DYLAN’S OUTLAW BLUES ‘24 IN MANSFIELD: HE USED TO BE DISGUSTED ….plus Lukas Nelson, Robert Plant & Alison Krauss, and Celisse. - with FAB PIX!!
DYLAN’S OUTLAW BLUES ‘24 IN MANSFIELD: HE USED TO BE DISGUSTED ….plus Lukas Nelson, Robert Plant & Alison Krauss, and Celisse. with FAB PIX! by Harold Lepidus
OUTLAW MUSIC FESTIVAL 2024 - XFINITY CENTER, MANSFIELD, MA, JULY 2, 2024
Willie Nelson’s Family (featuring his son Lukas, standing in for his recuperating father)
Bob Dylan and his Band
Robert Plant & Alison Krauss
Celisse
This concert sort of snuck up on me, just as the surprise announcement that this tour was even happening back in February did. This was only a couple of months after I last saw Dylan during his swing through New England in November. In my haste (a.k.a. panic state), I splurged for a VIP 8th row seat (I’d forgotten how much I paid, until I looked it up just now. Yikes!)
It was a little odd walking into the venue and seeing a handful of people wearing t-shirts with, let’s say, “politically charged” slogans which would seem out of place at a Dylan show.
One thing that has emerged over the past few years is that the online Dylan community has blossomed into a real life, face to face, brother-and-sisterhood where, whenever possible, we either meet up, communicate with our Yondr-less phones, or just alert each other about traffic tips. Here in Mansfield, forever known to the locals as Great Woods, I met up in-person with fellow Bobcats Erin Callahan, Paul Haney, Nichole Hersey, and Bob Russell. Plus I kept in touch with Ray Padgett via X messages, forever to be known as “Twitter.”
Due to the varying popularity of the acts, arriving and departing to the venue was relatively painless affairs (unlike my most recent trek to Great Woods, seeing Neil Young & Crazy Horse back in May.)
Celisse and her band came on like gangbusters, a melting pot of rock, funk, jazz, R&B, and probably a few other genres. Celisse is not only a soulful vocalist, but a hell of a guitarist, playing blues leads like Hendrix, alternating with a more jazzy feel later in the set. She was having such a blast covering Bill Withers’ “Use Me” that as she was running out of time, decided to play it again until her allotment was up. On her pink-colored amps, it read, “Celisse Love You,” and she spouted positivity throughout her set. Well, Celisse, based on the crowd’s reaction, Mansfield loves you too.
Did you ever hear the story of when Led Zeppelin’s manager Peter Grant went up to meet Bob Dylan backstage at a Zeppelin show during their mid-70s heyday? He walked up to Dylan and reportedly said, “Hello, I’m Peter Grant and I manage Led Zeppelin!” According to legend, Dylan immediately replied, “Hey! I don’t come to you with MY problems!”
Robert Plant, like Dylan, has the burden of his past accomplishments, especially - but not exclusively -with Led Zeppelin, being a bit of an albatross around his neck. Even though that band broke up over 40 years ago, it’s for what he’s best known, and that band’s legacy has only increased over time. His collaborations with Alison Krauss have probably been the best way to revisit the past, without revisiting the Zep. Plant’s influences, like Dylan's, are rooted in what’s now known as early Americana. Looking like he just emerged from Middle Earth, often uplifting his arms as if to conjure up some musical magic, Plant was the star, or as Krauss referred to him at the end of the set, “The Boss.” Krauss did sing lead on a few numbers, plus soloed on violin, and joined in on harmonies. Personally, I would have liked to see more of her up front. However, there was certainly a LZ contingent in the crowd, and the more familiar songs, unsurprisingly, received the biggest reactions. Yet the vibe was more Page/Plant’s No Quarter than Led Zep nostalgia.
From the Zeppelin days, the songs chosen were rooted in early American music - “Rock and Roll” (Little Richard), “Gallow Pole'' (Lead Belly), “When the Levee Breaks” (Memphis Minnie) , and the new arrangements reflected this. Plus there was a healthy dose of Everly Brothers covers, ancient songs like “Matty Groves,” and more recent fare like “Can’t Let Go” by Randy Weeks (made popular by Lucinda Williams,), and Plant’s own solo hit, “In The Mood.” I did feel sorry for one female security guard that had to deal with a LZ fan in an American flag dress, who tried to rush the stage every time they played a Zeppelin song.
There was so much discussion when this tour was announced ... would Dylan continue with “The Rough and Rowdy Ways Tour,” which was advertised to end sometime this year, or would there be a return to a completely different set list, or something in between?
Well, the first night was a shocker, and so was the somewhat altered second, but now things have appeared to settle into place. 15 songs, nothing from R&RW, and just an odd assortment, both originals and covers, no mega-popular crowd pleasers. The band has changed, no more Donnie Herron, and now Buster Wilbury - a.k.a. Jim Keltner - was on drums (although he was blocked from my view all night.)
The band played well, and Dylan's voice was in great shape. What kind of struck me was that there were four songs were chosen from two of Dylan’s most desperate sounding albums (Time Out Of Mind and Tempest), yet his vocals, especially on “Love Sick” and the almost solo “Can’t Wait,” felt like it was coming to a place of stoic resignation. He was no longer fighting or grieving, he’s moved on to acceptance. Other songs echo this, like “Things Have Changed,” “Simple Twist of Fate,” and “Shooting Star.”
As I watched Dylan’s set unfold in real time (I tried to minimize whatever concert reports came my way beforehand as much as possible), I noticed that - not unlike The Philosophy of Modern Song and Theme Time Radio Hour - it felt like he was taking inventory of the past.
It begins with a trip down “Highway 61,” with pitstops visiting the virtual graves of absent friends - Chuck Berry (“Little Queenie”), Jerry Garcia and Robert Hunter (“Stella Blue”), George Harrison (“Under the Red Sky”), and what might be a personal reason for covering the 1959 hit by the Fleetwoods, “Mr. Blue.”
Then there's the thematic angle. (Dylan tends to mix perspiration with inspiration.)
Travelin' - “Highway 61,” “40 miles of bad road,” “Six days on the road.”
Colors - “Mr. Blue,” “Under the Red Sky,” “Stella Blue.” (political?)
Royalty - “Little Queenie,” “Early Roman Kings.” (political?)
Time - “Early Roman Kings,” “Can’t Wait,” “Soon After Midnight,” “I’ll Be Your Baby Tonight” (accidentally promoting his most recent album, Shadow Kingdom, now streaming on Amazon Prime.)
What does it all mean? Were they thought out? Are they arbitrary? Who knows? Maybe it means nothing?
Anyway, a great set.
While headliner Willie Nelson was given the medical OK to resume touring, he was still sitting this one out, probably to make his return at The 4th of July Picnic, in Camden, NJ. His son Lukas perfectly filled his father’s shoes, with a mix of Willie Nelson classics, and a few originals. (Lukas' brother Micah, was here last May with Neil & the Horse.)
Lukas' guitar playing and vocals at times were eerily similar to his father’s. The highlights of the hour-long set included a delicate “Angels Flying Too Close To The Ground” (which Dylan has covered), and a song to help Lukas forget an ex-girlfriend named “Georgia,” humorously followed by “Georgia On My Mind.”
While we all missed Willie (and his recordings were played on the PA between sets), Lukas managed to both play tribute to his father without slavish imitation, yet there were also times when you could not tell the difference between the two.
Onward to Gilford!
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