Thunder on the Mountain

A brief note on Bob Dylan:

The man's voice is ridiculous. I have been describing it as what an elderly Muppet would sound like if it swallowed a dirty sock. Throw in a pack of smokes and I'd say I'm damn accurate. The concert last night was a lot of fun. Dylan's band was great, and leaned a lot towards a rockabilly, sometimes bluesy, sound.

Because of Dylan's rearrangement of the songs (the band didn't know what was going on, at some points) I often remained clueless as to what was being played, even though the songs were supposedly classics like "Highway 61 Revisited" and "It Ain't Me Babe".

When Dylan actually spoke at the end (he had until this point remained silent in between songs), his speaking voice was even more ridiculous. He said something like "Thank you, friends!" and proceeded to introduce the band... I THINK. This voice was not human, but rather sounded like a broken, haunted accordion. Please contemplate that!

The evening closed with "Like a Rolling Stone" and I of course droned "Didn't youuuuu" along with R. Zimmerman. The concert ended strangely, with the band and Dylan standing in a line, not bowing, just standing facing the audience. Dylan had his fists clenched and almost looked like he was trying to get jiggy with it. Thus, the Never-ending Tour moves on...

Bob Dylan and Leonard Cohen in seven days. Wow. Please, please Tom Waits, if you're listening... you need to come here next!