Sitting in the first row, I was a bit concerned that I would get audio mush at an excessive volume, but, no, the sound was perfectly mixed and balanced, with the volume level set just right. The quality of the music was first rate, and the acoustics of Proctor and Gamble Hall were excellent. Their professionalism and dedication to the task of serving the master, with eyes glued on him at all times, are apparent.Īll this is good and satisfying. Only Tony Garnier and multi-instrumentalist Donnie Heron are long-time members of Dylan’s group. Britt joined for the 2019 tour, which I saw at Dylan’s Northern Kentucky University show two years ago.
Lancio and African American drummer Charley Drayton are brand new members of the band. Nothing of the muted flamboyance in Charley Sexton’s head bobbing presence and playing. No one in the band (other than Dylan, which I’ll get to) engaged with the audience, but we’ve been used to that in Dylan shows for a long time now. They were mostly very straight-faced and concentrated on Dylan and their instruments. Their playing was understated and competent, nothing as flashy as the flourishes and stage presence of Charley Sexton. The two guitarists (Bob Britt and Doug Lancio) stood mostly together center-stage behind Dylan. The backing band was solid and professional, if a bit dour. The only hatted musician was Tony Garnier, who wore a solid black pork pie. It all had a very funereal aspect to it, and I don’t doubt that was the intended effect. The musicians were all dressed in solid black, although Dylan did have some light-colored figuring on his jacket, the only relief from the black on stage. Dylan himself seemed to be bothered by the lighting and squinted a lot. All lighting came from the floor below the musicians, which was a bit like the effect of sitting around a campfire and shining a light upwards into your face as you tell a spooky story, and which must have been difficult for the musicians.
There was no overhead lighting, no projection screen. The backdrop was simply a solid black curtain. There was nothing on stage but the instruments and amplifiers (Vox AC30 and Fender Tweed for the guitarists, classic choices). Audiences were used to seeing, for example, his Oscar prominently displayed, or manikins posed in the background or a statue or two of Greek goddesses or complex overhead lighting and projections. Over the past twenty years, Dylan’s stage set and lighting could sometimes be pretty elaborate. For starters, there was the minimalist stage. It’s hard to express my emotions in the aftermath of last night’s concert.
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