Review by Thad Williamson
This is the most energized I've felt after a Dylan show in quite a
while!
Won't lie: the main reason is I had a front row seat, available direct
from the venue at a remarkably affordable asking.
This was to be the third time I had seen Dylan in a week-I was at
Richmond (where I live) on the 21st, and also there in Raleigh Tuesday
night when the show got cancelled after Jimmy Vaughan and Lucinda Williams
played their sets.
No weather worries Wednesday in Wilmington-it was a warm but not
oppressive night, in the mid-80s. Bob again came out in his signature
oversized white hoodie-and frankly, it must have been warm in that
outfit. (A few times through the night he wiped his brow-as if there was
either a sweat or some kind of itch.)
From where I was-about 10 yards from the stage, just off-center,
unobstructed view-you got a totally different sense of proceedings than
when you're further back.
I was able to literally see Dylan's facial expressions as he sang, as
well as his frequent looks over to his bandmates. And I'm here to tell
you, underneath the hood he looked remarkably animated most of the night,
starting with "To Be Alone With You." My off-center angle gave me a
clear look at the famous Dylan profile, and for a minute you could think
it was the Rolling Thunder Revue again the way Dylan leaned into the mic
and words.
That alone was great, and worth the price of admission and long trip to
the North Carolina beach.
But there was more: yes, the band is sounding great. The new guitarists
seem to be enjoying themselves and have livened up several of the songs,
trading tasteful yet distinctive solos. Dylan seems to be enjoying it
two-I spied a couple of out and out smiles under the hood midway through
"When I Paint My Masterpiece."
But that's not quite it: what moves me right now was the crowd response
to both "It Ain't Me, Babe" and the two harmonica solos ("Under
the Red Sky" and "I Shall Be Released.") People in the front middle
section rose to their feet at the end of "It Ain't Me, Babe"-they
loved it (and I think the band did too).
And it struck me then just how easy it would be for Dylan to simply play a
crowd-pleasing set of 60s and 70s classics, that with this band would
undoubtedly sound great.
But as "Goodbye Jimmy Reed" states plainly, Bob is not about pandering
to the crowd-in 1965 or 2026.
Instead, he's still using his summertime tour in these outdoor
ampitheaters (all of which are remarkably well-stocked with alcoholic
beverage offerings), in which he's drawing many people who are
curiosity-seekers, casual fans, or just want to see a legend, not to play
the hits but to continue to call attention to what he clearly considers to
be the major artistic statements from "Rough and Ready Ways."
Jimmy Vaughan provides out and out quality entertainment (including the
guitar behind the head bit, which is actually pretty remarkable), Lucinda
Williams uses her set to take shots at Trump and insist on hope in
troubled times.
Bob Dylan is still doing his thing, and his thing right now is to continue
to ask people to make the effort to engage with the stuff on "Rough and
Ready Ways"-most of which, by the way, he's now completely
re-arranged. I won't go through them all, but perhaps the most radical
makeover is "I've Made Up My Mind to Give Myself to You." The
current version is beautiful, a persuasive love song for the "late in
life" set but for everyone else too.
And in the context of the show, it builds on two heartfelt covers about
heartbreak ("Share Your Love With Me" and "I'll Make it All Up to
You") as well as "Soon After Midnight"-which sounds like it could
just as well be one of the old songs too. It's as if Dylan is claiming
"standard" status for "Soon After Midnight" (I'm with it!) but
also gradually building up to "I've Made Up My Mind To Give Myself to
You" as his modern-day love declaration-a declaration that builds upon
yet goes way beyond the other heartache-themed songs in the set.
That said, I won't get tired of hearing this version of "I Shall Be
Released" too, and part of me too itches to hear more of the old ones.
But I'm also excited that Dylan is still not giving folks exactly what
they want-and made me realize just in the last week that I don't know
the Rough and Ready Ways material as thoroughly as I should.
One day we'll look back at this period of Dylan's career and recognize
how remarkable it is that this guy kept creating new music, kept saying
new things, kept challenging us. If you have a chance to see this tour,
go do it. And if you're bringing a friend, make sure they listen to
"Rough and Rowdy Ways" a time or two before they show.
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