Bob Dylan Launches Summer Tour at McMenamin’s Edgefield Amphitheater With Rarities & Classics (SHOW RECAP)

On Thursday, June 4th, Bob Dylan took the stage at McMenamin’s Edgefield Amphitheater in Troutdale, Oregon, just outside Portland. Fresh off celebrating his 85th birthday, the bard kicked off the 35-date ‘The Long Hot Summer’ tour, which will see him hit cities like Berkeley, CA; Boston, MA; Philly; New York; Atlanta; and Nashville throughout a busy summer. It also featured strong opening sets from the John Doe Folk Trio and Lucinda Williams. 

Clad in his finest windbreaker, Dylan held down his spot behind his piano for the entirety of the show. Opening with a surprisingly sharp and tight take on “To Be Alone With You” off his legendary country album Nashville Skyline, Dylan and his band gave the audience a fresh setlist from his previous tour with favorites peppered in with newer tunes and covers like Bo Didley’s “I Can Tell,” Jerry Lee Lewis’ “I’ll Make It All Up to You,” and Bobby “Blue” Bland’s “Share Your Love With Me.” Though the set wasn’t a complete departure from other recent tours, it was mixed up enough to give the performance a lively, spontaneous feel.   

Fans expecting a greatest hits setlist may have been let down, but that has rarely, if ever, been the case for Dylan, who reworked classics like “When I Paint My Masterpiece” and “All Along the Watchtower,” and “Rainy Day Women #12 and 35” to be almost unrecognizable but no less impressive in their delivery. It was the rarities that really grabbed attention, like “Under the Red Sky,” featuring his only harmonica playing of the evening, and the first-ever live performance of “Baby, Won’t You Be My Baby,” originally recorded with The Band in Woodstock in 1967 and later issued on The Basement Tapes. 

While it remains to be seen if Dylan and his band will bust out more rarities and mix up their setlist this tour, his voice sounded relatively strong, and he is absolutely worth catching this summer. 

Setlist:
To Be Alone With You
I Can Tell (Bo Diddley cover)
Forgetful Heart
Axe and the Wind (George “Wild Child” Butler cover)
When I Paint My Masterpiece
Early Roman Kings
Under the Red Sky
I’ll Make It All Up to You (Jerry Lee Lewis cover)
All Along the Watchtower
I Contain Multitudes
Rainy Day Women #12 & 35
Share Your Love With Me (Bobby “Blue” Bland cover)
Baby, Won’t You Be My Baby (Live debut)
Soon After Midnight
Man in the Long Black Coat
Crossing the Rubicon