Althouse: Bob Dylan at the Big Sky Brewery in Missoula.

August 15, 2012

Bob Dylan at the Big Sky Brewery in Missoula.

And now you know why Althouse and Meade chose Missoula as a destination.

46 comments:

David said...: Ok it wasn't the mountains and the hiking was it?; 8/15/12, 1:09 AM
wyo sis said...: Wow, he looks old. I remember reading about him in Seventeen magazine when he was a one man band. He was written up as an up and coming new artist to watch.; 8/15/12, 1:12 AM
Methadras said...: Oh so now we know why. For shame.; 8/15/12, 1:30 AM
yashu said...: Aw, cool! Love him.

Never been to a Dylan concert, don't know if I'll have a chance too... may be worth making a road trip to e.g. Missoula for it.

I'd love to know what songs he did.; 8/15/12, 2:11 AM
Caedmon said...: Looks like you caught him in a good mood. When he's on form he's excellent and amazingly vital for a gentleman of his years; 8/15/12, 2:50 AM
Craig said...: Saw him at the Tacoma Dome around 1986 or 87. Did a bunch of new material with lyrics that were wholly unintelligible, though it might have been the acoustics. Seemed totally indifferent to the fact that he had an audience.; 8/15/12, 3:55 AM
Craig said...: Dylan's vocals remain too buried for the majority of the show. The instruments and backing vocals are not well mixed, and one thing or another is always too loud. Also, the ultimate purpose of these tapes require them to be taken from pre-effects outputs. This means that the vocals sound dry and mid-range. Mid-range is usually an unpleasant frequency to the human ear, and this tape is no exception. As there are no other CD releases of this show, it is a milestone release. However, because of the raw sound, not everyone will care for it. It is an incredible piece of memorabilia of music history, but not necessarily an enjoyable listen at all times. Of course, there are many exceptions.

Here's the sales pitch from a review of the CDs made from and for that concert.; 8/15/12, 4:07 AM
Bob_R said...: So how was the show? I'm waiting for tickets to go on sale for the Dylan/Knopfler show in DC in November.; 8/15/12, 4:32 AM
KnoxScott said...: Oh, I thought you chose Missoula for Big Sky Brewery. I love their Moose Drool brown ale. ;-); 8/15/12, 5:10 AM
Anonymous said...: He's gonna be in Cincinnati in a couple weeks. You could've let the venerable Meade come home!; 8/15/12, 5:46 AM
Pete said...: Althouse, did you catch the Pawn Stars episode with a guest appearance by Dylan? He's a good sport.; 8/15/12, 5:48 AM
Bob Ellison said...: That's a great hat!; 8/15/12, 6:48 AM
KCFleming said...: Dylan's coming to my little town on 8/21/12.

Hope he's still in a good mood.

We only have a Little Sky, seems to be about 1/3rd the size of Missoula's.

I blame the Democrats, naturally.; 8/15/12, 6:55 AM
rhhardin said...: I don't get the concert genre at all.

It all seems like the other eleven tracks on the CD where the band is noodling around.; 8/15/12, 7:36 AM
yashu said...: Oh, you can get the set lists of past concerts at the Bob Dylan site. So the set list for yesterday's Missoula concert was:

Leopard-Skin Pill-Box Hat
Love Minus Zero, No Limit
Things Have Changed
Tangled Up In Blue
Tweedle Dee & Tweedle Dum
Visions Of Johanna
Summer Days
Spirit On The Water
Honest With Me
John Brown
Highway 61 Revisited
Simple Twist Of Fate
Thunder On The Mountain
Ballad Of A Thin Man
Like A Rolling Stone
All Along The Watchtower
Blowin' In The Wind; 8/15/12, 7:46 AM
LoafingOaf said...: yashu said...
I'd love to know what songs he did.

I wasn't there, but the set lists are on his site.

Leopard-Skin Pill-Box Hat
Love Minus Zero, No Limit
Things Have Changed
Tangled Up In Blue
Tweedle Dee & Tweedle Dum
Visions Of Johanna
Summer Days
Spirit On The Water
Honest With Me
John Brown
Highway 61 Revisited
Simple Twist Of Fate
Thunder On The Mountain
Ballad Of A Thin Man
Like A Rolling Stone
All Along The Watchtower
Blowin' In The Wind; 8/15/12, 7:51 AM
LoafingOaf said...: Oops, you beat me to it! LOL; 8/15/12, 7:53 AM
yashu said...: (Thanks anyway, LoafingOaf!); 8/15/12, 7:56 AM
purplepenquin said...: I also started posting the setlist from Dylan's webpage and then thought "Hmm...better scroll down and see if anyone else did so already"

Looking forward to seeing him in Nov; 8/15/12, 8:33 AM
southcentralpa said...: And here I thought you had decided to go from one smugly liberal college town to another. :-); 8/15/12, 8:49 AM
Pettifogger said...: Some months back, Dylan appeared at a small venue in Sattler, Texas, which is outside New Braunfels, which is outside San Antonio. I loved it.; 8/15/12, 8:54 AM
Rick Lee said...: I don't really follow Dylan, but I was wondering if he's still using the same band as what recorded the Modern Times album. I love that sound.; 8/15/12, 9:06 AM
Mo5m said...: I saw him last year at a casino in Oklahoma. Terrible venue -- sound was not good, but I enjoyed it anyway. His band is terrific and I didn't expect to understand the words, anyway.; 8/15/12, 9:26 AM
TosaGuy said...: I thought Thurston Howell was dead.; 8/15/12, 9:27 AM
Bob Ellison said...: I don't really follow Dylan...

Makes me think of "When you say Dylan, he thinks you're talking about Dylan Thomas, whoever he was. Man ain't got no culture."; 8/15/12, 9:45 AM
Carol said...: It seems like he plays here every year now.

Isn't anyone getting tired of these greybeard boomer bands?; 8/15/12, 10:11 AM
Anonymous said...: Love the Simon and Garfunkel quote Bob; 8/15/12, 10:19 AM
ndspinelli said...: There's no accounting for taste. Colbert had Pete Seeger on his show, he passed sad and is now pitiful. Zimmerman is on the cusp from sad to pitiful. You got to know when to hang up the guitar.; 8/15/12, 10:27 AM
ndspinelli said...: TosaGuy, LOL!!; 8/15/12, 10:30 AM
Ann Althouse said...: There were quite a few younger people there, but the average age was perhaps 50. Of course, I'm much older than that. I mean, I'm younger than that now.; 8/15/12, 10:46 AM
chickelit said...: @TosaGuy: Are you suggesting that Bob Dylan is a 1% er?; 8/15/12, 10:47 AM
Chris said...: Why to choose Missoula as a destination:

1) Double Front; 8/15/12, 10:55 AM
MadisonMan said...: Seeing Dylan in concert reminds me of my Senatorial Choices.; 8/15/12, 10:59 AM
Amartel said...: Looks like you scored great seats!; 8/15/12, 11:39 AM
Rabel said...: That's a fake Oscar on top of the keyboard.; 8/15/12, 11:57 AM
Crunchy Frog said...: Was that jacket fashionable in any decade?; 8/15/12, 12:32 PM
Richard Dolan said...: So how did he sound? So many of the singers we all listened to in the '60s (the ones still around, that is) sound terrible today. Paul McC and Bruce Springsteen come to mind, but they're hardly alone. A big part of the problem is that the keep singing the same stuff even though it doesn' fit their voice (what's left of it), and apart from the nostalgia value, the old stuff sounds ridiculous when sung by a superannuated geezer.

Even in music, the adage 'grow or die' applies. No standing still, no going back, no use pretending. Perhaps Dylan could set that to music -- I'd go to Missoula (even Madison) to hear it if he did.; 8/15/12, 3:33 PM
Conserve Liberty said...: MArk Knopfler was a much better concert. And I could understand all the words.

BFD.

Bob effin' Dylan?); 8/15/12, 3:41 PM
Joe said...: So many of the singers we all listened to in the '60s (the ones still around, that is) sound terrible today.

With Dylan, how could you tell?; 8/15/12, 3:48 PM
yashu said...: It's neat that the set started with IIRC one of Althouse's favorite Dylan songs.

"So many of the singers we all listened to in the '60s (the ones still around, that is) sound terrible today."

With Dylan, how could you tell?

Heh. But seriously, the (let's say "homely") eccentricity of Dylan's voice is an advantage for that reason. What would it mean to say someone like Dylan has "lost his voice"? Dylan's voice has metamorphosed throughout his career.

A big part of the problem is that the[y] keep singing the same stuff even though it doesn' fit their voice (what's left of it), and apart from the nostalgia value, the old stuff sounds ridiculous when sung by a superannuated geezer.

One of the interesting things about listening to Dylan's live albums is that the old songs never stay the "same"-- the musical arrangements change, the tempo and tone and feeling and rendition of lyrics are reconceived. The old songs reprised become something new-- a different interpretation, in accordance with wherever/whenever Dylan might be in his life.

I imagine that must be a big part of the fun of seeing Dylan in concert-- listening to something intimately familiar, transformed. The simultaneous pleasures of recognition and surprise.; 8/15/12, 4:17 PM
Smilin' Jack said...: "Bob Dylan at the Big Sky Brewery in Missoula."...And now you know why Althouse and Meade chose Missoula as a destination.

Should've waited--I understand he'll be opening for Cat Stevens at the Elks Club in Podunk next month.; 8/15/12, 4:55 PM
JAL said...: @ wyo sis 1:12 am

The picture had him wearing hius harmonica. Wasn't it taken in Washington Square?; 8/15/12, 11:27 PM
JAL said...: And he was smooth skinned and had that mop of curly hair.

Ah. That was back when Barbra Streisand shopped at thrift stores and wore cool vintage clothing. That really was vintage.

Same issue?; 8/15/12, 11:29 PM
tiger said...: Wow. Professor, how close were you?

Bob is great. Wished I was there but I still haven't won the lottery.

Yet.; 8/16/12, 12:14 PM
Unknown said...: I was at the Missoula concert Tuesday night and it was incredible. Have seen him perform a few other times and this was by far the best. His voice was strong and he looked like he was having a great time up there on stage. Everyone was there to have a great time and they did. Bob's fans are the best.; 8/17/12, 8:02 PM
Wince said...: Once upon a time you dressed so fine.

Threw the bums a dime in your prime, didn't you?; 3/5/23, 10:24 AM