We Breathe the Same Air

 Bob Dylan's 80th birthday was this year. For decades now he has been constantly touring, so when the COVID pandemic shut down all travel last year, he had to cancel any upcoming dates and put things on hold. During lockdown, he unexpectly graced the world with an 18-minute meditation on the Kennedy assassination, "Murder Most Foul", and eventually followed that up with his most recent album, Rough and Rowdy Ways. This was enough to hold Dylan fans over for awhile, but all were jolted with the announcement a couple months ago that he was going back on tour, and taking the new album on the road. As you'd expect, fans began snatching up tickets.

I was among those fans. When I saw he was playing one date in Boston, I had to get tickets. I have seen Dylan live only once before, back in 2011 during the ballpark tour. As Bob gets older, these opportunities grow slimmer, so I was glad to take advantage of this one. 

And that's how I found myself at the Wang Theater last night seated up in the balcony just right of center awaiting to hear what oldies he would dust off and reintepret, and how he would sound on the new material. The pandemic has thankfully waned enough that it was a pretty crowded event. I don't know if it was completely sold out, but it was full. It was rather annoying to have to show proof of vaccination upon entry. I almost didn't go on principle, but Dylan's 80, so I let it go. Boston is still obsessed with mandates over COVID. What's most frustrating is that despite vaccination proof, it was also still required we all wear masks. You'd think if we all had to be masked it shouldn't matter (that is, if masks actually work). Also worth noting that some of the ushers did not practice very good mask protocol, as I noticed some wearing them under their nose and one who had it down over his chin, so what was even the point? This actually bothered a concert-goer near me, who seemed still a little paranoid around crowds.

What's interesting about an audience at a Dylan concert (and probably some other '60s performers still touring), is the wide demographic of fans. You get a lot of twentysomethings and college kids, folks my age, and the old-timers who've been around for years. I saw one little girl who couldn't have been more than six. I was seated next to an older couple who had seen Bob play in Lowell back during the legendary Rolling Thunder Revue. After the show, a group of girls were leaving who were probably teens or early twenties. I heard one of them almost in awe saying, "We breathed the same air as him!" 

One thing that was annoying is how many people did not arrive on time. During the first several numbers there were still people filing in and finding their seats. There was no opening act; it was just Dylan and his band for 90 minutes. Multiple times people were in the wrong seats and had to move. Was a little distracting. But I appreciate that Dylan didn't hold the house or anything. He started on time and did what he came to do.

Since the start of the tour, set lists of the previous dates have been out there. I tried to avoid them so as not to have preconceived notions of what he might play, apart from the understanding that the set would heavily feature the new album. Part of the fun with a Dylan live show is he'll alter the arrangements on his back catalog so you don't always know what he's playing until he starts singing (and sometimes not even then). I remember the last concert, he opened with "Cat's in the Well" of all things! Last night he opened with "Watching the River Flow", and followed it up with a pretty faithful arrangement of "Most Likely You Go Your Way (and I'll Go Mine)". Then of course he did the first couple selections from the new album. His band of course is fantastic. They've been playing with him for decades now and they always sound great. Particularly on the new numbers though, you can tell that Dylan and the band are really in a groove on these new songs. Dylan seems to take more care singing them, unlike the old ones where we all know the words already (until he decides to change them). He spent most of the night behind the piano, but every now and then he would come out from behind to sing. 

He seemed interested this tour in dusting off the songs of the late '60s and early '70s. I wonder if this is tied to some of the more recent Bootleg Series releases being of that era, or if that's just what he felt like this (4th) time around. After "Watching the River Flow", we had "When I Paint My Masterpiece", which had opened all the dates of Rolling Thunder back in 1975. I had heard rumor this would be his opener, but it turned out not to be the case. He also did one track each off John Wesley Harding and Nashville Skyline. His current version of "I'll Be Your Baby Tonight" was certainly a surprise. 

Peppered between were a few more Rough and Rowdy tracks. "Black Rider" sounded really good live, and the audience at the Wang seemed to be really into it. Dylan also brought out "Early Roman Kings" with a slightly different tempo. I've always thought of it a one of the lesser tracks on the Tempest album, but this version wasn't bad. Then after powering through a version of "To Be Alone With You" all dressed up for dancin', they began playing "Key West (Philosopher Pirate)", one of the centerpieces of the new album, and a fairly long song. It was rather hypnotic.

But then came for me what was one of the highlights: a seriously rocking new arrangement of "Gotta Serve Somebody". Without the gospel back up singers, Dylan and company rocked it up and sped it up. And because it's basically a list song, Dylan indulges himself in singing lots of new lyrics. None of them come to mind at the moment, but there were very few lyrics from the original record, apart from the important ones: "Might be the Devil, might be the Lord, but you've got to serve somebody." And on the last repeat, he even emphasized, "You've really got to serve somebody!"

What followed was "I've Made Up My Mind to Give Myself to You" from the new album and I cannot think that sequencing was a coincidence. The song, a gentle ballad, is easily taken as a love song (particularly with the reference to "her" at one point), but considering Dylan chose to follow "Serve Somebody" with it, I couldn't help feeling the religious overtones in the song. Especially with such lyrics as "I'd preach the gospel, the gospel of love/a love so real, a love so true/I've made up my mind to give myself to you." It honestly had shadows of "I Believe in You" or perhaps with the "is it about God or a girl" angle, a song like "Covenant Woman" or "Precious Angel". We had just seen our first snowfall in Eastern Massachusetts the previous night, so when Dylan stepped out from behind the piano and sang "I saw the first fall of snow," there were little cheers form the audience. It was a very moving performance.

Dylan then slipped briefly into crooner mode to dust off one of the standards from his Sinatra period of a few years ago. Throughout the night he seemed in rather good voice. He continued with a lovely performance of "Mother of Muses", before capping things off with "Goodbye Jimmy Reed". The band is great on the album there, but I think this is one of the songs that they've tightened up musically while on the road.

As the night was coming to a close, Dylan got a little playful, saying "It's good to be in Boston, home of Bunker Hill and Beacon Hill and Blue Hill... Lot a hills around here!" Then he got to talking about Paul Revere, and had us all give a cheer for Paul Revere. He even then threw in a nod to his recent dabbling in iron sculpture by noting, "Paul Revere was an iron worker. You know, I've done some iron work myself!" Seemed in good spirits, which was delightful.

There were no encores, no dragging out "Like a Rolling Stone" for those who expected it. Instead, he introduced the band and then gave us one final closer, an unexpected and wonderful choice, "Every Grain of Sand." After the one-two punch of "Serve Somebody" and "I've Made Up My Mind", coupled with the meditative mood of "Mother of Muses", it felt appropriate to end the evening on this call to God. Dylan the elder statesman seems rather reflective these days. For me, there was no better song to close with. The arrangement played very faithful to the version on Shot of Love (though sadly no harmonica), but with the "perfect finished plan" lyric, which I loved. 

Maybe some were disappointed there was nothing more to follow, but it was a nice way to spend 90 minutes. And I have to respect Dylan for not doing an encore in a time when it's become obligatory. I'm glad I got the chance to see him and if I never do again, I can consider myself blessed that the last thing I heard him sing live was "I am hanging in the balance of a perfect finished plan/like every sparrow falling, like every grain of sand." After two years of paranoia and pandemics it was a thrill for us all to come together last night and breathe the same air.