Jesus was in the building Tuesday night as Bob Dylan and the Foo Fighters played to a mixed crowd at the Kohl Center.
"You've got balls, my friend," Foo Fighters frontman Dave Grohl told the audience member dressed as the sandaled savior at the otherwise-subdued Halloween show. Grohl kept up the one-sided comedic banter throughout his band's all-acoustic opening set, cracking up the all-ages audience along with himself.
It looked as though many parents had taken the opportunity to attend the show with their college-student son or daughter, reaffirming Dylan and the Foos' wide appeal. Although the Kohl Center was nowhere near capacity, the Foo Fighters opened the concert as if it were, keeping the energy high even while strumming acoustic guitars.
They began the show with a stripped-down version of their hit "My Hero," and continued to revisit old favorites throughout the show, part of an acoustic tour in support of the second half of their double album In Your Honor. It was in many ways a Dave Grohl show, as the erstwhile Nirvana drummer played the singer-songwriter with a bruised tenor that was surprisingly effective. On tracks like "Everlong," it seemed like the band wouldn't be playing at all until they kicked to bring the song to a rousing climax.
Nevertheless, the band was a vital force, giving weight to highlights like the piano-driven "See You," which settled into a quiet jam as Grohl introduced the members of the extended group and gave them each a chance to show off.
Despite the low-key atmosphere, Grohl remained determined to rock out the acoustic show, grooving in his chair before finally jumping up and bounding around the stage during the closing song.
After a brief interlude, the lights dimmed to the familiar strains of Aaron Copeland's "Hoedown," and the audience immediately rose to its feet. The moment was soon ruined, however, when a baseball-announcer voice came over the sound system to introduce a man who needs no introduction. The cheesy blabbering rambled on about Dylan's status as a counterculture icon before finally concluding with, "Ladies and gentlemen, Columbia recording artist Bob Dylan!"
Nevertheless, the black-clad Dylan and his band hit the stage with a momentum that led directly into "Maggie's Farm." The band's enthusiasm was derailed, however, once Dylan began singing the famous words. In recent years, the singer's distinctive voice has aged considerably, and many of the lyrics dissolved into a guttural croak as Dylan sang something akin to, "I ain't gonna work for Maggie's AAAGGGHHH no more."
Despite the state of Dylan's vocals, his band shuffled along persistently at a gait they sustained through most of the concert, digging into the classic chord changes with a steady fervor that carried the show. Dylan himself seemed to have planned it this way, positioning his keyboard (the brittle songwriter hasn't played guitar on tour for some time) off to one side of the stage as if he were just another member of the band.
Dylan dropped the dynamic down for several tunes before raising the energy level with a defiant "Positively 4th Street" and his take on the blues tune "Rollin' and Tumblin.'" For the latter, Dylan and his band were finally warmed up enough to play around a bit, with the lead and rhythm guitarists engaging in a fast and loose interplay on slide and electric guitar.
Bluesy guitar solos also drove "When The Deal Goes Down," and an acoustic intro set the tone for "Workingman's Blues #2," both tracks off of Dylan's latest effort Modern Times. Many of the set's best moments were the short jams when Dylan would join the players in exploring a musical idea, although the band never wandered too far from the structure of each song.
Most of the audience was seated by the wartime lament "John Brown" but were brought to their feet again near the end by the distinctive first line of "Tangled Up In Blue," a rambling lyrical masterpiece that many of the concertgoers tried to sing along with. This proved hard to do, since Dylan's fluid interpretation of the song took liberties with the overall cadence.
Although Dylan's vocals had improved significantly by this point in the show, he sang "Tangled Up In Blue" in a lower countermelody that displayed none of the fire his reedy tenor used to.
After two more songs, the crowd quickly summoned the artist back on stage for an encore that made the concert. As a giant screen featuring an elaborate eye symbol unfurled behind the stage, Dylan and company launched into a rollicking "Thunder On The Mountain," the opening track of Modern Times. During an extended vamp, Dylan spoke to the audience for the first and only time to introduce his band, then met the audience's expectations with a straight-ahead version of "Like A Rolling Stone" and a gritty rendition of "All Along The Watchtower."
The band then came to the front of the stage to bask in the fans' admiration, with the reclusive Dylan looking charmingly awkward as he rocked back and forth.
There was no reason for Dylan to be nervous, as the set's many newer songs went over just as well as his classic material. But the audience forgave Dylan his apparent unease — he was in the presence of Jesus, after all.
