Bob Dylan Concert Review
Friday, November 22, 2003 at the Patriot Center
© Copyright 2003, Skylar Hamilton Burris

I had the privilege of attending this Bob Dylan concert at the George Mason University’s Patriot Center.  Going to a Dylan concert is always something of a gamble.  You throw the dice and hope you will enjoy yourself, that he won’t be an embarrassment.   In this case, the bet was a success.  The concert was excellent. 

Dylan and his band were extremely energetic; the song selection was varied, and the band was composed of true musicians.  Granted, one might have difficulty understanding some of Dylan's lyrics if he or she were not already familiar with them.  However, this is only to be expected, and Dylan’s singing voice was in sound shape. The two and a half hours (there was no opening band and no breaks) flew by at rapid speed, and the show seemed to be over just a few minutes after it began.  The crowd did call for an encore, and Dylan came back with—of course—“Blowin’ in the Wind” and “All Along the Watchtower.”

Some of my favorite songs from the show:

• A wonderful rendition of “Spanish Boots of Spanish Leather,” perhaps my favorite Dylan folk song, which benefited from the pepping-up it received in this version.

• “Positively 4^th Street.” This can be found toward the top of  my list of favorite Dylan songs, but for some reason fans don’t get the opportunity to hear it very often.

• An excellent version of “Shelter from the Storm,” with harmony.

• “I’ll Remember You” provided a sample from the works of the later, more sensitive Dylan, and I enjoyed hearing it.

The show offered old standards as well as some not as popular songs, and we made it through the whole night without either “Like a Rolling Stone” or “Rainy Day Women,” the only two Dylan selections known to most radio stations.  I was a little disappointed that, despite the wide variety of songs selected, Dylan tended largely to stay away from the 80’s, a decade that boast a large number of my favorite Dylan songs.  This period in his musical career, however, seems to be a piece of history never to be repeated.

A note on the covers: I could have done without “Brown Sugar.”  Though the song was better performed than by the Stones themselves, it is still a Stone’s song that could have been cut to make way for one of Dylan’s own.  I also would have liked to have heard a Dylan original in lieu of the Neil Young cover. “Accidentally Like a Martyr” is perhaps my favorite Warren Zevon song, so it was interesting to hear Dylan play it, but I have to confess that I like Zevon’s performance better.

There were times when I thought the amps may have been up too high, but I loved the power of the drums and the guitars throughout the night. I have little negative to say about this concert, which I am so glad I took the chance to see.  The Patriot Center was only about half full—a real shame for the people who missed out on this  superb show.  The audience was staid (about which I have read some complaints), but this ought to be considered typical of both the reserved Northern Virginia area and the maturity of those fans who respect what Dylan had to produce after the 60’s (and by maturity I don’t mean age!).  

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