“I’m a worried man, I got a worried mind, no one in front of me and no one behind,” Bob Dylan croaked as his sold-out show at Ruth Eckerd Hall Saturday night began. Not a camera was in sight. All around the venue, there were warnings about how if one took any video or photos, it would be grounds for removal from the venue. And most folks sneaking in a photo or two were demanded by security every ten minutes to put it away.
But enough about that. How was the show?
Dylan has been on the road pretty much his whole life, and with “his band” on his Never Ending Tour, which, since its start 30 years ago, has changed in just about every way imaginable. The lights went down around 8:05, and Bob and the band hit the stage to kick off with 2000’s Things Have Changed, immediately followed by an unrecognizable, yet heartfelt It Ain’t Me, Babe.
In between every song, the lights onstage would go down for some secretive Dylan reason. He didn’t stop to talk to the audience. Not even at the end. And almost each time they came back on, the man was still sitting at the piano. That was the cool part of this show: Bob didn’t pick up a guitar once. And he only stood up from the piano twice. During Scarlet Town and once again later on in his set.
Unlike a normal 21st century Dylan show, the classics actually had a great presence in the setlist. New arrangements of Highway 61 Revisited, Simple Twist Of Fate, and When I Paint My Masterpiece, just to name a few. Also included were more recently recorded songs that had far different arrangements than the originals. A heartbreaking rendition of Trying To Get To Heaven, and a nearly identical ride through the 1997 lament Love Sick.
Speaking of identical to the original recording, Like A Rolling Stone made it into the rotation, for the first time in about six years. Yep, he’s played it literally over a thousand times in 50 years, and it replaced 1975’s Tangled Up In Blue at the tail end of the most recent leg of the tour. While both are genius, it’s not a Dylan show without the former. I mean, how would you feel if you went to see Paul McCartney, and he didn’t play Hey Jude?
Following an all-in Gotta Serve Somebody, the legend and his band snuck behind the grey-orange curtain, and after a minute, firmly walked out once again. Dylan remained behind the piano for his very generous encore of 1963’s Blowin’ In The Wind, and 1965’s Ballad Of A Thin Man. You could tell what they were, just by each song’s iconic opening lyrics.
Oh, and we got a bow at the end, rather than just a nod.
These days, Dylan does Dylan, because he knows he can. What does he care if his fans complain? With a Nobel Prize, a Rock And Roll Hall Of Fame induction, and a career spanning over 55 years, he could retire now, and his fans wouldn’t complain.
That said, he’s also one of the last folk-rockers that still plays, now that Paul Simon‘s retired, among many others. But anyway, long live Dylan. Period.
Josh Bradley Live 