the answer, my friend

It has been suggested that I write about seeing Bob Dylan in concert in Dallas recently (Feb. 21, to be exact, at House of Blues). Sweet Zannah agreed to accompany me; she loves some Dylan herself, particularly the "stoner song". Anyway, we got to the right area after a couple of missed turns on my part, then drove around looking for a place to have dinner before the concert. Finally we decided on El Fenix, which is reliable and quick. Zannah had a lovely peach margarita; I enjoyed a sip.

We made it into the venue shortly before the concert began. Since we had GA floor tickets, we first tried to get into the main crowd but as always, just when we thought we were settled the tallest, broadest man in the building came and plonked himself down in front of us. We retreated to the back, where we could see pretty well actually. Unfortunately, that was the lair of the folks who paid $70 to drink and talk with Dylan as background music. Idiots. The acoustics weren't good there either. We moved back into the crowd down front and managed to be able to get a decent view for the rest of the show, as well as to hear it.

And hearing is pretty dang important. Dylan played some old classics but they were reworked so as to be unrecognizable. That makes it impossible for me to mention the set list! However, I have lifted that from a Bob-blog:

1.	Leopard-Skin Pill-Box Hat (Bob on electric guitar)
2.	It Ain't Me, Babe (Bob on electric guitar)
3.	Watching The River Flow (Bob on electric guitar)
4.	Girl Of The North Country (Bob on keyboard and harp)
5.	Rollin' And Tumblin' (Bob on keyboard)
6.	Workingman's Blues #2 (Bob on keyboard)
7.	High Water (For Charlie Patton) (Bob on keyboard)
8.	Spirit On The Water (Bob on keyboard and harp)
9.	Can't Wait (Bob on keyboard)
10.	Highway 61 Revisited (Bob on keyboard)
11.	Positively 4th Street (Bob on keyboard and harp)
12.	Honest With Me (Bob on keyboard)
13.	Nettie Moore (Bob on keyboard)
14.	Summer Days (Bob on keyboard)
15.	Ballad Of A Thin Man (Bob on keyboard and harp)
	(encore)
16.	Thunder On The Mountain (Bob on keyboard)
17.	Blowin' In The Wind (Bob on keyboard)

It was just amazing to be in the same room with a legend.

Here's the review from The Dallas Morning News:

BY THOR CHRISTENSEN / The Dallas Morning News
tchristensen@dallasnews.com


"You think I’m over the hill?" Bob Dylan sang with sneer Thursday night at the House of Blues. "You think I’m past my prime?"

The answer, my friends, isn't blowing in the wind. It’s a very concrete "No."

At his best, the 66-year-old legend was full of spit and venom – a grizzled blues master with a voice that bordered on the demonic. And even when the show wobbled – as it did for about a third of the 105-minute set – Mr. Dylan still gave it his all, bobbing his shoulders and pummeling his keyboard in "Highway 61 Revisited" like he was Little Richard.

Before the show, there was reason to believe Mr. Dylan might not be at his best. He hasn’t played live in four months, and his handlers were apparently so sure he’d be rusty they issued a statement saying press wasn’t invited to his three sold-out H.O.B. shows.

What next? No fans under 30 allowed? No one who doesn’t own Slow Train Coming? No eye-rolling during his harmonica solos?

They needn’t have been so uptight. It was one of Mr. Dylan’s more exciting Dallas gigs in recent decades – much better than in ’95 at the Dallas Music Complex or ‘03 at the Granada, though not as stunning as his ‘99 Starplex show with Paul Simon.

Dressed in black, with a wide-brimmed hat blocking his face, Mr. Dylan walked on to the dimly lit stage flanked by his usual band – longtime bassist Tony Garnier, drummer George Recili, pedal steel player Donnie Herron and guitarists Stu Kimball and Denny Freeman (who’s originally from Dallas).

Despite the four-month break, they started the show with a bang: A rocking version of "Leopard-Skin Pill Box Hat," followed by a wicked jump blues overhaul of "Watching the River Flow." Soon after, Mr. Dylan unplugged his guitar and retreated for the rest of the show to electric keyboard – his instrument of choice in recent years.

Visually, Keyboard Bob isn’t nearly as fun to watch as Electric Guitar Bob. But it gave Mr. Freeman more room to execute his knife-like guitar solos in songs like "Thunder on the Mountain" and Muddy Waters’ "Rollin and Tumblin." And when the whole band kicked into high-octane blues-rock ("Can’t Wait,’’ "High Water (For Charley Patton)") they were the world’s best middle-aged garage band.

They had their share of tentative moments in slower songs like "Nettie Moore." And some of the new arrangement didn't work, especially the dirge-paced "Positively 4TH Street."

But for every fizzled experiment, another one soared, like the bizarre, Brian Eno-style "Girl of the North Country" and the fiddle-laced waltz version of "Blowin’ in the Wind" that closed the show.

Curveballs like that tend to confuse casual fans who like to hear the hits played the way they know them. But Mr. Dylan couldn’t care less: He keeps everyone guessing – including himself – which is why he’ll never be past his prime.