I get irrationally excited when Bob Dylan comes to town. You’d think the fact that he’s clearly on a never-ending tour that seems to loop my way at least once a year, would temper my enthusiasm. Or the fact that I’ve seen him nine times. Or that in the nine times I’ve seen him, he’s probably said a total of 12 words to the audience. But it truly never gets old. And luckily for me, next Wednesday Dylan and his band will be kicking off the U.S. leg of their summer tour right here in Austin at The Backyard!

Trust me, I’ve heard the haters. “He doesn’t sound like he used to.” “You can’t sing along.” “Forget singing along, you can’t even tell what the song is!” My response is always the same — it’s Bob Dylan. He’s been singing these songs for almost 50 years. If you want to sing along, go see a cover band. If you want to see a living legend perform the songs he wants to sing the way he wants to sing them, go see Dylan.

I saw him a few summers ago at Virgin Mobile Fest in Baltimore, and I don’t know whose idea it was, but Dylan was on right before Kanye West (thank you random festival lineup organizers). Now, I’m not a violent person but I almost had to knock out a whole slew of ‘tweens’ who were so anxious to see Kanye that they were actually booing Dylan. And not in the “Dylan went electric and now I’m calling him Judas” way either. It was an ugly scene, and left me disproportionally distraught about the state of the youth in America. So, lesson learned: when Dylan is sandwiched in between Kanye West and Lil’ Wayne, I should probably skip it. But otherwise, there’s hardly anything that could stop me from catching his shows. And I’d encourage pretty much everyone on Earth (with the exception of the aforementioned tweens) to see him whenever possible.

Fresh off their European tour, Bob and his band will be playing the newly relocated Backyard on Wednesday, August 4th. The new location, in its opening season, is significantly larger than the old venue. Situated on 38 acres adjacent to the Bee Cave City Park, it offers increased access and parking, as well as a slew of improvements in keeping with the green initiative. Wednesday’s show will be a great opportunity to check out the brand new venue and spend a beautiful summer evening under the stars in the Texas Hill Country with the one and only Mr. Dylan.

General admission tickets are still available for $45 through The Backyard’s website or at Waterloo Records. Chairs are not allowed inside but guests are encouraged to bring blankets to sit on. Doors open at 7:00 and the show begins at 8:00. For more information, and a look at the new digs, check out The Backyard’s website.