“Just a little slice of light”

July 24, 2009
Aberdeen, MD
Ripken Stadium
Willie Nelson, John Cougar Mellencamp, Bob Dylan

Sadly, this was the last show for me on this tour. I don’t think I like anything better than seeing a favorite artist perform on back to back days. We woke to a beautiful sunny day and were determined to get to the venue and secure great spots and relax and enjoy. We did just this. We were second row center and having a great time watching Willie. The sunlight had a special kind of brightness… And then came thunder…
The field was cleared. By the time we were able to re-assemble, we were about 20 rows back. This made me perhaps a tad grumpier than I should have been for Mellencamp. His grammar is atrocious. That kind of grumpy. But once his set ended, the crowd thinned and we were able to keep moving up. And I was full of joy! By the end of the show we pretty much ended up where we had started. And we didn’t get soaked. Or die.
The show exploded into being. “Leopard-Skin Pill-Box Hat” is a great opener. It was a tight, high energy band that was winding through a show of songs I had seen. No problem. “Spirit on the Water”. Nice! “I Feel A Change Comin’ On”. Awesome! This is the second best song on “Together Through Life” in my opinion. It was a really great performance. I was happy happy happy. Then one song later I was even happier! Bob stepped to the center of the stage with his harmonica, the violin wailed, and he slid into “Forgetful Heart”. I was truly breathless. This was beyond exquisite. Soulful and heart wrenching. Bob in his finest 2009 voice singing the blues.
The rest of the show wound down into an awesome finale of “Watchtower”. Everything was just amazing. It was a really great show. But could the highlight have been the band accepting their adulation? I believe so. Bob is an odd little man. Normally, as he stands and allows us to adore him, he fiddles with his hair and makes odd little thankful gestures. On this night he awkwardly touched his heart……

# Leopard-Skin Pill-Box Hat
# Don’t Think Twice, It’s All Right
# The Levee’s Gonna Break
# Spirit On The Water
# It’s Alright, Ma (I’m Only Bleeding)
# I Feel A Change Comin’ On
# Honest With Me
# Forgetful Heart
# Highway 61 Revisited
# Nettie Moore
# Thunder On The Mountain
# Like A Rolling Stone
# Jolene
# All Along The Watchtower

Thanks Bob. What else can I say. On my way out I commented “I am not sure I would do a multi-artist outdoor tour like this again.” “You will”, my friend replied. Amen.