What I Learned

I have to admit that I thought this was going to be much easier than it turned out.  Hardware technology has improved dramatically in the past few years, especially smart photo capabilities. There are still some limitations. My Droid X camera still doesn’t provide the quality of images I want. The auto shutter speed is too slow in low light situations and the flash adjustment is frustrating. MZ’s Android phone has a much better camera. The FlipCam provided the nicest images but could not be uploaded until after the show.

With all our background in copyright and fair use, we were naive to assume we could document such a major artist without legal issues. By purchasing a ticket you agree to the contract law and stipulations of the engagement, these supersede any fair use application.  So we were informed before the show started that there would be no photos permitted in the first five rows, and there were a group of security people to help remind us. We were also frisked on the way in for cameras and contraband forcing us to discreetly bring in our hardware.

During a show the atmosphere is always chaotic. We had some idea of what portions might be more significant or unusual – Dylan on guitar, songs that were not frequently played, interesting backdrop treatments, etc. The coordination of capturing the moment, commenting on it and uploading it – all while trying to watch the show took some effort.  So there were some empty uploads or bad image uploads that had to be edited later. MZ has had more practice with this and pulled it off much better than I was able to. Again my phone images were weak and didn’t seem worthy of posting.

I do currently have one YouTube clip of the show published. Within 15 minutes of posting it, I received a notice that it was a copyright violation of this artist and would I kindly remove it. They threatened that my account would be deleted if I did not comply. Since it is the only clip on my account, I’m waiting to see how long that process takes. Not that I don’t understand and agree with the policy, more that I just want to see the procedural process in action.

I am looking forward to trying this again and improving on our efforts. Your comments and suggestions are encouraged. - mc

UPDATE 11/15/10 -- It took exactly one week for my video to be deleted from Youtube with a stern warning that next time my account would be deleted. However the clip continues to work from the embedded link. So I will watch to see how long that will last.

The Crowd Shuffles Out

Here is a brief clip of the crowd leaving the Bob Dylan concert. Hopefully the WebSheriff won't mind this.

Dylan videos: second try

The "websherrif" made me take down the videos that I had uploaded to YouTube. I inserted these directly into blogger. The quality seems a little compromised but you get the idea. My longer clip wouldn't load so I may try again tomorrow.

It's All Over Now Baby Blue

This is the longest video I got with the FlipCam before security intervened. It does feature Dylan playing guitar. -mc

Within 20 minutes I got an e-mail telling me my YouTube account will be suspended if I don't delete this video.

Behind the scenes

Behind the scenes exclusive: Dr. Chase messes with the video resolution settings on his phone.  Fascinating.

Full Set list from Show

Here is the full set list as posted on the Dylan website

Leopard-Skin Pill-Box Hat
It's All Over Now, Baby Blue
I'll Be Your Baby Tonight
Just Like A Woman
Rollin' And Tumblin'
Tangled Up In Blue
High Water (for Charlie Patton)
Tryin' To Get To Heaven
Summer Days
Blind Willie McTell
Highway 61 Revisited
Workingman's Blues #2
Thunder On The Mountain
Ballad Of A Thin Man
Jolene
Like A Rolling Stone




mc

Back alive and living in a world created by Dylan



Dylan was his usual fascinating, maddening self.

 We are on the road heading out of Pittsburgh with all faculties intact. Only overshot the parking lot by three blocks but needed the exercise. Tonight and tomorrow we will be posting some higher quality videos  taken with the flip cameras. Overall the exercise worked. We found out that the technology to update on the fly exists, if imperfectly. The concert was what one expects from Dylan: confusing, dazzling, lyrical, transcending and annoying all at the same time. Like fine wine and caviar Dylan is not for the timid or the uninformed. He must be savored and pondered and ultimately forgiven for his excesses and his hubris. The point is-if you weren't here you missed something truly unique and memorable.

P.S. It's been a long time since I tried to write something in a moving car. It feels nice.mz

That's it folks

I think this is the end.

Rolling stone

How does it feel!!

Encore

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Encore

Main show over. Waiting for the encore.

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Dylan sings

Dylan steps up to the mic

Stage Treatment

Video fed to the back drapes with wide angle lense taken ceiling level for interesting treatment.

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Stage

I like the projected backdrop they used for this show.

Old Hippies

Ok. I'm ready for the balding hippie in front of me to stop.dancing like he is at some 60s love in.

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Tangled up on Blue

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Crowd

Floor crowd has to stand. Interesting mix of material so far.

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Close enough to see all the wrinkles

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Totally missed that second song

Totally missed that second song was tangled up in blue. What? mz

It was  "It's all over now Baby Blue" mc

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2nd warning

Got my second warning on photos but got about half of- its all.over now baby blue.

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Guitar

Dylan plays guitar. Have no clue what the song is.

Here we go

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Bob

Bob hits the stage.

Venue filling up

Well, I guess it is no surprise that the medium age is over 40. There are a few fathers who brought their sons, but most of these people are old rockers. You can over hear others talking about seeing Clapton here, or I was at the Alman Brothers show in 1973.

We plan to sneak a few more photos and videos. Hopefully we won't get thrown out like Joe Harry. MC

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Vendor

Bought a poster for $20. T-shirts were $35.

Crowd

Crowd is forming. Had to cup the flip camera to get it in. Been warned multiple times about cell phone pics. Everything from here on is pirate.

Well this is going to be a problem

Concert hasn't started yet and already told no photos allowed in the first 5 rows

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Getting ready to head for

Getting ready to head for Petersen. Netbook has died so we are going to dump it and go.

Crowd builds

Crowd is building as people carb load and liquor load for the show.

Anticipation Builds

As we wait to make our final move to the venue, it becomes obvious that many others in the crowd are here to see the Dylan show too. This will be an eclectic mix of young and old. Many feel the need to identify themselves as non conformists and its working. (see MZ's latest entry). Onr of the first videos I post will be a crowd scan to provide an idea of the demogtraphics. BTW Dr. Harry didn't make it. MC

Crowd gathers

I think ozzy's cousin is hanging out at yo mamma's.

New friends

We made some new friends at Joe Mammas. Of course we had to bribe them with a beer. We decided to move on from the football hoopla at Peter's Pub. This place is an interesting sort of 50's throwback with old movie star photos on the wall.   We have decided to ditch the netbook after this because the consesus is we can't sneak it into Peterson. Now it is going to get rough--smart phones only with flip video for later upload.

Peter's Pub

Lots of Eagle fans at Peter's Pub.

What to expect?

We have been discussing what we expect out of the show tonight. The difference between going to a show now and 15-25 years ago is that there are no big surprises left. What I mean is I know the set list for every show that Dylan has done on this tour. He has a four or five set songs and rotates through about 30 others. I know from looking on Youtube what he will wear (his hippy cowboy schtick) and how big his band is. I even have a sense of how they will sound from amateur videos. So what could happen to make this an experience that will be memorable? Well the good news is that with Dylan, you never really know what he will do. That is what makes him an artist that has stood the test of time. Through his many phases one thing that Dylan has never been is boring. Sometimes he is insufferable, often hard to listen to (see his Christian period) but never boring. So my hope is that Dylan comes out in his pajamas and starts to play a harp. That would be exciting and not totally unexpected. We'll see.

Made it to Oakland

We got parked at soldiers and sailors and found Peter's Pub on Oakland Ave only a few blocks from the Petersen. MZ is multitasking with the technology. I feel the need to provide one intellectually inciteful post before the show. MC

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First beer

At Peter's pub. Looks like a college bar for Eagles fans.

Whoops. Chase left his phone

Whoops. Chase left his phone in the car. Minor glitch. No traffic but the lots around Peterson wouldn't let us use them.:-)

Highway Driving

Luckily no traffic or delays on 79.. So we are on the way.

Parking Lot Photo

We're off....

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Sitting among the odd people

Sitting among the odd people at the Portersville park and ride. Lots of dogs taking a crap.

Last Minute Details

I just got a call from Dr. Joe Harry wanting to know if he could tag along. He wasn't sure he was feeling up to it because of a head cold but didn't want to miss the excitement. Told him we are rendezvousing at the I-79 Portersville exit park and ride at 3 pm. and his presence was welcome. My understanding is that there are still tickets available for the show.

I also realize that I need a "man bag" for all my gear. I also wondering if they will let me bring my netbook inside the Petersen? I don't see why not. I think our first stop will be the Fuel & Fuddle in Oakland for a drink and to gather our thoughts. I'm off.... mc

Last night's set list

Here is the set list from last night's show in Rochester, New York. Looks pretty promising. "Things Have Changed" is one of my favorite latter day Dylans songs. When I first saw the song "Jolene" in the encore I thought, "Why is Dylan covering Dolly Parton?"  But then I realized that this is one of his newer songs from a recent album. Actually I would kind of like to hear Dylan do Parton's "Jolene." mz

Rochester Institute of Technology
Gordon Field House
November 6, 2010

1.	Rainy Day Women #12 & 35
2.	Señor (Tales Of Yankee Power)
3.	Just Like Tom Thumb's Blues (Bob on guitar)
4.	Things Have Changed (Bob on guitar)
5.	The Levee's Gonna Break
6.	The Lonesome Death Of Hattie Carroll
7.	Honest With Me
8.	Forgetful Heart
9.	Cold Irons Bound
10.	Simple Twist Of Fate (Bob on guitar)
11.	Highway 61 Revisited
12.	Ain't Talkin'
13.	Thunder On The Mountain
14.	Ballad Of A Thin Man
	(encore)
15.	Jolene
16.	Like A Rolling Stone

Tangled Up In Blue

Here is a live version of my favorite Dylan song "Tangled Up In Blue." This video was shot during The Rolling Thunder Revue tour of the mid-seventies. Yes, Bob has white pancake makeup smeared all over his face. He did the whole tour looking like this. I haven't got a clue why he wore the makeup and I doubt that Dylan could give you a sensible answer. He just felt like it I guess. Isn't that the best reason to do anything?

So now I'm going back again
I got to get to her somehow
All the people we used to know
They're an illusion to me now

Some are mathematicians
Some are doctor's wives
Don't know how it all got started
Don't know what they're doin' with their lives

But me, I'm still on the road
Headin' for another joint
We always did feel the same
We just saw it from a different point of view
Tangled up in blue

If you watch the video you will notice that Dylan changes the lyrics for the next to last verse. In this version he sings "some are truck driver's wives." I don't know the significance of this change other than there were probably more truck drivers in the audience than doctors (or at least that is what Dylan surmised).mz

Getting Ready

My wife just said, "Thanks for the early anniversary gift -- not making me go see Bob Dylan." She hasn't recovered from the '83 Born Again tour. mc

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The Key to Success: Preparation

I need to thank my B Period Publication Production class for their indulgence and patience.  Early ticket sales for this show started in the middle of class, so I had my Ticketmaker account cued on the instructor’s console before class and handed out a brief reading assignment just before tickets went on sale. While they read the article, I made a few quick clicks and scored 3^rd row seats. Now there is some debate on how close is too close. @spencerkeasey has already weighted in that we are too close. I guess it depends on the venue, artist, and show, but I think with Dylan the closer the better. There will be no theatrics, special effects or video walls best viewed at a distance. Besides we’re getting old with failing eye sight and hearing loss.

Speaking of hearing loss, this will be by fifth Dylan concert. While I know MZ has been to more live shows and experienced more artists, I did see Bob twice in 1979 (Pittsburgh Civic Arena, Richfield Coliseum in Ohio), 1982 at the Stanley Theater in Pittsburgh, and with MZ and Dr. Joe Harry last year at the Consol Energy Ball Park. The Richfield Coliseum trip was probably one of the more interesting events. There used to be record "Head" shop in Slippery Rock located in the building that now has the tattoo shop about six houses north of the North Country Brewery. It was run by a guy named Czer. He put together a packaged trip. For $20.00 you got a concert ticket, bus ride to the show, and all you could drink from a keg in the back of the bus (it didn't seem to matter in those days that I was only 18). The seats were mediocre and someone stole the keg while we were in the show, but it was an opportunity I'm glad I didn't miss.

Technology Issues

Getting the tools charged and ready.

I’ve used several different blog sites. For this challenge, I needed one that we could both use our Android phones for instant posting of videos in addition to stills and text. After research, trial and error, the only one I could get to work was Blogspot. It still requires that I e-mail the video to our Blogspot account. Using the direct video upload, the videos become corrupt and won’t play without error.

A quick inventory of technology for the trip – Verizon netbook for online access during the drive, 2 flip cams, 2 Android based phones, car battery chargers for phones, and two extra charged batteries for my phone. (Personal reminder – Don’t forget the damn tickets fussing about all the equipment) - mc

Dylan concert number three

 Poster from my last Dylan concert. 

      Dr. Chase was with me the last time I saw Bob Dylan. Willie Nelson and John Mellencamp were the opening acts as you can see from the poster featured above.  The show was one of Dylan's minor league baseball park concerts. This particular one was in Washington, PA and you can see at the bottom of the poster that it says "Be In Town Early!!!". We didn't heed this warning and got caught in a traffic jam about two miles from the stadium. We missed about half of Willie Nelson's set which I don't think bothered Dr. Chase a bit but alarmed me somewhat since I am a big outlaw country fan. John Mellencamp was surprisingly solid and Dylan sounded great and you could almost decipher the identity of most of the songs he sang. (Which is not to be confused with understanding his lyrics. Dylan's singing live is completely unintelligible.)
    In any event Dylan was in much better form than the  first time I saw him  in Altoona, PA of all places. It goes without saying that we plan to leave very early for this show located in the misty maze of Oakland, PA.-mz

New technology makes real-time reporting possible

I suspect the Bob Dylan we will see on Sunday will be quite different than this  young man.



“Print journalism is dead.” That has been the prevailing attitude of media critics over the course of the last few years. While I don’t completely agree with that statement it is certainly true that journalism has to evolve to address the new technology that has developed and is literally sitting in our pocket or in our purse. I currently teach the New-Media Journalism class at Slippery Rock University and in that class we try to address the evolution of journalism.

One point I continually emphasize in class is that the public’s desire for information remains undiminished. In fact it has grown. The difference is that no one is willing to wait until the 6pm newscast or until tomorrow morning’s newspaper to get the news. The accessibility of the internet has made “instant” news a fact of life. In the last few years social media platforms such as Facebook and Twitter have only upped the stakes. The modern news consumer expects to be updated second-to-second and not necessarily by professional journalists.

This blog is an attempt at the kind of  “backpack journalism” that I emphasize in class. The tools will primarily be smart phones for photos and video for immediate updates and a flip camera for some additional video added later. The reporting will be in real-time. Will it be perfect? Probably not but hopefully it will be interesting and certainly timely. mz

This site is our experiment in using social
media for real time blogging of our activities.

Bob Dylan

Sunday, November 7th we will be traveling to the Petersen Events Center in Pittsburgh, PA to see Bob Dylan. Plans are to document the adventure with real time posts using photos, video clips. and commentary. Ideally the two of us (Mark Chase & Mark Zeltner) will be able to use our smart phones to provide regular updates of the day’s events.

Starting Sunday afternoon we will begin to document the adventure. If all goes well, there will be a variety of new content before, during and after the show. We hope you will check in to see what happens. - mc