I like Bob Dylan's music & when I saw he was appearing in Alicante I decided to get a ticket & go to see him in concert. I may not ever get the chance again to see this poet, musician & songwriter.

Bob Dylan.

Love him or hate him Bob Dylan is a musical legend. I went to see him in his worldwide Rough & Rowdy Ways tour at Alicante Bullring in 2023.

My journey to Alicante.

I left my apartment to walk to the bus stop at about 12:15 pm. It was very hot out as I walked along the promenade carrying some clothes & my tablets in a rucksack over my back. When I got to La Playa bar I stopped for a coffee & a chat with my friend Shellie. The bus was not until 2 pm but I always like to be early & I left the bar at about 1:15 pm. When I got to the bus stop it was only 1:30 pm & I had a half-hour wait for the bus because, as normal I was early. Also as normal, the bus was late & arrived at about 2:15 pm.

The bus ride was comfortable in a nice air-conditioned coach. It stopped at lots of places on the way but I didn't mind because it only costs €9.41 each way. I think the tolls would cost more than that in a car, the petrol definitely would & of course, I don't have a car. The coach dropped me at the Alicante bus station, close to the cruise ship port, at about 4:45 pm.

I had a rough idea where the hostel I was staying in was but I used Google Maps on my phone to find the shortest route to it & walked along the promenade before turning off to get to it. I hadn't stayed in the La Lonja hostel before but the reviews on Booking.com were very good & it was cheap. I was pleased with my room, it was very small but tidy, clean, quiet & had a good shower & overlooked the inner courtyard of the surrounding buildings.

Photos of my room.

I was in room 306 for my stay at La Lonja Hostel in Alicante.

When I had rested for a while in my room I left to find somewhere to eat. On the way to the hostel I had walked past lots of nice restaurants but the Alicante Bullring was in the other direction & I walked that way. Unfortunately, the choice of places to eat was limited & a lot of places were full. I settled for a small kebab & a can of coke at Euro Pizza Kebab, which was a short walk from the Bullring. It was very nice & I sat outside in the street, watching people head towards the Bullring to see Bob Dylan.

Bob Dylans Concert.

When I finished my meal I went to the Bullring & was shown straight in without having to queue as I was in the VIP area right in front of the stage. The door staff did however take the phone of everybody going in & place it in a locked bag before giving it back to you. This stopped people from recording the show or taking photos & in this case, I think it was the right thing to do.

My seat was in the front row, right in front of the stage & I was very pleased with my seat.  I was very surprised when at 9:30 pm the show started right on time & Bob Dylan started at exactly the time advertised. So many shows I have been to advertise a start time & the artists keep you waiting before they come on. I have to say it was my first time seeing Bob Dylan live & I was disappointed when I heard that the show would be all his new songs & that he would not do any of his old songs. I can also say that I did enjoy the show & lots of his new songs, as did everyone else there, apart from the drunk English idiot behind me.

If you were there in row 2, seat 34, then yes I am talking about you. He was with a girl & continually talked to her throughout the show, telling her that Bob Dylan was brilliant, rubbish had a great voice, had a terrible voice, was too old to be singing, that he was incredible & he couldn't believe he was 82 & that his real name was Robert Zimmerman & that he was Jewish. Next time you go to a concert my friend, don't drink so much before the show & you won't have to get up to use the toilet every half hour, at least this gave your girlfriend a chance to listen to the show instead of your incessant talking.

Bob Dylans' voice never was great but that is not why you go to see him. His lyrics, poetry & the storytelling in his music are as good today as they ever were. I would have preferred to see him solo without the backing group though. Don't get me wrong the group was very good & I couldn't stop my feet from tapping through the entire show, much of it was very Bluesy & I could imagine sitting in a small smoke-filled bar in New Orleans or Key West listening to them but they overpowered much of Dylans' lyrics.

Many of the new songs were great & they transported me to times when I have been travelling & met different people around the world. I particularly liked the three songs below. These are all from Bob Dylans YouTube channel for his soon-to-be-released Rough & Rowdy Ways album which the year-long tour is named after.

Bob Dylan video, Key West (Philospher Pirate).

Bob Dylan video, My Own Version of You.

Bob Dylan video, I've Made Up My Mind to Give Myself to You.

The show lasted until around 11:15 pm with no breaks. Bob Dylan had very little conversation with the audience & was performing continuously for the whole time. There was however no encore & almost immediately after Bob left the stage, his crew started to dismantle the stage & sound system. After the show, on my way out, I handed the bag containing my phone back to the security at the door & they unlocked it & returned my phone back to me. Outside the Bullring there was a very good busker singing all of Bob Dylans' early songs, he had drawn a large crowd. I listened to him for a short while before I walked the short distance back to the Hostel & was soon fast asleep.

My Journey Home.

I woke up around 8:30 am, & took a shower straight away. I had slept quite well but the bed was very small compared to the huge bed I have at home. I left the Hotel at around 10 am & walked towards the promenade along Alicante beach.

As I walked along the road I saw an old lady asleep in a doorway covered in cardboard boxes, it reminded me how lucky I am & as I have started to do on each of my trips recently, I stopped & gave her €10 to get something to eat & a drink. I just hope she does spend it on food & not alcohol or drugs.

When I got to the promenade I started to read the menu, at the cafe, Depinchos, when a beautiful girl started talking to me in Spanish. Luckily I did understand her & was able to reply to her in Spanish. Alas, she then continued to talk very quickly in Spanish & I didn't understand her. I explained, in Spanish that I only spoke a little Spanish & she then spoke English to me & showed me to a seat at an outside table before she moved back inside.

Unfortunately, the girl that was waiting tables outside was not so nice, she didn't speak one word to me in English or Spanish the whole time I was there. She took my order & said nothing, she brought my order & put it on the table but said nothing. She didn't ask me if I wanted anything else at any stage & just dropped my bill on the table when I asked for it.

I left the cafe at about 11:30 am & was at the bus station by 11:40 am & onboard the bus & on my way home at about 12. It was very hot outside & I was glad to be on an air-conditioned bus. It made me think back to the lady I had given the money to, I wondered where she would shelter from the sun during the day. The bus ride home was uneventful & I was dropped at a bus stop close to my home. This was great as it cut down my walk from 20 minutes to 5 minutes.

As soon as I got into my apartment I poured a cold drink of water & sat down in front of the television where I fell asleep.

Summary.

I really enjoyed the short trip away & Bob Dylans' concert, I am very glad that I got to see him live. I probably won't get to see him again, I am getting older & less fit & he may not be able to keep touring much longer. If you get the chance to see a musician you like, a place you have always wanted to see, or indeed an old friend, then take it, it could be your last chance.