I did!
It was a very memorable night, the first time Altoona has seen a concert of this sort in years! Thousands of people, two American music legends onstage, it was classic!
I thought both Willie and Bob and their respective bands did very well. I was surprised at just how many of Willie's tunes I recognized/knew, and how many of Bob's I didn't! Willie did many of his hits - "Whiskey River," "Crazy," "Help Me Make It Through the Night," "Blue Eyes Crying In The Rain," "Georgia On My Mind," "Mama Don't Let Your Babies Grow Up to be Cowboys," "On The Road Again," "Always On My Mind" and more. He also pulled out some blues, doing "Texas Flood" and "Milk Cow Blues" (with his sons, Michael and Lucas, jamming along); also Hank Williams' "Jambalaya," "Me and Bobby McGee" and more. Willie and his band did a lot of jamming during their set, and had a folksy, feel-good vibe going the whole set.
Bob Dylan's set was surprising for a few reasons. First, Bob played keys and harmonica and sang the entire set, not picking up the guitar at all. He and his band also were a lot more jamming than I expected, nearly every song featured some instrumental fireworks. Bob dug out a lot of deeper tunes, many that I didn't recognize (anyone with a set list feel free to email me!); songs I did recognize included "The Times They Are A Changing," "Man In the Long Black Coat;" and during his encore, "Don't Think Twice, It's Alright," "Like A Rolling Stone" and "All Along the Watchtower." Bob was Bob, his voice was pretty gravelly and you couldn't really understand much of what he was singing, but he and his band definitely seemed to be enjoying themselves onstage, and the set had an upbeat vibe.
Considering that Bob Dylan is 63 and Willie Nelson is 71, it was cool to be able to see both of these legends while they are still with us. And seeing them in my hometown was even better!
Based on early word, the folks at Blair County Ballpark were very pleased with how this night went, and they said more shows like this are likely. Good to see somebody doing concerts in Altoona again!
