November 21, 2011
Review by Joe Neanor
This is pretty much the Bob Dylan quarter here in the capital of the Land
of Don't Look Back. The venue is just a mile or two away from the scene of
Bob's last solo acoustic concert, choose between the final show at the
Royal Albert Hall in May 1965 or the 12 song set performed in front of an
audience at the BBC Television (White City) Studios a month later.
They can call this place what they like but to me it will forever be the
Hammersmith Odeon. A large Art Deco former cinema, tonight all the ground
floor seats were removed to allow standing, a set back balcony above. This
is most definitely a No Big Screen Required venue. The old cinema floor
provides a steep pitch, leveling out about 10 yards from the stage, giving
a good chance of unobstructed sight of the performers. I enjoyed a great
view, just 15 yards from the stage.
Starting just after nine o'clock the show got off to a flyer with a
thumping Leopard Skin Pillbox Hat, played straight down the middle. Mark
Knopfler was on stage for this and the next two numbers. Bob left his
keyboard to pick up his guitar and sing a fine measured version of It's
All Over Now Baby Blue centre stage. Knopfler adding some nice touches on
guitar alongside Bob.
Things Have Changed was performed by Bob centre stage, picking up and the
handheld microphone. He frequently returned it to the stand to strike
poses or play a howling harmonica. Behind him the band delivered a
pounding accompaniment with George Receli beating out the rhythm with
brush sticks.
An album true version of Spirit On The Water followed with Dylan back
behind his keyboard. The audience dismissed Dylan's lyrical assertion that
he might be over the hill and enjoyed his reference to having a "Whopping
good time". A mellow counter point.
But let's face it you don't go to a Bob Dylan concert for a mellow
experience. And so it was back to business as usual when Bob strapped on
the electric guitar and launched into Honest With Me. As the volume was
cranked up it was harder to hear all the vocals but the sentiment
expressed in the refrain was reflected in the intense delivery of the
song. Having seen Bob do a kind of rain dance when performing this number
last month I preferred tonight's less manic version. This was to be the
second and last time Bob played the guitar tonight. I had a good look at
his finger movement up and down the fret board and the contribution he was
making to the band's sound. He was playing strong guitar, not just going
through the motions with a few chords.
Forgetful Heart was performed centre stage, Bob crooning into the handheld
microphone and playing some nice bluesy harmonica. An album true version
and the only song performed from his most recent Together Through Life
album. This is closest we got to an acoustic number all night with just
Stu Kimball playing an electric guitar. Some very nice violin from Donnie
Herron.
After this the show motored along with Bob back behind the keyboard. The
Levee's Gonna Break had a long improvised ending that Dylan and his
musicians were enjoying us much as the audience. Lyrically I find this
song repetitive but the groove of the beat made it work very well live
tonight, all those short rhythmic bursts overlaying each other. Bob
piping in with his squeaky keyboard parts.
Bob was back at the handheld microphone for a mesmerizing and somehow
almost jaunty performance of Long Black Coat. He seemed to particularly
enjoy delivering the final lines about the ambiguous departure of the
female subject of the song "She never said nothing, there was nothing she
wrote, She's gone with a man in a long black coat."
At this point it should be said that Bob was pretty much wearing a long
black coat tonight. Garbed in a three-quarter length black jacket/coat
with four brass buttons, the top one left undone, over a blue shirt and
blue neckerchief drawn together by a silver ring. On his jacket cuffs were
more brass buttons and the occasional glimpse of his shirt sleeve revealed
sparkling cufflinks. He wore black trousers with white piping vertical
stripe on the outside of each leg and, of course, a hat, tonight's being
light grey, with a small feather to one side. A stage dandy from head to
toe. With that kit on you know you're in show business.
Highway 61 rocked and featured an extended improvised finale which worked
well.
Bob remained behind the keyboard for a great performance of Desolation
Row, omitting just two verses - those referring to Einstein, TS Elliot and
Ezra Pound. (Celebrity obviously cuts little ice with Bob when he is
downsizing his songs to ensure the show can finish before midnight.) When
he got to the line "Have mercy on his soul" he threw out an extended open
left hand. Unusually, the verses were more or less evenly delivered but
with just enough variation to keep the song interesting and dynamic. Dylan
made hardly any reference to his lyric sheets on his keyboard during the
song or throughout the evening.
Bob may not talk much on stage but when the lights are down between songs
he frequently has something to say to bass player Tony Garnier. What is
there to talk about after all these years and shows? We will probably
never find out. It is evident that Garnier holds the whole thing together
on stage and loves playing. Charlie Sexton adds well to mix and was less
over the top tonight with his stages moves.
Hereafter the show became a bit predictable for those who have seen it few
times this tour. Thunder On The Mountain had Dylan bending his knees at
the keyboard as it banged along. Ballard Of A Thin Man is great theatre,
with its vocals echo, Bob working the stage, blasting away on his
harmonica, and spitting out the lyrics with the handheld microphone like
Mr Jones had pinched his car parking space only yesterday.
All Along The Watch Tower was OK but it was hard to hear Bob vocals. Like
A Rolling Stone was the usual crowd pleaser with Bob staying in the same
time as the audience for the chorus. The final song saw the return of Mark
Knopfler to share verses of Forever Young with Dylan, finely performed by
both.
All of this earned Mark a place in the take-a-bow lineup with Bob
gesturing towards him and Mark gesturing back. Quite a contrast to the
usual close, where Bob stands alongside his steadfast musicians without
so much as a wave towards them. It was nice to see Knopfler give them and
Bob a round of applause.
So a fine show tonight and all the more pleasing that eight of 15 songs
came from the 70s or later, to give a more balanced representation of
Bob's creative career.
Joe Neanor
Review by Mick Gold
Bob-cats pushed relentlessly forward against the bar at the front of the former
Hammersmith Odeon, hats on their heads. Mark Knopfler was caressing liquid
guitar solos from his Stratocaster. On Brothers In Arms, the notes flowed down
his fretboard like drops of sonic quicksilver.
A random cross-section of the audience (i.e. two men standing next to me)
told me their main motive for coming to see Bob was "He may not be back
again". One of them said, "Once we came to listen to him. Now we come to
be in his presence." There was plenty of presence tonight.
Bob and the band kicked of with Leopard Skin Pillbox Hat, with Mark Knopfler
and Charlie crouching and strutting in gun-slinger guitar poses. It's All Over Now
Baby Blue had a staccato vocal rhythm, with fluid guitar breaks from Knopfler
holding things together. On Things Have Changed, Bob delivered high, keening
harp solos, his notes cutting across Knopfler's guitar. George Recile played a
racket at the end, banging the sides of the drums, churning up the rhythm.
Forgetful Heart was one of the highlights of the evening, a lovely, simple tune
bouncing off Donnie's fiddle. Those haunting last words, "The door has closed
forever more, If indeed there ever was a door" were delivered with a dying fall.
One of my favourites, Man In The Long Black Coat, was enlivened by a slick,
faster rhythm which suited the song. As Bob sang, "When she stopped him to
ask if he wanted to dance, He had a face like a mask", a self-deprecating grin
flitted across his face. All evening there were a series of grins and frowns and
little laughs, like micro-emotions scurrying over that face.
Another highlight was Desolation Row, delivered in waltz time, with practically
every verse present and correct. Ballad of a Thin Man was done with great
panache, electronic echoes giving extra bite to words like "lepers and crooks",
Bob's voice positively caressing the lines "you're very well read, it's well known".
There were only a few songs when his voice sounded like a hoarse bark, Honest
With Me was one, and Thunder On The Mountain was another. All Along The
Watchtower managed to sound both staccato and lyrical. Like A Rolling Stone
was slow, stately and sorrowful, with no hint of derision in the vocal delivery.
Then there was a flurry on the stage and suddenly Mark Knopfler was back in
the spotlight centre stage, beaming and waving to the audience, as they
launched into Forever Young. Knopfler took over the vocal on the second
verse, "May you grow up to be righteous…" with Knopfler and Charlie both
injecting elegant guitar lines between the words, conjuring up memories of
Robbie Robertson at The Last Waltz. On the third verse, there was slight
confusion over who was singing, then Knopfler's voice rose up to take over
the lead, and as he sang, "May you heart always be joyful, May your song
always be sung", he lifted his arms and gestured towards Bob, and the
audience roared with pleasure and devotion. It was a memorable ending.
Review by Martin Gayford
Hammersmith felt like a dark cavern tonight, although the muted lights,
faded moulded ceiling and sticky floor felt familiar. At Bournemouth he
was a lot more active, and I missed the gesturing during Honest With Me
which didn't happen due to Bob's 'interesting' guitar playing. It was a
great night though and it was really good to see him. Baby Blue was good,
he didn't murder it as he appeared to do on some other nights recently.
John Hune behind me - 350 concerts puts my 51 to shame ha ha. We tried to
keep our hands out of the way. Man In Long Black Coat almost as good as
Blind Willie Mctell at Bournemouth (they share pretty much the same
arrangement). Knopfler looked scared before singing with Bob- don't blame
him. K handed it to BD 'may you stay...' and Bob handed it back. Looked a
little uncomfortable about the 'duet'. Took hat off few times and shook
sweat from hair like shaggy dog. Looked very trim, nice goatee. I got to
2nd row left of centre despite arriving at 6. Cursed himself for getting
last part of first verse of Desolation Row wrong. Crafty looks, squinting
at crowd, lots of smiles. Still cuts himself short of what he can do, but
still captivating. Forgetful Heart was brilliant. Thin Man - best ever.
Seeing him do it tonight was the sort of thing that makes you believe in
him again, regardless of anything he's done before. It was...great. Good
night.
Review by Mr Jinx
Now this was a truly great show. From the first gargled, bloodthirsty
lines of Leopard Skin Pillbox Hat to the tumultuous encore Forever Young –
Bob trading verses with Mark Knopfler – this show was a keeper.
Highlights came in unexpected places tonight. The Levee’s Gonna Break,
normally used as a momentum generator or even as a breather by Bob, was
simply white-hot. Bob sung it as if each line was an urgent dispatch from
the front. He almost over-sung it!
Another unexpected highlight was Desolation Row. It, surprisingly, made
an appearance for the second night running and this time it soared. Where
the previous night I had been struck by the new shapes of the lines, this
time it was the interplay between Bob and Charlie Sexton that really drew
my attention. Between them they set up a wonderful floating coda that
insinuated itself between verses. It was something pure and almost
heavenly like a peal of bells. The performance was elevated by it and the
lines took on fresh colouring as a result. Hard to explain this . . .
but I’m trying!
The performance of the night was Forgetful Heart with Donny
Herron playing Violin and the band hushed to a whisper Bob sang the lines
with great tenderness. It was an emotionally charged performance and it
stilled the packed and heaving crowd sanding on the ground floor in front
of the stage where I was.
Man In A Long Black Coat was set to a staccato beat and drew
a prowling performance from Bob as he sang with full-throated ease centre
stage, only the mic. and harp at his disposal. He enunciated this sober
tale of mortality with fearsome precision. Oh Mercy, indeed! And merci,
Bob.
Thunder On The Mountain roared like a caged Bobcat and Thin
Man reached some sort of apogee. This
song has been played and played on this tour, honed until it has reached
its critical mass. Tonight it exploded. What a performance – one of the
best I have witnessed in 45 shows I have attended.
The encores were a blast, Bob riding the crowd euphoria and
the general sense of end of tour jubilation in the air.
The encore of Forever Young with Knopfler ought not to have
worked but it really did. Knopfler
pointed to Bob as he sang the line ‘May your song always be sung’. The
crowd roared and just for a moment Bob allowed himself to be thanked. It
was touching.
So that was 2011 then.
Another year of the unique odyssey that is the so-called Never-Ending
Tour. This final show at Hammersmith was a sublime way to close the tour.
Happy Thanksgiving, Bob. Thank you for coming to London. See you down the
line. Now, have a rest, eat some pecan pie and see if you can’t paint
some more photos for us over the Xmas break!
Mr Jinx
Review by Tony
Bob was unbelievably good tonight. The band was again excellent and Stu
Kimball's lead work on Thunder on the Mountain showed that that it's not
just Charlie who's a great guitarist. Forgetful Heart was mesmerising and
Desolation Row again brilliant, although Bob got the last lines of the
first verse wrong (no riot squad and lady and I, but ambulances and
Cinderella instead, which he then repeated, correctly, in the next verse!)
Knopfler joined in on the first 3 numbers and then returned for an
unexpected encore after Rolling Stone had seemingly brought the show to a
conclusion. Not so, for Bob and Mark produced an absolutely stunning
Forever Young, with Mark bringing the house down as he sang the last verse
directly to Bob: "May your heart always be joyful, may your songs always
be sung, and may you stay Forever Young". I don't mind telling you I was
in tears.
I've seen Bob every time he's toured in England since 1965 and his voice
may be gruff now, but last night was among the greatest performances I've
seen.
Tony
Review by John Doyle
Third time this tour to see him and this was the best by far we got there
at 4pm and where in the lot that could have been at the very front but
chose half way on the barrier centre stage mark knoppler was good again
and he must be in the top 5 players in the world bob came on to a packed
house and did not let us down mk was very good with.bob on baby blue and
things have changed and he gives pill box hat something else the highlight
for me was desolation row where bob sang every word lasting over 11 mins
bril like a rolling stone again got the crowd gasping for more and the
forever young with mark k was out of this world 2 world class guys
together bob was at his best and key he stay forever young a great finish
to the tour
Review by Chris Job
The final night of this epic three night stand left me feeling quite overwhelmed.
The first two nights were shows of extraordinary intensity but tonight outdid
even those. I feel the need to simply express my gratitude to Bob for providing
my wife and I with one of those rare moments when live music reaches into the
soul in a truly special way, the magical rendition of Forever Young performed
with Mark Knopfler as a duet. Concluding an epic set that had featured stunning
renditions of Forgetful Heart and Man In the Long Black Coat(particular highlights
for me), this performance of my favourite Dylan song left me totally overwhelmed.
It epitomised for me just why this man has touched so many lives. I cannot say
any more.
Review by Paul Clayden
Really enjoyable concert. I was in the stalls on the RHS. I first saw Bob
back in 1981 at Earl's Court and 2011 has seen me really immerse myself in
his back catalogue. The Mono Box Set is incredible and I really got into
Blonde on Blonde and Highway 61 Revisited in a new way. Really came alive.
Plus the recent albums all sound fantastic. Te setlist last night,
therefore, was superb with 4 tracks off Highway 61 and and three off
Modern Times possibly the highlights. There is merit in including a few
songs off a particular album. Forgetful Heart was magnificent with a
magical Harmonica solo. The Levee's Gonna Break really left a big
impression and Honest with Me was absolutely classic. In my opinion Baby
Blue and all Along the Watchtower were the weaker songs. Ten out of ten to
the band. Crisp, clear and inspired. I just hope we get a Bootleg Series
Volume 10 celebrating this portion of the Never-Ending Tour. Was nice to
hear Man in the Long Black Coat. This concert hugely outstripped my last
Dylan concert - the disappointing 2009 concert at London's O2, even though
a number of tracks were repeated (7 in fact). Bob and the Band are playing
so well that I hope it means a new album might be forthcoming.
Paul Clayden
Review by Ken Cowley
I thought I’d write a wrap-up review of the last few shows on the Dylan/Knopfler tour,
focusing especially on the last show, but also touching on the entire tour, and where
the Never Ending Tour is at (for me) as 2011 draws to a close.
Essentially this has been a good tour. By any standards. But especially by the standard
of Dylan’s last few half-decade or so of touring. My opinion is that there has been a
steady improvement since 2009, following a steady decline since 2001. That decline
was very gradual though, and there were great periods within it, eg Fall 2002, Fall 2003,
the likes of Bonnaroo, Barrowlands 2004, Fall 2005 with the altered band line-up, Fall
2006 which had the fillip of the Modern Times songs, etc etc. But 2007, 2008 were
not so great really, so it’s been good to see a steady improvement since then.
However that does not mean his voice has improved. Far from it! The Dylan we see on
stage today does not have anywhere near the vocal range of the late 90s/early ‘00s,
nor even that of 2005. Coupled with this problem was that he seemed to get so fed up
of singing some songs that he began to phrase them in ever more bizarre ways. In the
heyday of the N.E.T. this was one of the ‘selling points’ for regular attendees, the fact
that not only did he regularly change the song arrangements, but he also changed the
phrasing, often from night to night. But, at that time, the ever changing phrasing
seemed to have some point to it, and he usually found some way to make the phrasing
fit the song, or whatever emotion he was trying to convey on the particular night. In
recent years, while he can still achieve this when he wants to, there have been occasions
when the bizarre phrasing didn’t seem to make any sense at all. Some songs seem to be
guiltier of this than others, eg Hattie Carroll and Hard Rain. So good to see things improve
on this front and that he continues to do 'interesting' things with what are left of his
vocal chords.
All of which brings us to a mild November day in Hammersmith last Monday. The tour had
been notable for several reasons. Firstly, of course, having Mark Knopfler as an opening
act. Having seen the opening night of the tour in Dublin 6 weeks ago, I had been
disappointed he played not one Dire Straits song, so it’s been good that he’s added
Brothers in Arms and So Far Away to his set. The rest of his set is pleasant rather than
inspirational, the most interesting thing for me being his guitar playing. He has definitely
added something to Dylan’s sets too, as from mid-tour on he joined Dylan every night for
the first 3 or 4 numbers, just playing guitar, and making a nice contribution to the band’s
sound.
The other notable thing about the tour is Dylan’s increased engagement with the
audience. From Glasgow onwards he had been out in the middle of the stage much more
than usual (up to half the numbers) – and in a much more energetic way, moving around
almost like a boxer just holding the microphone in one hand and his harmonica/harmonica
mike in the other hand and/or using the mike stand as a prop of sorts. This has made the
shows considerably more enjoyable visually, and haven’t hurt the musical performance at
all, quite the opposite actually.
By the London shows, the level of energy from earlier in the tour had perhaps ebbed a
little, but was still very evident on some songs. So, what were the highlights of the
London run? Here are a few examples;
Mississippi – very enjoyable new bouncy arrangement, making this the best live version
certainly since 2001
Blind Willie McTell – amazingly this is (arguably) even better than the great arrangement
he had been using since 1997, now cast in a genre that’s hard to define – part country,
part stomping 1920s dixieland jazz (if that makes any sense!), punctuated (and finished)
with some of the best hand-held harmonica you’ll ever see
Man in the Long Black Coat – this great song from 1989 has been transformed from a slow
atmospheric number to a powerful up-tempo opportunity for Bob to stalk the stage
barking out the verses in his best 2011 growl, again with fine harmonica
Forgetful Heart – I’ve seen some amazing versions of this since the song came out on
Dylan's last studio album in 2009, but the one on Sunday at Hammersmith probably tops
them all. This is 2011 Dylan at his best, and by far the quietest song he performs these
days (Dylan concerts are now very loud rock affairs, with very little acoustic or quiet songs).
Anyway, he gave this song an incredible vocal in London and performed it very theatrically
too, like some kind of torch-song, really communicating with the audience like he used to
in 1995 or 1999 or earlier in his career. At times during this performance I felt he was
incorporating the spirit of older performers, not the blues/country guys he normally reminds
us of but people like Sinatra, Fred Astaire, even Charlie Chaplin.
These are just a few highlights – lots of other songs were also very well performed over
these 3 nights, and my only complaints are that he plays slightly too many ‘by-number’
rock/rock’n’roll/blues numbers, and obviously we’d like a bit more set-list variation - his set-lists
having become a bit more static (by his own high standards of variety that is) in the last
couple of years, but this tour saw a small but significant improvement in variety. So overall
just a good solid run of shows, ending a very good tour.
The final thing I want to talk about before I sign off is the last song of that last show. Up
til then it had been a pretty good show, of a similar standard to the previous night, and
definitely better than the first Hammersmith show, but now we were to get a
performance/moment to take the show to another level.
I had been wondering would he ask Knopfler out for one final song, and sure enough there
he was, strapping on his red Strat(?) and, adjusting the microphone in the middle of the
stage. So, wow – we were to get a vocal duet – something that had not happened thus
far on the tour (he had only played guitar with Bob to this point), and indeed, I can’t
remember the last time Bob performed an actual proper vocal duet with someone – maybe
Norah Jones in 2005?
Anyway, it really was the special moment that people have been talking about. Ok,
perhaps nothing extraordinary musically, but just a very genuine and (presumably) relatively
unscripted moment and it led to a lovely communal feeling of warmth spreading across this
great old London venue. The song of course was Forever Young –Bob taking the 1st
verse, Mark the 2nd and sharing the 3rd. As people will know, not just from other reviews
but from the youtube vids(!), Knopfler sang the lyric ‘May your heart always be joyful, may
your song always be sung, and may you stay forever young’ right TO Bob, and gestured
with his arm to Bob on the line ‘may your song always be sung’ to which the place erupted.
You’d have had to have a heart of stone not to have enjoyed it, and if Knopfler was ever
to win over the Dylan audience, he did it right there.
The song finished up with a solid harmonica solo from Bob (this tour having seen a very
high standard of harmonica playing by the way), and the artists exchanged hugs with Bob
giving Mark plenty of acknowledgement, showing friendship and respect between these
two artists (and collaborators of old) in equal measure.
It was a fitting end to a decent year’s touring. With no rumours or news yet, who knows
what 2012 will hold, but let’s hope, as he approaches 71, that he keeps it fresh, enjoys
himself and is not done yet.
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