Brooklyn Beat, scribe of Deep in the Heart of Brooklyn, was at the Dylan show last night in Prospect Park. Now I’m jealous because it sounds like a fabulous Brooklyn night of Bob Dylan!
"Brooklyn like Never Before", the Bob Dylan website declared last
night. "Bob Dylan and his band played Brooklyn’s Prospect Park last
night, his first concert ever in what may be New York City’s greatest
borough. He’s certainly never played so close to Montague Street" the
Dylan website reported. And what an evening it was.A couple of days ago, I posted something on my blog about what Dylan
had played at his last show in Baltimore, and now it was next stop,
Brooklyn USA. When I was driving through the Slope to work yesterday
morning, anticipating the show last night, I thought, and I mean I
didn’t know where he was staying or even if he was in the city yet, but
I kind of thought "Dylan is under the same sky as we are (in Brooklyn)
today." So atypical and unusually fannish of me, I don’t think I would
feel that way about any other performer. As a songwriter and musician,
as a poet, writer, painter, filmmaker, as an anti-celebrity20and
anti-icon, as an artist, Dylan is an original, and although he plays
"roots" music, in someways, after performing for 40 years or whatever,
I guess he IS roots.There was so much excitement and surprise when the tickets went o n sale, and I was so late in getting them, and our tickets were for the
lawn area, and I was so excited to see "Bob" again live, that I set my
expectations about the venue very low. I didn’t want to be
disappointed. Well damn, it was a wonderful venue with a great crowd ,
and a fantastic set.The crowd was very relaxed and civil. The long line snaked around the
park. A few dark clouds appeared and some thunder clapped but it all
seemed to happen away from the park. It quickly moved away and turned
into a lovely, comfortable summer evening. Kids, teens, young adults,
boomers and older folks, we all filled the place. We were sitting near
a couple with their little guy, who was maybe 3, and the mom was
cradling her newborn who couldn’t have been more than a few days old.
An older gent, smoking a stogey, leaned against a tree, holding a cane.
Once the music started, everyone was on their feet, moving, shaking
and grooving, even the gent with his cane and stogey cut a mean stomp..
Dylan and band appeared to a loud roar from the crowd, they started
playing and didn’t let up.Dylan looked sharp in his southwestern style suit and Spanish
bolero hat. His current band rocked hard and long.
for a few hours, Prospect Park Bandshell was transformed into Hipster
Heaven. Life (sometimes) is Good. And one more thing:After listening to all of his music all of these years, year after
year, reading his interviews, books, seeing his shows, the films,
etc,. I don’t imagine or pretend to know who BD really is. To quote
the line from some French New Wave Film from the 60s, I think by Jean
Luc Godard,"Qui êtes-vous, Bob D ylan ?" I don’t know and I don’t
really care. As a listener and fan, he seems just fine the way he is
and I hope that he keeps making music and writing songs as long as he
likes. Thanks Bob Dylan, thanks Celebrate Brooklyn and thanks
Brooklyn, New York. You don’t be a stranger now to Brooklyn, Bob, ya
hear ?
–Brooklyn Beat