I'm sure like a lot of people I thought I'd had my last opportunity to
see Bob, so was amazed and delighted to find him playing so close to my
home.  Also delighted to be able to go again with my son Oscar.  The venue
was great and, from our circle seats level with the front row of the
stalls, we had a great view and clear sound.  Personal highlights were
it's all over now baby blue, key west and every grain of sand and every
single harmonica solo, but really the overall mix of tunes and styles, the
stylish constraint of the band and the strength of Bob's voice and piano
playing made for a memorable evening. I hope this isn't the last time,
but should it prove to be a great concert to go out on.

Steve Haynes 

One of the pleasures of following Dylan is ending up in towns you never
would have seen otherwise. When the tour dates were announced, Brits were
shocked to see Wolverhampton on the list. My bank thought "Halls of
Wolverhampton" sounded pretty made up. And throughout the tour, when
I've mentioned going to "Wolves," people acted the way an American
might if I said I was going to Gary, Indiana. But sometimes the best Dylan
shows are in random places like Dalton, Georgia. 

After hearing all the horror stories of industrial ruin and decay, what I
found just seemed like an American college town, though the city center
area did have one street that seemed to be mostly wig shops and people
yelling at each other (distinct from the people in town for a football
match, who were definitely yelling and chanting, but not in a way that I
suppose is different from how they do in any other town). After another
harrowing quest for filter coffee, I got word that people were meeting up
in a place called Lynch Gate, and found my way over to it. 

First of all, a surprise: outside the building was a plaque saying that
Button Gwinnett was married here in 1757. I used to live in a county named
after ol' Button. He's an interesting footnote in American history -
permit me to indulge a bit, as this is pretty juicy: Mr. Gwinnett signed
the Declaration of Independence, then promptly challenged a man to a duel
for calling him a "scoundrel." The two met up, stood about eight feet
apart, and shot at each other, a custom of which my country's founders
were absurdly fond. Both were hit, but only Gwinnett was killed. His short
public lift left his signature the rarest of all the signers of the
Declaration, and well known among autograph collectors. His grave was
unmarked for a couple of centuries, but in 1957 a retired high school
principal got it in his head that he knew the spot in a Savannah, GA,
cemetery were the bones were interred, and got permission to dig. Analysts
said the bones he found were a woman's, not Button Gwinnett, so the guy
kept the bones in a coffin that he kept in his guest room for a while
until the city relented and let him re-bury them and put up a gravestone.
Whoever the bones were, they're Button Gwinnett now. 

So, 3000 miles away, an unexpected local connection to a pub that turned
out to be the very definition of snug and cozy - almost exactly what one
pictures when one imagines an English pub. The locals there were all
amazed that Bob Dylan had come to Wolverhampton. "The PROPER Bob
Dylan?" a bartender asked. "I thought it was a tribute act!"  I sat
and had a few with a man named Graham and his son Paul, who'd just seen
the Prague shows but had never seen Dylan so close to home.  In an
upstairs room I found Benny, Andy, Angus, and others that I'd known
online over the years. I loved the place, with its floral wallpaper,
floral benches, and exposed beams. You have expected Wilkie Collins to
stroll in, if not Button Gwinnett himself. 

The hall itself was nice - probably about the same size as Edinburgh in
terms of spatial dimensions, but the seats were a little larger, and the
rows spaced a bit further apart. I was able to see without contorting
myself at all. 

The band came out and began jamming on "Watchtower" without Bob - a
departure from recent shows, and the first subtle change in an evening
full of them. Bob came on in a black suit, not the gold one, and sat down
to sing without any guitar. He played it a bit on "It Aint Me Babe,"
then played a solo on the little keyboard to the side of the piano, which
he hadn't touched in a few days. This would be a night of a lot of
subtle changes like that - beyond a lot of random experiments with
creative line reads, it was little touches like having more echo on
"Black Rider," a lack of even cymbals on "Key West." Most jarring
of all: Keltner didn't wear his sunglasses for the first few songs. 

The energy was perhaps a fraction lower than in Nottingham, at least in
the beginning; around "To Be Alone With You" and a particulalry strong
"Rubicon" it picked up (the line "twenty years I been gone" is
always a crusher). But after last night's triumph, Dylan seemed restless
to me, as though he'd gotten everything right once and was eager to
shake things up a bit rather than repeat himself. In most ways it was
touches you'd never notice if you hadn't been there the last couple of
nights, but there was definitely something different.  None of the little
experiments or changes led to a song seeming to flounder or fall apart, as
sometimes happens, but there was a lot of times when he seemed to be
casually searching for something new. 

Special notice has to go to the harp solos tonight, which were all
especially great, beginning with a fine outing on "Masterpiece." 

Among the vocal experiments were a few portions where he was almost
whispering the lines, far more quiely than usual. "Key West," about as
stripped down as last night, if perhaps a fraction more (someone reported
that he motioned for Tony not to play), and was sung even more quietly.
It's been a major highlight these last few nights, and the vocals are
seeming to get quieter every time. 

"River Flow" really cooked, and "Made Up My Mind" and "Mother of
Muses" were both top rate, bringing another introduction of Keltner as
"The great Jim Keltner."  Bob sat down on an amp to sing part of
"Jimmy Reed," which has been rocking lately. And of course, "Every
Grain of Sand" is a killer every night, with one last harp solo to send
us off.  The couple beside me, seeing Dylan for the first time, were upset
at the end, but not because he hadn't played the hits: they just wished
he'd gone even longer! 

Though not quite as great as Nottingham, it was a fine show with a lot ot
tantalizing hints that change could be in the air - at least a subtle
change. Most people would do a show as solid as Nottingham and try to
replicate it the next night, but that's just not how Bob Dylan
functions. It's part of what keeps us coming back. 

Of course, another thing that keeps us coming back is the friends we make
along the way. Back at the Lynch Gate I connected back with Gary and
Madeline, got a photo of Bennyboy "remastering" Nightly Moth (a real
Dylan fandom in-joke), greeted the ever-enthusiastic Sergi and the Spanish
contingent, then talked and laughed into the night with Marielle, her
mother (we toasted her late husband), and the good people who've been
traveling with me these last few days. I believe it was Angus who noted
that we can go to a Dylan concert anywhere in the world and always find a
friend. 

Approaching the Civic Hall venue is like getting into an airport through
Security as four ROCK 'N ROLL trucks are cordoned off in a side road.  A
busker attempts Simple Twist of Fate, your phone disappears into a
crimson furry bag and you're in.  It's a pint of lager at £7.50!
(Wolverhampton doubles its prices for its guests).  Chicken wings.  Seat
DD D 5 Rear Stalls.  Another pricy purchase at £125!  Bob never did
anything to control Front of House for his poorer fans.

Stage is intimately dark and minimalistic then he's on.  Watchtower is
incomprehensible but Bob Britt's guitar is clipped and strong as it will
be all night.  The sound is tight and nihilistic.  Dylan seems to be
able to produce nihilism at will since 1965 at least but tonight there
is no contrasting colour and the overall effect is one of
meaninglessness.  He won't talk or acknowledge his surroundings.  We
could all be in New York so there is no locality either.  Even the
rumoured appearance with Robert Plant at Wolverhampton Wanderers hasn't
happened.

Rough and Rowdy Ways gets a nine song outing much to the disappointment
of many fans who have come to hear some great, colourful versions of
Jokerman and Changing of the Guards.  Audience response is muted- he
won't really let you go mad.

Then he's gone and the nihilism descends in even greater force as you
count the cost of the evening and go back out into the West Midlands
infrastructure, none the wiser.  Highlight: Bob Britt.  Bob Dylan is a
good sideman for him.

Why an I a Bob /Dylan fanbatic?  The answer my friend could be found at
Wolverhampton Civic Hall.  When a friend told me Dylan was playing the
Civic I thought it was a wind up.  Surely he wouldn't play a venue this
small and having seen Dylan in England, Ireland, Scotland, ?Wales,
Portugal and America surely he wouldt appear a few miles from my home,. 
He was and he did and he was just stunning.  The band, now with one less
player with  the. absence of Donnie Heron, driven by Jim Keleter swung and
rocked like crazy.  Dylan's voice was crystal clear and the arrangements
of the non Rough and Rowdy Ways songs were alone worth the price of
admission.  Desolation Row, Watching the River Flow and final moving Every
Grain of Sand were particularly outstanding.  This was maybe the  fourth
or fifth "must be the last  time "Dylan concert for mea nd whilst his
mobility may ssem limited, his voice energy and performance level get
better with age. 

John Atkins

The band appeared a few minutes after 7.30pm and Bob ambled onstage about
a minute later. He drank from a cup next to his electric keyboard and took
his seat at the piano for All Along The Watchtower. I thought Bob's
vocal on Watchtower sounded quite a bit like the album version and it made
a far more impactful opening than Watching The River Flow two years ago.
For It Ain't Me Babe, Bob reached for a guitar lying to the left of the
keyboard and sat with it on his lap, his back almost fully to the
audience. From my perspective, this gave a view of a very Dylanesque
silhouette as he played a loud and energetic guitar solo. He then sang the
song at the piano with some blasts of the electric keyboard thrown in. I
Contained Multitudes had a great beat and False Prophet was very punchy. I
thought those R&RW songs had a little more to them than the 2022 versions.
I was surprised how much I enjoyed When I Paint My Masterpiece in it's
new (to me) arrangement and the first harmonica blasts were great. 

I thought the energy dropped at this point and, although I enjoyed the
whole show, I thought My Own Version Of You and Black Rider were more
powerful in their previous versions. This was a shame as MOVOY is possibly
my favourite R&RW song and the current arrangement doesn't have the
impact of the album version, or the one I saw in Oxford. To Be Alone With
You is probably my least favourite song in the set - I'm not crazy about
the new version. Crossing The Rubicon was okay - I think I heard a new
verse that I instantly thought might be aimed at Trump. 

At this point, the show reached its high point with Desolation Row -
Series Of Dreams drums and harmonica for the first time since I don't
know when and Key West. Bob started singing this almost unaccompanied and
then on piano and I was waiting for the band to come in but, other than
Bob Britt adding some subtle guitar, they didn't. Bob sang the whole
thing in this way; the only time I can remember him doing something like
this in 60+ shows. It was direct and beautiful, with really powerful,
controlled vocals. I wasn't expecting it to be the highlight but it was
probably my favourite moment of the four R&RW shows (three in 2022) I've
seen. 

The remaining songs were really enjoyable, especially Every Grain Of Sand
with a stinging harmonica. Bob started quite a few songs bobbing about at
the back, moving to lean over the piano with the mic in one fist, putting
that mic down on the piano with an audible thump and ending at the piano.
He said "thank you" a few times and introduced each member of the band
separately throughout set. This was another really good night of Bob, who
is singing and playing harmonica with more energy and control than I could
have expected at this point. Ironically, his voice has almost nothing of
the really rough and rowdy years of 2011-12 and at times he sings almost
as well as he ever has.

ENGLISHMAN STRANDED IN THE BLACKHEART WIND


As I left the Wolverhampton Civic Hall at the end of this concert, I was
completely baffled. Had I enjoyed it? I wasn't sure. Dylan delivered a
memorable, jarring, but only sporadically luminous show.

The musical arrangements became increasingly sparse as the concert
progressed, to the point where they were almost incidental to his vocal +
piano dominance and syncopation.

The detail on Bob's shirt sparkled and flashed in the stage lights, and
from my position high in the balcony gave the false impression he was
wearing earrings. Is he getting younger? His vitality on stage would
suggest so.

He bustled on stage to a very warm reception from the Black Country crowd,
and the opening All Along the Watchtower was a wonderfully driving,
insistent performance. 

Other highlights were It Ain't Me Babe with golden country guitar
accompaniment, and Desolation Row propelled by the rumble of Jim Keltner's
tom-toms.

I preferred the musicality and the more consistent rhythm of the shows in
the autumn of 2022. Yet here I am again, searching for inspiration, and
finding a few gems in the November mists of this tour.

Fran Scott

The first show at Wolverhampton Halls picked up where Nottingham left off.
It was the same energy. The energy of someone battle strong, sure footed,
ready for round two. It was such a strong and consistent start. His
entrance, slightly behind the band who slipped right into Watchtower while
he slipped onto the stage, marked by a silhouetted chaplinesque bounce
against the gentle neon moonrise stage curtains. The crowd, caught
off-guard, roared as he appeared.

This time seated in the stalls it was possible to get a clearer view of
the stage and see Bob whenever he stepped away from the keys. He'd tease
a little journey close to centre stage, but usually hover like an aged
boxer near Tony Garnier, flicking his microphone cable back and forth
before ambling back to the piano, leaning across it and right into the
vocals. There was even an ever so brief moment where he sat on Tony's
monitor.

Tonight's show was different to Nottingham, at times I felt it was
better, but then why compare when each time is a new time.

The blues numbers sizzled, the band were locked in and tight. Keltner's
signature style shone throughout. He injects so much daring and unexpected
movement into the songs, he's up there on the tightrope behind Bob,
pushing the floating template of the songs into new territory.

Bob's voice was gentler tonight, softer, even slightly raspy, but then
he sang so fully the previous night, he was likely feeling a little hoarse
around the edges.

Midway through It Ain't Me Babe, Bob switched over to his Nord stage
piano (set to the fender Rhodes setting) for the first time in several
shows and played some rather splendid staccato-like licks that were almost
as ethereal as the guitar interplay between Lancio and Britt I heard later
during Key West. He should definitely play more of the Rhodes, it suits
his touch and adds some sustain that he doesn't get from the piano —
he doesn't tend to use the sustain pedal as a pianist. It was great to
see him take the role of multi instrumentalist in his own band moving
between guitar, piano and Rhodes on It Ain't Me Babe. It's something
he could definitely expand on once he feels comfortable.

At times I wondered if Dylan was slightly more aware of himself tonight,
like the brilliance of the previous nights performance lingered in his
mind. But at the same time it seemed like the band and him had reached a
kind of sublime precision tonight. Everything was on point, everything hot
to the touch, razor like finesse.

Key West again was the show stopper, you could have heard a pin drop, the
guitars of Britt and Lancio knitting together the free time of Bob's
delivery. It's almost like he's testing a possible debut of Murder
Most Foul, by way of this song.

Britt and Lancio have been terrific, particularly some of Lancio's
acoustic playing stands out, taking great leaps and chances in the higher
register with some really exhilarating parts.

Masterpiece continues to stun in its current arrangement. It's the
perfect touring song, about a man traveling, weary and inspired, dreaming
about the perfect time, when he'll paint his masterpiece. But the melody
borrowing of the current version got me thinking. Masterpiece is a song
centred on Rome, the great empire city state, then there's 'Istanbul,
Not Constantinople'. Constantinople was the capital of the Roman Empire,
the Byzantine Empire, the Latin Empire, and the Ottoman Empire. Then
there’s Puttin' on the Ritz, centred around New York, the unofficial
capital of the world, the megalopolis/metropolis, of the new (probably
declining)world empire, America. And then there's the title itself a
derivative of the expression "to put on the Ritz", inspired by the opulent
Ritz Hotel in London, the capital of the last empire before the war, the
British Empire.

Something about these arrangements including the treatment of Black Rider
(where Lancio's acoustic shines) reminds me of Leonard Cohen, as if the
spirit of his later years of touring, the gentle dynamics, the remoulding
of the sound around the voice, and the pristine brilliance of the band
have transferred their spirit to what Dylan is now doing.

There was just one brief faltering moment, during what feels like one of
the great concert runs of his career, Baby Blue. But Dylan soon regained
his footing and slipped back into the concert dream of otherwise another
perfect show.

Unfortunately it was also night of living talkers in the stalls where I
was sitting. I felt the ghost of Peter Stone Brown take hold of me,
"Sorry, is Bob Dylan interrupting your conversation?" Beer zombies
stalking back and forwards with no thought for anyone hoping to maybe
enjoy an intimate concert. A contingent of dumb hedonists, an apocalypse
of alcohol and brain dead banter, were up and down from their seats like
honey bees every other song, failing to understand the rules of concert
etiquette, which is, "sit down, shut the fuck up, clap and cheer when a
song ends but otherwise play dead." "Do not leave your seat during a
song, do not come back until a song ends, do not block the views and
disturb the listening experience for others."

The Queen Bee of the group had the nerve to leave during the first picked
chords of Every Grain of Sand, ruining the quiet beauty of the delivery
and who in her zombie wisdom thought it sensible to come back less than a
minute before the song ended. I refused to let her back in the row to sit
down which caused its own regrettable (on my behalf) problems. Little did
they know it was the last song of a beautiful set and little did they
likely know about Bob Dylan concerts. Why on Earth couldn't they have
done the arena show instead?

I do wonder if some of that crowd disturbance reached the stage throwing
Bob particularly during Baby Blue.

Anyways, here's to London!

A milestone for me tonight, as it was my 40th Dylan show. It was a good 
one, though not as strong as last night in Nottingham. Bob seemed a bit 
tired, and his voice was noticeably quieter and little more raspy, 
particularly at the start of the show. I got the impression he maybe has 
the beginnings of a cold and was toning things down a bit tonight to save 
his voice for London, or maybe I'm reading too much into it and he was 
just tired. The band seemed to temper their playing accordingly.

Watchtower started with just the band tonight, no Bob on guitar until the 
opening instrumental section of It Ain't Me, Babe. I think the band 
entering first works better - last night they all came out at once, 
whereas tonight the band got the crowd warmed up and then Bob made much 
more of an entrance and the crowd went nuts. Baby Blue nearly fell apart 
after the first or second verse when Bob seemed to forget what chord came 
next and stopped playing piano for a few seconds. They rescued it though 
and the rest of the song was solid.

Highlights for me tonight were It Ain't Me, Babe because of the addition 
of the Nord keyboard with its Wurlitzer-esque electric piano tone. He had 
a proper go on it, though only on this song. Good False Prophet tonight. 
Desolation Row was strong and is really working well in this arrangement. 
Mother of Muses was lovely tonight, as was Key West. Really enjoyed Jimmy 
Reed too. Song of the night for me was probably Every Grain Of Sand - 
really nice version apart from one flubbed line (can't remember which one)

Agree with Trev's comments about people coming and going during songs - 
it's frustrating to have in your eye line while you're trying to 
concentrate on the show, even more so when they're on the same row as you 
and you have to get up.

Overall an enjoyable show because of the intimate venue, but for me it 
didn't reach the exceptionally high bar set by the Nottingham show. Great 
to meet and re-meet so many ER folks in the pub before the show! Looking 
forward to seeing what tomorrow brings…