When the Deal Goes Down

Last night Bonnie and Poonam and I went to see Bob Dylan! We had floor seats and no one in front of us and it sounded great - couldn't ask for a better show. Foo Fighters opened with an acoustic set; they're a really, really good band. Dave Grohl is not only a great musician but one of the funniest as well. He had people in stitches all night. The highlight of the FF set was Grohl singing "Best of You" solo - and he yelled it. Literally, he yelled as though it were an electric performance, yet it was just him and an acoustic guitar. It was truly awesome. Then Bob came on. People after the show complained that he didn't acknowledge the crowd, but he never acknowledges the crowd - that's been his thing for, like, 40 years. It is the music that mattered. But he almost danced on more than one occasion. What more can you ask for? There was almost a fight a couple of rows in front of us between two young dudes smoking pot and an old dude who should've been smoking pot, there was a crazy guy behind us screaming "Free Ruben Carter!" and an old guy kindly asked me if I would mind sitting down (I did). Bob's band was impeccable, as always, and the new arrangements on old songs like "Maggie's Farm" and "Tangled Up In Blue". He played two new songs, "Nettie Moore" and "Thunder on the Mountain," and a lot of old ones; in fact, the first six songs were all from 1966 or earlier. "Just Like a Woman" was awesome, as was "Most Likely You'll Go Your Way And I'll Go Mine," "She Belongs to Me," "Watching the River Flow," and "Ballad Of A Thin Man". He closed with "Like a Rolling Stone" and "All Along the Watchtower": an awesome end to a fantastic concert. I was truly satisfied. It will definitely hold me until he comes back this way again. Oh, and I bought a t-shirt.