LIVE: The Philosophy of Modern Song at the 92nd St Y.

Last night (July 17, 2023) in NYC at the 92nd St Y, selections from Dylan’s Philosophy of Modern Song were performed by a trio André De Shields, Meshell Ndegeocello (and band) and Odessa Young. They did 10 Chapters. It was the presentation this material was made for - marrying the ‘riffs’ that start each chapter, with a live performance of the song itself, and then the ‘explainer’ body portion of each chapter.

It proved an utterly compelling way to deliver this material.

André De Shields did the first parts - in 2019 he won the Tony and the Grammy for his role in Hadestown - sharply dressed and expressively reading with the skill one would expect of a performer of his stature. The songs and passages chosen (all the readings felt like excerpts and not the full text from the book) highlighted the most insightful and interesting of Dylan’s observations.