Recommendations of the Editorial team
As part of his long-term power tour, which (as reported) recently took him to Germany, Bob Dylan performed in Glasgow at the SEC Armadillo Arena on November 16th and 17th.
On both evenings, the 83-year-old impressively showed that he continues to be on stage with full presence and artistic willingness to take risks. The Scottish daily newspaper “The Herald” said that Dylan was “still very watchable and still full of fun and playfulness”.
The magazine “Uncut” described the concerts as “an extremely exciting tightrope walk: like a troupe of acrobats starting the tightrope act while the rope is still being stretched. Everything could collapse at any time – but Dylan, who even made himself laugh while croaking out individual lines, continued the experiment tirelessly.
On the second evening in particular, a “newly born, crazy arrangement” returned, but now grew into something “bigger, stranger” – a set full of sparks, corners, edges, “feathers and scales”.
Dylan continues to seduce critics and admirers with poetic descriptions of his performances.
Incident before the start of the concert
However, an incident off stage caused a stir: Daniel Hildebrand, operator of the popular “Daily Dylan” accounts with over 55,000 followers on Instagram, 48,000 on Facebook and other social media presences, was expelled from the hall before the concert began on Monday.
Hildebrand writes that he has been declared “persona non grata” – presumably because of the activities of his professional fan account, which shares set lists, fan videos and photos of other concert goers without recording any of his own material. He states that he does not “monetize” his platform.
In a public statement he announced via “Daily Dylan” that he would no longer post any photos, videos or audio from ongoing tours; They are also considering closing the various accounts completely. The decision is difficult because a large, committed community has formed around the project.
It remains unclear whether the measure came from the operator of the arena in Glasgow or was initiated by “Team Dylan”. Dylan himself is known for being relatively lax about all kinds of material on social media. The online magazine “Stereogum” has asked Dylan’s management for a statement, but has not yet received a response.