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BOB DYLAN UK TOUR 2000
…why
I made this journey
(You
ask me stranger)
I picked up the tour in Newcastle. I missed Highlands at Glasgow but I was optimistic to see similar rarities. I got to Newcastle for 10:00am. It was cold, wet, yet there were already 6 people in the queue. This first news to greet me wasn't of great performances of the night before but of the farce about queuing and admission procedures. At each show, just before the doors opened, Dylan's security were sneaking around 100 lucky souls from the back of the queue, slipping them through a side door, while the fans who had patiently waited in line all day soon found out that here enthusiasm to get near the front had all been in vain.
It was my first show so I tried my luck and stood at the front of the line all day. It was worth it. After the doors opened I ran like the wind to the entrance that led us onto the arena floor. I secured a place on the barrier just in front of Larry. After the adrenaline rush of securing your spot in the arena, you then realise that there's still another 75 minutes before show time. Time to mark your territory by spreading your coat over the barrier, eating your last sweaty cheese sandwich and wondering if you can last another 4 hours with out a visit to the lavatory.
At 7:45 the lights went low, the incense was burning strong, the guitars are all tuned and it's my first show since Wembley 1998. Duncan and Brady opened the show and was superb. The vocals were high in the mix and the overall sound was great even on the front row. Listen to the way he delays the "too long" on the hook line. The Times They Are A-Changin' was poor. Lines were forgotten and it was sung badly but it was the only down point of the night. From then on it was all fantastic. Its Alright Ma has really improved since its performances this spring. Every word was punctuated and the whole vocal had really bite. Delia was next and for me was the highlight of the show. At certain points it seemed Dylan was going to break down and cry real tears especially when it came to the line "All the friends I ever had are gone". It sure was the best acting I ever saw him do. The expressions were all there too. Those eyebrows seemed to be working overtime. Perhaps he's been watching his performance on the Things Have Changed video again?
Country Pie opened the electric set and after the lullaby war song of "Searching For A Soldiers Grave" it wakes everyone up and gets them ready for some serious rock 'n' roll. The way Dylan drawls "What do I care" has me laughing every time I see him perform the song.
Standing in the Doorway had some of the best guitar work I'd ever heard from Dylan in concert from recent years. It's a lovely arrangement showing that even after only 3 years Dylan is already playing around with his new songs and giving them new directions to go to. Tell Me That It Isn't True was similar to recent performances of the song but the next highlight came in the form of A Wicked Messenger. A great stop-start arrangement that seems similar in style to the new Cold Irons Bound. A great one-legged harp solo at the end and then its time for band intros and thankfully the only outing for Rainy Day Women in the eight shows I see. Then it’s the 7-song encore of which 4 songs remained in every UK show for the rest of the tour. This left space for some interesting selections and in Newcastle we were treated to Man of Peace. This caught me off guard for a minute but it was so powerful you'd think that Dylan had been singing it every night of his life. A great show.
After a long drive back down to the midlands I decided that I wasn't going to spend eight hours in the queue again so I settled for five. Tonight the plan by Dylan's security was very sly. They let in all the people in the queue an hour early, put them all in a room tucked away at the back of the arena, and then open the main front doors to the general public. By the time I got in there were already around 100 people down at the front but I was lucky to get a place on the barrier again to the left of Larry Campbell. Not bad considering. The show was not as good as Newcastle but had nine different songs from the night before. A delicious One Too Many Mornings was the highlight of the acoustic set but most of the surprises came in the electric set. Ballad Of A Thin Man was a song I had on my want list but seemed to plod on for longer than I wanted it to. This song really needs some piano or organ put to it.
The next three songs all had new arrangements. Crash on the Levee had everyone down the front dancing with joy. It was a great rendition with some classic poses from Dylan. The next song was the highlight of the show. A beautiful back street jazz bar version of Tryin' To Get To Heaven. It sounded completely different to the studio version, very slow, one less verse, no harmonica and the title line being repeated as it was sung.
Tryin,
Tryin' to get to heaven,
Before,
Before they close,
The door.
Excellent!
Another Time Out Of Mind song was next and it was the new rocking Cold Irons Bound. Bob sings the verses on his own with no backing until the end of each line when the band crashes in. Tony slaps the tambourine against his hand and the band gradually begin to fill the empty spaces as the verse leads to the chorus. This is capped off by Dylan shouting "Yeeeahhhh" in that rasping voice after the last line of the chorus. A wild performance, a great arrangement and a real show piece for his latest song writing. The rest of the show came and went with Everything Is Broken making a pleasant appearance. It was then time to by a Bootleg Tour T-shirt and spend the day off recharging the batteries and getting ready for four shows in as many days.
Back in 1998 I did the UK tour where all the venues were seated. I had fantastic seats thanks to the allocation but all through the tour I wished that Dylan would play venues that had a standing area at the front. My wish came true! But how strange that after only two shows of the 2000 tour I wanted those seats back! What a delight it was in Sheffield when we could sit in a bar all day, enjoying the afternoon sun, stroll up to the venue 20 minutes before show time and still be only 3 rows from the front. Hey, I even had a sit down during Highway 61. But it must be noted that despite the luxury of seats this was Dylan's most lacklustre show. Not much dancing and face pulling but we did get a superb Dignity. It was fast and furious and Dylan put more into this song than he did for the rest of the show. Other highlights included a roaring All Along the Watchtower with Larry on steel guitar and a perfect rendition of Tambourine Man with the now obligatory 2-note harmonica solo. After only my third show the dust had seemed to have settled and we were getting solid performances but without much drama. But it was the next three shows that I was getting excited about. Small venues and two shows in Portsmouth should surely guarantee some set-list changes and unique performances.
Cardiff was amazing! I can't use enough positive words to describe this show. It wasn't just Dylan, it was the audience, the venue, the set-list, my position on the barrier. It was all magic. I had been queuing for 4 hours at the front when I overheard the doormen saying that the box office door was going to let fans in first. I took a risk and left the front of the proper queue and made my way around the box office door just as Alf (Dylan's Security Guy) was selecting his chosen few. I got a position on the barrier between Dylan and Larry, not knowing whether to be delighted at my position or angry because of all my friends who had been queuing up all day were still outside then venue. I'm sure any bitter feelings soon disappeared when the show started. It was cracking. The audiences went wild and Dylan rose to the occasion. Loud cheers were going up after virtually every line that Dylan sang for the first three numbers. Dylan seemed happier than at anytime I'd seen him on the tour so far and was dancing, laughing, posing and already picking out some lady to his left for his attention. Song after song was greeted by massive applause. Larry pulled out his fiddle for My Back Pages and we were treated to what seemed like the longest Desolation Row since 1966. The Ballad of Frankie Lee and Judas Priest was a real treat. It's becoming interesting to see the amount of songs that are appearing from this period in Dylan's career. It's a period that is dwarfed by between the commercial heights of 1965-66 and 1975-6 and yet John Wesley Harding, New Morning and Nashville Skyline are contributing more songs to the set list than ever before. How long is it before we hear The Day of the Locusts? Judas Priest is very much suited to Dylan current vocal range. It's not about the melody anyway, it's about expression and the slant on words and phrases that Dylan lends to the song that makes it wonderful. As the years progress and Dylan's voice becomes weaker I think these songs will play more of a part in his live shows. Maybe some Talkin' Blues won't be too far away too.
Tangled was
next and was just how you imagine it to be. Dylan racing over the lines with the
last three verses separated by guitar "solos". Searching For A
Soldiers Grave also made an appearance at every show on the tour. The song
is like the eye of the hurricane, coming between the raucous Tangled and Country Pie.
The guys also get a chance to sing on this one with Larry also adding
embellishments on the mandolin.
Blind Willie McTell was excellent but Tombstone Blues was even better! This song really rocked and was very loud! Suddenly after all this excitement Dylan took it to another level with Tryin' To Get To Heaven that was just as good, if not better than Newcastle. I just hope that when I hear this show on tape it sounds as good as it did at the moment. The vibes coming off the stage were incredible, the energy flowing round the whole arena. Oh, and the sound mix was fantastic again with Dylan's vocals very heavy up front. Thumbs up to the sound crew! The last song was Blowin' in the wind and this has to be the definite version! I was completely blown away by his singing. He was nearly shouting the hook line, shaking his head from side to side. I was ecstatic, so was the crowd and I'm sure Dylan was too! After the lights went up people were walking around dazed on the arena floor. There were people standing numb, still looking at the stage. There were people were hugging each other in delight. There were people hanging with exhaustion at the whole event. A lot of people I spoke to after the show said this was the best show they had ever seen. Even after Wembley that thought still remained. This wasn't a heat of the moment decision. The interesting thing is that nothing out of the ordinary happened. There were no new songs or never before played songs, Dylan didn't play solo acoustic, he didn't take requests or joke and chat with the audience. What made it so special was the whole event, everything fitted so perfectly, everyone bonded. It was the best Dylan show I'd ever seen.
After that Portsmouth was going to be hard to beat. I was lucky with my position at both shows (on the barrier, dead centre) but for that position I lost out on the sound. Dylan's vocal was lost in the mix in my position. He wasn't as animated in both shows as he was in Cardiff but there were still some amazing moments. We got the first Visions of Johanna in the UK since 1966. I couldn't tell you what it was like. I was too caught up in the moment. Too busy convincing myself that this was Visions of Johanna I was hearing. Oh my God! Gotta Serve Somebody was very funny with line like "You can call me Bono, You can call me Sting". There were rumours of a Beatle in the audience, was that why we got 4th Time Around and If Not For You? I can't stress enough how all the shows were very tight, very professional and hardly any meaningless jamming like we had in 1996.
The Second night in Portsmouth was strange. For the first few songs Dylan seemed very disinterested. He looked very tired and was continually singing off Mic. Tangled Up In Blue was a disaster with Dylan repeating (or mumbling) his way through a whole verse. Things were not looking good, but then as soon as he plugged in his electric guitar he found that spark that was missing in the acoustic set. My highlight was a softly spoken She Belongs to Me that was one of 13 songs from a set-list populated by material from the sixties. Dylan began to dance and smile again but the real fun came when Dylan dedicated a song to the people in the balcony. Ignoring everyone on the floor for the last three songs, Dylan was laughing, pointing at the people upstairs and thoroughly enjoying himself. Why didn't the concert start like this? It all ended too soon. A very peculiar show, displaying the many emotions Dylan usually shows over several concerts in just a couple of hours.
So then Dylan sailed to Rotterdam and onwards for five shows before heading back to London. These are the shows you dread hearing the set-lists for in case Dylan performs the songs you were hoping to hear or a live debut of an absolute classic. When late at night on the 1st November I logged onto the Internet and saw If Dogs Run Free on the Munster set-list I didn't know whether to laugh or cry. As it turns out I found out that it was Dylan doing the laughing, barely able to control himself when realising what he was singing. It must have been a bet! You can imagine the band sitting around on the tour bus:
Tony: What we gonna play tonight Bob?
Bob: Aaawww, I can play anything. You name it! I'll give ya 20 bucks if I can't remember it! (Throwing Lyrics 61-85 at Tony)
Tony: OK, wherever the page falls open - that’s what we play tonight!
(The page falls on If Dogs Run Free……)
Bob: Err, No
problem! (Bloody Hell!!! when
the heck did I write that?)
October 5th was the same date Dylan played Wembley arena in 1998. It was a good show that I'll always remember for a beautiful Rank Strangers. This year we saw two shows that saw more solid/safe performances but lacked set-list changes. There were no new songs for the tour at either show. This didn't matter though as on the 1st night he was on cracking form. Tombstone Blues was devastating and definitely the best song of the night for me. This sounds like a strange thing to say in a set-list that included 4th Time Around, It's Alright Ma and I Shall Be Released, but it was! The articulation was spot on and the emphasis was placed at all right times. This could be released tomorrow and would bring a whole wave of new Dylan fans. This was serious stuff. Dylan was having a ball with this song. Just in case I'd got carried away in the moment, I listened to the performance again after the show; it still blew me away! It kind of amazes me that this guy up on stage is nearly 60, a granddad, a true 'warrior of the road'. I keep asking myself how long it can go on like this. I've got a feeling that next year could be the big wind-down. The big tour, a final farewell to all the places he's ever been to and a hello to some places he's never been to. Maybe then we'll be restricted to only a few concerts a year and the odd TV appearance. I hope not, but it's just a hunch.
Back to Wembley and the dogs were running free. It felt similar in style to Tryin' to Get To Heaven. Very laid back, almost spoken but maybe done bits too seriously compared to the main land Europe versions. There was still a smile at the end though, Dylan knowing he's got another 20 bucks off Tony.
Friday 6th October was the last show of the tour and what I calculate to be Dylan's 100th concert performance in the UK*. After a brief word with Alf I was lucky to get in the "VIP" area and position myself on the barrier just to the left of Dylan. There was lots of dancing tonight and yet another 5 star performance included Song To Woody with the first verse sung solo, just him and his guitar. This was the highlight of the show for me. The stage was in complete darkness except one lone spotlight instantly reminding me of the concert footage in Don't Look Back. For someone who has never seen Dylan perform on his own this was amazing. It only lasted a minute but will probably be one of the most treasured minutes I'll ever remember. After that it was hard to become critical. Anything Dylan did was greeted with whoops of delight from all around. There's always a though running through your mind that this might be the last time you ever see him live so you try and soak up the sounds, the images, the smell if incense and the unique ambience.
The tour didn't quite end there as we eventually made our way back into town to a tremendous post concert party at the Coach and Horses that went on well into the next morning. We even discovered a new talent in the form of Colin Waine- harmonica maestro!
It was a great tour with lots of other memories apart from the concerts. I'll never forget walking along the sea front in Portsmouth with Leslie, Penny and Steve and suddenly being surrounded by young school children brandishing clipboards complete with questionnaire:
Q: Why did you visit Portsmouth today?
A: To see Bob Dylan.
Q: When was the last time you visited Portsmouth and why?
A: Last night to see Bob Dylan.
Q: What is Portsmouth's main attraction?
A: Bob Dylan!
There must have been some wonderful statistics compiled at school that week!
* The 100 hundred shows I calculate Dylan to have performed in the UK do not include coffee shop performances in 1962, Hearts Of Fire filming sessions, or, of course, shows in Ireland. Anyone prepared to review 100 shows?