Bob Dylan is coming.

The news has been circulating now for a while.  First it was going to happen and then, later, there was more negative stuff about visas not being issued and that it wasn’t going to happen. Then the university hinted at it and finally a few Fridays ago they put it up on their intranet, so it must be true.  Bob Dylan is coming! Not just to the country where I live, or the town where I live but the actual place where I work!  Tickets finally went on sale last week but I handed over 900,000 dong to the owner of a local bar well in advance just to be sure.  I rushed down there as soon as I heard the news and signed up.  There is no way I’m going to miss this.

The concert will be held in the sports field behind the main teaching buildings. It’s where I pay tennis and where the gym I go to is housed.  Will Dylan use the same changing rooms pre and post concert as I do when I go to the gym?  Will he want to pop into one of my classes and find out how to write university style essays?

The pre-concert publicity finally appeared with posters up around the campus and a free draw of 30 tickets for students.  I visited the field yesterday to watch them build the stage and erect the beer tents.  Yes, there will be food and drink and yes there will be souvenirs but no cameras allowed.  I might try and sneak one in if possible.

They are expecting a small crowd, 6 to 8 thousand, mainly expats as the price starts at £35, a  lot for locals most of whom will never have heard of Dylan or his music.  I’ve just read this report in the Guardian where they had a similar size turnout for Dylan’s first ever concert in China and I’m hoping for something very similar here.