7:15pm, Saturday, 10/10/09

I’m pulling into my apartment after a pleasant visit with Grandma. We discussed the usual things: rainstorms abroad, college football, and the Bob Dylan concert I have tickets to for the Sunday show at the epic Greek Theatre.

Two steps into my apartment, I get a phone call from my friend.

“The show is tonight! The show is tonight! Where are you??!?? It starts in five minutes!!”

Minutes later, after a major close-call and a mad-dash up the hill, we arrive just in time to catch the first song.

The arena is packed with a sold out crowd, the band is getting the night started with a rendition of “Gonna Change My Way of Thinking,” and my buddy and I are boldly headed straight for the pit just left of the stage. We manage to snuggle between the cracks of a groovy crowd of fans and have an amazing view of the stage with Bob Dylan just fifty-feet in front of us.

The dress for the night is concert-casual with Dylan dawning a pair of slacks, (polished) shoes, a blazer with nifty metal-things hanging from it, a fuschia-colored under shirt, and of course a DAMN-cool looking hat. He’s hanging out behind his keyboard and the crowd just loves that they’re in the same arena as the cheery-looking front man.

The first song wraps up and Dylan jumps into “The Man in Me.” It takes a while for the majority of the crowd to decipher exactly what song is being played, as the version Dylan performs is nothing like the album version. (A trend I come to appreciate by the end of the concert.) The crowd loves it—forget the fact that some of the lyrics are intangible—the train is moving!

“The Man in Me” winds down and as if to rebuke his own romanticism, Dylan follows-up with the crude song, “Beyond Here Lies Nothing.” I couldn’t help but laugh during this performance, mostly because I kept thinking of the music video Dylan green-lighted for this track.

And then, just when the roller-coaster is dipping into the depths of the abyss, he drops the monster track “Mama, you’ve been on my mind” and the crowd is once again soaring through the hilltops. I remember thinking through this track that this version was nothing like a song. It was choppy, and its rhyme-scheme was something I’d rather do the robot to than sway to.

But you don’t go to a Dylan performance to hear music—you can go to any local bar for that—you go to a Dylan performance because he is a living legend.  There are no guarantees, not musically, not vocally, not artistically—it’s a gamble and there is no telling what you’re going to get; and you just have to be cool with that.

After Dylan had his fun with a performance of “Tweedle Dee and Tweedle Dum,” he jumped into a version of “I Don’t Believe You (She Acts Like We Never Have Met).” An old friend of Dylan’s was brought back to the stage—that’s right—the silver bullet came out to play. He whistled on his harp and I laughed all the way home. The song, of course, was a long shot off its hysterical studio version—but it was silly nonetheless!

Dylan started to loosen up and started having fun. Without putting to much spotlight on the guy, I’ll just say that when a leading man starts to have fun out there so does his crew.

Enter the band.

Next up, “My Wife’s Home Town.” Hands down, this performance changed the event from a Bob Dylan show to a Rock and Roll concert with Bob Dylan at the helm. The band was amazing and came together to create a sound that was precise, in sync, and thrilling. Charlie Sexton on the guitar had electrifying riffs and an ultra-cool look to go with it. The energy between him and Dylan greased up the tracks with a solid ensemble cast delivering every beat of the way.

“Spirit on the Water” could not have been a better track to follow. By this time, the crowd was higher than the…recently bombed moon?…

Dylan sings “you think I’m past my prime” and the crowd responds with a resounding “NOOO!!” There was a great vibe between performer and audience, with Dylan acting the gentleman and coming out to dance with the crowd as his tango-partner.

And just when things are getting light-hearted, Dylan slaps you in the face with “Cold Irons Bound.” I must say, and this was a tough decision for me, but this performance was 100% my favorite for the night. This track was released in 1997 and I think it took 12 years for Bob Dylan and his band to finally deliver the sound this monster-track intended to have. For the first time, and after hearing countless versions of this song and its daunting lyrics, the music won over. What can I say about this performance except that it was Pure Rock N Roll.

Now, we’re really having fun. By this time everyone was impressed by the Sound of Music—even the performers on stage.

The band is smiling and having fun, Sexton and Dylan are tossing it back and forth, and the crowd is having a good time swaying amidst clouds of smoke.

How do you follow an edgy track like “Cold Irons Bound?” The answer is a Shakespearian version of “The Lonesome Death Of Hattie Carroll.” This performance was an event in itself; Dylan led the train out of the Rock and Roll tunnel and into a dimly-lit cavern of good ole fashion country music with its bard in tip-top form.

Once again, the band came together beautifully, with the electric-banjo winning me over.

Immediately following, they played a crowd favorite—“Highway 61” with all its bells and whistles.

And from that point onward, Dylan and his band nailed track after track.

The set wound down with, “I Feel A Change Comin’ On,” “Thunder On The Mountain,” “Ballad Of A Thin Man,” and with “Like A Rolling Stone,” “Jolene,” and “All Along The Watchtower” as encore performances.

Like I said, it was Rock and Roll—all night long.

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