Karl Gustel Warnberg travels to Bournemouth to watch Bob Dylan live in concert
Ever since his debut as a young musician, Bob Dylan has been appropriated by various movements. His dislike for being pigeonholed is evident. When, for example, he was asked what he thought about guns in America, he defiantly said “I don’t think there are enough guns”. Does he believe that? Who knows. Probably not, but Dylan can’t be limited or defined. Yet, the impulse to put a label on him has been his cross.
On Saturday 5th November I travelled to Bournemouth to see the acclaimed artist live. This was the first time I had ever seen him and could very well have been the last since he is now 81 years old. But his music and oeuvre has accompanied me throughout my life. As a child, we sang his songs in the assembly at my international school in Stockholm, Sweden. While living in Toronto as a student in seminary, Spotify notified me that I had listened to over 150 hours of his music on their platform. That’s not even counting every Sunday afternoon when I would listen to old vinyl records in a common room for at least an hour.
