Bob Dylan Opens OC Fair

So Bob Dylan is coming to Orange County this summer, kicking off the OC Fair concert series at Pacific Amphitheatre on its opening day, July 15. If the OC Fair had booked any other great artist of Dylan's caliber, it would've been a not-to-miss show. Except the "voice of a generation" has, in each live performance we've seen in the past 10 years, rendered every awesome song of his in gibberish. Not only that, but every version he sings of his old classics is also unrecognizable—in tempo, in arrangement and, well, in terms of greatness. So, yes, he sucks live, and you won't be able to recognize any of the Dylan songs that soundtrack your life. Tickets go on sale Feb. 26 via the OC Fair & Event Center Box Office, which is open Saturdays and Sundays from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Tickets are also available at all Ticketmaster outlets, online at ticketmaster.com, or by phone at (800) 745-3000. From a Feb. 24 Heard Mentality post.

MICAH BROWN SOUNDS OFF
On Feb. 24 and 25, the OC Music Awards showcase culminated in the finals for the Best Live Acoustic and Best Live Band, respectively. Micah Brown was named Best Live Acoustic in the cement courtyard outside the Fullerton Museum on Feb. 24. The Dana Point musician was competing for the title against Danny Maika, indie-pop band Canvas, Parker Macy Blues and radio-ready pop siren Stacy Clark.

The Steelwells won Best Live Band the following night, beating pop-punker We Are the Arsenal, metal band Railroad to Alaska, group Kiev and the rap spectacle that is BLOK, but that's not to say their performance was our favorite. Railroad to Alaska put on a kick-ass, high-energy show that rocked immediately accessible grooves while never giving up their hard edge. And Kiev demonstrated an uncanny ability to make intricately orchestrated spacey songs sound fluid and improvised. From Feb. 25 and Feb. 28 posts by Brandon Ferguson.

AMATEUR CHEMIST ON HIATUS
Everyone here at OC Weekly and Heard Mentality is sending out good vibes and wishes to photographer extraordinaire Andrew Youssef, a.k.a. Amateur Chemist.

If you read our blog regularly, you've read his concert reviews and seen his fantastic photographs, such as the ones he took of Gang of Four at the House of Blues in Anaheim or Blonde Redhead at the Glass House. On his blog, he announced he will be on indefinite hiatus from photographing and reviewing shows due to medical reasons. "At this point, I don't have an expected return date," he writes, "but hope to be back in action seeing shows, reviewing bands and taking shots." From a Feb. 25 post.