bob dylan at propect park bandshell: photos, review and setlist

judy (who just finished the park 3 mile loop) and pat.

they don't look like bob dylan! then again, no one else near us look like him either, since we sat on the lawn outside the prospect park bandshell. a few thousand other dylan fans and brooklynites had the same great idea and joined us to hear the dylan concert! the large crowd sprawled outside the bandshell listening to the show easily eclipsed the crowd inside, viewing it. but the ticket holders did have the added perk of seeing dylan perform.


view from the free seats :D

despite the quick shower that hit the city around 6:30, by the time we reached the bandshell, the park was dry! i guess the rain managed to bypass brooklyn? but the by-product was a pleasantly cool summer night - perfect for spending outside in the park, listening to music. we set up a blanket on the left side of the stage just before 7:30 (interestingly, the bandshell site state the show began at 7, dylan's site said 8, and he actually took the stage at 8:25). we had fruit, chips, bagels and water (and i did manage one beer - a mojo) - all set for the show.


another view from the free seats :D

but even before the concert started, we ran into pat's colleague from work (or maybe it should read, judy finished her loop of the park and stumbled upon us)! she's training for her very first marathon, philly in november (yet another runner thwarted by the nycm lottery)! she hung out with us until dylan started the show - which kicked off with "rainy day women #12 & 35" (aka, "everyone must get stoned"). while the older crowd may have sympathized with those sentiments, the prevailing atmosphere was a landscape filled with baby strollers and pets. the occasional jerk would light up a cigarette and poison the karma for a few minutes - but what can you do? otherwise, the prevailing karma was totally communal, totally retro :D

pat quickly recognized the lyrics to his second tune, "lay, lady, lay," - but that was all that was recognizable given the incredibly reworked arrangement of the classic dylan played. while he was filled with energy, and there was power behind the music, bob's voice was harsh, guttural, and often unintelligible! it was with mixed feelings that i listened to the master ply his trade - wondering in the back of my mind what a dylan in his prime show would have sounded like. still, kudos go to dylan for dynamic and enthusiastic performance!

i had hoped to hear him play "joey" - my all time favorite dylan song, and particular appropriate for the brooklyn location (since it starts off in red hook). but that was a long shot that didn't pan out. my only regret is not staying for the entire show - and missing him do "masters of war!" eddie veder's cover of it is awesome! and i saw bob weir perform it in danbury, ct, two years ago - a killer version, i will add. but seeing dylan perform his masterpiece would have been sweet.

we stayed for only an hour and a half of the two hour show - leaving just after "it's alright ma." we exited early to beat the crowds out of the park. the only downer of the night was an excruciatingly slow f train ride back to the city. otherwise the concert was a great mid-week adventure, at a great venue!

prospect park bandshell
august 12, 2008

1. rainy day women #12 & 35
2. lay, lady, lay
3. lonesome day blues
4. girl of the north country
5. the levee's gonna break
6. spirit on the water
7. honest with me
8. john brown
9. highway 61 revisited
10. beyond the horizon
11. it's alright ma (i'm only bleeding)
12. nettie moore
13. summer days
14. masters of war

encores

15. like a rolling stone
16. thunder on the mountain
17. blowin' in the wind

check out the ny times review of the concert.