So…

- We got a wee bit lost when we actually got to Alpharetta due to construction, but luckily someone at a gas station knew what they were talking about and led us to the right direction. I had only been to the venue once before, so I had no idea how to get to it taking the regular route, much less a detour. We got there a few minutes after the doors opened (4:30), which still gave us time to get settled into our seats before the music started (5:30). I bought two Dylan shirts, tour program, and a tote bag (in which I found a gold dollar…what? I hope it’s good luck), which was $90 dollars total. Surprisingly enough the merchandise wasn’t as expensive as I imagined, but still too much for a poor college kid like me…of course I bought into it anyway. After that I went to my seat…and holy shit! I was in Orchestra 3, Row C, which would have been amazing as I imagined it in my head, but instead there were five pit rows (AAA-EEE) in the Center Orchestra (Orch 2), then it started (A-Z or wherever it ended) and to the left of that (Orchestra 3, where I was) and to the right (Orch 1) started A, B, C right in front of the stage instead of triple letter rows…meaning I was in  the THIRD row instead of the eighth row as I had initially imagined it. I don’t know if that made ANY sense whatsoever, but the important aspect of this blabbing is THIRD ROW.



- “The Wiyos” started off the event, and while they were pretty neat and interesting, it gave me a chance too look at my concert program and admire my shirts and freak out about the fact that I would be seeing Bob Dylan in a few hours. During their set is when the photography ordeal started, and it only progressed throughout the night. Not only did I e-mail the venue personally asking about photography, but the night before the concert they sent out and e-mail saying point and shoot cameras were OK. I took my camera, but knew it was all too good to be true…and it was! When Dylan & co. got to the venue they told them no photography, so a lot of people were pissed off. I didn’t mind because I “know” Dylan and had no doubt he would do that, and he did. A lot of venues don’t know for sure until the artist actually arrives if photography will be allowed, so I thought it was kind of silly for them to tell everyone camera would be fine in advance. The only problem it gave me was the constant scurrying of security telling people no photography ALL NIGHT LONG. At least they were nice about it…I guess you have to be when it’s your mistake like that.

* This picture was without zooming, so objects were much closer than they appear.*

- Willie Nelson was the second act, and he was so fucking bad ass. I was excited to see him and thought it would be a cool experience, but it was even more than I had hoped for. He definitely had the best sound crew of the group…his whole set was completely pristine sounding. I didn’t expect the majority to be sitting during his part of the show, but me and a handful of hardcore fans would stand up + dance a bit throughout his time on stage. People kept waving at him and he would wave and point back, and at one point he looked directly at me so I gave it a try and waved…and he pointed and waved back! It was a cool tidbit of interaction. He is definitely a guy who loves his fans. He threw two of his bandannas and hit hat into the audience, and it was fun seeing people fight over them. Even though I was really into it, I felt like his set was the longest of the acts. Time usually goes by slower when I get really tired, but that was not the case tonight.

- I usually do not buy anything from concession stands at concerts, but I was dying since it was outside and hotter than a prostitute in church (being under the shelter didn’t help whatsoever). I stood in line for so long that I missed half of John Mellencamp’s opening song, “Little Pink Houses”. I am not a huge Mellencamp fan, but since he was there I wanted to see him for the experience, and to also get my money’s worth (though price of admission was worth seeing Bob Dylan alone. More on that later.) To my surprise he actually looked better than I have ever seen him throughout the years (not in person since this was my first time seeing him, but you know what I mean). His sound was a bit louder than Nelson’s, but still relatively clear. He was full of energy and walked over to our section a lot, so I was getting into it and clapping and whatnot just to provide a good energy. He definitely interacted more with the audience verbally than any of the other artists (but Nelson was a close second). It started storming about halfway through his set, and once again, the shelter didn’t help whatsoever. I was soaked, but still having a good time. I probably shouldn’t have been so enthusiastic for him since I was nearly drained by the time Dylan came on, but come on…of course I will be a trouper for Zimmy and express my love.

- …which brings me to Mr. Zimmerman himself. By the time his crew finished setting everything up the weather had miraculously cleared and it was finally completely dark outside. I got excited when they projected his eye logo onto the curtain and stayed memorized by it until the stage went dark…and then the house lights. Since I was seeing my hero for the first time I guess it’s obvious that I was in a frantic state. The majority of the show was a very surreal experience after the shock value wore off. I read online where his sound hasn’t been the best on this tour, and it really wasn’t. It was decipherable (which helped to know the songs very well), but not preferable. I was was still able to be entranced by every song. Time for the set-list…

1. Watching The River Flow (interesting and unexpected opener).
2. Don’t Think Twice, It’s All Right (one of my first favorite Dylan songs, so of course it was awesome).
3. Lonesome Day Blues
4. A Hard Rain’s A-Gonna Fall (very “punny”, Bob…I loved it and wonder if he threw it in because of the weather or had it planned all along).
5. High Water (for Charlie Patton)
6. Po’ Boy
7. Tweedle Dee & Tweedle Dum (there was such and AMAZING energy on this song, it was nothing less than perfect).
8. Workingman’s Blues #2
9. Highway 61 Revisited (definitely a highlight of the show for me. I have always loved this song/album, and once again, fantastic energy.)
10. Ain’t Talkin’
11. Thunder On The Mountain
12. Like A Rolling Stone (of course everyone freaked out).
13. Jolene (one of my favorite songs from the new album, so it was good to hear it live).
14. All Along The Watchtower (needs no words, man).

- The set-list was not what I expected, and I think it was a good thing to keep that anticipation going throughout the show. The only songs I knew he would do were the last three, because so far the closing songs have been the same for most of the shows.

On each song description above I am talking about the energy of the song when I mention the word, but Dylan himself had more energy than I expected. I’m not sure what I truly expected in that department, but he had such a bad ass swagger behind the keyboard. It was amazing, but in contrast he picked his nose at LEAST 78 times. No joke. The first two times I thought he was just touching/scratching it, but the other 76 times he was hardcore digging up his nostrils. That, too, was bad ass in it’s own way, only because it’s Bob Dylan and he obviously didn’t give a fuck. After the show was over he did this weird pose where he held his hands out to the side (kind of gun shaped, but facing in opposite directions) while bending his knees. It was hysterical! Then when the band did the group bow he was leaning back and doing moving gun hands and the moving pointy wave thingie. For some reason his goofiness caught me off guard and I was almost in tears from laughter. Definitely the most pimpin’ moves I have EVER seen. I wanted to take a picture of those moments so badly, but I didn’t want to risk it or distract myself from the moment.

I hope the sores on my feet, my red and sweaty face, and constant consumption of liquids is a sign to people that it was all worth it…because it really was. I can only hope that everyone there agreed…I know I will never forget this night.