Chances are if you had a hard time understanding Bob Dylan’s lyrics at his concert Tuesday night to re-open the , you can thank the legendary musician’s famous raspy voice.
When started planning the renovations for the , one item included in sprucing up the building was a state-of-the-art sound system. On Tuesday, the upgrade was in effect, as Dylan & His Band could be heard clearly throughout the theater, save for the occasionally jumbled and raspy lyric.
While the general admission floor in front of the stage was packed for the sold-out show, there were still room to move around a bit. There was also a good deal of room on the floor off to the sides and toward the back. One of the bar areas in a few steps up from the floor, and while there was a steady stream of people heading to the bar throughout the show, the bar area didn’t ever feel overly packed.
Up top in the balcony, Dylan & His Band could still be heard loudly. There are also six boxes with seats.
Another upgrade Shapiro made in the theater was to the lighting system, and while there were some shots projected up on the domed ceiling, the full extent of the new system, as Shapiro talked about leading up to the opening, wasn’t on display just yet. That could’ve been the artist’s choice for this particular show, though.
A line of about 50 people waited before doors opened at 6:30 p.m., and once the venue started allowing people in, the line moved quickly. The will call lines got a bit long, however, especially within an hour of showtime.
The inside of the theater looks eloquent, with renovations made to the moulding and other parts of the theater, new carpet laid down and fixing up the red velvet seats.
While a theater, the venue still has a fairly nice and intimate feel, similar to that of the Wellmont Theater in Montclair, NJ.
The next show at the newly opened Capitol was Friday night, when the Roots and Bob Weir played at 8 p.m. The show was a benefit for HeadCount, non-partisan organization that uses music to register voters and raise social consciousness.
