IMG_3642.jpg

No photography, audio or video recordings were allowed at the Bob Dylan concert. Anyone caught trying to take a picture was warned or ejected.

(Katrina Tulloch)

SYRACUSE, N.Y. -- Legendary singer, songwriter and Nobel Prize for Literature winner Bob Dylan returned to Syracuse on Sunday night.



There was no opening act. Dylan and His Band took the Lakeview Amphitheater stage at 8:10 p.m. with little fanfare, prompting the audience of 3,000 (according to a security estimate) to jump up for a standing ovation before Dylan played a note.



Dressed in a light gray jacket, Dylan parked himself at his piano for "Things Have Changed," reminding concertgoers how much life and culture have evolved since he first hit the national stage.



The timelessness and truth of his songwriting endured. He wielded the English language and wrote his generation's story better than most historians, playwrights and journalists ever could.



Throughout his career, Dylan played often in the Syracuse area, drawing praise and weariness from local music critics since the mid-1960's. One critic wrote he "absolutely sparkled" in 1988 at the Landmark Theater. In 1991, Dylan "rasped out lyrics in a style that was both fascinating and annoying" at the New York State Fair.

I wondered which version of Dylan we would see at the amphitheater.



It was both.

Depending on who you ask, you'll hear he was simultaneously wonderful and disappointing. People argued over his performance as left the Amp. Post-show social media responses were divided.

A decent music critic, I think, must take in the whole experience, from the diehard fan's perspective to the concertgoer dragged along by a friend or spouse.

Hardcore Dylan fans felt thrilled just to see him in the flesh, no matter what he acted or sounded like. They probably bought the $20 show poster, $40 T-shirt and $100 commemorative blanket.



Fairweather fans, or those seeing him for the first time, may have been turned off by his detached nature. Dylan didn't connect with the audience, tell stories or acknowledge his many standing ovations. He didn't smile.



Then again, he doesn't have to. He's already proven his worth.



In that vein, Bob Dylan seems to be the only cool performer left.



Coolness is subjective, but here, let's use it by the standards of his era. Dylan exudes talent and charm without trying. He knows he is a legend. He acts like it. He does not give a damn.



Between his blase attitude and vocal drop-offs, Dylan gave the impression that he'd forget the details of Sunday's show as soon as he left Syracuse. He shuffled on and off the stage without a word.



But he didn't forget his long and winding lyrics. Not once. That's what mattered.

His backing band excellently showcased Dylan's songs and several covers, never pulling attention away from that rattling, snarling voice. Dylan still doesn't enunciate, which was to be expected. However, Dylan sang-spoke on pitch and showed he was capable of crooning more robust notes on songs like "Autumn Leaves."

Dylan wasn't like other old boys we've seen in Syracuse in recent years. He didn't perform on autopilot, like Brian Wilson at Chevy Court. He didn't struggle through his concert like B.B. King at Jazz Fest. He didn't take a backseat to his band like Ringo Starr at the Amp or Butch Trucks at Blues Fest.



In the spotlight, Dylan simply played, sang and bounced his right knee along to the beat, for almost two hours. It was fun to watch him stand up and sing, legs splayed four feet apart, as if he were about to bust a move. (He didn't.)

He exceeded my expectations for a septuagenarian.

His voice is not strong enough to command a restless, boozy crowd, but security did that for him. Dylan's team prohibited photographs and videos of his performance, a rule which security strictly enforced.



The bizarrely square yellow-shirts watched the audience like hawks, swooping down on anyone with their phone out. Even people who tried to stand up and dance (in front of their $125 seats) were told to sit down or go dance on the lawn.



They were just doing their jobs, but it made the Amp feel like a school classroom, not a show.



If you, as a concertgoer, require flashing lights, front-row selfies and a pit to dance in, you would've been disappointed. At 76, Dylan isn't putting on that kind of show. He wants his crowd to sit still and listen. To hammer that point home, he sang "Why Try to Change Me Now?"

In a world of over-performers who can't put on a show without plugging their latest whiskey lines, it's somewhat refreshing to see an artist come to play, and that's it.



So it is what it is. You go to different concerts to experience different vibes. You go to a Dylan concert to see how an icon is doing.



He's fine. He's cool.





Bob Dylan performs at the Capitol Theater in Port Chester, N.Y., Sept. 4, 2012.

Bob Dylan set list

Lakeview Amphitheater | June 25, 2017

Things Have Changed

Don't Think Twice, It's All Right

Highway 61 Revisited

Why Try to Change Me Now (Cy Coleman)

Summer Days

Make You Feel My Love

Duquesne Whistle

Melancholy Mood (Frank Sinatra)

Stormy Weather (Harold Arlen)

Pay in Blood

Once Upon a Time (Tony Bennett)

Early Roman Kings

Desolation Row

Soon After Midnight

Tangled up in Blue

That Old Black Magic (Johnny Mercer/Glenn Miller)

Long and Wasted Years

Autumn Leaves (Yves Montand)



Encore:

Blowin' in the Wind

Ballad of a Thin Man

The next concert at the Lakeview Amphitheater is Third Eye Blind on June 30.

Katrina Tulloch writes music and culture stories for Syracuse.com and The Post-Standard. Contact her: Email | Twitter | Facebook