I can honestly say that I was not overly excited for this show. I have seen
several of the shows on the RARW tour, and while they have all been good, I
have gotten a little tired of "knowing" what would be played
everynight. We were in North Carolina for a film school tour for my oldest
son and he is a big Dylan fan so we decided to stay an extra night just to
catch this show and I am so glad we did!

I had purposely not checked the setlist for Alpharetta so that I could at
least have hope that the setlist would be different. I was happy that there
were no signs up banning phones. There were huge screens for the people in
the back. My son and I had discussed how those would likely be turned off
before Dylan came out. They moved two TVs on the stage which we assumed
would be to prove to Dylan that the screens were off. While the stage was
being set up the screens were showing generic advertisements and then
nearing the start time they were turned off, not very surprising... then,
right before he came out, they were turned on again... quite surprising.
They weren't zoomed in tight but at least the stage was on the screen. We
were on the far right in the second section of seats and that made for
decent photos and videos but I would definitely have bought better seats if
I had known how the night was going to go.

When Hwy 61 started the show, I knew that there was a chance we were in for
a treat (and damn it why didn't I buy better seats?!?). The second song
was Shooting Star. This has always been one of my all-time favorite Dylan
songs. I had only heard it performed live once back in the Summer of 2000
in Las Vegas. As soon as I realized what it was, I grabbed my phone and
started videoing (bc why not when there are no rules). I sent this video to
my friend Adam that used to do Dylan road-trips with me and declared that
Dylan had gotten the memo. After this, I thought the night couldn't get
any better. Regardless of what the rest of the songs were going to be, I
was very happy to be there. Third song Love Sick which I hadn't heard in
a long time was good to hear followed by two covers that I wasn't
personally very familiar with but I knew the first one was Chuck Berry.
Early Roman Kings is never a favorite of mine but it was good. Can't Wait
reminded me of all the shows I went to in college with Adam back in 1998/9.
Under the Red Sky was a nice and obscure song that I had never heard live
so things just kept getting better. Things Have Changed was also a good one
to hear. It had been a while since I had heard it and it really is a
great song. Stella Blue is a Grateful Dead song that I am not overly
familiar with but it was done well and the crowd seemed to enjoy it. 

So, at this point, I was really happy with the setlist, really happy that
he was playing to the setting of a festival where everyone there might not
be a huge Dylan fan and I was preparing for things to wind down with a few
more songs. Then the 11th song started. I could tell it was a cover. Out of
the first few words I picked up on "Pittsburgh" and I
immediately thought to myself there is no way... then I heard "diesel
wound up" and I immediately grabbed my phone and started recording again.
To most people this is just an obscure 60's trucking song but to me it
means so much more. This song was writtenby my grandfather, Earl Green,
and his friend Carl Montgomery. It has been covered by many artists and is
a fairly well-known country song from the '60's. I've heard different
people sing it my whole life and I always enjoy it, but to hear Bob Dylan
sing my grandfather's song completely out of the blue was truly amazing.
I live in Alabama and it was just a fluke that I was in North Carolina that
weekend and got to go to a Dylan concert. So, for all that to come
together and for me to actually be there when he first sang it was
something I'll never forget. My grandfather was my father figure and he
died in 2014 and this was a very special night for me.

The last 3 songs were really good and the show was over. I have been to
35-40 Dylan shows since 1996. The first one had always been the most
amazing one (11/2/96). I wasn't even really that big of a fan and we
just happened to go my junior year of high school. The crowd rushed the
stage and we ended up on stage with Dylan. I got to shake his hand and he
gave my friend his guitar pick (now framed with my ticket at my house). At
the time I didn't realize how special that was and that quickly turned us
into huge Dylan fans. So, for this show to be even more special than that
one really says something.
 
This is my first review and it's a long one. To anyone else still reading
I will say, go to a show if you can. These may go down as a really special
time to see Dylan, very likely the last ones to be able to take pictures
and videos.

And to Bill Pagel, thanks for keeping up this site. I have used it since
1996 and it really is a treasure. I hope to see at least one more show this
Summer, but if I don't get to, this would be a great last show for sure.

Jeremy Robison
Muscle Shoals, AL
jeremygrobison@yahoo.com