Within the elapsed span of approximately two days, we as a band learned five Bob Dylan songs for the annual 'Bob Dylan Tribute Concert' at Founder's Brewery. Considering that Eric is the only 'true' Bob Dylan fan, (and that Nic flat out dislikes Bob Dylan with me somewhere in the middle) that is quite an accomplishment. I would argue with anyone that Bob Dylan is a prodigy song writer and lyric writer. Few to no singer-songwriters come close to the volume of the Dylan catalog with the same consistency of poetic, lyrical perception, the basic building blocks for creating a 'killer' song. I would also argue that although I appreciate Dylan's insistence to sing his own material (thus setting a low bar for any singers to follow), Dylan is not and never has been a singer. Apart from a handful of tunes like 'It's Alright Ma, I'm Only Bleeding', Dylan's voice rarely captures the ear beyond irritation and subsequent cringing provoked by his grinding, wheezy, impaired throat.
And so, what better way to familiarize yourself with the depth of the Dylan catalog than by listening to other people sing his songs. The goal being to thank and honor Dylan for writing so many beautiful songs and then showing him what his songs could sound like if he could sing.
We performed our own versions of (though not in this order) 'Maggie's Farm', 'I Will Be Released', 'The Man in Me' featured in the film 'The Big Lebowski, 'It Takes a Lot to Laugh, It Takes a Train to Cry', and 'You Ain't Going Nowhere'. An acoustic trio incorporating funk rhythms and minor harmonics into at least one major key song I felt stood out from the groups to follow.
Nic wore the 'Bob Dylan' sunglasses, I sucked in my fear of playing to a room of several hundred people, and we rocked the house as the opening band.
