Last night I went to the Bob Dylan concert at the Kohl Center here in Madison. When you go to see such a legendary performer, you bring a lot of expectations along. After all, you’ve heard those classic songs a hundred times before, in their original recorded form.

Over the past several decades, Dylan hasn’t been one to reproduce the song’s original studio sound in concert, and he certainly doesn’t sing the same way he did twenty (or even ten) years ago. However, the outstanding backing band, and that sometimes raspy voice did have more than their share of shining moments. That was especially true when they performed the bluesy songs like “Lonesome Day Blues” or “Rollin’ and Tumblin'” (a song from his newest and highly acclaimed disc, Modern Times). Musically, another strong moment came when the band opened the encore with another of the new songs “Thunder on the Mountain.”

I usually expect more newer songs when I go to a concert, but last night’s setlist was dominated by the older material. In my mind, that was a good thing. They only played three songs from Modern Times, and only one from Dylan’s previous release, Love and Theft. The crowd at the Kohl Center definitely appreciated the older material, shouting their approval when they recognized “Like a Rolling Stone” or the evening’s final song, “All Along the Watchtower.” The highlight of the night for me was the classic “Tangled Up in Blue.” It ended up coming across as a reverent, musical conversation, with the band’s tight musicianship perfectly balancing Dylan’s poetic lyrics.

Occasionally, his voice did stumble a bit. During “Positively 4th Street” Dylan’s singing at times was almost to the point of caricature (think of those comedians you’ve heard parodying him and you get the idea). But moments like that were rare, and I doubt anyone would sound as good after performing as long as the 65-year-old troubadour has.

Dylan got his start singing and writing in the protest/folk genre, and he did not leave those roots behind last night. When they played “John Brown” (a song written 40 years ago about a soldier going off to war and returning home literally a changed man) it took on renewed poignancy. As I was listening to it, I hoped others in the audience picked up on the parallels between our country’s current military struggles and those that took place during the 1960’s.

Before Dylan came out, an announcer introduced him as “the poet laureate of rock ‘n roll.” By the time the concert was over, I certainly thought he proved the introduction true.

Opening last night’s show were the Foo Fighters with an outstanding “special acoustic performance.” While acoustic, their 50 minute set was by no means without its rowdy moments. Many of their songs turned into instrumental jams, with the band showing off their pop-punk virtuosity. Foo Fighters played a handful of songs from the second disc of their most recent release (an all-acoustic disc), and retooled some of their older hits in an acoustic form. While critics have occasionally chastised the band for employing this format on their current tour, it definitely worked for me, and was an ideal opening for the evening’s main event.