Saturday night's Bob Dylan concert at the House of Blues in Dallas proved that he can still rock, but with a little swing.
Hubby, his colleague from work, and myself set out for the show just before 6pm so we could grab a bite for dinner at the House of Blues restaurant. Unfortunately we were unable to sample their cuisine since there was a 40 minute wait list for a table, meanwhile the tables on the porch were empty because there was no service outside. What is the point of putting tables and chairs outside? They missed out on making lots of dough that night. We headed across the street to Luna de Noche for a Tex-Mex dinner. The enchiladas were the best I've had so far in Dallas while the decor was elegant and hip. Great place to go while waiting for the doors for GA to open at House of Blues.
While getting into the House of Blues for the concert were were checked by the metal detectors, and then my handbag was checked. Since this is Texas I just assumed they were checking for concealed weapons, but no, they were checking for cameras. Of course, that's the night I just happen to pop a camera in my bag. Hubby was kind enough to run it over to the car while we waited outside. Perhaps they should print 'no cameras allowed' on the tickets. Ironically most people have cameras built into their phones and there were plenty of photos being taken. Also, one would think Dylan would be more concerned about the audience recording the concert.
The crowd was a variety of ages but the majority appeared to be over thirty. We found a place to stand with a bar for drinks towards the back where you could catch glimpses of Dylan. With guitar in hand, he opened with a rocking rendition of 'Rainy Day Women' and then followed with 'Lay, Lady, Lay'. The songs were well received by an exuberant audience. There was a bizarre moment during the first song where a young fan climbed up on stage and appeared to try and speak with him. Luckily the fan was scooped up by security and Dylan cooly played on.
After the first two songs Dylan then proceeded to the keyboards, which were strangely placed to the side of stage left, not facing the audience but rather more facing stage right so that those standing in the right side of GA got a great view of Dylan's backside. Why wouldn't they place the keyboards front and center stage if he was going to be playing there for all but two songs? Perhaps he has a bit of stage fright?
His supporting band was awesome. Loved the use of the stand-up base. They really worked well together as well as with Dylan. Most of them wore hats including Dylan. Since we hadn't heard his new CD we were surprised by the rockabilly swing of some of the new tunes. Dare I say that this style really suits him? The music had me trying to get Hubby to dance. Okay, I danced and he just stood there holding me and twirling me several times, but still, I never would have thought I'd be dancing like that at a Bob Dylan concert.
I was holding out hope that he would sing 'Girl Of the North Country' as an encore since the review in the Dallas Morning News said he did a rendition of it on Thursday evening, but he chose a rousing version of 'Along the Watchtower' instead. Guess he's trying different playlists before the start of his South American tour. Nothing holds back this grizzly troubadour from unleashing his songs to a new generation.
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