Well, this show has been an ongoing experiment with the music that I am exposed to during a given week, and this week the biggest event musically had to be the concert put on by Bob Dylan at the Sudbury Arena. Our dear friend Angelo has conveniently provided the setlist if you are interested, and naturally the show this week reflects a good chunk of the music still rambling through my head like a drunken preacher. Bob took some criticism in the local papers for the concert, but frankly, I felt the majority of the complaints were largely unmerited.
Why people should complain about not recognizing the songs when the only Dylan they've listened to since 1970 was Blood on the Tracks or songs about Alicia Keys and Wonder Boys. It is also ironic to me to hear people complain about not being able to understand the lyrics or his singing...isn't that what you paid to go see? This is Bob Dylan you paid for! Perhaps they expected that at the end of his career, Dylan would suddenly become Pavarotti or some crystal clear annunciating machine with the diction of a Shakespearean actor. I, on the other hand, paid to see a legendary rebel play music (any music), and I wasn't disappointed. He played keyboards, he played harmonica, and best of all, he played guitar! He played classics and he played new stuff, he mumbled and he scowled, he shuffled and he paced. He cut songs off, and he directed his outstanding band with crabby gusto. That is the stage show that is the legend of Bob Dylan. Who would want anything more?
My opinion is that if you want to see the young Bob Dylan, invent a time machine or retreat to your memories. I was just thankful to have had the opportunity to see in the flesh a man whose name will live a lot longer than any of ours will. The concert for me was summed up perfectly by the people sitting in front of me. A middle-aged couple was seated in front of us with their two young children. At first I was worried the kids would spend the whole concert complaining or being otherwise childishly distracting. To my heartwarmed joy, not only did the children not act bored, they danced and clapped and loved it right along with their parents. Every once in a while I would catch the husband and wife hold each others' gaze, their eyes communicating as loudly as Dylan's crooning. Here was an unknown and unspoken shared past being kindled in front of me through the music they so clearly loved and wanted to share with their children. When Bob Dylan came to Sudbury, it was a chance for them to recapture part of the past, and a chance for their children to pick up the mantle and carry with them, into the future, the music of a man who has left an idelible mark on his artform.
So here's a little show that we like to call
This Week in Braille or There'll be no mercy for you once you've lost
- Edith Piaf; La foule (2:58) from 35eme Anniversaire
- Edith Piaf; Le droit d'aimer (3:36) from 35eme Anniversaire
- She & Him; Sweet Darlin' (2:41) from Volume One
- Ryan Adams; I See Monsters (3:58) from Love Is Hell, Pt. 2
- Odetta; Trouble In Mind (4:27) from The Best Of The M.C. Records 1999-2005
- Bill Haley & His Comets; One Sweet Ltter From You (2:14) from The Decca Years and More
- Bill Haley & His Comets; Forty Cups Of Coffee (2:37) from The Decca Years and More
- Bob Wills & His Texas Playboys; Texas Blues (2:25) from Boot Heel Drag: The MGM Years
- Bob Dylan; Like A Rolling Stone (6:13) from Highway 61 Revisited
- Bob Dylan; Highway 61 Revisited (3:30) from Highway 61 Revisited
- Andrew Bird; Scythian Empire (4:32) from Armchair Apocrypha
- Tom Waits; Martha (4:31) from Closing Time
- Pee Wee King & His Golden West Cowboys; I Hear You Knockin' (2:52) from Pee Wee King And His Golden West Cowboys
- Pee Wee King & His Golden West Cowboys; Keep Them Cold Icy Fingers Off Of Me (2:57) from Pee Wee King And His Golden West Cowboys
- Milton Brown & His Musical Brownies; Down By The O-HI-O (2:50) from Doughboys, Playboys and Cowboys, Volume One: The Eyes of Texas
- Milton Brown & His Musical Brownies; My Galveston Gal (3:00) from Doughboys, Playboys and Cowboys, Volume One: The Eyes of Texas
- Milton Brown & His Musical Brownies; Right or Wrong (2:44) from Smile & Jive Kings of Western Swing
- The Light Crust Doughboys; Just Once Too Often (2:23) from Doughboys, Playboys and Cowboys: The Golden Years of Western Swing
- Henry Mancini; Far East Blues (3:27) from Combo!
- Grant Green; Minor League (7:06) from Solid
- Morcheeba; Tape Loop (4:23) from Who Can You Trust?
- Fiona Apple; O' Sailor (5:37) from Extraordinary Machine
- Duke Of Iron & Chorus; Calypso Invasion (2:30) from Calypso at Midnight!
- Oscar Peterson; C-Jam Blues (3:24) from The Will to Swing
- Devendra Banhart; Be Kind (3:06) from Niño Rojo
- Bob Marley & the Wailers; War (3:35) from Rastaman Vibration
- Richie Havens; Daddy Roll 'Em (2:38) from Richie Havens' Record
- Brownie McGhee; Betty And Dupree (4:02) from The Folkways Years, 1945-1959
- Sam Cooke; Please Don't Drive Me Away (2:15) from Night Beat
- Flight of the Conchords; Pencils in the Wind (4:05) from Folk the World Tour
- Kimya Dawson; I Love You Sweet Baby (2:06) from AlphaButt EP
- Bob Dylan; New Pony (4:40) from Street - Legal
- Liz Phair; Flower (2:03) from Exile in Guyville
- Jack Nitzsche; The Last Race (2:40) from Death Proof Soundtrack
- Devendra Banhart; An Island (2:04) from The White Session
- Iron & Wine; House by the Sea (4:22) from The Shepherd's Dog
- Iron & Wine; The Devil Never Sleeps (2:07) from The Shepherd's Dog
- David Bowie; Criminal World (4:25) from Let's Dance
- David Bowie; Black Country Rock (3:36) from The Man Who Sold the World
- The Beatles; I've Got a Feeling (3:38) from Let It Be
- My Morning Jacket; Rollin' Back (7:51) from It Still Moves
- B.B. King; Rock Me Baby (Live) (3:29) from His Definitive Greatest Hits
- B.B. King; Sweet Little Angel (3:50) from His Definitive Greatest Hits
- B.B. King; Never Make Your Move Too Soon (5:31) from His Definitive Greatest Hits
- B.B. King; How Blue Can You Get? (3:35) from Live At The Regal
- B.B. King; Better Not Look Down (3:22) from His Definitive Greatest Hits
- Bill Haley & His Comets; Shaky (2:05) from The Decca Years and More
- Bob Dylan; Only a Pawn In Their Game (3:33) from The Times They Are A-Changin'
- Bob Dylan; Most Likely You'll Go Your Way (and I'll Go Mine) (3:30) from Blonde on Blonde
- Bob Dylan; Mr. Tambourine Man (5:34) from Bringing It All Back Home
- Bob Dylan; It's Alright, Ma (I'm Only Bleeding) (7:32) from Bringing It All Back Home
- Bob Dylan; Girl from the North Country (3:23) from Freewheelin' Bob Dylan
- Beirut; In The Mausoluem (3:34) from The Flying Club Cup
- Beirut; Elephant Gun (5:49) from Lon Gisland EP
- Metric; Calculation Theme (3:32) from Old World Underground, Where Are You Now?
- Mae West; A Guy What Takes His Time (2:42) from Flashbacks, Vol. 3 - Copulation Blues 1926-1940: Hot & Sexy
- Bob Wills & His Texas Playboys; Texas Drummer Boy (2:32) from Boot Heel Drag: The MGM Years
- Bob Wills & His Texas Playboys; Keeper of My Heart (2:43) from Boot Heel Drag: The MGM Years
- M. Ward; So Much Water (4:02) from End of Amnesia
- M. Ward; Flaming Heart (3:54) from End of Amnesia
- M. Ward; Sweethearts On Parade 2:12 Transistor Radio
- M. Ward; Regeneration 1 V.2 (1:19) from Transistor Radio
- M. Ward; Big Boat V.3 (2:46) from Transistor Radio
- M. Ward; You Still Belive in Me (2:24) from Transistor Radio
Letters to the Eidtor, concert refunds, and general reviews can be sent to thisweekinbraille@hotmail.com.
Hear you next week!
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