How must it feel to win a Grammy (Slow Train Coming), an Oscar (Things Have Changed) and now ... a Pulitzer (just for being himself)? Could the Nobel for poetry be next?

Weird fan worship Saturday in Dallas caught and posted on YouTube

Here are two short reviews in a row from new voices:

Review by F. Wright of Chicago

Of the 20-plus Dylan shows I've seen, this was the best. Great venue, great crowd, great sound, but two things stand out---the band was hot and Bob was jazzed. I've never seen Bob so animated. Instead of just one 6-shooter salute at the end, we got one after almost every song.

Maybe Bob got an extra jolt of energy when a woman ran onstage to hug him during the opening song, but whatever it was, Bob's facial expressions and body language showed why the Never-Ending Tour exists--- Bob loves that moment where music is made. It was definitely made tonight. It wasn't exactly the"wild mercury" sound of the 60's but it was something almost indescribable because it's like nothing anybody else is doing.

On the slower songs, Bob's voice sounded the best it has in years and his phrasing was sweetand swinging. The fast songs were absolutely rocking tonight. With a nod from Bob, songs like Levee Gonna Break, Stuck Inside of Memphis and Highway 61 were kicked into blues-fueled supercharged overdrive. About the only thing I can compare it to is Cream's "Crossroads." That's the kind ofpace and attack I felt.

Terrific playing all night by the band and Denny Freeman has become the star of this band. He can swing, he can shred and his solos are unique---almost turning inside out the solo we might expect on standards like Watchtower. All in all, this concert shows why Bob is the best---you just gotta be there when the magic happens. Thank you, Bob!

And, finally, here's a perspective from a newcomer to the Dylan concert scene, J.T. Kent:

First let me say that this was my first Bob concert.  I’m only 19 and a freshman in college so I haven’t really had the chance to go until now.

Being a poor college student , I was general admission.   That being said I’m 19 and can’t really imagine sitting down at a concert so that was fine with me.  In fact, since I ended up all of ten feet from the stage Iwould say I preferred it.  The House of Blues was an amazing venue.  I mean a max capacity of 1600?  It was pretty much the perfect place to seeBob in.  Any way here are some of the highlights for me.

Rainy Day Women #12 and 35- perfect opening song.  Starting off the concert just like Blonde on Blonde (my favorite album) was great.  It got everyone’s attention and really had most of the crowd into it.  Oh and a woman jumped up on the stage.  She slipped through like a two-foot hole between the bouncer's back and the wall.  It was pretty amusing.  Bob jumped back and his eyes got big then he just sat there playing the guitar until security dragged her off.  Now why you would get yourself kicked during the first song I don’t know but hey, whatever. 

Lay Lady Lay- Just a great song to see preformed live. Spirit on the water- I enjoyed every single song he played off of Modern Times tonight.  It was a great song.  It was the band that really made this one for me.  They couldn’t have played it better

Stuck inside of Mobile with the Memphis Blues Again-  For me- this was the highlight of the show.  It is my all time favorite bob song and the one song that I was hoping he would play.  I really just loved this whole song from start to finish.  It was really well done and with near perfect vocals.  The band was on fire. I just couldn’t believe it.  After the song I saw Donnie (The Steel guitar player) give Bob this smile that said“we killed it”.  You could see it in his face.

Highway 61 Revisited- I know that to a lot of the older fans this song might seem like it’s on permanent repeat but hey- this is my first Bob concert and he nailed it. I Loved every minute of it.  He had an awesome energy to him on this song. 

Ballad of a Thin Man-  Wow, just an amazing performance.  Vocals were great  and the band was fantastic; Just an amazing rendition.

Thunder on the Mountain-  Awesome way to come back for the encore.   I don’t think anyone was able to sit still on this song.  I know I was dancing and singing like a fool.

Overall I thought it was an amazing show.  I saw it mentioned in a review from one of the earlier shows how Bob was doing some great stuffwith his voice and the phrasing of his lyrics.  The way he was stressing syllables was really interesting.  It really drew you in.

A couple of other notes- Bob had a great energy to him.  You could tell that this was the beginning of the tour and he was ready.  He was lively and bouncy and really throwing himself into every note he played.  Anyway- I am so glad I went.  It was a phenomenal experience.  I am still walking on clouds right now.  After the show I just started laughing from the sheer joy of seeing him in concert.  It was amazing.  I can honestly say that this was one ofthe greatest experiences of my life.  I was not disappointed in any way, shape or form.

And thanks to Steinar Daler, for providing nightly perspectives. Here's his wrapup:

I did not expected Bob and the band to be better than last night, but indeed they were.

During the same old introduction a lady fainted just in front of the stage and the security people got there to help her. That gave room for another woman to jump up on stage, suddenly standing right in front of Bob. Baron soon took her away, but Bob just smiled and started a very good Rainy Day Woman.

I said he was ON from the start the firstnight, but tonight he was more ON than I have seen him in a long time. Lay, Lady, Lay was next up, to everybodys delight. And then JUST LIKE TOM THUMBS BLUES. I write it in capital letters, because I have never heard a better version of that song. To me this was the number one highlight ofthe 3 shows, but soon there where more highlights to come.

As in TomThumb's his singing on Senor was something we have not been used to inrecent years. Just beautiful! Donny's lap steel work was tremendous. Thefourth song was also new for this tour, a real great version of The Levee's gonna break. The best version I have heard, much more dynamic than usual.

Then on to a song he had played the previous nights - Spirit on the water. Good and nice harmonica playing from Bob as well. Then another highlight - Positively 4th street. A really great imrovement on last year's versions. He sings it clearly - no barking at all.

Til I fell in love with you - another new one for the tour was more like rock'n roll than I have heard it before. Lonesome Death of Hattie Carroll - another new song forthis tour, was warmly welcomed by the audience but more like usual.

Even Honest with me was great tonight. Bob's phrasing and drawing out the lines made it not boring. When the deal goes down was back to normal, but beautiful of course.

I do not know how many times I have heard Highway 61, but tonight's version was something that reminded me of the versions at the time J.J. Jackson was in the band. Maybe it is because Denny Freeman is from Dallas that he added so much greatness to those three concerts, and not least to Highway tonight.

Then for the third night we had another great version of Workingman's blues. All three nights better than the great album version in my opinion. He changed some of the lyrics. "Shall I tell you my whole story and weep" was a line I have not heard before. A lady next to me had asked me earlier on why I took notes and I explained why. ... After workingman's blues she said, with tears running down her cheeks "Tell them that Bob's lyrics are so beautiful that it makes us cry".

Summer days was not as inspired as yesterday, but that's OK after this fantastic concert. Another great version of Ballad of a thin man" followed and the encores started as the nights before with Thunder on the mountain. A thundering great version, also better than I have heard before. And to everybody' satisfaction Watchtower.

I can not believe that anyone left the concer without a smile. Bob even said "Thanks, everybody" before the band introduction. I have not heard him say that in a long time.

Here's the view from "Mitch M.":

These have been three phenomenal shows at the House of Blues in Dallas.
Being from the Bay Area, this was my first time flying somewhere to see
Dylan and it was very well worth it, to say the least. I heard from an
apparently well-connected fan that Dylan and his band practiced for a few
days in Dallas before the first show, and you could tell. They played a
wide range of songs during these three nights, with very sharp
performances on just about all of them. Overall, Dylan's musical mood
seems to be very aggressive and intense, with an enormous amount of
emphasis through changing the length of syllables, volume, and tone of
voice. It's wonderful because he seems totally involved in every line.
The stacatto rhythms and intensity remind me a bit of his tone during that
unique 1974 tour with The Band ("Before the Flood"), except now he is
varying his emotional expression alot more and is more musical.

While the first show was excellent, the second was the most explosively
phenomenal for me. The set list was probably the best I've experienced in
about 25 shows, including "Visions of Johanna," "I'll Be Your Baby
Tonight," and a chilling, swamp blues version of "Masters of War." Around
midway through the show, Dylan seemed to lock in and elevate, with his
singing merged almost unconsciously into the music, as if they were
seamlessly driving each other to greater heights. This is what always
happens when Dylan's shows are exceptional. The grand finale, "Blowing in
the Wind," rode a high tide to almost symphonic proportions-- an
astounding evolution from its origins on "Freewheelin'".

Tonight was also excellent, with a superb set list again, including
"Senor," "Ballad of a Thin Man," "Stuck Inside of Mobile" (easily the best
live version of this song I've ever heard him perform), "Lay Lady Lay,"
and "The Lonesome Death of Hattie Carroll." The finale was the wonderful
mayhem of "All Along the Watchtower." These shows featured many songs
with that sense of explosive mayhem, such as all three performances each
of "Highway 61," "Honest with Me" and "Thunder on the Mountain." What
seems a bit better than the few shows I've seen the last year and a half
is that there are more layers of varying sound, Denny Freeman has become a
much more expressive lead guitarist, and Dylan has ramped up his intensity
another notch. He seems to be driving the band very hard, and they seem
to love being as dominating as they were these few nights in Dallas.

After the first show, I said to my friend that Dylan came across like a
demon. That must be a pretty apt description because the headline in the
Dallas newspaper the next morning was "Demonic Dylan."

... His demeanor was that of a gunslinger, a super tough guy. At the end, when he knew he had totally conquered, he pointed both hands at the crowd cocked as if
they were pistols, as if saying, "I am really bad, and I just kicked
ass." It was exaggerated toughness. ...

... He played these three nights in
Dallas as if he still has lots to prove. ...

Bob's handlers didn't allow photographers in, and nightly announcements warned cameras would be confiscated ... then the lights went down and dozens of people started waving cameras and camera phones over their heads throughout each show, snapping away.

After the shows, one man swapped snapshots of Dylan -- pretty good ones, too -- for folks' ticket stubs (not those crummy Ticketfast pages, though).

We followed the rules, but it's nice to see the results from someone who didn't.

Here's a fan's shots, generously made available on flickr. Click here.

"Now if only he could sing something from Street Legal - maybe tonight?"

The neighborsgo request line works again: Senor (Tales From Yankee Power) pops up.

Last year, you had only a 4 percent chance of attending a show where that was performed -- even worse than your chances (6 percent) of hearing Blind Willie McTell.

 Maybe we're on to something here ...

Chapter 3, in which Mr. Dylan tidies his set lists

Before moving on to critiquing what we saw and heard the last three nights, let's crunch some more numbers.

Night 3 was all that stood between us and the embarrassment of middling public predictions. Thanks, Bob, for coming through in the end:

1. Rainy Day Women #12 and 35
2. Lay, Lady, Lay
3. Just Like Tom Thumb's Blues
4. Senor (Tales of Yankee Power)
5. The Levee's Gonna Break
6. Spirit on the Water
7. Stuck Inside of Mobile With the Memphis Blues Again
8. 'Til I Fell in Love With You
9. The Lonesome Death of Hattie Carroll
10. Honest With Me
11. When the Deal Goes Down
12. Highway 61 Revisited
13. Workingman's Blues #2
14. Summer Days
15. Ballad of a Thin Man
16. Thunder on the Mountain
17. All Along the Watchtower

... Just like that, 1, 2, 3 ... and 5, 7, 8, 9 and -- as if we didn't know it was coming -- 17.

What did we miss? Well, we never would have thought to make the risky bet on three nights without Like a Rolling Stone. And we sort of thought we might get Ain't Talkin' but weren't all that shocked we didn't.

Happiest surprise of the night, a rather fine Senor (Tales of Yankee Power). Bob put a home-run hitter in the fourth spot every night: Girl From the North Country, Blind Willie McTell and Senor.

Saturday's show was split pretty evenly. The first half was made up almost entirely of things we hadn't heard Thursday or Friday; the second half was almost all repeats till the finale.

Making its Dallas debut was The Levee's Gonna Break, from Dylan's latest album, which was released about four months after his last visit here in 2006.

This latest series of shows gave us a good view of that album: Thunder on the Mountain (3 performances), Spirit on the Water (3), Rollin' and Tumblin' (2), When the Deal Goes Down (2), Workingman's Blues #2 (3), Nettie Moore (1), The Levee's Gonna Break (1).

As previously mentioned, we missed out on Ain't Talkin'. That was the only one of the MIA we probably had a realistic chance at. Beyond the Horizon has been performed only eight times, and as for Someday Baby, well, that day hasn't come yet.

OK, enough fun with math. It's too easy for an obsessive-compulsive to get caught up in such things. In fact, diehard Dylan fans have compiled the rock music equivalent of the Baseball Abstract while cataloging his more than 2,000 concerts since the Never-Ending Tour began in June 1988 ---- 2,012 concerts, actually.

Visions of Johanna and Blind Willie McTell were the highest of highlights for me at last night's show. Not since he played a snippet of Tangled Up In Blue at the Music Complex show was I as psyched by his song selection. Now if only he could sing something from Street Legal - maybe tonight? (And you know he's been all over this blog, right? Why do you think he sang McTell?!? It was first mentioned here ... and it came to pass.)