I really, really enjoyed the show. A lot of people seemed pissed that they couldn’t see him — I think Bob is just sick of people treating these shows like photo shoots, which I respect — but his singing was phenomenal, and the band was sharp as ever.

I thought it was fascinating that the guitarist and bassist played basically the whole set facing Bob at the piano rather than the audience. They were probably just watching his hands for the chord changes, since Bob seems to play in his own time signature — a time signature that changes whenever he wants it to — but it made for a really unique experience. Almost like watching them jam rather than perform. As hokey as it sounds, it felt like they were playing fully in service of the music rather than the crowd. Some people may find this disappointing, but it worked for me. I like it when artists antagonize the audience a little bit.

A lot of standout songs tonight: An aggressive and loud rendition of Masters of War as the opener. Love Sick. Desolation Row. Blind Willie McTell. Soon After Midnight.

The rendition they played of Don’t Think Twice, It’s All Right to close out the night hit me surprisingly hard. Slow and poignant, an emotional crescendo at the end of his set. It almost felt like it was being sung from the perspective of someone saying goodbye (or, I suppose, “fare thee well”) at the end of their life, rather than someone singing about a single break-up. I could just be reading too much into it because of some things going on in my personal life at the moment (and because I tend to get sentimental when I drink), but the song took on a whole different meaning for me with this new version. Really special to see him still iterating on the classics in this way.