Bob Dylan performs life at Cardiff's International Arena
- Rainy Day Women # 12 & 35
- Mr. Tambourine Man
- Lonesome Day Blues
- Under The Red Sky
- Rollin' And Tumblin'
- John Brown
- Stuck Inside Of Mobile With The Memphis Blues Again
- Tangled Up In Blue
- Tweedle Dee & Tweedle Dum
- Masters Of War
- Highway 61 Revisited
- Nettie Moore
- Thunder On The Mountain
- Like A Rolling Stone
- All Along The Watchtower
- Spirit On The Water
- Blowin' In The Wind
Setlist of Bob Dylan & His Band, Cardiff International Arena
28 April 2009
Last night I saw Bob Dylan and his band for the first time. Dylan was performing at Cardiff International Arena, and played a set that blended recent material with signature songs. I was surprised to see how sprightly and youthful he seemed, punctuating chorus and verse with a piano chord and a wry grin. The band were conservatively clad in light grey suits, and all wore hats that distinguished one from the other. Needless to say, Dylan's was the most extravagently-brimmed.
I've been a fan of Bob Dylan's music for two or three years, and remember an entire summer when I listened to nothing else. And I mean nothing. Whether I was walking through the city, running through the park, or sat writing at my desk, I would be listening to Blood on the Tracks or Desire or Blonde on Blonde, or just about anything I could lay my hands on. Time was principally divided between listening, and trawling collections in record shops. On hot, sultry nights I listened to Time Out of Mind with the window open.
I can say with some certaintly that I like almost everything Dylan has done. Ahem: with the exception of some of his '80s material. For a time his iconic image even extended towards something close to hero-worship and adoration. After watching documentaries and historic footage of the man, he became an image to aspire to and emulate. There's an element of this that persists even now. I'm a great admirer of the music, and of the man. And I think his ability to manufacture and maintain such a rich and compelling stage persona is unrivalled in the business. Robert Zimmerman, despite appearances, has always remained masked and anonymous.
The music last night spanned much of his career, and infused love, loss, and existence in a grand American tradition of blues chords and rhythms. The quality of his voice is at times harsh or sweet, but it was the humour in a turn of phrase or an emphasis that caught me off guard. Dylan has never been a singer, but he's one of the greatest singers we have. Familar lyrics found new meanings, or new allusions, and the performances cast each song in a different mood to one I was expecting. Masters of War had a particularly cold and biting impact, an apocalyptic version with the band cast in a burning orange light. Lonesome Day Blues played hard and fast, and was undoubtedly one of the highlights. But it was Tangled Up in Blue, a song originating on Dylan's deeply personal, mournful and bitter Blood on the Tracks that stole the show.
As for me? I think it's time I was reacquainted with some of his records. I'm already there in my mind, and that's good enough for now.
I can say with some certaintly that I like almost everything Dylan has done. Ahem: with the exception of some of his '80s material. For a time his iconic image even extended towards something close to hero-worship and adoration. After watching documentaries and historic footage of the man, he became an image to aspire to and emulate. There's an element of this that persists even now. I'm a great admirer of the music, and of the man. And I think his ability to manufacture and maintain such a rich and compelling stage persona is unrivalled in the business. Robert Zimmerman, despite appearances, has always remained masked and anonymous.
The music last night spanned much of his career, and infused love, loss, and existence in a grand American tradition of blues chords and rhythms. The quality of his voice is at times harsh or sweet, but it was the humour in a turn of phrase or an emphasis that caught me off guard. Dylan has never been a singer, but he's one of the greatest singers we have. Familar lyrics found new meanings, or new allusions, and the performances cast each song in a different mood to one I was expecting. Masters of War had a particularly cold and biting impact, an apocalyptic version with the band cast in a burning orange light. Lonesome Day Blues played hard and fast, and was undoubtedly one of the highlights. But it was Tangled Up in Blue, a song originating on Dylan's deeply personal, mournful and bitter Blood on the Tracks that stole the show.
As for me? I think it's time I was reacquainted with some of his records. I'm already there in my mind, and that's good enough for now.
'Well, my heart's in the highlands at the break of day
Over the hills and far away
There's a way to get there and I'll figure it out somehow
Well, I'm already there in my mind, and that's good enough for now.'
Bob Dylan, 'Highlands'
5 Comments:
I'm a big Dylan fan from way back. I've seen him live three times, all three between 1999 & 2003, and two of those shows were enormously entertaining. However, I am impressed that you were able to parse his live singing well enough to discern such nuances as you describe. In my experience, the lyrics just run together, and with his voice not having aged well, it's all I can do to even get the words.
Hi Richard,
I'm a classic unreliable witness, and I think I probably spent most of the concert in some kind of daydream. Awe, even. So perhaps I am a little generous with my descriptions.
Having said that, some of the vocal delivery was clear as rain. We could hear all the twists and turns. Superb stuff. I'd jump at the chance to go again! :)
Rhys
Hi Rhys !
You nailed it! you have ears and eyes and something else !i' ve seen Bob more than 50 times( who cares anyway ?)This current tour is a new ! one more opportunity for us to see him and he always takes me somewhere ! His voice !Yes ! his body language !the way he directs his musicians ! How he plays the guitar :i saw him on 'Lay Lady Lay' and 'Wheels on fire ' his harmonica too !
'Me i'm still on the road headin' for another joint ... Tangled up in Blue !
JMarc
I would like, as a lifelong Bob fan, to thank you for 'getting it'. So many first time concert-goers come up with remarks about the croaky voice, differences in the arrangements from the official releases and so on. Well, I've been listening to those old recordings since the days when I first heard them, in many cases way back in the 60s, and I certainly would be very dissatisfied if I were to hear a 'replica performance'!! What makes Bob especially great is that he is singing NOW, and singing what he now feels ....... so we are able to experience through his wealth of recordings and in his reworkings the experience of a full life. And the work with the band, so subtle and respectful is a joy to see from close up too.
I did enjoy the dynamic and unpredictable way he treated so much of his material. A number of 'classic' standard tracks were played in different styles and different rhythms, and it kept everything interesting.
Of course, a nostalgic part of me wanted to see a young Dylan with harmonica and acoustic guitar, or a leather jacket and an electric, but the times they have a-changed (terrible pun, I know!)
If I want to see and hear an archive, I can listen to the records, or watch a 1960s clip on Youtube, or see Scorsese's excellent 'No Direction Home'. But it's wonderful to see someone that can still be inventive after so many years, and who can still offer something new after so many thousands of shows. Bob Dylan's an artist, he don't look back.
Rhys
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