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On July 18th, 2013 I left Ottawa with the car packed with sandwiches and camping gear. It was day one of an epic journey across the continent; 46 days on the road, 16,000 kilometres to cover, and tickets to nineteen concerts in eight states and provinces.
Work hard. Play hard.
I cruised the border and pulled into Darien Lake right around 6pm for the Americanarama festival. I had a beer and chatted with my parking lot neighbours before heading into the show. It’s so civilized that parking is included in the ticket price, and you gotta love the American tailgate party tradition.
I was disappointed to have missed the evening’s opener Ryan Bingham. The ticket said show at 5:30 but apparently Bingham went on around 5pm. I was even more surprised that I only caught the last song by My Morning Jacket. I’ve never been much of a MMJ fan but I was looking forward to another chance to become one.
Same goes for the next act up, Wilco, a band I had only seen once before. I was wholly unfamiliar with their music aside from the first Woody Guthrie collection they recorded with Billy Bragg, but I do know their fans are rabid.
I parked myself on a patch of grass on the lawn and settled in for a twilight set with the rattle of roller coasters wafting in from the edge of the venue.
One thing is certain about Wilco: they are the very definition of eclectic. They must give record store owners a fit. Is it rock? Alt-country? Freaky wacked-out music? Alt-freaky wack-rock? One way or another, kudos to these guys for finding their niche(s) and maintaining popular momentum for so long in an industry that looks at eclecticism the same way I look at pickled mustard-herring sandwiches.
(Another thing I noticed about Wilco that had somehow escaped me previously: their guitar player is fantastic.)
MMJ joined the band late in the set for a rousing version of Nick Lowe’s (What’s So Funny ‘Bout) Peace, Love, And Understanding, which was pretty great, and during the set break I was pleasantly surprised that almost everyone seemed to be sticking around for Bob Dylan.
Of course the man is an icon but his well-founded reputation for taking dramatic liberties with his legacy of music has shunned a lot of casual fans. It seems every tour he pushes the envelope further and further and why not? Clearly Bob Dylan is a very creative songman, and with decades to reconsider his original arrangements it’s no wonder you often can’t name a tune until he gets to the chorus. Oh, this is Watchtower. Oh, this is Tangled Up In Blue.
You could see tiny pockets of the crowd get up and go with every unfaithful rendering of a Dylan standard. It’s too bad, but really it’s the same attitude that had crowds booing when he first went electric.
I personally thought the set was great, with a top-notch band (if oddly thrown together). The pedal steel added so much, though the double kick drum flam pedal seemed out of place. Dylan’s piano playing is getting more and more pronounced, almost to the point of being intricate, and his penchant for subtle showmanship continues to grow. He actually is becoming a bit of a song-and-dance man.
The last straw for most and the last bliss for me was appropriately the last number, a baffling and virtually unrecognizable version of Blowin’ In The Wind.
To me it was another in a long series of great Dylan shows. For many it might have been the last time they’d ever throw their money in that direction. I suppose it’s always been that way for Bob Dylan, and by extension I guess it’s always been that way for the fans; some bewildered by the artist, the rest bewildered by the other fans.
Out to the lot with many of miles to cover I booked it out of the parking lot in a hurry (with thanks to the many who helped empty the lot before the show ended), driving well past Cleveland before stopping into a hotel at 4:30am for a tidy nap.
(Incidentally, I recently discovered that this was one of just eleven dates when Colin Linden [of Blackie and the Rodeo Kings and so much more] was playing guitar in Dylan’s band, taking over for Duke Robillard until Dylan’s mainstay Charlie Sexton rejoined.)
Todd Man Out 