Dylan concert far too loud, say fans

Bob Dylan. Photo / Supplied

Some Bob Dylan fans left early from the 69-year-old's Auckland concert on Saturday night, claiming it was far too loud - even for a rock 'n' roll show.

"It was eardrum-splittingly loud to the point of distortion," said Rod Sach, of Birkdale.

"There were people around me who felt the same who weren't clapping and who probably thought like me there was nothing necessarily wrong with the music; it was that they couldn't make it out," said the retired librarian, who is 65.

He said Tim Finn, the opening act, was similarly marred by being "way too loud".

Mr Sach left the Vector Arena after 45 minutes of Dylan and said he saw a few others leaving too.

Tickets cost between $97.19 and $168.80.

Another disgruntled fan, who would give only her first name, Viv, said the show, which she attended with her husband and two friends, was so loud her ears hurt.

"[Dylan] tried to sing and each song sounded exactly the same. You couldn't hear any of the words. I'm sure it was over the legal limit for noise. We like hundreds of others walked out in disgust after 30 minutes. ... We would have walked out earlier only we kept hoping that he might improve."

But Herald reviewer Russell Baillie says it was a good night - "if you like your Dylan cantankerous and rock 'n' roll".

Vector Arena general manager Brendan Hines pointed to a positive review published yesterday.

- NZ Herald staff