95 North. . . The Newspaper

It's hard to know what to say about a Bob Dylan show. Although he has a reputation to be a sporadic performer, every show I've seen of his has been at least good, with the best being his 2010 Charlottesville, VA gig (in which he threw his harmonica into the seats at the end). Dylan preformed at the Oakdale Theater-a venue that leaves much to be desired. The Oakdale's feel and structure seemed to be more suited for a corporate retreat, TED talk, or as a friend remarked, Sesame Street Live. Despite the Oakdale's placidity, Bob rode the strength of his band to deliver a solid set to the Father's Day crowd.   The Show: Following a brief acoustic "introduction in the dark", the lights went up and the band broke into "Things Have Changed". What a perfect opening song, honestly, and seeing Bob on stage banging on the piano in his suit, white boots, and bolo tie...it was hard to wipe the smile off my face. He preformed a fantastic, bluegrass s...

Bob Dylan and his band will be coming to the Oakdale Theater in Wallingford, CT this June the 18th, 2017 . The occasion will mark Bob's third official appearance in Wallingford, however, this will be his fourth time around preforming within the borders of my hometown, Wallingford. Officially, Bob first played in Wallingford (at the Oakdale Theater) in 1997. However, I remember hearing a story from my aunt and uncle, who were teenagers at the time, that they saw Bob Dylan and Joan Baez together at the Oakdale back in the early 1960s. My aunt recalled that she saw Bob and Joan walk together, right in front of her and her then boyfriend (now husband) and into the Oakdale, which was then some kind of tent or barn. Since this show is not listed anywhere, at least under Bob's name,  I had to do a bit of digging online to find out if my aunt's memory served her correctly. Alas, it did. Joan Baez played a show with Bob at the Oakdale on August 11, 1963 , in the evening. They la...