Bob Dylan's Tempest


Reason to smile - He's at the top of his game

I saw Bob Dylan in concert for the 4th time last Friday. I've seen him in Saskatoon, Vancouver and Seattle. I have to say this concert was the absolute best of all 4. Dylan was loose, dancing, joking with his band.

And he actually spoke!!! All the other times Dylan has just played and sort of stared glumly at the crowd. It was like he had been born again again on this tour.

Again, no tracks off the new album, Tempest. I really love Tempest - I think its his best since his seminal Time Out of Mind.

Mark Knopfler opened and played a full set of about 75 minutes. He was quite good, light on the Dire Straits and heavy on some of his newer stuff.

Dylan continues to be quite an enigmatic figure, dodging and weaving from popular culture, leaving you puzzled as to who he is and what he's up to. I quite like on where his latest incarnation, taking dark themes of life and mixing them up with various musical elements - creating something unlike anything else in contemporary music.

Hope I can catch him at a 5th concert.

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