In the past four months Bob Dylan As much as the focus of pop culture than ever in recent times. This is mainly based on Timothée Chalamet’s representation of Dylan in authorized filming A complete unknown due to. She played over $ 130 million and received eight Oscar nominations. In addition, she placed a mass audience in one Surreal episode of Saturday night livethe chalamet moderated as part of its Oscar campaign, profound pieces such as “Outlaw Blues” and “Three Angels”.
Dylan himself played a role in the hustle and bustle. Simply by Twitter and Instagram Use astonishingly and thus made some headlines. We are still trying to find out why he is one Machine Gun Kelly’s clip from 2016, in which he was in a record store in Orlando rap. And who is the hell “Mary Jo”? He really has A Buffalo Sabres player met in an elevator in a Prague hotel? Did he really post all of this himself? We have no idea. However, during all this time, Dylan never appeared publicly.
That changed on Tuesday evening when the 2025 stage of the Rough and Rowdy Ways-Tour in the Tulsa Theater started with 2,800 seats. Dylan fans from all over the world flocked to Oklahoma for the show. And expected changes in the set that were as unpredictable as his appearance on the Outlaw Tour last summer. Then he played cover versions of Grateful Dead and Chuck Berry. And he revived originals such as “Under the Red Sky” and “Shooting Star”, which he had not played for ages.
Constant reinvention of the songs
But similar to the European tour in October/November 2024, which followed the Outlaw Festival, this was a return to the standard show Rough and Rowdy Ways. In fact, it was exactly the 17-song set that he played when he finished 2024 with three evenings in the Royal Albert Hall in London. For fans who followed the show live over fan forums, this may have been disappointing. But for those of us who were lucky enough to experience them live, none of them felt even more experienced, safe or predictable. Thanks to its constant reinvention of the songs.
When it started with “All Along the Watchtower”, a lot was obvious immediately. First of all, drummer Jim Keltner is not there and was replaced by Anton Fig. This is especially for his many years of activity in the Late show with David Letterman known. Fig has a history with Dylan, which up to the Empire Burlesque-Sessions from 1985. It was also clear that the four -month break from the tour gave his vocal cords time to rest and recover. From the distorted “Wolfman Voice”that plagues the shows in the past can no longer be heard. It was replaced by a soothing purr, in which almost every syllable is clear.
A show for real fans
“It ain’t Me Babe” followed on “All Along the Watchtower”. Which certainly made the ears of some fans listen to the fact that they would actually experience an evening with well -known oldies. But that wasn’t that. With the possible exception of “Desolation Row” and “It’s All Over Now, Baby Blue”-not exactly classic rock radio favorites-nothing else in the set could only be described as “hit”. This is a show for real fans who make up the vast majority of his live audience at that time. Most occasional fans gave it up to see him live 25 years ago.
Similar to last year, “When I Paint My Masterpiece” was sung for the melody of “Istanbul (not Constantinople)”. And “Black Rider” and “My Own Version of You” were radically reduced to Dylan’s voice and piano. With minimal accompaniment by the band. The effect was urgent and put the crowd in breathless silence. Even if this is the same songs from Rough and Rowdy Ways May act that he has been playing since 2021, they sound very different from that time. You never stopped developing. Just like the traditional folk music that Dylan played in his early days.
After an exuberant “to be alone with you”, Dylan told the audience that they would come back after a ten -minute break. They returned with “Crossing the Rubicon” and an overwhelming “Desolation Row” that got a large part of the audience. It is the 60th anniversary of the epic “Highway 61 revisited“. His strength is unbroken. Even if Dylan has painted some of the later verses (one day we will hear him the segments“ All the Agents and the Superhuman Crew ”and“ Titanic Sails at Dawn ”again, but not now.)
Undoubtedly one of the best songs he has written since the turn of the century
“Key West” was the emotional highlight of the Rough and Rowdy Ways Kickoff show in Milwaukee in 2021 and got better over time. This was a sparse, slow arrangement that emphasized every word of the song. That describes the escape of a man into a new life “beyond the sea, beyond the Treisand” in Key West, Florida. It is undoubtedly one of the best songs he has written since the turn of the century.
It should be noted that it was a show without cell phones and all devices were deposited on the door in locked yondr bags. This caused a lot. But was the right step. At the shows of the Outlaw Festival last summer, it was logistically not possible to ban cell phones. Many fans spent the entire duration of his set to take photos, turn videos, send complete songs to friends or scroll through social media.
This was a completely different environment in which the attention of all 100 percent was on stage. Let’s hope that this trend will continue.
“In the anger of the moment I can see the hand of the master”
Dylan never left the stage for an encores. But he briefly introduced the band before ending the evening with “Goodbye Jimmy Reed” and “Every Grain of Sand”. The latter is the only song in the set that was recorded between 1971 and 2020. It was created in 1981 towards the end of his gospel phase. And was great from that moment when he a coarse demo with the barking of his dogs in the background. Like many songs from this time, the search for God is in a world that is dominated by chaos. “In the anger of the moment I can see the hand of the master,” he wrote. “In every trembling leaf, in every grain of sand.”
When it was over, Dylan took a short look at the crowd next to the stage before the lights became darker and they disappeared from the field of vision. This was the first of astonishing 57 shows that he will play until September. A demanding schedule for a musician of all ages. For a man who is about his 84th birthday, this is remarkable. Regardless of how luxurious he travels.
If you have avoided Dylan over the years because you have heard that he doesn’t play the right songs or his voice is no longer the best, we advise you to hide it. And to look at this show yourself. He plays the right songs for this moment. And despite decades of wear and tear, his voice is still a powerful instrument.
A dozen sequels of A complete unknown
It is also easy to accept Dylan’s live concerts as a matter of course, since he has been practically continuous on tour since Reagan’s term. But one day in the not too distant future, the “Never Ending Tour” will actually come to an end. At the moment, however, there are still 56 shows, and retirement is not even possible. In a career that with enough big moments for a dozen sequels of A complete unknown is filled, his commitment to life on the street could be the most impressive.
Bob Dylan’s complete setlist in the Tulsa Theater on March 25th:
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
10. Desolation ROW
11. Key West (Philosopher Pirate)
12. Watching the River Flow
13. It’s all over Now, Baby Blue
14. I’ve made up my mind to give myself to you
15. Mother of Muses
16. Goodbye Jimmy Reed
17. Every grain of sand