Review

Bob Dylan at the 49th International Pori Jazz Festival 2014
Main Stage, Thursday July 17, 2014 from 10.19 pm to 11.54 pm, the sun 
sinking down low.

Wonderful Bobby! This was my 12th Dylan show and, note, this was the 
Second time Dylan played at Pori Jazz: the first time was July 1996 at 
the 31st International Pori Jazz Festival but then Dylan was not the  main
act but Little Richard, and no standing audience allowed in 1996  blah..

Pori Jazz was quite famous internationally in the 60’s and 70’s among 
jazz fans and audience should have proper habits then, but now Things  Had
Changed! (John Jackson smiled at me in 1996 when I was sitting on  the
lawn near the stage, great feelings).

Naturally I have seen all of the Dylan shows in Finland 1987, 1989,  1990,
1996, 2000, 2003 and 2008. And Now In 2014. I had quite a long travel of
20 hours from Helsinki  to Pori and back to home, almost without sleep. I
traveled with a  friend of mine and from Tampere to Pori also with my
brother who had  never seen Dylan alive before. Listened to Praha show
2014 in his car,  just to show him what kind of music Dylan plays
nowadays. Fine weather  at Pori afternoon, warm and sunny, no rain in
sight. Then Time  Passes.. very quickly but Dylan was late for 19 minutes.

Earlier at evening Bettye LaVette was in the main stage, so we heard  also
a nice Dylan cover, her Everything Is Broken! But I did nothing  but wait
for Dylan to start & meet my Dylan fan friends of our facebook groups.

1. Things Have Changed (Bob center stage)
At last they started & the large joy exploded in our hearts during the 
very first chords! Wonderful, we gonna get the standard Set with many 
Tempest songs.. pity for my brother if he can’t hear familiar 60’s 
songs but how could I know what will happen later ha ha.

2. She Belongs To Me (Bob center stage with harp)
Familiar from Praha recording, thumbs up to my brother, this is a song 
you know. And I didn’t realize Tony didn’t play bass but guitar?

3. Beyond Here Lies Nothin' (Bob on piano)
Wonderful song, wonderful to hear alive.

4. To Ramona (Bob on piano, and not on center stage)
What? What? What is this? This is not the standard 2014 set? A mixture 
set list? Surprised me and my friends.

5. The Levee's Gonna Break (Bob on piano, Tony on standup bass)
I liked this too.

6. Shelter From The Storm (Bob center stage with harp)
My mistake! Bad for me, I started clapping wildly because I thought  this
is Tangled. My bad, I didn’t recognize my very favorite favorite 
Shelter ha ha & the rainy & muddy memories from London Feis 2011 with  the
blue Shelter of Edlis Cafe friends.

7. Cry A While (Bob on piano, Tony on standup bass)
Yes, really standup bass. Stefano told me it started with Million  
Miles lines but I did not get the words sorry.

8. Girl Of The North Country (Bob center stage, not harp)
And I’m not sure if Tony had the bow on standup bass. This was the 
extreme highlight tonight, Bobby sang, oh he really sang beautifully  with
a voice like angels could sing.. who on earth says Dylan can’t sing,
them must listen to this excellent singing! This was also the first
Finnish-American related song tonight. Written for Echo Helstrom, his
sweetheart back in Hibbing whose parents were originally Finnish people.

9. Summer Days (Bob on piano, Tony on standup bass)
Very familiar standard, naturally I love this but I could love also 
Highway 61 Rev. Drunken man right left of me smoked a lot although 
smoking was forbidden so close to the stage. I enjoyed his smoke flowing
to my nose but I had decided, I don’t smoke among the tight crowd, I
obey the laws and i dont need a smoke yet.

10. Desolation Row (Bob on piano, Tony on standup bass)
This was the Second Finnish-American related song tonight, pictures of 
the hanging are the postcards which Bobby saw in his youth and the  hanged
man was Finnish-American around 1914 in Minnesota, see what Edlis Cafe
tells about it in fb. Performance was super! Simple and fascinating
chords from Bobby’s grand piano on and on, do i really knew the person
from whom he bought it? Thumbs up to my brother again,  this is another
song you know & we both know it and can’t ever forget  it. My big
favorite of all times.

11. Tweedle Dee & Tweedle Dum (Bob on piano, slow version)
Greatest Surprise! I don’t like Tweedle, how on earth Bobby can’t stop
playing it (he stopped also Silvio long time ago). But surprise! Not the
familiar version but much much slower. Suddenly we were happy &  joy, this
is totally a different song, not the blah blah like in  original album but
new version, almost Funny how beautiful it was.  Great laughing joyful
high fives with Ranu and Stef, my nearest friends standing close to me.

12. Lonesome Day Blues (Bob on piano)
I just love this!!! But not new for me, I saw it already in Lisboa in
2008.

13. A Hard Rain's A-Gonna Fall (Bob on piano)
Great great classic! I just love this!!! But not new for me, I saw it 
already in London Feis 2011 or did my mem’ries serve me well?  Wonderful
to hear this played by grand piano, yeah!

14. Thunder On The Mountain (Bob on piano)
One of my greatest concert favourites every time I hear this! I love 
dearly the mighty guitar storm in the intro, my heart’s storming  always
with joy and happiness, my mouth shouting out loud. Continued a  little
like swinging rhythm’n’jazz. And soon we gonna hear Mr. Jones! But now
what happens? Dylan and band members gather to the usual line on stage.
Why now? What is going on? You can’t play Thunder without playing Mr.
Jones after it. This is not possible, are you stopping now, what? Did
Dylan ever leave  Mr. Jones out before (gotta check this in Olof’s files
later? or i may be wrong). And Bobby didn’t even introduce his band,
this is really  strange!

Of course Bob said nothing. It was the once in a life time happening  back
in Helsinki 2008 when Bobby Spoke to Us and I never forget it:  2008 he
introduced the band between Thunder & Mr. Jones (or LaRS?) and began to
joke because of the young screaming Finnish girls, Stu  brother they’re
screaming for you, please throw them one of your  scarfs etc. It is in
youtube, and on my soundcloud, check it there if  needed?

(encore)
15. All Along The Watchtower (Bob on piano)
After only a couple of minutes the audience clapping and whistling  
they came back. Standard Watchtower, interesting to hear with grand  piano
but I have seen better versions too. And then it was over, mommy  it’s
over. Only 15 songs but wonderful excellent show. I felt happy  and I saw
both of my brothers were satisfied too. Finnish crowd, young  & old
reacted nice. I guess Dylan took their hearts. Audience of 20,000 people
according to a newspaper? Don’t care much what Finnish  newspapers will
write, I was born in a wrong country or I have wrong  Bobby hobby, i wish
i was born in Sweden. But now I’m Gonna Change My Way Of Thinking, I
promised to a friend that I don’t say any more that  Bobby don’t like
Finnish. I saw Bobby’s face now, I saw he liked Finnish people too,
although of course he likes Swedish people more.

Then Dumari started on the other stage on his proper time at midnight, my
friends liked to listen to him while me & friend emailed to boblinks, as
fast as we could. Then back to homeward, first towards  Tampere by car,
talking and talking and sharing our feelings in the  misty & hazy night,
didn’t crash with a fox running over the highway.  I’m happy my
brother liked his first ever Dylan show although  unfamiliar songs for
him. Lost my mobile in the car, continued by bus to Helsinki, being awake
more than 20 hours I may have slept a little in bus. At 6 am back home
after tough traveling but very very  satisfied. Tired & happy.

I wanna say to my friends thank you. It was very nice to see you, old  &
new friends. Our Edlis Cafe & Subterranean group ”meeting” was very 
successful I think. Totally perfect Thursday! Loved you all, loved the 
Finnish audience, loved Bobby. Please friend me in fb if you like. I’m 
not sorry for my bad English and for my long report, I know bad  English
is very popular language in the world, including my own world  IRL too. My
first public review in English and I have started my Bobby hobby not
later than in 1972. 

Juhani Heino