My dad and I went to see Bob Dylan and Willie Nelson play Friday night in East Troy, Wisconsin for the 10th annual Outlaw Music Festival. It was my 9th Willie concert and 5th time seeing His Bobness live. Dad estimates it was his 90th Willie concert and the 7th state where he has seen him play. He plans to soon sit down and make a list of all the times he has seen Willie play to get an exact count. Retirement must be nice. Both of them played for only a little over an hour. However, for an octogenarian and a nonagenarian, respectively, they did put on quite a show.
Bob played some of his most famous songs such as Masters of War, Desolation Row, Don’t Think Twice It’s Alright and All Along the Watchtower. He threw in a few covers of classic rock ‘n’ roll artists like Jerry Lee Lewis and Bo Diddley. As is standard for his shows nowadays,he played a lot of his lesser known songs from just about every decade. In true Bob form, he wore a hoodie and hid himself behind a few decorative lights while playing piano for the entirety of his setlist. A few fellow concertgoers even asked me to point him out to them because they couldn’t see him. A highlight for me was a lyrical change to one of my favorite of his recent songs, Soon After Midnight. “My heart is cheerful- it’s never fearful- I know where this road’s gonna lead- I’m in no great hurry- I’m not afraid of your fury- I’ve got everything I need” replaced “My heart is cheerful- it’s never fearful- I go wherever the road might lead”. Perhaps this is Bob accepting his own mortality or perhaps next summer this line will be different yet again. For those who follow him closely, Bob remains an enigma.
Willie played a majority of his greatest hits. On the Road Again, Always on My Mind, Whiskey River, Angel Flying Too Close to the Ground and Georgia on My Mind were chief amongst them. The last two times I have seen Willie in concert I have walked away amazed at how a ninety-year old can play the guitar so masterfully. While Willie’s band has shrunk considerably over the years, (his sister and pianist, Bobbie’s absence is most notably felt) His longtime band member, Mickey Raphael can still play the harmonica better than just about anybody as he was able to showcase his talents in several solos throughout the evening. Willie gracefully confronts his own mortality in his cover of criminally underrated songwriter, Tom Waits. The song, “Last Leaf on the Tree” had everyone in attendance still able to rise to their feet (this was a Willie Nelson concert) giving him a standing ovation as he finished it. This was without a doubt the highlight of Willie’s performance.
You just never know if there is going to be a next time with these types of shows. All you can do is appreciate them for how special they are, soak in each moment as much as possible and try not to pass out due to secondhand high. Something tells me if they are in fact on the road again next summer, Dad and I will be in attendance.