Columbus Dispatch, October 14, 2007

Dylan, Costello diverge as echoes of anti-war

Sunday, October 14, 2007 4:30 AM

By Curtis Schieber

For the Columbus Dispatch

Elvis Costello, who appeared in the Value City Arena last night before headliner Bob Dylan, might seem oddly paired with the unstoppable icon of the 1960s. Then again, if Dylan is the most significant songwriter of his time, Costello is arguably the best of his own generation.

Dylan was labeled a protest singer after writing tunes such as Blowin' In The Wind. None of those were heard last night. Interestingly, Costello picked up the slack with several pointed and moving anti-war songs.

Instead, Dylan allowed the meat of his program to wax philosophical. Observations of the human malaise were addressed obliquely in songs such as All Along The Watchtower and Ain't Talkin'. Both were highlights of the evening, Dylan delivering their fantastical narratives with a gravely mystery that was echoed by his band's dense and churning accompaniment. Ballad Of A Thin Man's odd but compelling scenario was cloaked in a deliciously dark arrangement.

Since the mid-1960s, Dylan has reinvented songs so ubiquitous that lesser artists would have shied from revisiting. Last night, the often a-melodic vocal shorthand the singer applied to tunes such as Just Like Tom Thumb Blues and Rainy Day Women No. 12 & 35, was easily eclipsed by the stellar blues rock of Dylan's crack band. Generally, though, the newer songs worked best. Things Have Changed, Dylan's tune from the film Wonder Boys, was moving and unsettling.

More interesting was the breadth of styles and tones the singer covered with selections such as the kitschy Spirit On The Water, the enigmatic ode to Everyman Workingman's Blues #2, and the swinging Summer Days.

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