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BOB DYLAN : OXFORD 2022 |
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Disc One (54:54)
Disc Two (54:25)
Label : no label Venue : New Theatre Oxford, Oxford, England Recording Date : November 4, 2022 Quality : Audience recording (A+) Concert Review (Boblinks) : This show was a very welcome late addition to the Bob's UK tour. It was quickly sold out which might explain why there was minimal publicity at the theatre, just one vinyl album size poster immediately outside the main entrance was all I could see. The New Theatre Oxford has a capacity of under 1,800 making it the smallest venue that I have seen a Dylan show in. So I was hoping for a good view of Bob but was disappointed. From my seat high up in the gods Bob was a shadowy figure, hunched behind his centre-stage, front facing upright piano. Bob and his band were set up closer to the back than the front of the stage. The lighting came from the floor, catching the faces of the standing band members but leaving those like Bob, who were sitting to play, covering up their own lighting. The show was phone free . but it would have been hard to film! Bob's vocals and his musicians were great, the sound crystal clear throughout the show. It was so nice to hear Bob throwing himself into performing from Rough and Rowdy Ways, emphasising lines and words, to bring more out of these songs. The personnel may change but as ever, the band members had their fixed eyes on Bob and his playing at all times. You could almost feel their effort of concentration. Bob stayed at the piano throughout the show, standing up a few times to acknowledge the audience. A centre set stand-up microphone was never used. The show went straight through without an encore, ending with a joyful Every Grain of Sand. The show started at 8pm and ended at about 9.50pm Bob evidently enjoyed his trip to the dreamy spires of Oxford, an historical and renowned university town. Joking during band introductions that Bob Britt or Doug Lancio (can't remember which now) "Had a PhD and would fit right in" before adding "Nice place to live". The audience was made up of predominantly veteran fans with a good sprinkling of younger people. One fan dressed as millennium Dylan, the dude cowboy, considerately taking off his hat when he sat down. Someone waiting at the stage door said that a fan calling out to Bob to sign a vinyl album was rewarded with a wave as Bob departed in his limo. |