gryllosblog   Gryllo's (aka Ian Lewis') blog. All things to do with travel, wildlife especially birds, history, architecture and anything else that interests me.

I have always wanted to see Bob Dylan in concert. I wanted to go the 1971 Isle of Wight festival but was working at the time and couldn’t go. Several work colleagues saw him in Bournemouth in 2006 but I was away when tickets went on sale and they had sold out when I returned, so when I heard that he was playing in Bournemouth again this May we jumped at the chance.

Unfortunately by the time we got tickets only one from the back of the upper terrace were available. From this distance it was hard to even make out which one was Dylan, especially as he was seated at the piano for much of the time and his features were hidden by a wide-brimmed hat. Fortunately I had brought my camera and took some (not especially sharp) telephoto shots.

So what of the performance itself? Dylan never played the guitar or harmonica, never even spoke to the audience, introduced a number or the band or even said farewell. Most of his lyrics couldn’t be heard and apart from some covers of songs by Sinatra, I only recognised three numbers (although that’s my fault for not getting to know his post 1970 work better) ….

…. that said, the band were awesome and played very well and it was great to see a true musical legend …. 

…. but perhaps it would have been better if I had seen him in 1971.