One for the Sydneysiders – Bob Dylan is playing the Enmore theatre in a couple of weeks, Sun 19th Aug. Nice small place, tickets correspondingly run from very-expensive to oh-my-god. Goes on sale tomorrow (Mon 6th). I’m not curious enough to justify it, definitely not a fan, and several leagues away from being anywhere near knowledgeable on the catalog. Keep trying to convince myself to buy the albums everyone recommends and never get round to it…
Dylan playing the Enmore Sydney on Sun 19th Aug
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Yep, nice venue for this band.
I will be doing the stadiums in Melbourne. At least they are smaller stadiums.
He’s doing the new ICC as the primary gig in Sydney. Haven’t been there yet, but David Byrne is there later in the year, which definitely is tempting.
2 gigs in an arena down here in Melbourne but also playing Wollongong and Newcastle in NSW. It’s a late announcement for this gig esp given the date was always reserved for a second Sydney show. I guess Mike Chugg the promoter’s loss is the gig goers gain in getting to see him in such a small venue. I expect the performance to be the best of all in such an environment.
The ICC’s of the ‘pack em in, charge em lots’ breed of venues. Small uncomfortable seats, with leg room comparable to cattle class on a 747. We were in the nosebleed section for Stevie Nicks/The Pretenders, and although the show was great, they had to work hard to generate any kind of atmosphere. The venue seems more designed for conferences rather than concerts. Very flat and wide, so you could be in the front row and still have a rubbish view. Was tempted by David Byrne, but the venue’s put me off. As soulless aircraft hangars go, I preferred the old Entertainment Centre.
I hate those conference venues being used for concerts.
Maybe it would work better if Dylan did his concert like a conference – say, a PowerPoint presentation with the lyrics, so you know what he’s singing…some teamwork exercises, where Bob pretends to be an entertainer, and the audience gets a chance to react appropriately…a break for tea/coffee and nibbles..?
Last couple of tours his lyrics have been crystal clear.
@sniffity he practically invented Powerpoint
We have him here in Singapore tomorrow night (Mon 6th Aug) at a reasonably small venue. I’ll be taking my teenage son.
Review, please
I’ll try and put some more thoughts together later, but initial reaction was that it was a great show – the band were fantastic, the sound really good and Bob seemed on good form (although there was zero interaction with the audience). Highlights were Gotta Serve Somebody, Desolation Row, Balled of A Thin Man (encore) and Highway 61
Here’s the setlist….
Things Have Changed
It Ain’t Me, Babe
Highway 61 Revisited
Simple Twist of Fate
Duquesne Whistle
When I Paint My Masterpiece
Honest With Me
Tryin’ to Get to Heaven
Make You Feel My Love
Pay in Blood
Tangled Up in Blue
Early Roman Kings
Desolation Row
Love Sick
Don’t Think Twice, It’s All Right
Thunder on the Mountain
Gotta Serve Somebody
Encore:
Blowin’ in the Wind
Ballad of a Thin Man
Any thoughts from your son?
He loved it – despite only recognising a half dozen or so songs (which given Bob’s current mode of re-inventing his songs live is pretty impressive !). He was particularly impressed with the band (he does play guitar).
He’s actually gone and put together a spotify playlist from across Dylan’s whole catalogue and so I guess thats a success in itself.
that’s a great setlist – looks to be more variety across the years than when I last saw him, and no Sinatra covers, which can only be a good thing
Thanks @Chrisf
Funny how Bob used to justify radically reworked versions of songs by saying it is boring doing the same thing time after time. Well, that set list, and those of recent years, have so many songs that have the tread worn off the tyres.
I will be attending 2 shows in Melbourne and I would quite happily not hear the asterisked songs:
Things Have Changed
It Ain’t Me, Babe*
Highway 61 Revisited*
Simple Twist of Fate*
Duquesne Whistle
When I Paint My Masterpiece
Honest With Me
Tryin’ to Get to Heaven
Make You Feel My Love
Pay in Blood
Tangled Up in Blue
Early Roman Kings
Desolation Row*
Love Sick
Don’t Think Twice, It’s All Right*
Thunder on the Mountain
Gotta Serve Somebody
Encore:
Blowin’ in the Wind*
Ballad of a Thin Man*
A lot of the songs in the set have been reworked / re-invented , so I would say its still worth hearing them. It was actually the first time I’d seen Dylan live so had no pre conceptions etc.
Interestingly, according to setlist.fm he’s only played “Gotta Serve Somebody” once before on this tour (in Seoul at the end of July) and that was the first time since 2011. It was one of the highlights of the evening for me – hope you get in Melbourne on at least one of the nights.
Hmmm – not sure I could cop 2 nights of current Bob, in a way I’d prefer the “intimate” Enmore show though. Will think on it…
Enmore tix sold pretty quick. Any left will be in the gods.
Even the very back of the Enmore gods is closer than most stadium seats I’ve ever had…and it has it’s own bar. The only issue for me is looking down at an angle of about 30-something degrees all night.
You’ll be able to tell people after that at one point in his career Bob Dylan looked up to you.
I reckon you will get a different and probably better show there.
You still believe he looks at his audience? I think you confuse him with Van Morrison.
The Grauniad seems to like the Perth concert – https://www.theguardian.com/music/2018/aug/09/bob-dylan-review-