Monday, March 3, 2008

"With 20 pounds of headlines, stapled to his chest."


     Well, I'm bringing it all back home and pretty beat up, but exhilarated from the fine time in Guadalajara with my nephew Charles and Bob Dylan.
     Charles mentioned in his guest blog that I'd be quoted in El Publico, Guadalajara's daily newspaper, with my take on the superb show at Auditorio Telmex. But first, a little background.
     Earlier in the day, sleep-deprived but adrenalized, I took a taxi to meet Charles at a 7-11 he suggested. We tipped over a couple of cervezas at an outdoor café, along with a shot of Herradura just to be proper. We then left in search of a Brazilian restaurant recommended highly by Charles. Street addresses being but an approximation in Guadalajara, we found it by feel.
     Good call. The food, the festivities, the young Brazilian girls on stage, shake, shake, shaking to that crazy beat. Yum. The food, too.     
     So now it's Bob Hour, and our timing couldn't have worked better even with the tour manager's input. We strode into the sparkling theater--just 6 months old---had time to grab a beer, found the killer seats scored by El Diablo de Guadalajara, and just moments later, an on-time and animated Bob and Band hit the stage. And Guadalajara was love sick. Hearing the predominately Spanish-speaking crowd sing, "How does it feeeeeeellll?" has to be one of my high points, and to share it with mi sobrino was muy bueno.
     I'll spare you the song-by-song review. That's pointless. I'm a big-picture guy. However, immediately after the show, Charles and I were holding court with the locals at the bar in the theater when a young girl approached, with a pencil in her hand. "What did you think of the show?", she asked me with a grin. I said that Bob's voice sounded like "life". She really liked that one; actually said it was going to make her cry, again. I don't know what made her shed her tears the first time. 
     The girl was a reporter for El Publico. When she asked my favorite song in the set, I told her that though I knew the theater was new, I felt as if Highway 61 almost blew its roof off. And, yes, she quoted me.
     I also tried to explain the significance of the actual Highway 61 to her, and she paraphrased that, too, in the text of her article.      
     So I've made the news in Russia and now in Mexico. I'll have to stir things up in Taipei next.
     
     ***Here's the link. It's in Spanish, but--um--I was in Guadalajara! Scroll through to see the quote attributed to me:
     http://www.milenio.com/guadalajara/milenio/nota.asp?id=595732
 
        
       
          
       
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