BOB DYLAN : WOLVERHAMPTON 2024 SECOND NIGHT

 

Disc One (51:36)

  1. All Along The Watchtower
  2. It Ain't Me, Babe
  3. I Contain Multitudes
  4. False Prophet
  5. When I Paint My Masterpiece
  6. Black Rider
  7. My Own Version Of You
  8. To Be Alone With You
  9. Crossing The Rubicon

Disc Two (49:02)

  1. Desolation Row
  2. Key West (Philosopher Pirate)
  3. Watching The River Flow
  4. It's All Over Now, Baby Blue
  5. I've Made Up My Mind To Give Myself To You
  6. Mother Of Muses
  7. Goodbye Jimmy Reed
  8. Every Grain Of Sand

Label : no label

Venue : Civic Hall, Wolverhampton, England

Recording Date : November 10, 2024

Quality : Audience Recording (A+)

Concert Review (Boblinks) : I was sat in the stalls about 15 rows back surrounded by die hard Dylan fans and younger people who were seeing him for the first time. At 7.33 pm members of the band walked onto the stage. They picked up their instruments and settled down. Tony Garnier set the beat and they started the movement into 'All Along The Watchtower'. Then Dylan walks onstage at the rear curtain, silhouetted like a shadow boxer and the venue erupts into applause and cheers. The song hits a nasty blues type groove, Dylan clattering away on the piano feeling his way into the song and show. When Dylan sat down almost out of sight on the piano stool playing raw and angular notes on his guitar the sound was as if the heavens were splitting open. I felt my eyes brimming with tears as the history of 'It Ain't Me, Babe' as a song unfolded in front of me. I could sense there and then this was going to be a special show. By 'False Prophet' the band started to sound immense. I had a clear site line of the full stage and was able to see the great interplay between the musicians. Dylan stood by the side of the piano leaning forward, knee bent, pushing out a fine bluesy rasping vocal. The audience were in fine form, very attentive and respectful with hardly any movement throughout. When Jim Keltner started 'Desolation Row" with a thunderous Buddy Holly style rolling groove the room felt like it was on fire. Dylan moved into a blistering harmonica solo after several verses which became an extended foray into unleashed spontaneity. As the song finished he was met with a full standing ovation from the stunned crowd. The silence in the hall during 'Key West (Philosopher Pirate) was something in itself. Never have I witnessed an audience so focused than this at a Dylan concert. Dylan picking out plaintive notes on the piano with a sparse backing from only Bob Britt and Doug Lancio. It was something to behold, Dylan searching for new love and inspiration right there in front of our eyes. When the beautiful chords of 'Every Grain Of Sand' started a young man walked past me down the aisle. He stood on the fringe of the stage to the left but was moved away politely by a steward. When Dylan hit the line "Don't have the inclination to look back on any mistake" someone called out near me "Yeah Bob!" it felt like an affirmation of truth from all of our lives. The young man took a vacated seat just in front of me to the left and stared transfixed at the stage. He reminded me of seeing Dylan for the first time back in 1978. He nods his head as Dylan moves to pick up the harmonica. The sound resonates and swirls around the venue, deep then high piercing tones lifting the song to a glorious and stunning finish. The crowd then get up and are walking swiftly down the aisles towards the stage while Dylan and his band soak in the prolonged applause. It had been one hell of a show. Then they were gone, heading off into the night, making a rendezvous with the grand finale in London.