(Drivebycuriosity) - There are not many chances to see a living legend. Hence I got excited as my wife acquired 2 tickets for Bob Dylan´s concert in Hoboken, New Jersey 2013. Yesterday we were there - and it was something to remember.
The master seemed to enjoy the occasion and the mild summer evening. He looked fit and slim as ever, almost as hanky as in his youth, and was apparently in a good mood. Bob Dylan showed an easy & laid-back attitude (I didn`t find an expression for the German word "locker", which describes his easiness much better) and good-humored.
The concert was in a swinging (in German we call it "beswingt", another untranslatable term) summerly mood. The legend was a bit posing, almost dancing and showed a glimmer of loopiness. Maybe he had a bit of fun copying Cate Blanchett´s rendition who played him as the young Bob Dylan during his psychedelic phase in the fascinating Bob Dylan biopic "I`m not there" (imdb).
His voice has got even more raspy with age which suited his songs well. As expected, he presented a cross section of his song universe. His collection fit the summerly atmosphere (here's a link to the set list bobdylan.com). No wonder, that some of the audience became animated and danced.
Thanks a lot Bob.
Enjoying this concert required some effort. We traveled by ferry from Manhattan to Hoboken. It is a small city on the Hudson River which separates it from Midtown-Manhattan. The concert was on a little grass place which is shaped like a pier in the river. We learned from the media that around 15.000 tickets were sold for this event. Attendants had to accept a hilarious long list of prohibited items, including "ALCOHOL; Audio recording equipment ; Backpacks; BBQ Grills; Beach/Golf Umbrellas; Bicycles, Skateboards, Scooters or personal motorized vehicles; BLANKETS; Professional still camera equipment (no detachable lenses, tripods, big zooms, or commercial use rigs); UMBRELLAS; Video equipment - no video recording allowed"; and so on.
We arrived around 4.30 pm to get a nice place close to the stage. The event, called "Americanarama Festival of Music" started punctually at 5.30 pm. Before the master himself approached (around 9pm) there were 3 more bands. I found the long waiting and listening to different bands with different quality a bit tedious. There was just one of the "warm up" bands I remember - and liked - : Wilco (wilcoworld). This group played a kind of alternative rock with powerful and sometimes grungy elements (playlist: .setlist ).
The crowd was peaceful, but the drunks and jerks, who suddenly appeared and blocked our view to the stage, spoiled a bit the joy.
My wive had a day dream: It would have been nice, to sit on a blanket in the grass and to watch Bob´s concert with a bottle of wine. The reality didn`t allow that. But anyway, thanks to the legend, the July 26th Hoboken concert was a lot of fun.
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