And his three shows are SOLD OUT! My office colleagues told me to go anyway coz there’ll certainly be ticket scalpers. He’s playing tonight, tomorrow night and Thursday night at the Grand Rex.
To be honest, I’ve been watching so many old clips of him during the past month, I think it would be a shock to see him live (alive?) today. Maybe I prefer to remember him as he was (see video below), singing one of my favorite songs.
Like a Rolling Stone – a brief backstory: rumor has it that Edie Sedgwick, muse to Andy Warhol, inspired the lyrics. Dylan didn’t like Warhol, and in the song he refers to Sedgwick as “Miss Lonely” while including some fanged, accusatory lines about Warhol and the way he mistreated her:
Ain’t it hard when you discover that
He really wasn’t where it’s at
After he took from you everything he could steal
After escaping home and heading to New York, Sedgwick ran into Warhol, who began to use her as his starlet. When her 15 minutes had come to an end, Warhol moved on.
Sedgwick and Dylan had a brief affair. Much later, she died of a drug overdose at the age of 28, just missing the “27 club” by one year.
Juliet in Paris
I hope you manage to get to see him perform live. Another one of the greats, Bruce Springsteen, is touring next year. I’d like to go but it’s all sold out except for some tickets being resold at £600 a ticket!!
Who the heck would pay 600 quid for a ticket?! The Dylan tickets at the Grand Rex are over 100 euros. Too much for my budget, I’m afraid. Having said that, it would be nice to go to a concert. What with Covid and the past two years we’ve been through, it would be nice to be with a crowd of like-minded people …
It’s crazy! I saw on the Guardian this morning that a lot of artists nowadays are using surge pricing for tickets, where the cost fluctuates according to demand. I went to a concert in June (to see Khruangbin, a three-piece group from Texas) and it was wonderful, and only cost £30 for a ticket!
I’ve seen him several times. My husband is a huge fan. The last time was in 2019 and the show was not up to snuff. For years he has traveled with a killer band and the 2019 show was no exception. What made me give it a mediocre rating was the seemingly lack of pre-show preparation. The sound system was totally messed up when they began playing and the instruments weren’t very well tuned. I’m guessing the band hadn’t warmed up. Over the next 25 minutes, adjustments were made. Midway through the show, things were starting to click and the evening ended with several fantastic renditions of Dylan’s works. If you go, I’d recommend avoiding opening night. Also, if you don’t already know Dylan’s lyrics, don’t expect to pick them up. His enunciation has never been stellar and in a live setting, I don’t recognize the words unless I already know them. That said, the musicians have always made it worth the time and money until that last show. It might have just been a rare bad night but it seemed to me that after decades of touring Dylan (and this particular crew) just wasn’t trying very hard.
Having never seen the man in concert, and only having really discovered him lately, I don’t know what to say other than the three nights are sold out here. If there were seats available, I might be tempted, but that’s not the case. What I find amazing is the longevity of Dylan’s popularity! From the early to mid-1960s to today, it’s incredible.
Anyway, I’ll just continue watching and listening to him on YouTube. At least that’s free!