BOB DYLAN – MONDAY 10TH OCTOBER 2011 – MANCHESTER UK

Unusually for Dylan there was a support and unusually for a support act it was an act that often fills the same venue on his own. Mark Knopfler.

I was privileged to see Dire Straits in about 1985 at the peak of their powers and a momentous occasion it was. I have also seen Knopfler twice since as a solo artist and enjoyed the shows on both occasions although the second time included very few Straits songs and I had decided not to see him again. I had also heard that his support act was a bit lame so was not really looking forward to it. To my surprise the performance was very good and well worth the 75 minutes and almost double the planned time. Of course Brothers in Arms was the highlight but generally speaking I enjoyed every track and continue to be amazed by Knopflers unique guitar playing and the musicality of all his songs.

This however is a review of the Dylan set but I am wondering if the presence of a support and a good one at that altered the normal mood of a Dylan show as there did not seem to be the usual sense of anticipation and even the customary introductory address seemed to finish before it started and go somewhat unheard. The applause between songs seemed a little muted and the demand for an encore was almost non existent but perhaps so many Bobcats now know that they will get the customary encores whether they demand it or not. Dare I say predictability is creeping in? Well actually it crept in a very long time ago. So much so that in the intermission and based on the set lists from the previous 3 shows in Dublin and Glasgow we (my Bobcat mate Ian and myself) had worked out what he was going to play. Notwithstanding we were wrong, we did get 12 out of 14 right.

The band was loud but not too loud (by a whisker) and Bob's voice was also loud and generally speaking was good after the first song or two getting used to the sound. By the time he had sung fairly strong versions of Don’t think Twice, Tangled up in Blue, Simple Twist of Fate and Hard Rain’s a Gonna Fall (all of which have softer alternative forms) I had given up hope of him singing a couple of softies like he had done on the last couple of tours such as Girl From the North Country, Visions of Johanna and Just Like a woman and assumed he did not think his voice was up to it. I love these softer songs as they stand out so incredibly against the rockier ones and in turn make the rockier ones themselves stand out that much more.

Then Dylan played or should I say sang Forgetful Heart. Okay it's not quite of the ilk of the three classics I mentioned above but WOW: one of the greatest moments in my Dylan concert going life as he sang the song with such passion.

It also disappoints me that Bob never takes advantage of the rare occasions that he shares a stage with another artist and does not plan some sort of joint contribution. This is never more disappointing and surprising when the person supporting him is actually someone he has worked with or performed jointly with before.

I recall some years ago Dylan was supported at the same venue by Van Morrison and but for Van singing Its All Over Now Baby Blue during his own set. Mark Knopfler of course performed on a couple of Dylan albums during his gospel period and produced Infidels so could easily have added that unexpected moment that used to frequently happen at Dylan concerts from the early 60s to the mid 80s

I am beginning to wonder if Dylan is trying to do something with his songs that perhaps no one has yet realised but appears at first to be simply playing them into the ground. I think he might be trying to break them down in the same way that Picasso broke down paintings into a form that became known as Cubism. The way Dylan breaks all the songs into phrases of a few words that he more or less shouts out with Donny firing a shot on his lap steel between each phrase to exaggerate the effect. His determination to do this is possibly the reason for the never ending tour. I will look at this more in my next posting in which I will try to summarise the past 35 years of my “Life with Bob Dylan”.

So back to last night. I had a great seat with a clear view and sound although I was behind Bob when he played Keyboard which I do think added to my feeling of “remoteness” (Ian: take note when booking seats, Bob is always stage right). All in all this was a very good Dylan concert but not a great one or classic and not quite as good as on his last couple of visits to the North of England (Sheffield and Liverpool).

There was an extra facet to this particular concert as I had invited 2 friends/relations (Harriet and Phillip) who had never seen Dylan before. I warned them what to expect although not in much detail but I did provide them with a sample set list which I was right to say was a fairly good representation of the set list they eventually experienced. I think they were concerned in advance as to whether they would like it and certainly their expectations were not what they experienced as I think they were anticipating something from at least the pre-gospel 80s and possibly even pre electric 60s and I think Phillip quite enjoyed it but Harriet did not (although she is now a Mark Knopfler fan) but I suspect neither felt it was a life changing experience.