| Reviews Bend, Oregon Hayden Homes Amphitheater June 27, 2022 |
Review by Daniel Mackay
,
A terrific show in Bend tonight at the recently rechristened Hayden Homes
Amphitheater (formerly the Les Schwab Amphitheater where I have seen Dylan
before). Tonight, it was a beautiful evening in the 80s and an afternoon
where the temperature hit a high of 97 degrees Fahrenheit (36 degrees
Centigrade). Dylan took the stage wearing a black embroidered jacket,
purple shirt with rhinestones across the breast and on the cuffs, a brown
belt, and black slacks (no hat). The sun was still setting. The
bandmembers were all wearing black. The crowd was significantly younger
than in Eugene three weeks ago. Nice to see people in their thirties and
forties in greater numbers than at not only the Eugene show, but the
Kennewick, Portland, and Seattle shows that I previously caught on this
leg of the tour.
My disc jockey friend Jeff, host or KEPW’s *Deadish: Searching For the
Sound*, went to the show with me. I have not been listening to the
recordings from this leg of the tour, so my comments only take into
consideration the four shows that I mention above that I have seen, not
the recordings.
Dylan led the band onto the stage. He strapped on a sunburst Fender with
manilla pick guard and played a lengthy solo, facing the audience (unlike
in Portland where his back was to us, and where he was playing a hollow
body electric). His playing was bluesy and quite good, ranging from deep
low notes to high notes. After playing the guitar center stage for a
couple minutes, Dylan sat down on the piano bench and played a little more
before pivoting and standing to play the piano and then begin singing
“Watching the River Flow.” He concluded the song with a “Why, thank
you.”
“Most Likely You Go Your Way (and I’ll Go Mine)” was good but did
not stand out as it did in Eugene. I think the arrangement is back to how
it was at Kennewick and in Portland. The band slows down on “You say
you’re sorry / For tellin’ stories / That you know I believe are true
/ You say ya got some / Other kinda lover / And yes, I believe you do”
before kicking in fast with drums on “You say my kisses are not like
his.”
“I Contain Multitudes”: Dylan began this version with the first two
lines of the album version: “Today and tomorrow and yesterday too / The
flowers are dying like all things do.” Then he sang a muddled line
ending with the “lightning speed” of the new verse’s third line, and
then he concluded the verse with the end of the new verse, with a slight
change: “I ain't giving anything to anyone unless they believe”
(instead of “unless they beg and they plead.”). This performance had a
nice, very active piano outro by Dylan. After “I Contain Multitudes,”
Dylan coughed another “Why, thank you.”
“False Prophet”: The first excellent performance of the evening. This
version was crisper than some of the ones I heard earlier in June and at
the end of May. The arrangement left lots of room for Dylan’s vocal.
Dylan was smiling when singing this song. He was also playing good
single-note piano runs on “False Prophet.” After this song, Dylan
coughed, “Why, thank you.”
“When I Paint My Masterpiece”: This song began with a harp solo that
Dylan played one handed while holding the harmonica with his right hand.
While playing, Dylan had his left hand draped over the top of the upright
piano. The song had a lyrical variation that I did not recall: “Oh, the
streets of Rome are filled with rubble / Ancient footprints are everywhere
/ You can always find some way to get into trouble / On a cold, dark night
on the Spanish Stairs…” Instead of Donnie Herron echoing the piano
runs that Dylan was playing toward the end of the song, as I had heard in
the previous concerts, here Herron plays the fiddle at the same time that
Dylan plays piano runs and then Bob Britt echoed Dylan’s piano playing
after Dylan finished each run. After finishing the song, Dylan said,
“Why, thank you my art lovers. I am too.”
“I’ll Be Your Baby Tonight”: The second excellent performance of the
evening. Dylan started singing the first verse accompanied only by his
piano playing. Then the band kicks in. A lyrical variation I did not
recall: “…shut the blinds / Tonight we’re going all the way down the
line.” Also, he improvised and humored himself with: “You won’t
regret it / All you gotta do is let it,” after which he laughed. Later
he sang: “Bring that bottle over here. Right here. Right now.” Then he
laughed again. After this song he said, “You are a nice audience. You
have such good taste!” He was chuckling as he said this.
“Black Rider”: The third excellent performance of the evening. Simply
a great presentation of this song.
“My Own Version of You”: The fourth excellent performance of the
evening. Dylan’s singing on this was particularly strong. His timing for
the lines was patient and nicely balanced. Nothing felt rushed. When he
sang “spare no expense,” he stopped playing with his right hand and
pointed at us. He sang “the way that I feel” with a slight delay that
gave the line great power. During the “see the history of the whole
human race” verse, only Drayton’s drums, Garnier’s bass, and
Dylan’s piano were playing as Dylan sang. Donnie Herron, Bob Britt, and
Doug Lancio then kicked in during the “Step right into the burning
hell” verse. When he sang “Do it with laughter” at the end of the
song, Dylan wagged his right index finger side-to-side at us. When he
sang, “Do it with tears,” it was some of his best singing of the
night.
“Crossing the Rubicon”: A bit weak tonight. At the very end of
“Rubicon,” Dylan went front and center and stood with his arm on his
hip in order to receive the applause.
“To Be Alone with You”: In this version he sings, “‘Did I kill
somebody?’ Hope not!” After “To Be Alone with You,” Dylan says,
“Why thank you. You are a delightful audience. I’d like to take ya
with us….some of ya.”
“Key West (Philosopher Pirate)”: The fifth excellent song of the
evening. He introduced it by telling us, “A song about one of my
favorite places in the world.” Now, I have heard that there was yet
another new arrangement of “Key West,” but I had not heard it. Both
Jeff and I loved this version, which has Britt prominently playing chords.
This version is very rhythmic, featuring Britt’s guitar, as well as
Charley Drayton’s drumming and Donnie Herron’s steel guitar.
“Gotta Serve Somebody”: Dylan sang the first verse accompanied only by
his piano until the end of the verse when some slight Bob Britt guitar
comes in. Then the entire band kicked in. After the second verse, Doug
Lancio stepped out from behind Dylan’s piano and he and Bob Britt traded
guitar parts for a short while before the third verse began.
“I’ve Made Up My Mind to Give Myself to You”: This version (as it
almost always does) featured nice signing from Dylan. The parts where he
strains sounded a little bit more pinched than some of the other
performances I caught, but it still sounded great.
“Melancholy Mood”: Before beginning, Dylan took off his black jacket
and then stepped to the center and stood there with left hand on hip.
Then, before the song started, he moved to the mic stand and held it with
his left hand as he sang.
“Mother of Muses”: The sixth excellent performance of the evening. It
and “My Own Version of You” were the best performances of the entire
evening. Dylan gave a huge smile after singing “Who cleared the path for
Presley to sing.” Dylan’s piano playing here was confident and
melodic, especially in the verse before “falling in love with
Calliope.” Dylan’s vocal is at times fragile and tender.
“Goodbye Jimmy Reed”: Dylan smiled as he played the final piano fills
of the song.
During the band introductions, with Dylan at the piano, Dylan said,
“Ahh…thank you.” He then introduced Charley Drayton and then
said,” Charley, stand up.” Then he introduced Doug Lancio and said,”
Doug, “say hello to the people.” He introduced Bob Britt and said,
“Bob gave up a very promising movie career to play in this band. Show
your appreciation!” He introduced Donnie Herron and said, “Donnie was
born playing that thing” [referencing the steel guitar]. He then
introduced Tony Garnier.
Dylan played a single, one-verse-long harmonica solo between the fourth
and fifth verses of the song. He played just a little more harmonica to
make us think that he was going to keep going for the length of a second
verse, but he stopped. Also, he did not play the harmonica after the sixth
verse.
Everyone that Jeff and I spoke to really liked the show and was excited
about it. In the sleepy town of Sisters nestled in the mountains on the
way back home, we met a couple in their twenties also on the way back to
Eugene after having caught the show and they were beaming and said they
loved the show. Both Jeff and I agree that this was a stronger show than
the Eugene concert three weeks ago (although the harmonica solos on
“Every Grain of Sand” in Eugene were better). Also, Dylan’s lyrical
flubs were quite minimal: hardly any, which is quite a change from the
four previous shows I had seen from this leg of the tour. It was gorgeous
to watch Dylan perform as the sun set stage right and then to see the
evening sky transition (without stars) and, eventually, for night to fall
as Dylan concluded.
Daniel Mackay
*Hard Rain & Slow Trains: Bob Dylan & Fellow Travelers*
https://kepw.org/hard-rain-slow-trains/
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