Review by Alex Sarychkin
The Swansea Arena bestrides the marina, a colourful block in an otherwise
nondescript section of Swansea, looming over an A-road and perched neatly
beside a 'big Tescos'. It's a somewhat strange place to play host to Bob
Dylan, a man who we tend to associate more with 'big' British cities -
your Londons, Manchesters, Glasgows - and yet here, I was witness to what
I think may be one of the 'great' Rough and Rowdy Ways shows. Was it
Swansea's lifeblood association with Dylan Thomas that sparked a powerful
sense of purpose from the opening notes I'll Be Your Baby Tonight? Perhaps
it was more simple, for this was one of the single best sounding venues
I've had the pleasure of attending, regardless of who it was making the
sound, down there, in front of the piercing bright light that burned into
your retinas in the Rear Circle.
Yes, it *is *Bob Dylan down there, if only noticeable by that shock of
black hair, that I noticed him move out of his eyes at one point.
The same old words that have been said about this Genius of our time can
be said again. He does what he wants. He stays true to his vision. He will
not bend to the will of the crowd, a crowd here that clearly booked their
tickets largely on the expectation of seeing a man with acoustic guitar,
and a harmonica, strumming along, singing their perception of hits. No,
buddy, I'm afraid he won't be doing Song for Woody this evening..
This was a crowd that featured more than one example of a violent exit -
most notably, right at the end of Key West, where about fifteen men and
women behind me stood up and walked out, muttering about it being 'crap'.
I just chuckled, as I'm sure Bob would too. In many ways, it's a perfect
representation of the distance between what his name represents and what
he truly is, now, in 2025. Your loss, people.
I saw the tour in 2022, in Brussels, and this was an entirely different
depiction. It was just beautiful. And those who say there's no hits? Did
you hear the majestic It Ain't Me Babe? Did you cower in the beauty of
Desolation Row? Did you shed a tear as the harmonica kicked in at the end
of Every Grain of Sand (though I will say, the sudden and only appearance
of it during EGOS at the end of the Brussels concert is still my single
favourite concert moment, if only for it's perfection).
One other thing - has Bob repurposed 'Man Gave Names to All the Animals'
for his new version of When I Paint My Masterpiece? The chords are nearly
identical, and the delivery not far off either - I'd go as far as to call
it a medley - but then I am no authority.
I drove away from a wet Swansea and again thanked the powers that be for
allowing me to see this man in the living flesh, to be in the same room as
him for a second time. As is the way, perhaps it will be the last time,
but who knows, maybe next time I'll catch him in Weston-Super-Mare, or
Guildford, or Welwyn Garden City.
Alex Sarychkin
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