Bob Dylan

The library was given tickets for a Bob Dylan concert, so they offered them to the library staff for free - up to 4 tickets per employee. I was like, "I mean...it's Bob Dylan! He's one of the most famous musicians in the world! And he won a Nobel Prize for literature! And he'll probably die soon and it would suck to have had the chance to see him and have passed it up!"

My sister Jackie, Beth, Juanito, and i went, and it was the most bizarre concert i've ever been to. I've been to kind of a lot of concerts by different people, so i kind of know what to expect at this point. And i figured that i might not like some of the music, but it would probably still be a great concert, because...Dylan!

So the opening act was Mavis Staples, who i had never even heard of before, but who is apparently really quite famous. And she was great. She was totally personable and engaging and was interacting with the audience and was just completely adorable and so much fun to see. I really, really enjoyed her part of the concert.

And then Bob Dylan came out, and he just...started singing. I wasn't even sure which one was him at first, because he was behind a piano and wasn't super obvious. And then he sang another song, and another, and another, and he NEVER ONCE said a single word to the audience. Not a "Hi" or "Great to be here" or anything! And he was always either behind the piano or standing way, way back on the stage with the microphone, hiding behind stuff. And then the whole band just...left. They came back for the encore, played 2 songs, and then (this was the most awkward thing i've ever seen) all stood in a row halfway back on the stage - just stood there for about 15-30 seconds - and then left. The end. NO WORDS!!!!

Midway through his concert, Jackie summed it up perfectly: "I'm really enjoying myself, and i'm glad that i came, but i'm also really glad that i didn't pay to come here." It was just such an awkward experience. Beth, Juanito, Jackie, and i all kept looking at each other with expressions of "What is even happening?!?!"

Oh, also!? When he first came out, everyone stood up to cheer, and then sat down as soon as he started playing, but the front few rows all stood up to dance, until an usher came along and made them all sit down! So weird! But to be fair, all of the people who were obviously fans were very much enjoying themselves - singing along (HOW? He's un-understandable!) and dancing in their seats.

So. It was an extremely memorable experience, and i'm really, really happy that we went. And now i never have to go to a Bob Dylan concert again.