Music: Bob Dylan And The Band At The Orpheum

On Tuesday the Wife and I went to see Bob Dylan and the Band perform at my favorite venue, the Orpheum in Omaha.  I can't say I had a great time.

The first thing that was new was increased security at the Orpheum.  I assume the security, aimed at preventing the use of phones and cameras, was most likely a Dylan requirement and not a venue requirement.  No other concerts there have restricted phone use.  The security process consisted of the following:

• As we entered we showed our ticket (on our phone only, no printouts allowed) to a couple of greeters who would write down the section, row, and seat number on a post-it and gave it to us.
• Next you showed your ticket on your phone to the ticket taker who scanned the QR code.
• Next you gave your phone to another person who locked it in a bag and returned it to you.  The Yondr bag, larger than the phone, no longer fit in your pocket and had to be carried in your hand.
• You showed the post-it to the ushers who took you to your seat.

During the hour or so we waited for the show to start (no phone - no clock - no idea how long we waited) we watched multiple people being questioned if they were in the correct seat.  Turns out some of the greeters weren't putting 'balcony' on some of the post-its.  The only way to clear this up was to go out to the lobby so that their phones could be unlocked to verify their seats.  This continued after the performance started as late arrivers came in and found their seats occupied.  Not a very smooth process.

The performance itself was ... not what I expected.  There was no warm up band so Dylan came out with his band and started performing.  I expected not to understand the lyrics - Dylan is known for his unique vocal style - but I didn't expect to not understand eighty to ninety percent of what he was singing.  I can confidently say I did not know a single one of the songs he performed.  I found this unusual as I am familiar with some of his stuff.  You would expect he would at least sing one familiar song for the more casual Dylan listeners in the audience.  He did not.

I liked his band.  They would start playing and I would be getting into it then Dylan would start playing the piano, his instrument of choice during this concert.  His playing was discordant and often distracting.  His singing did not help.  I did like when he played the harmonica.  Dylan is eighty-three so some of this may just be his age.  I don't know.

One odd thing is his lack of interaction with the audience.  He did introduce the band members (the only words I recognized were guitar, bass, and drums - the names seemed garbled) but he never spoke to the audience.  No 'Hello Omaha', no 'Thanks for being here', no acknowledgement at all.  The show ended without an encore.

I obviously didn't enjoy Bob Dylan.  I feel like it was a waste for me to be there.  I feel like I took a seat away from someone who would have really appreciated Dylan.  The Wife enjoyed it more than I did.  She did recognize one of the songs but not until the song was almost over.