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Bob Dylan - Alliance Bank Statium - Syracuse, NY - 19th July 2009
Seeing Bob Dylan live was an interesting experience to say the least. Whether it was the drunken college kids and rednecks screaming for Willie Nelson, or the middle aged women looking about ready to through their bras to John Mellencamp, the numerous drugs and of course Bob Dylan himself, but if you are even vaguely aware of who Bob Dylan is, you don’t need to be told by me that he is interesting. After standing for five hours in the middle of a baseball field, anxiously waiting for Dylan to arrive to the stage (and silently praying that Mellencamp is playing his last song) he finally appeared well after nightfall. I was one of the first few people to see him at the back of the dark stage, as I was surprisingly very close to the front, but as his white hat became more visible and the lights hit him, the crowd instantly went crazy. People began jumping up and down, pushing and craning their necks to drink in the sight of this legendary man. He humbly took the stage, and without a word got the show started.
I’d be lying if I said I knew what songs he was playing, all new I’d imagine. But then again I can’t be too sure, as it was difficult to actually understand him. His voice was aged and unclear but was still recognizably nasally and crackling. After a few more unrecognisable songs, I think quite a few people scattered amongst the crowd lost interest and turned their attention to getting more beer and lighting their bongs. Yes, it was annoying and disrespectful, but Bob Dylan never did play to the crowd or even for the crowd. He has always played for the music and that alone, so why would that change now? Dylan played his set and went off stage to a thunderous applause with a humble bow of the head and smile on his face. He returned to the lights and the applause only a few moments afterwards and played “Like a Rolling Stone”, which made the crowd go wild. The song was changed, but still recognisable and still invoked emotion in every person stood there watching him. Perhaps it tugged at the memory of those who had seen Dylan in his earlier days, and brought a wave of awe over his younger fans, myself included. It was an abrupt reminder that the man stood in front of us was in fact a legend.
Dylan’s demeanour throughout the entire show was humble and shy. He never played to the crowd, in fact he acted as if the crowd wasn’t even present, but still people cheered and screamed and worshiped the man. Obviously the applause was not for the performance that took place right in front of us, but for performances that took place years and years ago. Songs that were written before half of the crowd was even born, words that the had man said and songs that he sung long ago. Dylan has always been a mysterious man, his music is mysterious, his words are mysterious, his performances are mysterious, but he is captivating. Even with total disregard to the adoring people in front of him, Dylan does not come across as arrogant, because we all know he is not. He is elusive and even otherworldly, but not arrogant, not in the slightest. The performance was an amazing thing to see, it was amazing to just witness Bob Dylan, and I applauded at the end, only slightly for the performance that I had just witnessed, but entirely for the man that stood in front of me. His famous curly hair, now grey and hidden under a bright white hat, his arms wide open with a smile on his face, and a sparkle in his eyes as the music died around him. In that moment it seemed as if nothing had changed, as if time was irrelevant. It was evident then and there that what Bob Dylan did in the sixties and the music that he wrote was timeless, and although the messenger may have aged, the message never has, and never will.
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