November 19, 2011
Review by Ian S. Blagbrough
This was a good-very good gig depending on how high your expectation levels were. Whilst not
excellent or stand out it was much more than thoroughly enjoyable, especially for regulars, not only
due to the voice which is holding up well, if not even better than for a while, but because of
humour and rapport, general enjoyment on stage and even smiling and pointing to the audience
making it feel a lot more that we were welcome than we were allowed in and witnessing a skilled
final rehearsal. For those who do not want to read the blow-by-blow: there was an excellent
mood and there was not one turkey in the 15 strong set with no formal encore. Tickets are still
available, standing or seating for Sunday and Monday, even without troubling the many touts, I
would buy one if you are in any doubt. Of course he is not going to speak to us, even the band
intros are now only perfunctory, to hear many classics performed well (obviously reinterpreted
from the albums) is, I think, worth the asking price. I leave with a very good feeling, that sort of
"now I can die happy". If you want to do some preparation for the next two, listen to Pill Box
Hat and Summerdays as loud and as many times as you can, you will be down in the groove.
Arrived at 5.55 pm to a long snake of line, doors opened sharp at 6 and we were swiftly and
smoothly inside. Bob-cats had no doubt been there since 2-4 pm, and by 6.05 we were armed
with a beer standing centre in row 7. Whilst not a cavern like the NEC Birmingham where you can
be fully 80 yards back watching ants (as there will be no large screens), here in Hammersmith Apollo
(underneath Junction 2 of the M4 motorway) you are in a grey dull cave, but broad enough and
with a slope enough for good sight lines. Plenty seating upstairs, but totally lacking the marble
pillars and balconies of tall green plants found at the Brixton Academy a few years back. This has a
sticky floor from the lots of plastic larger spilt from lots of plastic glasses. It is not a pretty venue.
A few lines about Mark Knopfler. A set showing how good he was and still is, but really all similar for
an hour. Little variation made for lack of concentration. The suggestions of numbers shouted out,
I smiled most at "Play Freebird" (for the record, I did not hear "Judas" last night). Think electric folk
with a really talented band, but then performing the same indistinguishable numbers, Philadelphia
and Brothers in Arms moved the crowd a little. It must be really hard for any Dylan supporting act.
The change in crowd volume after 9 pm was huge. I know it is not etiquette to read someone
else's texts, but in the dark it was really unavoidable. The lady in front of me wrote "Oh my God
(not OMG), Mark Knopfler has now been playing for an hour, feels like a century", I have to agree.
I looked at my watch many times, he kept it to the hour as they had been at 70 min. The many
roadies switched everything, the nag champa had previously appeared in great clouds over the
shoulders of the double bassist. By 9.05 the great all-seeing eye of Horus was on the red lit school
curtains (this never changed all evening), the crowd roared out its approval of the back history,
some knowing it enough to join in about a haze of substance abuse, and here he was, carrying the
broad brimmed hat and wearing cavalry trousers with a broad white stripe and a trimmed black suit
jacket, the band all in buff coloured suits, a variety of black head gear, ... CRA Bob Dylan ...
Leopard Skin Pill Box hat, as throughout this tour, but no regular opener and certainly not the
tune-up number that Maggie's Farm had become. Mark Knopfler mooching around and joining in
the 12 bar blues. Good sound, good tempo, greater opener. Don't think twice was excellent, Bob
and Mark (can I say that) sharing centre stage on guitars. I used to care, but Things have changed.
Stayed in Mississippi marked the end of the 4 with Mark Knopfler, no thanks, no bow, no mention,
regular guitar changes between every number in the dark, when the lights came back up, there he
was, gone. Honest with me was good, somewhat brooding. I missed the next two words, but I
did not miss "killed poor Hattie Carrol" and it was great to hear this again, I never thought I would.
For sure, I never thought I would hear Hollis Brown, he lived on the outside of town ... Make you
feel my love. H61 was ripped up and roared down. See all 5 doing pairs of double knee bends to
the right, exactly in time. See Dylan shrugging his shoulders at us and then at the band, still smiling.
The next of the which one is this? intros (surely it's Just like a woman?) was Hard Rain. This the
new you'll never sing along version with its totally altered timings and a vast amount of the now
fair-ground organ sound playing scales. Thunder on the Mountain. Do you know what's happening
Mr Jones? (Ballad of a thin man). AATW, that is going to be followed by LARS, but no here is
Jolene played as Summerdays. Many of the songs, whether rock, country rock, or ballads got this
very traditional 12-bar blues ending (wha-wha-wha, bash-bash), really extended and thoroughly
enjoyable. 10.25, usual band intros, crash and LARS, lots of sing along, lots of cheering, but it was
a done deal, not that we did not cheer enough, but now the roadie with the full ZZ Top is clearing
away in the house lights, we drift out at 10.40, certainly satisfied.
Charlie and Stu shared leads. There was lots of smiling. Dylan standing front and centre and
entertaining us, smiling and having fun with the echo in Ballad of a Thin Man, really having fun, he
was never sure if it would be there or not, once or even twice (do you, do you, Mr, Mr, Jones,
snarled). That was a delight. So, my thanks if you read this far. My thanks as ever to those who
write here, I enjoy your opinions. My especial thanks to Bill Pagel for all his work, 29 million cannot
be all wrong. Back there tonight, I'll see him in anything. I'll stand in line.
Ian S. Blagbrough
Review by Dominic Nasmyth-Miller
Having had the privilege of standing in-line, alongside some
genuinely lovely people at Bournemouth just a few weeks before, resulting
in front-centre at the rail, tonight's tickets for upstairs seating
provided a different vantage point. Other than the soundtrack for the
Princess Bride (which if you have young children, then the film is highly
recommended) we have been unfamiliar with Mark Knopfler's music in recent
years. However, the past 21 days has been spent listening to some of his
recent recordings some of which have been played on the current tour - if
the opportunity exists do check these out, A night in summer long ago,
Piper to the end, Why aye man and Get Lucky. Knopfler and his band were
excellent - and although difficult for another to support "Mr. Bob;" to
have had such a distinguished artist undertaking this particular role, has
made for a series of shows that will live long in the memory. Enthusiasm
existed for Knopfler and his band however it was incredible to see how the
energy in the crowd raised to new heights once the lights dropped and it
was announced "Ladies and gentleman please welcome the poet Laurette of
rock 'n' roll etc.etc." Leopard Skin Pill Box Hat kicked off like a
shot gun blast, a tempo which ran throughout the evening on the up-beat
numbers. His Bobness danced, smiled and gestured throughout, back-up by a
band who were inspirational - such a good sound. With such a vast back
catalogue to choose from and with such a large fan base; it is impossible
for every concert to have all the songs that each fan would choose if they
could. Whilst Johanna, Black Coat and Grain of Sand would always feature
in my personal preference list; Mississippi and Hattie Carroll do so as
well - tonight we were treated to superb versions of these two, plus a
sensitive version of; as it is becoming infuriatingly referred on TV
talent shows "Adele's" Make you Feel My Love. No longer are Dylan
concerts an evening of playing Name That Tune, each song now being
recognisable by the first word, that is if it hasn't being identified by
the first few bars of the introduction alone. Honest With Me and Thunder
On The Mountain stood-out on an evening of stand-out performances;
whilst Rolling Stone which was orchestrated by the song and dance man who
punctuated the chorus as it had been written nigh on fifty years ago,
to enable this to become a sing-a-long finale. Add to the mix Jolene and
Hard Rain - an incredible evening; enhanced greatly by meeting up with
Mark and George from the Bournemouth queue. 2011 has been an incredible
year for concerts - looking forward to doing it all again hopefully in
2012 and the opportunity to be headin' for another joint. Thank you Bob.
Dominic Nasmyth-Miller
Review by Mr Jinx
Black hat and jacket, newly grown whiskers: Bob Dylan skipped like a
pugilist onto the Hammersmith stage for the first night of this residency.
The roar went up. Round One. London expects . . . For the next hour
and a half Bob led his merry men through a set that raged and roared,
hissed and spat, rocked and rumbled. The overall tone may have been
deadly serious but the famed ‘song and dance man’ was having a ball .
. . so there was some serious fun to be had along the way. It was clear
from the playful moves and shoulder dips during opener Leopard Skin
Pillbox Hat that Bob was fully engaged and ready for a scrap. The
set’s highlight (for this listener at least) was Hattie Carroll. Bob
found new expression in this old warhorse. The extended harmonica solo
at the end took the hall down to a hush. It was beautifully phrased and
clearly came from the heart. Gooseflesh time. Things Have Changed
worked extremely well in its new arrangement Tex-Mex arrangement. It had
shades of Ennio Morrocone’s wide screen Westerns, Bob playing his role
as gunslinger extraordinaire to the hilt. Alias? You betcha! Hollis
Brown was plain terrifying and blood-curdling. By the time the shots rang
out I was almost relieved. Bob’s black-edged growl suits this darkest
of tales and the new stop-start arrangement only increases the dramatic
tension and sense of menace. Hard Rain was a tour-de-force. Bob
found several staircase melodies in this one. By the final verse he had
set up a sort of ‘call and response’ effect within the lines that made
it seem as if there were two souls present. This had a pendulum
effect that became utterly hypnotic. This was a very powerful
performance indeed of arguably Dylan’s greatest statement in song.
A man behind me in the crush of the crowd keeled over and fainted. It
was very hot in the auditorium and maybe the pendulum effect in Hard Rain
did for him. He seemed to be all right but I wondered as he lay there
– people fanning his face – why there were no medics on hand. Also
there was a woman next to me who seemed incoherent on drink or drugs.
Her eyes rolled back in her head as her partner supported her. Such are
the vagaries of a N.E.T. crowd! We denizens of Des. Row are not always
a pretty sight. Meanwhile Bob had switched to super-human mode for a
searing, echo-drenched Ballad Of A Thin Man. He stood, centre stage,
microphone in hand and punctuated the lines with dips of the knees and
shakes of the shoulder. It was extremely theatrical, almost camp! It
struck me as a new kind of dark theatre, a performance of such venom with
showman moves is essentially at odds with itself. But then Bob Dylan
has been wrong-footing us for almost half a century. We really ought to
be used to it by now. The encores rushed by. Rolling Stone was
noticeable for Bob’s continued projection. Sometimes he coasts on this
one, but not tonight. No coasting for the Champ. The jabs kept
coming. Before I knew it the lights were on and we were stumbling out into
the foggy November night. The hawkers were selling Dylan calendars for
2012. If that turns out to be as glorious a year for Bob as 2011 we are
in for a treat. Tomorrow night I’m back for the second night of this
Hammersmith residency. To coin a phrase: I Can’t Wait.
Mr Jinx
Review by Stephen Haynes
I love this venue - 8 years ago I was lucky enough to be at "the Romance
in Durango" gig here - and last night , as then, the atmosphere was
fantastic in the build up and throughout the evening, the sound was also
excellent. I've recently been reading "The ballad of Bob Dylan" - a
biography of the great man by Daniel Epstein. Of course a lot of familiar
stuff - but one interesting quote from Bob came to mind last night "I'm
usually in a numb state of mind before my shows, and I have to kick in at
some place along the line, usually it takes me one or two songs, or
sometimes it takes me much longer. Sometimes it takes me to the encore!"
Well last night I honestly think he "kicked in" from the very first line
of pill box hat - and stayed on his game throughout. A great set list
for me mixing classics from the 60's with some of his most recent work and
each song delivered with care, passion and apparent enjoyment that was
stunning given how long Bob's been doing this.
Review by Geoff Marshall
Having seen Bob every time he has been in London since 1966, and knowing
that the voice lacks the range it once had, I went to Hammersmith last
night with modest expectations. This was of course the venue for perhaps
Bob's best ever concert in October 2003, still referred to as the Miracle
of Hammersmith, when the version of Romance in Durango just blew the place
apart.
Mark Knopfler opened with an edgier set than he usually performs with some
hard-driving stuff well-received by the crowd. He said he had had a great
time on the tour and was grateful to Mr Bob for inviting him along. He is
a global superstar but knows his place! He seemed genuinely touched by the
huge applause and played what looked like an unplanned encore.
After the interval MK was back on stage with Bob's band and did homage for
the first four numbers.
At this point I am almost lost for words. Bob roared into a definitive
version of Leopard Skin Pillbox hat - played Fucking Loud- and was clearly
up for it, dancing behind the keyboard and very animated throughout. His
voice was terrific and the sound just about perfect. He was totally
committed to the performance and gave his all. Every note throughout the
evening was considered and his phrasing was immaculate. A solid set
followed, the highlight of which was ballad of a Thin Man with Bob holding
2 mikes and standing centre stage, stalking around like a man possessed.
Nothing happens by chance at a Dylan show so the delay/echo on the voice
must have been deliberate and was very effective " Do ya do ya do ya Mr
Jones. Dark, threatening, full of emotion and just plain loaded with
genius. A total re-working of Honest With Me ripped along with Charlie and
Stu on great form and Highway 61 was the best I've ever heard and I've
heard hundreds.
A small criticism was that the new nursery rhyme cadences of Hard Rain did
not fit the mood of the song - "before I start singing" to Doh Re Soh Te
Doh, just not right..and To Make you Feel my Love lacked the poignancy the
lyric demands.
But these are small quibbles. I learned that Bob does not decline. He just
changes from one brilliant manifestation to another, rediscovering and
re-inventing himself as the years go by. We might like some manifestations
better than others but what cannot be denied is that he is
stratospherically better than any other singer/ songwriter/performer than
all the rest from all time.
We got 15 songs straight out. No encores. He had a right to go. He had
given us everything.
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