Rob goes to see Bob Dylan at the Hammersmith Apollo 19th November 2011
On Saturday morning after waking from a dream about being a Stormtrooper covered in multicoloured Damien Hirst dots, instead of getting out of bed I climbed into my iTouch and looked on the website that will probably be my best man at my wedding: Twitter. After looking at who hadn’t mentioned me I saw that one of my old uni mates had written the following “Two tickets for sale for Bob Dylan and Mark Knopfler at Hammersmith Apollo tonight.” I read these words and after meeting a stranger at Hackney Downs station at 5.30pm and giving her 60 pounds of artshop earned cash I had two tickets for Bob Dylan in my pocket along with a wallet full of nerves and apprehension. I have had many opportunities to see Bob Dylan but have always refused as he is the individual that showed me you can talk about “sniffing drainpipes”. Things he has said in interviews have hit me between the eyes and left bruises that resulted in me writing things and saying them outloud. I have seen pretty much everyone else who I want to see but I always let the Bob Dylan ticket go to someone else. Not this time. After seeing him perform Maggies Farm on the Grammys in a not too confused a fashion my refusal wall had been smashed down.
On the Sardine Can in a car crushing plant busy 6pm Saturday night Piccadilly Line on the way to Hammersmith I was tapping my foot to the sound of tourists chanting HARRODS HARRODS, pumped like a Reebok Pump in the bedroom of a bored child and ready to see my hero. I hadn’t asked any of my friends if they wanted the extra ticket as it was a pilgrimage and I read in the bible ”you don’t go on pilgrimage with your mates.” As I ran through Hammersmith underground station I heard and then saw a busker singing ‘Just like a woman’, one of my favourite Dylan songs, and gave him a thumbs up as I passed. Touching through the barrier I stopped and thought I couldn’t… could I? Yeah lets do it, so I touched back through the barrier and approached the busker and stood directly in front of him until he stopped singing. “Alright mate I’ve got a spare ticket for the gig if you want it. I was going to sell it to a tout but you can have it.” I passed over the stalls standing ticket and he said ” Errr.” He seemed pretty chuffed and pointed to his empty guitar case and said “better make some beer money for when I get in there then.” I left as he began to play a cover of All Along the Watchtower and started to think about the happiness workshop I had attended at this years Secret Garden Party festival. The guy giving the workshop said to do five good things a day and by the fifth thing you would feel really great. Well that was one good thing in a year I had done and I felt like I was on top of the stairs as I left Hammersmith tube and out onto the street. “WHO NEEDS TICKETS? BY OR SELL TICKETS FOR BOB DYLAN”shouted the touts. ”I’ve got a stalls satanding for sale” I said to a tracksuit ”I’ll give you twenty quid for it ” I said nothing and after buying two pints of Red Stripe for £8.60 I was in the hall.
I made my way down to the front and got stood next to what appeared to be two fifteen year old girls. I am convinced they kept bashing into me and my pints so I would react in some way and then they could accuse me of being a Paedophile in front of Bob Dylan. As I moved away from the young trouble makers Mark Knopfler moved on stage. I have always enjoyed Dire Straits and some of Knopflers solo stuff but I really wanted to hear him play Sultans of Swing or Walk of Life or Romeo and Juliet. He didn’t play any of them, but he did play Brothers in arms and I can safely say he is the best guitar player I have ever seen. Not to say I know that much about the technical side of guitarists, but if you can play something really fast without looking at it once and make it sound like he did I think that means you are pretty good. By the time he had finsihed the Apollo was packed and I began to realise I would be seeing Bob Dylan on the stage infront of me.
Bob came on stage
Bob sang some songs
Bob sang the songs and made it difficult for you to tell which song was which. I realise Bob Dylan has been singing some of these songs for over 50 years and he has to keep it interesting for himself. Singing the same songs over and over again must be tough. It’s like asking Picasso to paint Guernica every night. After a while he would start messing around with it. “What is that Pablo?” It’s Guernica. “It looks nothing like it and it’s not as good” SHUT UP! and pay me 75 pounds for looking at it. People had gone to see Bob Dylan and that is what they saw. Did they go to hear Bob Dylan? I didn’t go to hear Bob Dylan, I went to see him in the flesh. He could have just stood there on stage without playing a single thing and I would probably have left feeling more inspired. He has done his work and now he is going round the world reminding people with sketchy versions of what he has achieved in the past.
Bob didn’t say one word to the crowd in between songs apart from when he introduced his band. Even then he just said “on guitar… on keyboard…” which is how you introduce a band I guess.
Bob didn’t do an encore
Bob left
As I made my way to the exit I saw the busker stood at the back on the railing with his guitar on his back and his head in his hands. I didn’t approach him, but next time I see him busking on the tube I will listen to see if the sound of Bob Dylan is coming from him. I’m pretty sure it will be.
