BOB DYLAN BLOWS MINDS AT TERMINAL 5

Unbelievable.  A few montths short of his 70th birthday, Bob Dylan rocked a club right off of New York City's West Side Highway, Terminal 5. T5 doesn't make it easy - if you don't get there early enough to get a great spot, you have to work hard to see the stage. It's no secret that Bob has a spotty live reputation, and in fact, I stopped going to see Dylan shows at some point in the '00s, after seeing some "eh" Dylan concerts. But in the summer of 2009, I caught a show that renewed my faith, and a few months later, I went to see him again, and was knocked out again.  Tonight it was the same deal. He and the band made it worth the effort.

Like last time, he opened with a rocking version his gospel classic "Gonna Change My Way Of Thinking," and he and his excellent band never let up.  Guitarist Charlie Sexton rejoined the band about a year ago now, and he definitely brings a new energy to the shows. I could take some flak for this, but I think Bob's current band is one of his best ever. Sexton is amazing, and bassist Tony Garnier is badass. I love the way Bob makes his setlist: lots of '60s classics, but lots of music from the past decade (Bob was one of my favorite artists of the '00s). "A Hard Rain's Gonna Fall," "Masters Of War" and "Like A Rolling Stone" work alongside "Things Have Changed," "Rollin' and Tumblin'" and "Jolene" (I actually wish he played more songs from my favorite album of 2009, Together Through Life).

Bob only played sixteen songs, and there were so many highlights: "Gonna Change My Way Of Thinking," "This Wheel's On Fire," "Rollin' and Tumblin'," "Things Have Changed," "Workingman's Blues #2," "Thunder On The Mountain," "Jolene" and "Like A Rolling Stone." My favorite parts, though, were his impassioned vocals on "Hard Rain," "High Water (For Charlie Patton)," "Masters Of War," "Highway 61 Revisited" and most of all "Ballad Of A Thin Man." The fact that it's so hard to come up with a highlight of a 16 song set by a nearly 70 year old performer kind of speaks for itself. Well, I hope this tour really is "neverending" - I'm definitely on board next time the man comes to town.

BEST OF '09: BOB DYLAN

Is it too early to discuss the best albums (songs, tours, events) of 2009? Hell no! There aren't too many more non-catalog releases. Plus, I'm not great at lists, but I can start talking about my favorite albums and/or songs now.

I can pretty much say that my favorite album of the year is Bob Dylan's Together Through Life (along with The Cocktail Slippers' Saint Valentine Day's Massacre, depending on my mood).

I think that Bob has been on a roll since 1997's Time Out Of Mind, one of my favorite albums by the man. That was my favorite album that year. "Love + Theft" from 2001 was my favorite that year. Modern Times from 2006 may not have been quite as good, but was in my top three that year. Together Through Life is better than Modern Times if not as good as Love + Theft. As he has done on both of those albums, Bob produced it, and doesn't have guest stars on different songs. He just put together a great band that included Mike Campbell of The Heartbreakers, David Hildago of Los Lobos and Tony Garnier of Bob's touring band, and he co-wrote the songs with Grateful Dead lyricist Robert Hunter. The songwriting is simple but not simplistic and has a sly sense of humor that has infused his music over the past decade, and the band plays as a band, not a backing band. I just love it.

In the '90s, I went to see Bob in concert often, and it was always pretty great. Up until this past summer, I'd only seen him three times this decade, and all three shows were pretty disappointing. Then I went a fourth time and it was an incredible show. And that was before he reunited with guitarist Charlie Sexton, who left the band in 2002. It's amazing how vital Bob is, as he is approaching 70!

BOB DYLAN: THE ROAD NEVER ENDS, NEITHER DOES THE VAULT

Since the late '80s, Bob Dylan's tour has been referred to as "The Never-Ending Tour," although Bob scoffed at that title in a recent interview (I think with Rolling Stone). But he does tour really frequently, regardless of whether or not he has an album out, which is cool.

As I've mentioned, guitarist Charlie Sexton has just rejoined Dylan's band, he left in 2002. According to Rolling Stone and fan accounts, Dylan's L.A. show last night lasted nearly two hours (which is longer than most Dylan shows that I've seen) and was incredible. The chemistry with Sexton was supposedly great, and the setlist was a cool one: he opened with his Christian-era rocker "Gonna Change My Way Of Thinking," played "Shooting Star," one of my favorite songs from one of my favorite albums (Oh Mercy), My favorite song from the new album Together Through Life (probably my favorite album of the year), "Beyond Here Lies Nothin'" as well as "I Feel A Change Comin' On" and "Jolene." The set list also included "Don't Think Twice, It's All Right," "Cold Irons Bound," "Most Likely You'll Go Your Way (And I'll Go Mine)," "Stuck Inside of Mobile With The Memphis Blues Again," "High Water (For Charlie Patton)," "Highway 62 Revisited," "Nettie Moore," "Thunder On The Mountain," "Ballad Of A Thin Man," "Like A Rolling Stone" and "All Along The Watchtower." Perfect mix of old and recent, "hits" and "album tracks." Man, I wish I was at that show. But he's playing three nights at the United Palace: I wasn't sure I wanted to pay the money to go, but between this and the great time I had seeing Bob over the summer, I think I'm there!

In other Bob Dylan news, a song called "California," recorded during the Bringing It All Back Home sessions but never released, will see the light of day on the "Vol. 2" soundtrack to the TV show NCIS (apparently the most popular TV drama?). The soundtrack will also have exclusive tracks from John Mellencamp, Sheryl Crow, Norah Jones and Joss Stone.

Finally, this week, Bob released his first Christmas album, Christmas In The Heart.

DYLAN'S CHRISTMAS ALBUM

Yep, it's true, Bob Dylan is putting out a Christmas album. Christmas In The Heart comes out next month. All proceeds will benefit the charity Feeding America. In other Dylan news, guitarist Charlie Sexton has rejoined Bob's touring band.