Bob Dylan US Tour 2018

I misspoke thinking of Tempest tunes which actually Pay In Blood was a highlight. Not sure what I was thinking, should wait until I get my coffee!

 

I've seen Bob around 14 times since 2009. I used to go with my buddy Mike. He passed Memorial Day 2017. We saw eight shows together, taped all of them together. Seeing Bob from the beginning has always been an emotional experience, but now it's more than ever.

My first Bob show was in 2009 at United Palace. I loved it, but it kind of seemed like it was the end of the road at that point. Together Through Life and Christmas in the Heart had just come out, I didn't know what to think. He opened with Stuck Inside of Mobile. When was the last time that happened?

I saw Bob again in Bethlehem, PA in 2010 and that was the one that moved me, Don't Think Twice, Cold Irons Bound, and Workingman's Blues in particular. I saw him several times after in various venues.

In 2012, I saw him in Mohegan Sun, CT. A hurricane was hitting the northeast, Sandy was her name. Bob opened with You Ain't Going Nowhere. I felt far from the stage, but this was a good show. High Water Rising never felt so true.

2013 was Amherst, MA. I parked the car in a swamp on the outskirts of the university. Duke was playing with the band and that was one hell of a show. It was in the gym. It was hot. My friend Mike and I were on the floor and no one sat down the entire time. One of the ushers asked for our tickets during one of the last songs of the show, which was arbitrary and ridiculous. You can hear that on my tape.

The last show I saw with Mike was the Beacon in 2014. It was a decent show, but I recall the Providence, RI show from the month before more fondly. He closed with Stay With Me. We wish he would, but it t'would be in vain.

In 2017, I saw Bob in Port Chester, Nassau Coliseum, and Beacon. Nassau was the most incredible show I had ever seen.

I quite liked the Sinatra stuff, was listening to Triplicate this morning in the hot steamy train commute into NYC. I look forward to seeing Bob at one of the Beacon shows. It's going to be a wet one for me either way.

 

I am off to the show in Tulsa, OK in a few. I predict his Bobness plays Blonde On Blonde in its entirety tonight.

 

Thackerville, October 13th:



I just dipped into it, but seems to be a sparser sound, which suits Bob's voice.

 

Embarassing

 

In what ways specifically?

 

Never thought much about it, but you're onto something IMO. The ritualistic concert crap where the performers go out of their way to create the cliched interaction gets old. It's like the audience is part of the show, serving the purpose of making up for the performers musical shortcomings.

 

Ive never really thought about it as far as Bob not interacting much. He has his own way of interacting with his fans if one understands his quirky personality.

Plus, thats a bunch of words to remember. Takes some concentration.

 

Duly noted. Thanks for the insight.

 

Bought my ticket for clearwater tomorrow night!

 

Love the reviews on Ticketmaster. This is the same concert, in Thackerville:

"I have been going to concerts since the 60's and this is by far the worst concert I've ever been to. Dylan didn't sing the melodies to one single song, just spoke them. Therefore, one song was indistinguishable from the next. The few hits he played were totally unrecognizable. He did not say one single word to the audience. Between songs the band played a cacophony of noise until he started mumbling the next song. Been a Bob Dylan fan for 50 years but no more. Total waste of money."

---

"This is the 2nd time I've ever seen Bob Dylan. The previous time was in 2015 and also at the Winstar. I'd say this most recent show was better as Dylan was in clearer voice, the setlist was all originals filled with classics with fine balance between his 60's/70's and 90's and beyond. His veteran band, as usual, was amazing as they effortlessly transitioned between country, swing, blues and rock. Yeah, I think casual fans would have been frustrated at this show as he has completely re-arranged all of his classic songs, making them nearly unrecognizable except for the lyrics. But if you follow Bob and have listened to live concerts of his over the past several decades, you'll know this isn't unusual as he's been performing vastly rearranged versions of his classics since the 70's (and perhaps before). I just sat back, relaxed and enjoyed an incredible show of a legend who doesn't appear to be slowing down anytime soon!"

Tim

 

I saw him in Sydney a few years ago. It was good, although I would have preferred a setlist not almost exclusively made up of Tempest songs. I'm glad I got to see him though.

 

I think that I fall somewhere in the middle on this. The band's between-song "tuning" did get a little bit annoying after awhile. I don't really mind the changes in song arrangements all that much. My main issue was that most of the revised arrangements sounded too similar to each other. A couple of times during the show, Neil Young's dialog from the Arc album came to mind: "It's all the same song...."

The Irving show was the third time that I had seen Bob live since the '90s and it was probably the least satisfying (to me, anyway).

 

Is it a matter of adapting them to a voice that has, shall we say, limited range?

Tim

 

I have been a fan since the 60's and seen him many a time over the decades but I am convinced Bob needs a new, perhaps younger band (like The Promise Of The Real with Neil Young), to give him an extra spark and get him out of his current dirge. Unless he really is trying to put the audience off totally that is!?

Richard

p.s. I am finding his art work much more interesting, revealing and enjoyable.

 

As a singer Bob has become a first rate welder. Abe would be glad he has something to fall back on. Rock and Roll isn't going to last forever son!
Bob Dylan: Singer, Songwriter, Welder | American Welding Society Education Online

 

Saw Dylan in St Augustine Friday night. I enjoyed it but I could tell the casual fans didn't. I don;t think they appreciated the rearrangements of the song they were familiar with (along with Bob being hard to understand).

I looked at the setlists on the Dylan website and noticed that the setlists have not changed for a long time. That's unusual for Bob.

I caught Death Cab For Cutie at the same amphitheater the next night so it was a good trip.

 

That recording sounds better than the concert I attended in Phoenix. The sound system was sh it in Phoenix.

 

I saw the Clearwater show on Saturday night and loved it!

I've seen him 4 times now - 2006, 2010, 2013 and now 2018, and I did not enjoy each of the other three shows, with 2013 probably being the worst.

I am curious to look around for recordings of the 2005 and 2010 shows to see what I think of them now, maybe I was just finally prepared to let Dylan do his thing without my preconceptions.


As for the tunes, it felt like this time around the arrangements were very calculated and thought out - this band rehearsed and really worked on the tunes. I was in the 6th row, so I could see them closely and Dylan was smiling at the guys, nodding in approval and generally looking very into it. He sang in a singing voice mixed with the croaking sound, but this was much more musical than in the past. Specifically, I really enjoyed "It aint me babe", "Highway 61", "when I paint my masterpiece", "Like a Rolling Stone", "Don't think twice, it's alright", "love sick", "thunder on the Mountain", "Blowin' in the Wind" and "Ballad of a Thin Man"

That is basically half of the set that I was really into and thought the rearrangements made sense and were cool. The arrangement on "Like a Rolling Stone" was particularly great!

I'm just glad to have finally seen Dylan perform a great show!

 

I'm headed to Dylan show #24 in Roanoke, VA on November 10. Shows 21-23 we're nearly shot-for-shot remakes, but I loved them. Glad to see some change in the set list on this tour. I never get tired of seeing Bob live. When I first started listening to his music, he seemed never to tour anywhere near me. I finally saw him with Tom Petty in 86, and I've grabbed every opportunity (mostly) since then.

 

Listened to a couple boots from the tour and was genuinely impressed with the set. Like a Rolling Stone sounds revitalized and fresh.

 

That Thackerville show and tape is ace. Cry a While is worth the price of admission alone.

 

I like this comment:

The kid gets it!

 

SET LIST Asheville November 2

• Things Have Changed - Great; hasn't changed.
• It Ain’t Me, Babe - OK classic.
• Highway 61 Revisited - Great.
• Simple Twist Of Fate - OK classic.
• Cry A While - Great.
• When I Paint My Masterpiece - OK classic.
• Honest With Me - Not a big fan of the 'Dance, Dance' arrangement compared to the L&T; song is kind of redundant with the presence of the killer 'Cry A While'; dead spot.
• Tryin’ To Get To Heaven - Don't like the rearrangement; why mess with the TOOM perfection?
• Scarlet Town - Crowd pleaser - Bob centerstage; got a standing ovation.
• Make You Feel My Love - Why mess with the melody of such a great great song? TOOM arrangement or bust.
• Pay In Blood - Dead spot.
• Like A Rolling Stone Like the new arrangement; does the verse at regular tempo, with the bridge half halting 'Now you don't talk so loud'...
• Early Roman Kings Great, killer.
• Don’t Think Twice, It’s All Right OK, borderline dead spot. A classic, tho.
• Love Sick Great - Bob centerstage.
• Thunder On The Mountain - Again, why mess with a great arrangement (MT) for something less great; still a nice performance; short drum solo and the crowd goes wild! Song lets the musicians get all their pent up ya-yas out in the space of one song.
• Soon After Midnight - Great song but have heard better versions on previous tours.
• Gotta Serve Somebody - Like the new arrangement.
• Blowin’ In The Wind - Great classic.
• Ballad Of A Thin Man - Great classic.

Pretty good show last night. Had some really great moments and also some dead spots here and there. There was a guy in front of me with his two kids who were probably seven and ten years old. He seemed to be explaining to them from time to time the importance of this or that song and their witness to them. A diverse-age crowd and probably equally of both sexes, which was good to see.

How long has Stu been gone? The skeletal band has its pluses and minuses. I do find it interesting when a band loses a longtime member and the dynamics change when the person isn't immediately replaced. Donnie is more important than ever and keeps the band from a being typical one with his colorings, even filling in with more conventional sounding rhythm guitar. Charlie is kept on a very short leash as far as solos go, now more than ever with his having to fill the guitar seats.

Long gone is the 2002 NET band where the drums and twin lead guitar attack was heavy; this combo continues Dylan's 'voice to be heard foremost' approach that I think works very well at this stage in his endeavor, and his voice is in good working order with what there is left of it - there are surprises still to be had in the range-reach now and then.

But I actually miss the singing to the river Seine songs that went cheek to cheek with the boater hat - they seem to have been wholesale if not wholeheartedly tossed overboard. The show could have stood to have two or three of those type songs back. The Set Doctor in me would have preferred Bob swap a couple of those in, in place of 'Honest With Me', 'Pay In Blood', and 'Don't Think Twice' (I know, sacrilege). Maybe add back in 'Duquesne Whistle' or perhaps one of the hundred sleeper songs Bob has laying around.

Been seeing Bob every November for the last few years and it's too late to stop now. Same time next year, let's hope, eh, Bob?

 

I have a hard time believing you saw a Dylan show “almost exclusively made up of Tempest songs”. In fact, I’d be shocked if they comprised half his set that night. Care to share what date that was?