Weirdest Concert of Bob Dylan’s Career Happened Yesterday
Image by Getty Images
In what was undoubtedly the least-attended but most-memorable concert of his career, Bob Dylan performed a four-song afternoon set for one person yesterday at the Philadelphia Academy of Music. Yes, you read that correct. One person. And it was not a CEO or aristocrat. Not even, God forbid, a music journalist.
As reported by Rolling Stone, the concert’s only spectator was Fredrik Wikingsson. Wikingsson is one half of the “Filip and Fredrik podcast,” who attended as part of a Swedish film series, “Experiment Alone,” in which individuals are filmed at events that are normally reserved for a great many more people.
According to Relix, the set was comprised of cover versions, including Buddy Holly’s “Heartbeat” and Fats Domino’s “Blueberry Hill.” Wikingsson, who said he didn’t know how much Dylan had been paid for the private performance, told Rolling Stone’s Andy Greene, “”I thought some asshole would walk onstage and just laugh at me. I just couldn’t fathom that Dylan would actually do this.”
Or, as Mr. Wikingsson put it more succinctly on Twitter, “Damn!”
In the evening, Dylan went on to play a more traditional show at the same venue. No reports have come in on the exact attendance of that concert, but it seems fair to say that it attracted a better crowd than the afternoon gig.
Why I became the Forward’s Editor-in-Chief
You are surely a friend of the Forward if you’re reading this. And so it’s with excitement and awe — of all that the Forward is, was, and will be — that I introduce myself to you as the Forward’s newest editor-in-chief.
And what a time to step into the leadership of this storied Jewish institution! For 129 years, the Forward has shaped and told the American Jewish story. I’m stepping in at an intense time for Jews the world over. We urgently need the Forward’s courageous, unflinching journalism — not only as a source of reliable information, but to provide inspiration, healing and hope.
Support our mission to tell the Jewish story fully and fairly.
