Bob Dylan Concert, Starlight Theater, August 7, 2010

Opening Set -  The Dough Rollers

Starlight Theater is such a good concert venue for Kansas City. As we entered the complex we were politely asked, “Would you like to park on asphalt for ten dollars or on grass for five?” Now I thought this was backwards but chose the cheaper of the two and parked directly across from where I would have paid the ten. A short walk to the gate, a full body cavity search for cameras and we are in the beautiful milieu of Starlight where, during the wife’s perfunctory twenty minute bathroom stop, I sauntered up to the counter and ordered a margarita. Starlight has excellent food and drink available and at a fairly reasonable price schedule. The suave young man behind the counter proffers my drink and I notice on the counter some chocolate brownies. He sees me eyeballing them and says, “Those are most excellent brownies, sir,” and holds one up so I can read the brand name: Colorado Rocky Mountain High Brownie.

“Who made these, John Denver?” I asked him.

“No sir, the dude is dead, an airplane fell on him.”

“How much are they?”

“They are free, sir.”

“Free?”

“Yes, sir.”

“I’ll take half of one, then.” And made my way out on the veranda where it was relatively cool for such a hot day, ate the half brownie and sipped on the margarita while Kristin made her way over with a water and a gigantic hamburger. I didn’t want to eat because I think it unwise to do so prior to as important an event as a Bob Dylan performance. It causes me to become lethargic and lethargy has no place here, although I did notice some older folks who seemed to be in a debilitated state enjoying enormous polish sausages and half pizzas. I settled for another margarita and we went to find our seats, fifteen rows back, center stage. Not bad, not bad.

On the stage was a table, two high-backed chairs and an old timey looking microphone, surrounded by eight guitars: Six for the chair on the right and two for the one on the left. Also on the table is a blue onion soup tureen, something one doesn’t normally encounter at a concert. Out comes two guys wearing coats and ties and you wonder about that but then remember the stage at Starlight is air conditioned which brings about some Green Angst thoughts of whether or not that is energetically wasteful, and then you forget about it as the announcer says these guys are the Dough Rollers, a good enough moniker for a duo these days, I guess. They begin their set with a tune called, “Your Baby Aint Sweet Like Mine,” and this has to be one of the most unique vocal performances around. It gets even better as they populate their set with an old time magic kind of blues with this Howling Wolfish voice that, after a few numbers, I equate with Tom Waits. They do, “Stack-O-Lee”, “I’m Going Upstairs” by John Lee Hooker, a good rendition of “Keep Yo Lamps Trimmed And Burnin”, “She’s Just Funny That Way” that was an old Frank Sinatra number, and a really cool, bluesy, jazzy arrangement of that old standby hymn, “Were You There When They Crucified My Lord.” This was by far the highlight of their set and I’ll tell you that from a Lutheran perspective, this arrangement should be sung in every church so people would get up out of their seats and clap their hands to some good old gospel music. The set closer was Fred McDowell’s “Some Day Baby.” These two fellows were good, but stay tuned for Part II of one of the best Dylan concerts ever.