The Never-Ending Tour keeps rolling on for Bob Dylan who at 78 still delivers the goods as he did on a cold Tuesday Night (December 3rd) in front of a sold-out diverse crowd for the eighth show of his ten-night Beacon Theater residency.
Since the late 80’s Dylan and his band have revisited some of the legend’s most famous songs and deconstructed them, allowing all involved to stay on their toes and deliver unique arraignments of classic tunes that usually can’t be deciphered until the lyrics come out.
On the current leg, Dylan introduced two new backing players Bob Britt who played guitar behind him on Time Out of Mind and drummer Matt Chamberlain who replaced long-time Dylan drummer George Receli. The core of the group, Charlie Sexton on guitar, multi-instrumentalist Donnie Herron, and bassist Tony Garnier are all old hands, shifting behind Dylan as he bobs and weaves between guitar (which he just started recently playing again) piano, harmonica and his microphone like an old prizefighter.
Dylan took to the guitar on the opener “Things Have Changed” and it was a rickety start for the group as sound levels fluctuated and lyrics were muffled however things improved on an elegant version of the classic “It Ain’t Me Babe”. Dylan was in a playful mood alternating lyrics on upbeat version of “Simple Twist of Fate” and a rollicking “Thunder on the Mountain”.
The beauty of his shows is that some songs are stunning in their new arraignments and some fall flat. “Can’t Wait” was a dynamite display of tense blues pacing while the stripped back “When I Paint My Masterpiece” felt tossed off. An elegant version of “Soon After Midnight” was dreamlike with a gorgeous solo from Sexton, proving to be a melodic highlight.
Dylan’s voice was strong throughout as he sang exaggerated lines during “Not Dark Yet” and delivered the low down heavy blues of “Early Roman Kings”, but two stripped-back moments really stood out and resonated. A delicate version of “Girl From the North Country” which was accented wonderfully by Herron’s violin, and the direct heartfelt rendition of “Lenny Bruce” which he hadn’t played since 1981 before this year, both proving Dylan is still at the top of his game.
Wrapping up Bob introduced his band and mentioned that his friend and a great songwriter Jack White was in the building, but unfortunately White did not join for the two-song encore of “Ballad of a Thin Man” which saw Dylan play guitar lines more successfully than on the opener and the show-closing slow blues of “It Takes A Lot To Laugh, It Takes a Train To Cry” ending a great night of inventive live music.
5 Responses
You misspelled arrangements as “arraignments.” The latter means appearing in court before a judge on a criminal charge.
“Lenny Bruce” debuted live in 1981 but was also performed from 1986 on – the last before the current tour being in 2006.
Shawn D.
Thanks for sharing your Dylan experience. I enjoyed the article very much.
I attended this show. Had never seen Dylan before. Really enjoyed it and was surprised at the strength in his voice, having heard it was weakened. The band was superb. They looked confident without any need for showmanship. Bob walked out gingerly, occasionally held onto the mic stand for support and took a sip of water after almost every song but then launched right into the next tune. The set was muted with mostly browns and golds, including his upright piano. Only their jackets were brighter tan and Dylan’s white. He sounded great for 78. He never was one to sing distinctly and that was fine with me. It was a thrill to finally see him. I had a great seat just six rows back. Thanks for the excellent review.
Very nice review! I saw him November 29, and he played the same set list. You can check out my review here:
https://schizomusica.wordpress.com/2019/12/06/the-ever-changing-colors-of-bob-dylan/
Thanks!