Date: Wed, 29 Nov 1995 22:05:00 -0500 From: JUD MCCRANIE (jud.mccranie@SWSBBS.COM) Subject: DYLAN IN ATLANTA, 10/95 Bob Dylan in Atlanta, Oct 11, 1995 Written by Jud McCranie, November 29, 1995 I attended my first Bob Dylan concert last month, after admiring him for 30-something years. It was held at Atlanta's wonderful, classic Fabulous Fox theater. I had third row seats. The concert was a fiasco. Probably the second worst concert I've ever been to. Certainly the biggest disappointment. He came out playing hard rock versions of his songs. The volume was as high or almost as high as the Ted Nugent concert I went to in the 70's. It was so loud I couldn't hear much of anything. Afterwards I couldn't hear properly in my left ear for two days or my right ear for six days. I was worried about permanent hearing damage there. Although the drummer is a fine drummer, his style is completely inappropriate for Dylan. Much too loud too. He switched to acoustic instruments a couple of times, but by that time I couldn't hear anything anyway. Most of the songs I could not recognize. Of the songs I didn't know or recognize, I understood not a single word of the lyrics. The security was terrible. There are five isles at the Fox and people jammed the isles, blocking my view. The security was insufficient to keep the isles cleared. The audience was terrible. (The newspaper described them as "rowdy".) They hooted and hollered and whistled and yelled and talked through the whole concert. They must have seen him on MTV and not known about him otherwise. For the most part, I couldn't hear anything and I couldn't see anything, even from third row seats. People were dancing in the isles to "It Ain't Me Babe" (and others) which I didn't understand. The theater was great. The sound was terrible. The security was terrible. The audience was the worst I've ever seen. Dylan wasn't so hot either. I was pissed for several days. All this at $39.50 per ticket - perhaps the biggest disappointment of my life. -------------------------------------------------------- Jud McCranie jud.mccranie@camcat.com
