A legendary get-together

Saturday night Sarah and I went to see Bob Dylan and Merle Haggard together in concert. Yeah, two music legends. Frankly, neither of us knew a thing about Merle except he was a country icon. And I knew a few Bob Dylan songs, but wouldn't call myself a fan. Basically, we were just going to be able to say we did.

OK, first off...you know all those people who say you can't understand Bob Dylan when he sings? They're right. Let me put it this way - during the first or second song, Sarah started laughing and then asked me, "How did he make it this long?" Musically, he's good. But I really think listening to his stuff while reading the lyrics would be a good idea.

Sadly, (speaking as an anti-country music man) both Sarah and I enjoyed Merle Haggard better. His sound was much cleaner, he talked with the crowd a few times, and we could understand most of his lyrics! As a new Johnny Cash fan (thanks to "Walk The Line") I equated the two. Merle has a similar baritone to his voice and both are old-school "outlaw" country, which is OK in my book. As he walked off the stage, he looked even older than his 69 years...I guess the effects of a hard life.

Perhaps as much fun, was people watching here in Jackson, MS. If you can imagine, Bob Dylan and Merle Haggard attracted a lot of "good ol boys." Never meanin' no harm...