The Outlaw Music Festival: Willie Nelson, Bob Dylan and John Mellencamp at Blossom
On Thursday, September 12, gieves, John and I went to see Willie Nelson's Outlaw Music Festival Blossom. Well, that was what was supposed to happen. Instead, John totally botched his calendar and was out of town that day, so Brandt claimed his ticket in the center section of the pavilion 2 or 3 rows from the back. jumpinfool was very close to us one row back and a few seats over.
The Outlaw Music Festival featured four bands. It started very early for any night, let alone a work night, so we missed out on the first opener Southern Avenue. That's ok because everybody else in the lineup was substantially more famous, and had been for some years.
We arrived during the first song for John Mellencamp, age 72. I first saw Mellencamp back in October 2016 in a small venue. At the time, I said Did I have a good time? Yes, although I don't need to do it again.. I was prescient, because Mellencamp's opening session was more or less a carbon copy of that 2016 show in terms of tone. He played most of the hits, he talked a bit, there was a singalong to Jack & Diane. I certainly enjoyed it, but I'm not sure I really needed to see him again.
I had slightly higher hopes for the second opener, a guy you may have heard of named Bob Dylan, aged 83. The rep on Dylan was that on any given night he could put on the best show of your life, the worst show, or somewhere between. I had seen him once in 2001 at the Illinois State Fair, and it was solidly in the middle, quality-wise. However, early reviews of his gigs on this tour were positive, so I was cautiously hopeful.
Alas, Bob was terrible. Basically every song sounded exactly the same - slow and boring. It was almost as if he was intentionally trolling the audience by being as terrible as possible. I enjoyed any five minutes of Mellencamp's set more than the entirety of Dylan's set. A gentlemen in front of Brandt and gieves texted someone that "Bob Dylan is really depressing" during the set.
The only thing worth mentioning for Dylan was a bit of weirdness. Mellencamp had covered All Along the Watchtower during his set, which I took as a sign that Dylan wasn't playing it. Apparently Dylan hadn't actually performed All Along the Watchtower since 2018, but after Mellencamp did it that night, Dylan decided to play it too. Frankly, it was the only time in his set that Dylan showed a pulse. Mellencamp sounded better on that song though. I guess Mellencamp was the thief, and Dyland the joker! Brandt went so far as saying it was the second worst show he'd ever been to.
Anyway, the reason I went to The Outlaw Music Festival was to see Willie Nelson. He's been on my bucket list for years, and I rather shockingly realized that Willie is now 91 and there probably won't be very many more chances to see him. Willie looked every bit of 91, too. He'd been sick earlier in the tour and missed a bunch of shows, and he really didn't look particularly healthy. Willie came out, waved, sat down and didn't get up again until the end of the set.
I'd like to tell you that Willie defied his age and sounded great. That's regrettably not true. His guitar work was a little shaky, like his hands weren't cooperating, and his voice wasn't particularly strong. It didn't help that the sound mix cranked the guitar loud and kept his voice low for inexplicable reasons. However, his set list was fantastic. There were a lot of songs he originally wrote that others did, others he had made famous himself, and others he just clearly liked. A personal highlight for me was a performance of "Still Is Still Moving to Me", a song he dueted with Toots Maytal on the True Love album. Age may have impacted Willie's sound, but he still had fire in his eyes and was clearly enjoying himself. When he needed a break, he turned the vocals over his (excellent) band. I enjoyed myself greatly, I'm glad I saw him, and I wish I'd pulled the trigger on seeing him years ago.
Late in the set Southern Avenue came on to help Willie out. What I heard in one set with them doing backup vocals I liked.
And yes, there was a stereotypically large amount of pot being smoked at this show, even though most of the crowd was somewhere in age between Willie's 91 and John's 72. More surprising to me were the people who were wearing fake braids and a headband like Willie.
This show was my 9th concert of the year, featuring 14 total bands.
EDIT: Added additional detail from Brandt.
The Outlaw Music Festival featured four bands. It started very early for any night, let alone a work night, so we missed out on the first opener Southern Avenue. That's ok because everybody else in the lineup was substantially more famous, and had been for some years.
We arrived during the first song for John Mellencamp, age 72. I first saw Mellencamp back in October 2016 in a small venue. At the time, I said Did I have a good time? Yes, although I don't need to do it again.. I was prescient, because Mellencamp's opening session was more or less a carbon copy of that 2016 show in terms of tone. He played most of the hits, he talked a bit, there was a singalong to Jack & Diane. I certainly enjoyed it, but I'm not sure I really needed to see him again.
I had slightly higher hopes for the second opener, a guy you may have heard of named Bob Dylan, aged 83. The rep on Dylan was that on any given night he could put on the best show of your life, the worst show, or somewhere between. I had seen him once in 2001 at the Illinois State Fair, and it was solidly in the middle, quality-wise. However, early reviews of his gigs on this tour were positive, so I was cautiously hopeful.
Alas, Bob was terrible. Basically every song sounded exactly the same - slow and boring. It was almost as if he was intentionally trolling the audience by being as terrible as possible. I enjoyed any five minutes of Mellencamp's set more than the entirety of Dylan's set. A gentlemen in front of Brandt and gieves texted someone that "Bob Dylan is really depressing" during the set.
The only thing worth mentioning for Dylan was a bit of weirdness. Mellencamp had covered All Along the Watchtower during his set, which I took as a sign that Dylan wasn't playing it. Apparently Dylan hadn't actually performed All Along the Watchtower since 2018, but after Mellencamp did it that night, Dylan decided to play it too. Frankly, it was the only time in his set that Dylan showed a pulse. Mellencamp sounded better on that song though. I guess Mellencamp was the thief, and Dyland the joker! Brandt went so far as saying it was the second worst show he'd ever been to.
Anyway, the reason I went to The Outlaw Music Festival was to see Willie Nelson. He's been on my bucket list for years, and I rather shockingly realized that Willie is now 91 and there probably won't be very many more chances to see him. Willie looked every bit of 91, too. He'd been sick earlier in the tour and missed a bunch of shows, and he really didn't look particularly healthy. Willie came out, waved, sat down and didn't get up again until the end of the set.
I'd like to tell you that Willie defied his age and sounded great. That's regrettably not true. His guitar work was a little shaky, like his hands weren't cooperating, and his voice wasn't particularly strong. It didn't help that the sound mix cranked the guitar loud and kept his voice low for inexplicable reasons. However, his set list was fantastic. There were a lot of songs he originally wrote that others did, others he had made famous himself, and others he just clearly liked. A personal highlight for me was a performance of "Still Is Still Moving to Me", a song he dueted with Toots Maytal on the True Love album. Age may have impacted Willie's sound, but he still had fire in his eyes and was clearly enjoying himself. When he needed a break, he turned the vocals over his (excellent) band. I enjoyed myself greatly, I'm glad I saw him, and I wish I'd pulled the trigger on seeing him years ago.
Late in the set Southern Avenue came on to help Willie out. What I heard in one set with them doing backup vocals I liked.
And yes, there was a stereotypically large amount of pot being smoked at this show, even though most of the crowd was somewhere in age between Willie's 91 and John's 72. More surprising to me were the people who were wearing fake braids and a headband like Willie.
This show was my 9th concert of the year, featuring 14 total bands.
EDIT: Added additional detail from Brandt.