That’s a photo of Bob Dylan. Can you tell?
The night before in Maine, when the Outlaw Tour kicked off its final leg, Dylan changed his stage setup. In an effort to discourage cameras, I assume, he’s added a bunch of obstructions that block anyone from seeing him period. He retained this frustrating new layout in Hartford last night.
Two crazy tree-looking light fixtures sit on the piano, plus four standing light bulbs arrayed in front of him like soldiers guarding the king (brighter than they come across in photos—I have sensitive eyes and got a headache from looking into them). Plus he’s switched to a baby grand piano this leg, which has a music stand on top to hold his lyric sheets. On the off chance you can see around all the lights, that music stand blocks the lower half of his face. And, to take care of the upper half, he wears what looks like a raincoat with the hood up. I had a good seat, 15th row dead center, and that photo shows my view all night. I talked to people sitting in other sections afterwards, and his wall of barricades effectively prevents anyone from seeing him, anywhere in the venue. Just a top of a raincoat hood shifting around.
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