Bullshit. I’ve been to 5-6 Dylan concerts in my life, and they rank as both the best and the worst. I’ve seen him in Belfast (with Van Morrison) and Kansas City (Starlight) and the shows were inspired. The band was on, Dylan was in fine form, and it was a tremendous experience. I took my (now 19-year old) daughter to the Starlight show, and she (who works part-time at the largest music venue in town) was enthralled. Said it was the best concert she’d ever seen (and she’s seen a lot more than I have).
On the other hand, I’ve been at Dylan concerts that sucked. Sucked worse than any other show I’ve seen…
It’s become clear to me that Dylan feeds off the crowd. If the crowd is reactive and engaged, magic happens. The version of Hollis Brown I heard still haunts me.
But when he’s off and the crowd doesn’t respond, it’s a terrible show.