Bob Dylan at the London O2

[ScottM]

I will start with a declaration that while Leonard Cohen is my favourite artist (by a long way) I have loved the music of Bob Dylan for many years. This was the first time I have been to a Dylan gig for 11 years (when he toured with Van Morrison, after recovering from his health problems). I have seen LC on 5 occasions in the last tour and every one was just that, an occasion and I felt really lucky to witness the Master at work. The venue for the Bob Dylan gig was one where I saw Leonard, the London O2 (including the Live in London recorded concert). Our seats were quite well back but the view gave us a good line of sight. Bob and his band were quite distant figures on the stage and unlike LCs concerts there were no large screens to give us any close ups. That said, the band was excellent with Bob clearly in the zone. However, almost no communication with the audience and the band members only introduced briefly near the the end of the show. I will not review every song but I actually mostly enjoyed the more recent songs from the albums Modern Times, Love and Theft. Probably because they were nearer to the recorded versions. Of the other songs the highlights were Chimes of Freedom (delighted to hear this classic) with Highway 61 Revisited the outstanding song of the night for me (in fairness it is one of my favourites anyway). A 3 song encore, which I understand has been standard on this tour, provided us with a great end to the show especially a rocking version of All Along The Watch Tower. Overall Bob seemd to be enjoying himself and also came away from the keyboard for some songs both for harmonica solos and singing. The voice was in pretty good shape. If you get the chance go, the man is a legend and there is something for everyone here. Hopefully I will not wait another 11 years until I see him again as I enjoyed the show. Really pleased to have attended.

[commonweal]

I went to my first Dylan gig this week, in Glasgow. I have about 10 of his albums and listen to them from time to time. With the exception of Blood on the Tracks, which I think is superb, I tend to admire them more than I love them, but there is no doubting his genius and his seminal importance and influence as an artist, including on our own Leonard. I guess I counted myself as a Cohen fan going to a Dylan gig rather than a Dylan fan as such, and I went with pretty low expectations. Most of what I read about Dylan I read here on this forum, and he gets (at best) a mixed press. But I have to say I was blown away. I saw Leonard five times in concert last year and will see him twice more this year. The Dylan gig was, for me, nowhere near any of my Leonard concerts but it was nonetheless a truly great evening. Dylan has assembled a loud and raucous (and very talented) blues band and if you like your blues loud and raucous this is definitely a gig worth seeing. Some of the old numbers were recaptured amazingly well. Others were reworked in such a way as just messed them up (eg Blowin' in the Wind). But the newer material (from Modern Times) was stunningly good. I like the Modern Times album (and also the new one) but the live versions had an energy and rawness that worked brilliantly and that is easily lost when studio albums are over-produced and too polished. And some of the classics were a real pleasure to hear - Highway 61, Like a Rolling Stone, Maggie's Farm and Along the Watchtower especially. It may well be that Dylan is nothing like as kind or generous a man as our Leonard. But few are. And it may well be that even as a performing artist Dylan blows hot and cold, whereas one of the often overlooked hallmarks of Leonard's 2008-9 tour is how consistently good it is. But last week in Glasgow Bob Dylan blew hot and this Cohenista was a Dylan fan. If only for a night.

[Auld Reekie]

I saw Dylan last night in Edinburgh. This was my 3rd time seeing him, the last time being over 10 years ago and I knew his interpretations of his songs could be wilful at times. I took along a friend who was seeing him for the first time and I was slightly nervous- would this be a good or a bad night for my friend to see him? I needed have worried. Right from the start (a superb "Leopard-skin pill-box hat") through to the final encore ("Blowing in the wind"), Dylan and his superb band were on top form.
Maybe he knew his new album had entered the UK album chart at number 1, his first UK number 1 in 38 years but whatever the reason, he seemed to be enjoying himself. He's off to Dublin next, then a month or so's break then the tour restarts in the USA. If you get the chance to see him, take it- on this form, he lives up to the "living legend" tag.

[Heighway61]

Seen him in Liverpool earlier this month, 4th time I've seen him live. Was a decent gig, highlight of which was definitely his performance of 'Something', along with 'Boots of Spanish Leather', when he left his keyboard for the only time that night to play lead guitar.

[Eskimo]

Seen him in Liverpool earlier this month, 4th time I've seen him live. Was a decent gig, highlight of which was definitely his performance of 'Something', along with 'Boots of Spanish Leather', when he left his keyboard for the only time that night to play lead guitar.

....during Bob's Liverpool visit, it seems like Bob also paid tribute to John:

Bob Dylan enjoyed a tour to John Lennon's childhood home in Liverpool last week, it has emerged. The veteran singer went unnoticed alongside 14 other tourists on the minibus excursion, which coincided with his tour date in the city on May 2. Dylan paid £16 for the trip and “appeared to enjoy himself” on the visit to the National Trust-owned home, a spokeswoman said. "He took one of our general minibus tours. People on the minibus did not recognise him apparently," the spokeswoman told the BBC. "He could have booked a private tour but he was happy to go on the bus with everyone else.” Lennon spent much of his childhood in the home and is believed to have written early Beatles songs in his bedroom. The tour to the property, named Mendips, is no stranger to famous visitors. James Taylor and Corinne Bailey Rae are both understood to have mingled with tourists on previous trips.

....it may have brought back memories of one of the great meetings in rock history that we are fortunate was captured in this video....then again, I doubt Bob remembered the cab ride within minutes of its end....