Graying Dylan still rocks with high-energy poetics

Bob Dylan's getting old?

You couldn't tell by his rocking show Friday night at KeyArena, where the 61-year-old legend and his great band opened their fall tour before a large, varied crowd.

Dylan had the fans dancing on the seatless main floor to songs such as a swampy, funky "It's Alright, Ma (I'm Only Bleeding)," an extended, high-energy "Honest With Me," a romping, rockabilly "Summer Days" and even a surprise cover of the Rolling Stones' "Brown Sugar" (with its "black girl" transformed into a "young girl").

As with U2, Bruce Springsteen and other recent rock tours, the main floor was general admission, which made for a looser, more partylike atmosphere. Dylan seemed to draw energy from the fans pressed against the stage and those dancing around, especially the young ones.

Wearing a white jacket and black slacks, and with his familiar corona of hair now more gray than black, Dylan concentrated on keyboards rather than guitar and brought out his harmonica only a couple of times.

He changed up his familiar songs, altering their tempos and singing them differently — often going into a high voice just short of a falsetto. He made you hear the songs anew and listen closely to his poetic, mysterious, wise and humorous lyrics.

He sang "Don't Think Twice, It's All Right" slower than the original and ended each line on a high note. "Love Minus Zero/No Limit" was speeded up and also sung high. "Mr. Tambourine Man" was closer to the original, though some of the vocal was lost when the microphone went out.

He mixed his classics with new songs — mostly from his latest album, last year's "Love and Theft." In addition to the Stones' song, he did three Warren Zevon covers, undoubtedly in respect for the singer-songwriter who is suffering from inoperable cancer. "Accidentally Like a Martyr" came early in the set. Later he covered "Boom Boom Mancini" and "Mutineer."

The set was varied, with old-timey songs, folk, country and blues as well as rock. Among other songs in the set were "Lay, Lady, Lay," "I'll Be Your Baby Tonight," "To Ramona" and an encore of "Like a Rolling Stone," "Knockin' on Heaven's Door" and "All Along the Watchtower."

Charlie Sexton was outstanding on guitar and backup vocals. Larry Campbell played a variety of guitars; Tony Garnier was on bass and David Kemper on drums.

The 21-song set lasted about two hours. There was no opening act.