A gorgeous night in LA made way for an unforgettable show at The Hollywood
Bowl. Things Have Changed was back in the opening slot, having taken a
break from this position since 2019. Bob’s performance during this song
was an early indication that we were in for a fine show. The classic
“I’m in the wrong town, I should be in Hollywood” line garnered some
applause from the crowd. Simple Twist and Forgetful Heart too felt like a
reunion with old stories that you hadn’t heard in years and were sung
beautifully. It was nice to hear him cover Willie Dixon on Axe and the
Wind; a quick, upbeat blues song that required dancing. Bob reached for
the harp on To Ramona; a song I hadn’t heard ever in my time seeing
Dylan in concert - a real treat. Early Roman Kings is the Outlaw Tour’s
version of “Crossing the Rubicon.” Both are Italian themed slow burns
that have a swampy yet menacing presence. I always get a kick out of
hearing Bob sing “I ain’t dead yet, my bell still rings,” just the
same way I do when he sings “I stood between heaven and earth, and I
crossed the Rubicon.” Both lines carry similar gravitas. Under the Red
Sky was simply stunning, the quintessential outdoor summer tour song. Bob
crooned I’ll Make it Up To You very nicely, reminiscent of the days when
he would cover old standard tunes. Watchtower was superb, as was the
sultry Train To Cry. Desolation Row was complete with fantastic phrasing
and an upbeat rhythm. Just missing the wrench! Love Sick was haunting and
truly the show stopper. I’m not sure I’ve ever seen it performed it
better. It’s hard to mention show stoppers without speaking on Blind
Willie McTell. Back in the rotation after an 8 year hibernation,
tonight’s rendition of this song proved why it is one of Bob’s
greatest hidden gems. It still amazes me that this song had to be picked
up off of the cutting room floor during the Infidel days. Don’t Think
Twice was the perfect closer to this fine show. A roaring solo on the harp
brought the lights down and saw Bob disappear into the night.

I’m beyond impressed with how great Bob’s voice sounded last night. So
loud, clear, and powerful and proving ground for the fact that Bob still
does indeed have “it.” This new arrangement of the band with Anton Fig
on drums is rounding into great form. They all played with vigor and fun.
I say this in every review, but Bob’s piano playing improved every time
I see him. It’s as much an integral part of the sound as Doug Lancio’s
guitar or Tony’s bass.

A comment on the venue and crowd. The Hollywood Bowl was a bucket list
venue for me and it did not disappoint. The sound there is incredible, the
pod seating is very comfortable, and the views and weather were perfect.
The crowd for the most part seemed receptive of Bob’s performance; even
if the majority were there to see Billy Strings or Willie Nelson (both put
on fantastic performances, too). However, I overheard a few people offer
up some choice words about Bob and his performance; saying something to
the effect of “I guess Bob just wants to play B-sides all night long -
what a joke!” I never realized Don’t Think Twice, All Along the
Watchtower, Simple Twist of Fate, and To Ramona were such esoteric songs!
Ha! It wouldn’t be a Bob Dylan without critics, and unlike the first
song of the night warned us, some things never change. Thanks, Bob, for
another memorable night. See you somewhere else down the road…

Dan D.

Exactly one week ago our flight was taking off from Barcelona en route to
the US to attend some of the 2025 Outlaw shows. One week later, I've been
mindblown by the desertical wisdom of Frank Lloyd Wright in Taliesin West,
mindblown x10 one day later at the Grand Canyon, hold an actual Oscar at
Paramount Studios in Los Angeles, visited the resting places of David
Lynch, Marilyn Monroe, Billy Wilder or Jack Lemmon (who has such an epic
epitaph that I believed it was fake for many years), assisted to easily
the greatest projection of my life at the Egyptian Theatre (Yasujiro Ozu's
'Floating Weeds', a DCP restoration that allows you to see even every
grain of sand, unbelievable) and fulfilled the years long dream of
attending an screening at the New Beverly Cinema (it's true, those
popcorns!), where I was specially moved by 'The Illusionist', Sylvain
Chomet's homage to the great Jacques Tati.

Also, one week later, I've seen Bob Dylan two times at the 2025 Outlaw
festival and I still have a hard time believing I've witnessed, with the
man approaching 84, my personal record setlist change from one show
(Phoenix) to the second one at the famed Hollywood Bowl, where in fact I
experienced one of the greatest music nights of my life, thanks to the
incredible performances also put on by Billy Strings and Willie Nelson,
who felt much more stronger than in Phoenix. Back to Bob, eight different
songs in LA compared to the Arizona opener, meaning that half of the
setlist was different! Seeing Bob sing "I'm in the wrong town, I should be
in Hollywood" IN Hollywood was something I guessed I had very little
chances to see but here we are! The arrangement of 'Things Have Changed',
by the way, was really cool, with those complete stops to full silence
when arriving at the title lines, contrasting with the words themselves:
things have changed, but no hay banda. 'Simple Twist of Fate', one of my
absolute favourites from last year's Outlaw, was a much welcomed return,
in what felt as a very different form, no harmonica but what allowed to
realize how different this 2025 upright piano sounds when compared to the
upright played in 2021-2022! Now the sound is more is more like an old
fair, plonky and humble yet shiny altogether.

I had this feeling of being completely sucked into, despite I was a bit
far from the stage, from 'Early Roman Kings' onwards. This image of the
Bowl's bandshell, the white speakers (the sound was SPECTACULAR), Bob far
in the distance... Something clicked in me, not completely sure what but
the rapport felt tremendously direct, 'Under the Red Sky' was an absolute
blast and, after the "man in the moon went home and the river went dry"
line, I started to form myself an image of what is this all about.
Increasingly, I felt Bob is singing about fleeing and fleeting, how those
two things are interconnected and how the absence of the fleeing one
proves altogether how fleeting was in fact his presence. This is not any
theory or anything, nor any sad lecture about Bob's age, is just a
feeling. The last verse of 'Desolation Row' was sung with such an enormous
passion (that "don't send no more letters, NO!!!"), paired incredibly with
another pulling back in 'Love Sick', building into that tension of the to
be or not to be (or the to be or not to be for) so well illustrated in the
last line of the song, also echoed in the 'Don't Think Twice' closing.

The best was yet to come, though. I managed to avoid seeing the Chula
Vista setlist so when those first chords started I lost it, I really did.
I jumped from my seat, yelled liked a wolfman (scaring the hell out of a
poor lady in front of me, sorry ma'am) and tried to managed the elation I
was feeling. My second show ever was in Barcelona 2015, and a few days
after that Bob played 'Blind Willie McTell' in a couple of shows before
playing it once again in 2017 and then nevermore. Back then it was a song
I still didn't know, but after discovering it circa 2019 it has just grown
and grown on me, that line about God being in his heaven could be among
the greatest Bob has penned, followed by the gazing out the window. I
can't explain exactly why, but whenever I watched a video of those 2015
performances or that of the 2012 Scorsese tribute, I had a certainty that
I would never see it performed myself. I just felt it, I had truly no
hope. So pardon me miss for scaring you, it just felt like mission
accomplished, in the last outback, at the world's end. I still find it
hard to believe I've seen 'Blind Willie McTell' live, that's it.

It was a beautiful Hollywood garden party, yet there was no gardener in
sight.