If I learned anything from this weekend, it's that I can't stand hippies. Poser hippies especially (Real Hippies Don't Litter! Damn guys, pick up after yourselves!), but real hippies get on my nerves too. This Saturday, I caught Bob Dylan way the fuck upstate at Bethel woods. I guess it would've been silly of me to think I wouldn't have to deal with hippies at a Dylan show on the grounds of the original woodstock.
Hippies aside, I had a good time. I'd be a liar, though, if I said the show wasn't a little disappointing. Dylan's voice is completely shot, which worked out fine for certain songs. "Tangled Up In Blue" worked great with the rhythmic speaking thing he was kinda doing. "Blowin' in the Wind" and "The Times They Are A-Changin'" didn't really work out so well. I was kind of bummed too about not hearing "Nettie Moore". You'd think that he would gravitate towards songs that he recorded after he lost his voice, since they'd come off the same as they do on record. The music was incredibly tight, but his voice was just completely devoid of melody. He also did the whole set in a blues-y style. Now I love the blues, but when it comes to Dylan, I've always preferred folk singer Dylan to bluesman Dylan. The musical highlight of the night was definitely when he closed with "All Along the Watchtower", playing it far closer to the Hendrix rendition than his own original.
Non-Musical Highlights:
-Watching a Tripping Hippie scream, "Fuck America!", while he was dragged out by 6 Security Guys.-Realizing that Paul Sr. from Orange County Choppers was standing next to me in the mass of people walking to the parking lot.
