Opening for Dylan

I was fired as the opening act for the Bruce Springsteen “Working On A Dream Tour” a month ago and thought that would be my last opportunity to open for a rock band. But a week ago I was invited to be the opening act for the Bob Dylan summer ballpark tour.

Last night we performed in Rockford Illinois at the Diesels, a minor league team, Ball Park. I came out on stage and told my stories and played harmonica. About five minutes into my set, Bob came out on stage. I started exiting the stage because I figured he was coming on stage to do his set, but he motioned me to stay put. I had no idea what was on his mind.

He came up to the mic, put his arm around my shoulder, grinned, and started telling a joke. “A duck and an elephant meet each other through an Internet dating site. They went out the next night to a restaurant. They talked over onion ring appetizers and got along really well. Each was excited about the prospects. The elephant excused itself to use the restroom. When he came back, the duck was gone. He thought she was in the ladies room, so he waited. About fifteen minutes went by and he figured she left. He was discouraged and got up to leave. The waiter came to the table with a plate of food. The elephant said to the waiter, “What’s this?” The waiter said, “It’s your dinner…It’s duck.””

Dylan chuckled. No one in the audience laughed. He was angry. I thought I was going to get fired from this show too. I whispered a line to him. He leaned into the mic and said, “The elephant was horrified…but also hungry, so he ate the meal and it was delicious!!” The audience laughed. Bob smiled. I kept my job for another night.