the mark. The band opened with a toe curling rock version of Maggie's Farm. Two guitars, peddle steel, drums, bass, and Mr Dylan, side on to the audience, on keyboard. At no point during the entire gig did Dylan either touch a guitar, or acknowledge the audience. A supposed ten thousand people turned out to see Dylan in Nottingham, and he didn't engage with a soul. He minced about behind his keyboard, occasionally blowing into a harmonica, and blathering through repetitive rocka-pop,billy,and blues versions of whatever Dylan fancied playing (or could remember the words to) like a demented Eric Cartman. His vocal delivery had precious little variation, and he sounded almost as bored and unenthusiastic as most of the audience looked after roughly 60 minutes. After a brief, two song encore, the band lined up at the front of the stage, Dylan clutching a harmonica in each hand, shuffling uncomfortably, fists shaking, looking like a cowboy version of Ozzy Osbourne. A hugely disappointing evening. I have no desire to see Dylan in concert again. I know you should always attend a Dylan gig expecting to be let down, but I honestly thought there would be occasional flashes of genius. The whole set was a flat, uninspired mess (rock drumming and wanky guitar solos at a Bob Dylan gig? No thanks). I did a quick Technorati search, and found a few other people who were present (and there appear to be more positive reviews than negative): Negative: Rusty Pearl Positive: Ice in The Cider 4D Head Embodied Chris

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