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16/11/2005

Last night’s opening English show: “masterful”

Gerry Bamford is a Dylan vet, and he has the campaign medals to prove it: he was one of the loyalists who welcomed the electric set on the 1966 tour, at the Cardiff gig. This is his report from last night’s Nottingham show, the opener in the English leg of Dylan’s Fall 2005 European tour.

“We had low expectations for the arena venue, an ice rink in real life, but they were confounded. From our seats, centre stage, six rows from the front, the sound and the sight lines were well-nigh perfect. Every single instrument was audible, clear as a bell, all night long. And firm stewarding meant that the crowd remained seated until the end. Luxury.

“It was a top quality gig. Dylan in great voice, firmly leading the band from the keyboard which has replaced the piano. The rockabilly-tinged set was richly varied, with some original instrumentation – pedal steel, fiddle and banjo contrasting with the usual array of guitars. Evoking Zorro, Dylan was a picture, his sartorial elegance highlighted by the band’s uniform grey suits. This must be pretty near the kind of choreographed rock band Dylan envisioned when stepping nervously onto the stage at Hibbing High School in the 1950s.

“Highlights? Many, but Summer Days, the jazzy shuffle of Floater, and the banjo-backed Blind Willie McTell are burnt in my memory.

Setlist:

Maggie’s Farm
The Times
Lonesome Day Blues
Love Minus Zero
It’s Alright, Ma
Red Sky
Tweedle Dee & Tweedle Dum
Blind Willie McTell
Highway 61
John Brown>> 500 Miles
Floater
Honest With Me
Masters Of War
Summer Days
Like A Rolling Stone
All Along The Watchtower.”

Writer Gerry Bamford is a song and dance man in Back Pages, a Dylan tribute band much in demand in Norfolk, England. Forthcoming gigs: The Lord Nelson in Burnham Thorpe, this Thursday, 17 Nov; and The Ostrich, Castle Acre, on Sat 26 Nov. Details from Gerrybamford@aol.com

The Dylan Daily is covering the 2005 English shows with exclusive, expert reports: watch this space.

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