Poor Quality Shot of Bob in Concert, taken with my Digital:
I feel as though I should begin with a caveat going into this blog post: I acknowledge, understand and embrace that nothing I say will add to the exhaustive canon of Bob Dylan concert reviews.
Okay.Nine days ago, on Sunday July 15th, I drove to Indianapolis to watch the euphonic bard himself, Bob Dylan. Prior to the show, I was cautioned about his tendency to be hit/miss live and I was told to prepare myself for a sub-par showing. As Bob walked on the stage, these thoughts were in the back of my mind, but after the first few rambunctious measures of ‘Rainy Day Women Nos 12 & 35′, all of my trepidation disappeared in a smile that I only recently was able to wipe off of my face.
Having collected the vast majority of Dylan’s released discography over the past year and followed different websites that chronicle his live set lists*, I had a pretty good idea what he would play. I was also able to get my hands on a bootlegged concert from a month before the show I was set to see, and this clued me in to the sound and mood of Dylan and his cowboy band.
I felt as though I had a solid grasp on what I would be experiencing. However, this is Bob Dylan we are talking about here… the man who has made a career of confounding expectations, de-pigeonholing himself and speaking truth in a defiantly beautiful way.
I can honestly say that I have never experienced some of the sensations that I felt during his performance. I’m actually a bit embarrassed to say that my first instinct during more than one of his songs was to lift my hands, close my eyes and worship.. but in another sense I am not embarrassed at all. His music/lyrics are so powerful and profound that they almost immediately make me want to acknowledge the beauty and lordship of a creator.. and ultimately THE creator.
This is part of the power of Bob Dylan. Some may scoff at this narrative, but I can only share that which I experienced.. and I can honestly say that it was as much a worship service as it was a concert.
I suppose that this is what I look for in music.. does it point to something bigger than itself?..For me, Dylan’s music and lyrics compellingly force my eyes skyward in a search for the ultimate truth and beauty.
For those of you who may be interested, here is the set list from July 15th:
1) Rainy Day Women Nos 12 & 35
2) It Ain’t Me, Babe
3) Just Like Tom Thumb’s Blues
4) It’s Alright, Ma (I’m Only Bleeding)
5) Lay, Lady, Lay
6) Rollin’ And Tumblin’
7) Moonlight
8: Highway 61 Revisited
9) Tangled Up In Blue
10) Honest With Me
11) Spirit On The Water
12) I Don’t Believe You (She Acts Like We Never Have Met)
13) Nettie Moore
14) Summer Days
15) I Shall Be Released
ENCORE
16) Thunder On The Mountain
17) All Along The Watchtower
* http://my.execpc.com/~billp61/dates.html
