Dylan in NYC Next Week

Is anyone going to see Bob Dylan next week when he plays NYC?

 

Are tickets still on sale and where is he playing??

Todd

 

I saw him last week at the Orange County Fair, he was amazing. The new guitarist, Freddy, is great. The thing that blew me away the most if that Bob only played 5 songs from the 1960's, most of his set came from "Love and Theft" and "Time Out of Mind". His newer material is so strong, that you didn't miss not hearing his old chestnuts. His band keeps getting better.

 

My parents came back from Niagra Falls last weekend with these VIP admission tickets that they received for free. They tried to return them but the hostess would hear nothing of it. She suggested that they may give them to one of their children. They called me up & asked me if I wanted to go see 'Bob Dieland & his Band' on August 23. Thinking they were some cover band, I said no thanks (didn't know he was on tour). I'll think I'll call them up!

 

Todd, Hammerstein Ballroom next week Tuesday through Thursday, I have no idea if tickets are still available, we have tickets for Thursday.

 

I'm seeing him with Tom Petty @ the PNC Arts Center this Saturday.

 

I will be at the PNC Bank Arts Center on Saturday also. Hoping for a good show.

 

I wish they were playing Monday. I'm going to be out of town starting Tuesday on vacation. Will they be playing anywhere in the NYC area in the near future??

Todd

 

Thanks, Mark! I'm terrible at keeping track of these concerts....
Todd

 

I'v got 5 good tickets for Syracuse (NY State Fair), later this month.

Richard.

 

Bob Dylan is playing at the PNC Bank Arts Center this Saturday (8/9) and Sunday (8/10) on a co-headling bill with Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers. On Saturday Dylan opens the show, which starts at 7:30pm, and on Sunday Petty opens the show.

I know that PNC is probably about a one-hour (+) ride from the city, but that might be your alernative to the Hammerstein.

 

I have no idea. It isn't billed as such, but I guess I will find out sometime during the night on Saturday.

 

Cool! While I'd like to stay for the whole show, my wife, who's expecting, might not be up to the whole thing, so at least I know I'll get to see all of the Dylan set. We had no problems seeing Bruce at the end of July and that went until 11:30 so I'm hoping we can see all of Petty on Saturday as well.

 

Saw Dylan last night at the PNC Bank Arts Center. Pretty good show, but left me wanting for more.

First of all Dylan didn't come on stage until about 7:50pm (even though they said the show was going to start promptly at 7:30). He played about 1 1/2 hours total. A good mix of old and new songs, and some major re-workings of classic songs that basically made them "new" songs, until you realized what he was playing. My wife, who is also a Dylan fan, didn't even know some of the classic songs he played - like "Watching the River Flow" since it was really re-worked. She actually thought it was a new song until I told her the title and sort of sung it to her (in my best Dylan voice) the way it is on LP/CD. Even "It Ain't Me Babe" was totally re-worked so that it was a "new" song. At times though, Dylan actually seemed to "yell" or "blurt out" lyrics instead of singing them. Hey but that is Dylan.

He played a lot of harmonica, but didn't even touch a guitar, opting to play electric piano the whole set.

For the encores he was joined by Tom Petty, Mike Campell and Benmont Tench (at least I thought I saw Mr. Tench on stage) for "Rainy Day Woman" and an amazing!! "All Along the Watchtower".

The show was sold out - and parking was a disaster. It was clear that the crowd was mainly there for Petty, as I was told multiple times by others sitting around me to "sit down" when I stood during Dylan's set. I obliged, since I could still see very well from my seats when I sat (even though I preferred to stand). But when Petty came out, the people behind me tapped me on the shoulder and told me that I could stand during Petty's set - since they were going to stand also. Well - geez - Thank you (whoever you were . ). In addition most of the amphitheater was seated during Dylan's set, but 99% stood during Petty's set. Oh well.

Because of the parking situation, my wife and I left after about 1 hour and 20 minutes of Petty's set.. so I am not sure how much Petty I missed, but to our disappointment we found it was raining out real hard (as we had "real" seats in the covered amphitheater). A long trek back to the car had both of us soaked to the bone.... and I mean soaked. Made me feel a little for those with lawn seats that were probably more than waterlogged. Got back to our car, and had to clean off a ton of American cheese some idiot threw all over the back window of our car. (I assume (and a big assumption - since it could have been anyone of the multitudes that were hogging the hard to find spaces with tailgate parties) it was the high school looking kids that we politely asked to move their tailgate party, so that we could get the very hard to find parking spaces. They obliged, I said thank you very much, and they didn't seem to mind... but now there was wet cheese all over my car window, and beer bottles and cans stuffed under all 4 wheels. I cleared off the cheese with an ice scraper and kicked the cans and bottles out of the way.. and we were on our way home drenched but happy.)

 

I hear you. I was going to tell the people behind me that if they want to sit at a "rock and roll" concert, they should just stay home and get a DVD or Video - and they can sit to their hearts content. But since I could see fine from where I was seated, even without standing, I obliged - didn't want to get worked up (or in a fight) over a concert. But people should realize that they are at a "rock" concert - and they should expect to stand!!!!!!!

The couple next to me did get pissed at the people behind them. Since all the people in my row (myself included) got their tickets through the Bob Dylan internet pre-sale (where you needed to obtain the "special" Dylan password) - they were staunch Dylan fanatics - and the woman next to me was real stoked to be seeing her "idol" live. She refused to sit, and her male friend had words with the people behind them. The people in the row behind her, refused to renege - and said they wanted to sit and with his girlfriend standing and dancing they couldn't see. And at $80 a ticket they WANTED to see. The woman sat the rest of Dylan's set, but was visibly pissed. She talked to me a bit after Dylan's set, since she could see that I was a big Dylan fan - and that even though I was also asked to sit, I continued to boogie in my seat... and I knew every word to every song Dylan played.

I guess, even though not an excuse, the two couples behind my wife and I, and the couple next to us had recounted horrible stories of parking and traffic getting into PNC... since the show was sold out (18,000) - with a lot of people in the lots that didn't have tickets. I saw a lot of signs being held up by people looking for tickets. So parking was a mess. Since I knew the show was sold-out, my wife and I left very early to get to the PNC and got into the lots before the BIG traffic jams started... even so parking was hard to find. The couples behind us got near the PNC Bank Arts Center around 6:30pm (we got there at 6:00pm)... and didn't get parked and into their seats until 8:15 - missing about 25 minutes of Dylan's set. So they may have been a bit pissed about that.. still no excuse for not allowing people to stand at this kind of show. (My wife and I were parked by 6:20 - and in the theater by 6:35.)

 

I've never seen a more disrespectful crowd at a concert. I was up on the lawn and it was miserable. People chatting, high school kids on cell phones, getting up for beers every 15 seconds. I don't think many people paid attention to Dylan's set at all. I loved it and was so happy to get a 'Silvio' and a 'Joey.' Too bad I had to strain to listen to it.

The Petty set was a yawner, each song sounded basically the same as the studio version, except you had a few hundred people singing along, off key of course, in each ear. We left after 6 songs or so, as the rain increased.

 

Well, I saw Bruce in NJ at the end of July. The crowd was excellent. Some morons there, of course, but 99% of the people were there to just enjoy a great show, and that's what we got!

 

Greg,
There did seem to be a lot of young people (who were there mainly for Petty), mixed in with the older folks (like me - 45 years "young" TODAY) who were there for both acts.

I agree on "Joey" - a Dylan song I love. Numerous times seeing Dylan I got lucky and get a "Joey". Back in '87 he played it at the "Dylan/Dead" show at Giants stadium. Them in '99, he played it when he was on a double-bill with Phil and Friends (the first time Phil played the East coast) at the Continental Airlines Arena. I have seen Dylan many other times and I don't remember "Joey" being played, but his shows are always a surprise. Back in '97 at William Paterson College Dylan played a lot of LEAD guitar (something I don't remember him doing before) - which he also did in '99. This year he didn't even touch a guitar!

You mentioned you had lawn "seats". I can only assume what it must be like up there for a SOLD OUT show. PNC holds 18,000 people - with only 7,500 real seats. Which means they put over 10,000 people on the lawn - which means it has to be a bit of a "tight fit" up there. I would again assume that a sold out show where the lawn is packed is going to have it's share of disrespectful people. I have been to the PNC Bank Arts Center (formerly called the Garden State Arts Center) many, many times and I refuse to go to any show if I can't get real seats. I even balk at the 400 sections since they are basically near the lawn (they actually used to be lawn until they put those seats in about 5 years ago or so). I broke down for Pearl Jam and sat in the 400's. I don't mean to offend - since you had lawn seats - but I think I would rather stay home then sit on the lawn for any show at PNC.

I also agree with your Petty assessment. Every song had a very similar sound. I think it had to do with the fact that the beat to every song was exactly the same. He could have had a drum machine, instead of the drummer he did have, and it probably would have sounded the same. At 11:15 my wife told me that she was ready to leave when I was. So I let Petty finish one more song, and then we left. I saw a set-list earlier today and found that I only missed 3 regular set songs, and the 2 encore songs - so I didn't really miss that much.

 

and then there are people jumping around when you want to see the show and there are the mosh pits being formed.

 

I love the fact that Bob is still going strong!...My favorite "Bob" period ended with "Desire"...I'd miss the oldies if he only played a few at a current live show!