BOB DYLAN AT THE UNITED PALACE 11/19: AWESOME

(This photo is taken from bobdylan.com, it wasn't taken tonight).

After a few subpar Bob Dylan concerts in the past decade, I stopped going to see Bob in concert. That ended over the summer, when I had a free ticket to see Bob Dylan with Willie Nelson and John Mellencamp, and Dylan was incredible.

So, when I heard Dylan was doing a three night stand at the United Palace, I had to go. Tonight's show was nearly as good as the one I saw this summer: this was the first show I've seen since guitarist Charlie Sexton rejoined the band. The setlist was phenomonal: they opened with a hard rocking, swagger heavy "Gonna Change My Way Of Thinking" (from Slow Train Coming), followed by a loose "The Man In Me" (from New Morning, and also used in the opening credits of The Big Lebowski). The fans loved the semi-obscure picks. Then he played my favorite song from my favorite album of 2009: "Beyond Here Lies Nothing" from Together Through Life. He also played "Jolene" and "My Wife's Home Town" from that album, all of which were great. Dylan is such a '60s icon, and of course he has nearly five decades of material to draw from, I'm glad he still plays so much recent music, which shows his continued relevance: the album he drew from the most was 2006's Modern Times: "Thunder On The Mountain," "When The Deal Goes Down," "Workingman's Blues #2" and "Ain't Talkin'." He played my favorite song from 2001's "Love & Theft," "High Water (For Charlie Patton.)" And I was glad he hit one of my favorites, "Cold Irons Bound," from 1997's Time Out Of Mind. Over 50% of the show was from the past 12 years, which I think is awesome. As you know, I consider Bob to be one of the best artists of the '00s.

Of course, he didn't forget the older stuff, doing amazing versions of "Desolation Row," "Highway 61 Revisited" and "Ballad Of A Thin Man." I actually didn't like his version of "Most Likely You'll Go Your Way (And I'll Go Mine,)" I felt he was not into it. He also didn't seem as into the two big "hits," "Like A Rolling Stone" and even "All Along The Watchtower." A funny thing abot Dylan shows is that, his band is always so great, and the songs are so great, Bob almost just has to stay out of the way and not wreck it. His shows could go any way - they could be awesome, or they could be the pits, and I've seen both extremes. Tonight's show was excellent almost all the way through, and I'd definitely pay to see him next time.