Bob Dylan throws shade at a troll in a recent concert
By Lee Vowell
Bob Dylan is infamous for changing up his songs in concert so much so that one might not recognize them right away. That is a fun thing to do for any musical artist. Imagine playing the same song thousands of times without ever mixing the track up. That would get boring, right? And Dylan does not like to get bored.
At a recent concert in Florida, though, one fan seemed to get tired of Dylan either playing tunes that did not sound like the record or digging into his deep cuts. With Dylan, even a deep cut can be great. Plus, of all musical artists, why would one not want to hear songs they have heard millions of times before?
But in Fort Lauderdale on Friday, a "fan" (maybe they were forced to go along to a Bob Dylan concert and are not truly a fan because if one is a fan of Dylan one would likely know more than the "hits") shouted "Play something we know!" This was close enough for Dylan to hear, according to a tweet from another person who was in attendance, as Dylan appeared to look directly at the fan, and without saying a word he then began playing, "When I Paint My Masterpiece."
Bob Dylan rightfully puts a "fan" in their place
Only there was a catch. He and his band played the right melody, but the words were to "Puttin' on the Ritz." Dylan did not write that song, however, as it was written by Irving Berlin in 1927. Clearly, Dylan just wanted to have a little fun with the rude troll who had yelled at him.
Dylan played 16 songs during the concert. Maybe intentionally, he left out a number of hits. But a Bob Dylan tune is likely a good one so maybe some people need to learn to be satisfied with being able to go to one of his concerts at all.