Since I entered this blog few days ago, I got an email from Martin, the guy sitting in front of me at the Dylan concert, with several great pictures. Here’s one. Others are further down.

Bob Dylan Concert in Shanghai April 8, 2011

The Bob Dylan concert seems worthy of a separate blog entry. I went through a great deal of hassle to get the ticket as I mentioned in other entries. Maybe I’ll pull all that from those entries and put it here later. I found out from my guide that I was interviewed on Chinese TV after the concert. I think I come across as kind of an idiot, but I’m used to it.

My guide found a link to the interview, picked up by another channel and she also downloaded it. Thanks, Sissi. You can see the clip at http://ent.kankanews.com//vods/ff80808129f4b1ca0129f6039b340bb3/ff8080812f2b7fc8012f37b27df90d04/

or download it at:

鲍勃·迪伦昨晚上海开唱 中外歌迷梦圆大舞台 [看东方].mp4 (10.38M, 2011-4-24 19:39:01到期)

鲍勃·迪伦昨晚上海开唱 中外歌迷梦圆大舞台 [看东方].flv (3.87M, 2011-4-24 19:42:37到期)

There are several reasons I gave the title The Times they are NOT a’changin’. One is that 5 of the 16 songs he played could have been played at the concert I saw of his in 1966 in Ithaca, NY. Another is that Dylan agreed that the Chinese government would approve his playlist for this concert and the song “The Times they are a’changin’” is probably one of those that would not have been approved. The last one is that his music was considered edgy back in the 1960’s as supportive of change and this concert comes at a time of change in China. It is one of the first US concerts of its type.

If you’re not interested in my adventures in getting to the site or ramblings about Dylan, scroll down to the heading “THE CONCERT”.

I just read Maureen Dowd’s article called Blowin’ in the Idiot Wind at http://www.nytimes.com/2011/04/10/opinion/10dowd.html (thanks, George for sending me the link). The gist of it is in this quote “You say you’re lookin’ for someone who won’t kowtow to an oppressive government? It ain’t he, babe.” (by the way, she quotes someone using the same title I’m using here but I came up with this title before I read the article). I think Maureen Dowd has done to Bob Dylan what people have been doing to him since he first became popular. People have always been trying to make him into a political rebel since some of his very earliest songs were protest songs. He’s been trying to tell people that he never wanted to be thought of as a protest leader or anything but a musician. For him to play in China without being allowed to play some of his songs obviously was not really an issue for him. Maureen Dowd should be looking elsewhere for political leadership in fighting oppression in China. I wonder if she has ever bought anything made in China. She seems to recognize this in the article but at the end she is accusing him of selling out for the money. Maybe that’s true but I think it’s at least equally likely he’s in it for the chance to play his music. Obviously neither Maureen Dowd or anyone else really knows for sure except him. He is such an important figure in music history that people will always be trying to make him into something he’s not. When you go to another country, you have to live by their laws. I could go to Tienanmen Square and yell out protest slogans but that’s against their laws. I could refuse to go to China or buy any Chinese products but that would be pointless. It feels strange to be disagreeing with Maureen Dowd because I usually agree with her.

In any case, I finally got my ticket the morning of the concert. I paid 980 RMB, which is about $150, not cheap. They also had tickets at 280, 480, 680, and 1280. The ticket office was close to the Shanghai Grand Theater, where the concert was so I knew where I was going later. It was hard to find the office and when we did, we had to wait a long time for a small elevator, which was overly packed. I picked up two copies of the concert poster they were giving away, that were also being sold at the concert.

Dylan in Shanghai Poster (I’m too lazy to pull out my copy)

I almost fell asleep when I got back from my full day sightseeing in Shanghai but was afraid I wouldn’t get up in time so I forced myself to stay awake. At a little after 6, I decided to get a taxi for the 8 PM show, even though the taxi should only take 20-30 minutes. I thought it might be fun to hang out at the site and also after all I’d gone through I wanted to be sure to be there in plenty of time. I joined a taxi line just outside the hotel, which was perfect except for the fact that I was #7 in line and no taxis were coming in.

After 15 minutes of waiting I was #5 only because two groups had given up. I bailed and started walking in the direction of the concert. Thank you, iPhone Map app, which let me know it was a one-hour walk, about 5.1 kilometers (3.2 miles). It was before 6:30 so I could walk all the way and be on time. I showed my ticket to someone on the street while waiting for a light and he confirmed that I was going the right way. I stayed close to the street so I could hail a taxi.

It felt good to be out on the street by myself. I’ve almost always had a guide with me. The street was filled with all kinds of stores such as noodle shops, open air butchers, and tiny fruit markets. The intersections were crazy with all the bikes and cars who didn’t seem to fully stop before taking a right on red (or were they just running it?).

Back in the 60’s and 70’s when it was socially acceptable I used to hitchhike a lot. I noticed back then that some hitchhikers were walkers and others were standers. When no one is coming to pick you up, some would just stand in the same spot and others would start walking. I was a walker. This relates to part of my personality where I’m always wondering what’s at the next point both physically and mentally / emotionally.

A few empty taxis came by but they were all going the wrong way and either didn’t hear me or didn’t feel like turning around. Finally, I found a taxi going the wrong way that was stopped for a light. I carefully crossed traffic and got in. I think I had walked about 1 mile out of the 3.2. It cost 17 RMB + 3 tip or about $3.50 and I was there about 6:50.

Outside there were a whole bunch of scalpers. Later, a loudspeaker warned people that many scalpers have counterfeited tickets that would be caught by the ticket scanners. After the scalpers came street vendors selling all kinds of stuff like trinkets and binoculars. One guy was blaring Dylan music and we sang together for a while. He was selling a pirated 3-CD set of Dylan songs and wanted 450 RMB ($67.50). I walked away and I think I heard him yell out 150 RMB ($22.50). Who knows how cheap he would have sold it for.

Guy selling Dylan knock-off CD’s at a rip off price, we sang together for a while (left). “Salute to Bob Dylan” singing Blowin’ in the Wind really well except for singing “The answer is blow in the wind”, not blowin’ (right).

There was a crowd around a singer who had a sign that he was playing a “Salute to Bob Dylan”. He was singing a fairly good version of Blowin’ in the Wind but he messed up one word. Instead of “The answer my friend is blowin’ in the wind”, he sang “The answer my friend is blow in the wind.” To me his version means the exact opposite. Dylan’s version means to me that the answer to the lack of freedom cannot be stopped. It’s in the wind and is coming. By singing “blow in the wind”, the implication is to get the answer, you have to blow in the wind, which is to me a sign of futility. Our power to blow in the wind is tiny compared to the power of the wind. Not that anyone in the world besides me cares. I liked the way he did the song though. His next song was “Country Road.” I wonder if he knew that “Country Road” isn’t by Dylan.

After hanging outside for a while, I went in. They had a security check with bomb sniffing dogs, which I think is pretty typical for concerts these days. The concession area was remarkably low key. I bought an ice cream bar for 75 cents and a coffee for $2. There was no alcohol and only about 6-7 small booths altogether. There was one booth selling 2-CD compilation sets for 60 RMB ($9) and the poster I got for free when I bought the ticket. There was another area like this on the other side. These two areas were for the expensive seats. There was a separate entrance for the cheaper seats but I imagine the offerings were the same. No t-shirts or any memorabilia. I spent a while talking to two French businessman. It felt good to speak in French.

I got to my seat and was a little disappointed. It was further back than I expected. It was only the 26th row and just a little off center but the stage still looked small. Besides the very low-key concession area, it was unusual in that they were not playing any music over the sound system as is typical in US concerts. I’m not sure if they were unaware of how it’s done in the US and other places or if they really wanted to keep it low key, since rock concerts are a relatively new concept to China.

Scene outside the stadium (left), scene from my seat before the concert started (right)

I hung out with an American guy who has lived in Shanghai for two years with his wife. He made it sound really fun living in Shanghai. I had been thinking the same thing as I was walking towards the concert. It’s the most Westernized city in China but the expatriate community he said was only about 30,000 out of a population of 22 million. That’s right, 22 million. Pennsylvania’s population is about 10 million.

I mentioned to the Australians next to me that I had seen Bob Dylan in 1966 and instantly the two Chinese guys in front of me turned around and wanted to know all about it. They had flown in from Chengdu that morning just to see the concert. I really liked these guys. They were going to the US for college (I never asked if it was for undergraduate or graduate school). One was going to the U. of Washington in aeronautical engineering. The other had been accepted to Wake Forest, William and Mary, and Emory but was wait listed to NYU.

Chinese guys who flew in just to see the concert, very knowledgable about Dylan, planning to go to the US to study in the fall. Martin, on the left, sent me excellent pictures of the concert and Shanghai from his serious camera.

One guy started talking about the song Desolation Row and I told him the story of how I had a quiz in 10th grade English on Shakespeare. Instead of answering the questions, which I did not know, I wrote down most of the words to Desolation Row. The teacher wrote an angry note on my paper the next day with the obvious conclusion that if I had spend a small fraction of the time studying for the quiz instead of learning Desolation Row, I would have done well. The big zero on the top of the paper was well deserved. We were very happy when Dylan sang Desolation Row that night.

When I was on the boat in Guilin, one of the people at my table spoke of a concert she had been to in a park in London with Tony Bennett and Bob Dylan. She felt Dylan was a dud. He didn’t speak to the crowd while Tony Bennett was filled with charisma and gave the audience a good feeling. The topic of conversation moved on to something else but to me there is no comparison between those two. Tony Bennett is a pleasant entertainer with an excellent voice who does good versions of standards written by others. Bob Dylan is the main founder of a whole type of music, folk-rock. More importantly, he changed lyrics of popular songs from simplistic love words to complex and sometimes literary ones on all kinds of topics. He has written hundreds of songs over many decades and has made a major impact on many of the great musicians of the second half of the 20th century. I’m sure Tony Bennett has influenced other musicians and indeed he is a much slicker entertainer but he’s not in Bob Dylan’s league.

THE CONCERT

They had the compulsory message about no flash photography or recording at the beginning but as soon as Dylan started, everyone got out their cameras and took flash pictures and held their phones, obviously recording the show. No one stopped anyone. I decided to do the same. I recorded somewhere between 15 seconds and a couple of minutes of each song.

Great shots from Martin live from the concert. Dylan playing the piano.

Here’s the playlist. He started about 8:10. I have short video clips of each song (two for those marked with a 2).If anyone has an idea of where to post these clips, please let me know. My guess is that they would be removed from YouTube since I forgot to get full authorization from the Dylan people and the Chinese government. You really can’t see much in the clips because of the lack of zoom on the iPhone 4. Martin sent me the playist that he figured out after getting home.

1. Gonna Change My Way of Thinking

2. Don’t Think Twice, It’s All Right

3. Things Have Changed

4. Tangled Up In Blue (2)

5. Honest With Me

6. Simple Twist of Fate

7. Twiddle Dee and Twiddle Dum

8. Blind Willie McTell

9. The Levee’s Gonna Break

10. Desolation Row

11. Highway 61 Revisited (2)

12. Spirit on the Water

13. Thunder on the Mountain

14. Ballad of a Thin Man

He made people work hard for the encore, which came about 9:50. The only time he spoke was to introduce the band between the two encore songs.

15. Like a Rolling Stone

16. Forever Young

Dylan and the band taking their bows (thanks again, Martin)

A few minutes after 10, it was done. When the lights came on, the crowd quickly quieted and left. Two hours is not super long but when you consider that there was no talking and very short times between songs, it was a lot. Some of the songs were long. Desolation Row on the album is maybe 12 minutes.

I bought Dylan’s album “Highway 61 Revisited” almost as soon as I heard “Like a Rollin’ Stone” in the 1960’s. It’s still my favorite album of his. Songs #10, 11, 14, and 15 were from that album, which made me very happy. I think only song #2 is from before that album.

The 10,000 seat stadium was mostly filled with about 2/3 Chinese and the rest American or European. Given that there are 22 million Chinese in Shanghai and about 30,000 expatriates, this was a large showing of expatriates. With Dylan not having had a hit in decades and the cost being expensive, it’s not surprising though. The crowd seemed like most I’ve been to in concerts like this. They cheered loudly when he came on stage and after each song. They especially went wild when he played the harmonica.

Dylan’s voice is very different from what it sounds like on the old albums. It’s more of a croak than a warble. I preferred the old sound better. Dylan played the guitar, keyboard, and harp. There were 4 in the band and I did get on the video Dylan giving their names at the break between the two encore songs. There was a bass player who sometimes played standup bass, two other guitar players, and a drummer.

As I walked outside, I saw a TV camera and walked over to see what it was about. Almost immediately, they pulled me over and I was being interviewed. I obnoxiously gushed about how much I enjoyed it and that I saw him in 1966. I didn’t expect it would be on the Chinese news that evening and throughout the next day. My guide had seen it the next morning. When I got back from Suzhou the next day, I put the Chinese channel on and when I heard the words Bob Dylan, I got my iPhone out and recorded the TV. I was indeed on for about 15 seconds. Later that evening, my guide emailed me with a link to a broadcast on a different Chinese channel. She figured out how to download it and converted it to .flv (YouTube), .mp4, and .mov. I really appreciated her doing that. The links are at the beginning of this entry.

I looked for a cab to get back to the hotel but there were about 30 groups trying to get one. I walked about one block before the crowd and easily found a taxi before it got to the crowd. I’m glad no one else seemed to have thought of this.

I was having breakfast the previous weekend in Beijing and while reading the official government English language newspaper I read that Dylan was going to be in Beijing and Shanghai. I was amazed to see that he was going to be in Shanghai at a perfect time for me. I thought about it for a while and decided that it would be too much hassle to get tickets and I’m usually very tired at the end of these very full sightseeing days. A day later, I thought to myself I must be crazy. Bob Dylan would be just a few miles from me in China and I want to hang out in the room? I then began a 4-day obsession involving hours on the phone and a lot of help from three different guides. Ann in Xian in particular spend a long frustrating time with me on the phone. She was great.

I’m really glad I went. It parallels my visit to the Taj Mahal as making a link to my childhood. If I hadn’t known the songs or his work beforehand, it wouldn’t have been that great a concert but the experience of being there and hearing those songs again from my youth felt good, Maureen Dowd notwithstanding.