Review by Lars Joergensen
Inside Dylan's Rehearsal Room
On Tuesday night, Bob Dylan invited 15,000 listeners into his temporary
open rehearsal space at the Royal Arena in Copenhagen. It began sharp
19:58 two minutes early, it started a little hesitantly, but became
utterly magical. We got it all - country-rock, blues, latin, jazz, and
spoken word. Masterpiece was performed as a danceable bolero, Desolation
Row was driven forward by the drums, It's All Over Now, Baby Blue was pure
magic, Key West was quiet and full of longing, and My Own Version of You
was deconstructed to the bone with jazzy spoken words. With the volumen
turned up loud, Dylan's minute-long harp solo at the end of Every Grain of
Sand, was the highlight of the evening. The harp's high tones rang with
longing, cutting through the silence of the hall, straight into my memory.
Earlier in the concert, a longer and more stormy harp solo on To Be Alone
With You had hinted at what was to come. Dylan sang his restless, durable
lyrics with intensity, yes small imperfections came and went, at one point
my son asked if it was supposed to sound like that? Welllll yes - there's
experimentation going on, and not everything sounds perfectly, but after a
brief lapse, the band finds each other again. Much has been said - and
continues to be said - about Dylan's voice, and all of it is true: it is
an instrument that Contains Multitudes. It is vulnerable, nasal, rough,
strong, and clear. And when he cried out into the hall, "It's Not Me,
Babe," it sounded beautiful. Wish you all golden sunshine and see you down
the line!
Lars Joergensen
Carlsberg Village
Copenhagen
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