When listening to the new remaster of the 30th Anniversary Tribute to Bob Dylan-Neil Young, The Band, Tom Petty, Stevie Wonder, and others, I’m reminded of the feelings I had when I watched the live broadcast-and they’re not great ones. (For the most part). To be sure, musically just about everyone brought their “A” game to Bob Fest, even if Dylan couldn’t quite do it himself (this was not his finest hour vocally, at least on “It’s Alright, Ma”). A celebration of the man, his incredible songs, and the cultural impact those songs had. Too bad most of the audience had no clue about a lot of what Dylan was about, or they wouldn’t have been the mass of assholes that booed Sinead OConnor from the minute she walked on the stage. Sinead had infamously torn up a picture of the Pope on SNL, an unscripted event that really pissed off the suits at SNL. Mind you, as an admirer of John Paul 2, I didn’t agree with the statement. However, I also recognized that this was part of the protest tradition in folk music that went back to Dylan and before-think Woody-and long before that, in human history. So, you would think that the people who showed for this event in New York would have understood that and not even giving her a chance to go into “I Believe in You”, which had it been performed would have been a real highlight of the show. Don’t think so? Listen to the rehearsal version, now on the set as a bonus track on side two. It’s the most beautiful, moving cover of the song I’ve ever heard. Instead, the pot smoking yahoos just booed her loud, and long. She was in shock, and didn’t perform the song-she really couldn’t have. Kris Kristofferson, bless his soul, stood there supporting her. She fought back by a quick acapella version of Bob Marley’s “War” and then left, crying in Kris’ arms. It was an awful, horrible moment-and at the time, I was pretty angry with the way she was treated. This wasn’t SNL, the next week. This was a celebration of Bob Dylan, and this display by the crowd was an insult to his memory and contributions. Listening to the rehearsal track, that all came back, though I felt very washed over by the performance. If only. Yes, some of you are going to write something like “It was the crowd’s right to boo her” , you’ll make some “Freedom Of Speech” reference, etc. Predictable, if somewhat true. However, as we see rampant in today’s political climate, the right to be vocal and stupid at the same time is certainly in force. But it doesn’t mean it’s right, or contributes anything to furthering the bettering of humanity. This night, the audience denied themselves a very talented artist delivering an impassioned, informed version of the Dylan song. Worse, they cheapened themselves and Dylan’s legacy in one fell swoop. Go listen to the track.
Posted on: Thu, 13 Mar 2014 21:59:38 +0000
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