Originally published in The Aquarian Weekly

September 3, 2008

Bob Dylan

Convention Hall

August 13, 2008

—by Ken Shane

ASBURY PARK, NJ—Bob Dylan

comes to Asbury Park. A historic

event in the making. Everything

was in place for a very special

evening. The show had been an

announced sell-out within minutes

of the tickets going on sale. At least

that was the word. I met two friends

on their way to the show who said

that they’d purchased their tickets

minutes before when a new bunch

of tickets dropped. I’ll never

understand this concept. A show

is sold out, or it’s not. When a show

is sold out, people are forced to

deal with scalpers if they want to

go. Is it fair then to announce a

sell-out, force people to pay

exorbitant prices to scalpers, and

then announce that some

additional tickets have been found

at face value? This is a practice

that has to end.

Dylan and his band came

onstage to a tremendous ovation,

the band resplendent in their

matching earth-tone suits and black

hats. Dylan was dressed

completely in black. As has been

his practice in recent years, he

took his spot behind a keyboard,

and barely moved from there all

night. At no time did Dylan play

guitar. The last time I saw him, he

was using the keyboard for more

of a piano sound. At this show it

was organ from start to finish. He’s

had the same basic unit backing

him for several years now, and they

have become a very polished and

tight band.

Despite his longevity, Dylan is

in no danger of becoming an oldies

act. First of all, he played six songs

from his most recent album Modern

Times, which in my estimation is

one of the finest albums of his

storied career. Of these songs, the

standouts were the raucous “Rollin’

And Tumblin’,” the gentle “Spirit

On The Water,” and the mournful

“Ain’t Talkin’,” which closed the

main set.

Dylan also defies any attempt

to shunt him to the leftovers bin by

continually reinventing, and in

some cases deconstructing his

songs. Classics like “It’s Alright Ma

(I’m Only Bleeding),” and especially

“Tangled Up In Blue” were

performed with entirely new

arrangements. These revisions are

not always successful, and the

version of the latter song was quite

frankly a bit shocking, but there’s

no denying the impact of an artist

who continually reinvents himself

and his work. Other set highlights

included intense versions of “High

Water (For Charlie Patton),” and

“Highway 61 Revisited.”

So all of this sounds pretty good,

right? The truth is, it wasn’t. Despite

a thoroughly engaged Dylan, a

locked-in band, and an interesting

set list, I was terribly disappointed.

There is one and only one reason

for this. The sound in this venue is

absolutely awful. It doesn’t matter

where you sit or stand, or who is

performing. The sound has never

been good at Convention Hall, and

never will be good until someone

decides to invest some money to

make it a proper venue. Fortunately

it wasn’t a terribly hot night, as it

was when Springsteen performed

there earlier this year amid loud

complaints about the heat in the

hall, but even last night it wasn’t

comfortable. People are paying

$100 or more for tickets to these

shows. They deserve better, a lot

better.

THE SET

THE SET LIST:

“Rainy Day Women # 12 & 35”

“It Ain’t Me, Babe”

“Rollin’ And Tumblin’”

“Spirit On The Water”

“High Water (for Charlie Patton)”

“Tryin’ To Get To Heaven”

“Honest With Me”

“Tangled Up In Blue”

“It’s Alright, Ma (I’m Only

Bleeding)”

“Beyond The Horizon”

“Highway 61 Revisited”

“Nettie Moore”

“Summer Days”

“Ain’t Talkin”’

ENCORES:

“Like A Rolling Stone”

“Thunder On The Mountain”

“Blowin’ In The Wind”