| November 21st, 2005 09:51 PM |
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| Ten Thousand Motels |
Bob Dylan begins London residency
NME.com
The star wows fans on first night of five in the capital
Bob Dylan began a five night residency in London yesterday (November 20).
The troubadour is playing all this week at the Brixton Academy and was on form as he played a set that featured songs from throughout his career.
Clearly buoyed by the recent success of documentary 'No Direction Home', a crowd of mixed ages witnessed Dylan in particularly animated form, and though his only words to the crowd all night were "thanks friends" at the end, he spent much of the gig coming out from behind his keyboards and playing harmonica solos at the front of the stage.
Dylan played the following set:
'Rumble'
'Drifter's Escape'
'Señor (Tales Of Yankee Power)'
'God Knows'
'To Ramona'
'It's Alright, Ma (I'm Only Bleeding)'
'Queen Jane Approximately'
'Til I Fell In Love With You'
'Stuck Inside Of Mobile With The Memphis Blues Again'
'New Morning'
'Highway 61 Revisited'
'Man In The Long Black Coat'
'Honest With Me'
'Desolation Row'
'Summer Days'
'Don't Think Twice, It's All Right'
'All Along The Watchtower'
It was a set that certainly won approval with fans, with one telling NME.COM "Tonight is the best I've seen Bobby play in almost 20 years" while another, admitting it was his first Dylan gig, explained: "It was just stunning. I didn't know what to expect and was surprised he didn't play guitar, but even so he was just a great performance."
Dylan continues at Brixton until November 24 before concluding his European tour with two dates at the Dublin Point (November 26-27).
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| November 22nd, 2005 12:05 AM |
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| GimmeExile |
I just saw that Dylan played the first verse of London Calling tonight...also, opened the show with another tribute to Link Wray. |
| November 22nd, 2005 02:15 AM |
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| wisertime |
London shows will be something special again, like in 2003.
He already played 84 different songs in this european tour.
Amazing!! |
| November 22nd, 2005 04:58 AM |
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| MRD8 |
I just downloaded the November 20th show from Dime...its great quality! |
| November 22nd, 2005 05:12 AM |
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| wisertime |
quote:
MRD8 wrote:
I just downloaded the November 20th show from Dime...its great quality!
Great recordings for this european tour. Yeah Brixton 1st is good but these ones are awesome :
-22/10 AALBORG
-24/10 HAMBURG
-25/10 BERLIN
-26/10 HANNOVER
-30/10 WETZLAR
-01/11 BRUSSELS
If you want to download some from dime, choose Brussels, Hamburg and Berlin, great shows ! |
| November 22nd, 2005 02:44 PM |
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| Martha |
I know where I wish I was right now. |
| November 22nd, 2005 04:33 PM |
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| wisertime |
quote:
Martha wrote:
I know where I wish I was right now.
The same here, and London is only 2 hours from my home.
Is Gazza in London ? Lucky man.. |
| November 22nd, 2005 04:43 PM |
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| MRD8 |
Martha,
Did you get the November 1st Brussels show yet? |
| November 22nd, 2005 04:49 PM |
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| GimmeExile |
Has anyone heard this *soundboard* recording of Dylan's 10/26/05 show in Hannover, Germany?
Check out this torrent at Bootcity:
http://www.bootcity.org/showthread.php?t=4611 |
| November 22nd, 2005 05:02 PM |
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| wisertime |
quote:
GimmeExile wrote:
Has anyone heard this *soundboard* recording of Dylan's 10/26/05 show in Hannover, Germany?
Check out this torrent at Bootcity:
http://www.bootcity.org/showthread.php?t=4611
Soundboard ?? really ? I didn't hear about that. |
| November 22nd, 2005 05:06 PM |
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| GimmeExile |
quote:
wisertime wrote:
Soundboard ?? really ? I didn't hear about that.
Yeah, I was shocked when I saw the torrent. I think I'm going to download it tonight... |
| November 22nd, 2005 05:07 PM |
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| wisertime |
quote:
GimmeExile wrote:
Yeah, I was shocked when I saw the torrent. I think I'm going to download it tonight...
Ok, let us know !! Thanks !
Erfurt show is on dimeadozen. |
| November 22nd, 2005 05:32 PM |
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| Gazza |
I'm just back a few hours ago (after being delayed by fog) from two amazing nights in Brixton
Suffice to say that it was amazing. Yep, he opened both shows with Link Wray's "Rumble", but it was only a few bars of it
Of the other actual 16 songs that he played on night one, he only repeated FOUR of them the following evening - Its Alright Ma, Honest with me, Highway 61 Revisited and All Along The Watchtower..and the following night he threw in London Calling for good measure
You can only imagine what THAT was like. First encore, you're wondering what the hell he's going to play next and then.. BAM-BAM BAM-BAM BAM-BAM BAM-BAM..
..and I turned to my mate and said "that sounds like London Calling"..we shook our heads and agreed "nah..its some old song that hes rearranged and we're not familiar with..and then comes that drum roll just like Topper Headon did on the original and.....CHRIST, it IS!
The only let down was that he only played one verse and chorus of it. The crowd were going absolutely nuts, and then he teased them by stopping it and segueing into "Like A Rolling Stone".
After two shows this good, it was almost like it had got to the stage where he was taking the piss. (what else is he gonna play this week? 'Guns of Brixton' ?)
And if all that wasnt enough, on night two he played another song for the first time ever "waiting for you", a beautiful country tinged arrangement of an obscure song from the "Secrets of the Divine Ya Ya Sisterhood" soundtrack from about 3 years ago.
Night one was less of a "hits friendly" show than the second night, but each was special in its own way. I'd probably have given the second show the edge due to the novelty value of some of the songs, though. Sunday was my 27th Dylan show, and with him not having made a new album in four years, I didnt really expect to hear much that I hadnt seen him play before. Bad call, Gazza old son. Just when I think I've seen it all, he gave me "Senor", "New Morning" and.."Queen Jane Approximately", which I doubt he has played more than ten times ever. A beautiful intro which left everyone guessing what it was and then he pulls THAT rabbit out of the hat with a version for the ages. An incredible performance, and did I mention that he did 'Desolation Row' as well?
And on night two, I got FOUR more I'd never heard before...Waiting for you, London Calling, Down Along The Cove and (I shit you not), a version of Million Dollar Bash which could well be a candidate for greatest live version of any song ever. [edit : Apparently this was the first time its EVER been played - so thats 3 debuts in the same show. He should retire the song now. He'll never play a better version ] Just the way he barked the word "potatoes" was worth the ticket price alone. And to add to the mix, he threw in an incredible version of "Visions of Johanna" - the greatest song he has ever written.
The band is excellent - the two guitarists both playing scorching lead (Kimball did more of the lead work on night one, Denny Freeman seemed to play more of it on night two). Donnie Herron, who plays a variety of instruments is able to make a pedal steel sound like Hendrix at times. Amazing. Recile and Garnier were solid as a rock as always and the show was brilliantly loud, the sound was perfect and (unusually for Bob) every word was coherent.
My only disappointment? He didnt play Love Minus zero. Ive never seen him play this one, and I keep missing it by one or two shows every time. I've just looked at tonights setlist and...he played it 3rd song!! Aaagh. Maybe I'll get it in Dublin this weekend. Tonight's show appears to have included another EIGHT songs that werent played on either of the first two nights. The little bastard!
These shows are incredible, both in performance, variety and value for money (£35 for a ticket!!). Its everything live rock n roll SHOULD be - from the greatest maverick genius of them all.
[Edited by Gazza]
[Edited by Gazza] |
| November 22nd, 2005 05:50 PM |
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| keefjunkie |
i envy u |
| November 22nd, 2005 06:01 PM |
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| Gazza |
Until I read this, I wasnt even aware that Link Wray had died.
Hes been dead since November 5th but his death was only announced a day or two ago. Seems Bob got to hear about it before the press did. |
| November 22nd, 2005 08:44 PM |
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| Lazy Bones |
Think Dublin can top those..? |
| November 22nd, 2005 08:46 PM |
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| mac_daddy |
wow!
what a friggin treat!!!
thanks for the review. |
| November 22nd, 2005 08:56 PM |
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| Gazza |
quote:
Lazy Bones wrote:
Think Dublin can top those..?
Nope
Because there are 5 shows in london and two in Dublin, London will get a considerable variety each night. Had I gone to all 5 London shows, I would probably have expected to have heard at least fifty different songs.
Dublin will probably get a condensed version of the 5 Brixton shows with maybe a couple of rarities thrown in. Perfectly acceptable by anyone standards, but I really cant see how he can top the variety of this run in London at the rate he's going.
Its also the smallest venue he's playing on this tour, I think. Brixton Academy holds about 4,500. Good venue. looks a bit like an ampitheatre on the inside. I'm not that crazy about the Point in Dublin as a concert venue (good though it was to see the Stones there). Could only get standing tickets....the only seats available were the ones at the back which are too far away for my liking. as is usual for shows there, they siphon off the best seats to the side of the stage and the public never see them being offered.
That said, the Irish shows occasionally get a cameo guest appearance or two.
[Edited by Gazza] |
| November 22nd, 2005 09:12 PM |
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| Lazy Bones |
quote:
Gazza wrote:
Because there are 5 shows in london and two in Dublin, London will get a considerable variety each night.
And what's amazing is he's doing 5 shows in 5 nights. Usually he'll leave a break with 2 then 3 or vice versa.
Something about London...remember the 3-show run in November of 2003? London was the market of choice that leg, too! "Yea, Heavy" was the Basement Tapes gem then; and Bash is this time 'round.
Lucky bugger...
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| November 22nd, 2005 09:45 PM |
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| Gazza |
I missed those shows
I had been to see him at Wembley Arena 10 days before (I had no leave left from work after using most of it following the Stones, so skipped the midweek show in Dublin to go to London as it was a Saturday)
No sooner had I got home when they announced 3 shows in 3 different theatres in London over 3 nights. Excellent they were, too. But - I really think this week's have the edge.
Of course he then did something like that ('Three of Clubs'? LOL) in a few cities across the pond in 2004 as well, didnt he? (including Toronto, I think..)
Just downloaded the bit torrent of the first Brixton show (only took an hour!)..as excellent as I remembered. Show #2 should be there in the morning!
if Dylan does a run of shows in one city, it really is worth checking out. People still rave about the six Hammersmith shows he played in 1990. The 1991 and 1993 run werent that hot, but he did 3 at Brixton in 1995, the 3 theatre gigs in 2003 and then this week's shows. Those 'runs' are all pretty special.
[Edited by Gazza] |
| November 22nd, 2005 11:07 PM |
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| Lazy Bones |
quote:
Gazza wrote:
Of course he then did something like that ('Three of Clubs'? LOL) in a few cities across the pond in 2004 as well, didnt he? (including Toronto, I think..)
He did. Three shows - 19, 20, 21 March in Toronto (Ricoh Coliseum, The Phoenix and the Kool Haus). Ricoh was the largest venue and the Phoenix the smallest for that leg. I saw all 3.
Great shows. I also met TMR (Travelin' Man Records) for the first time, too, during those shows. |
| November 23rd, 2005 06:23 AM |
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| Zeeta |
quote:
Gazza wrote:
Its also the smallest venue he's playing on this tour, I think. Brixton Academy holds about 4,500. Good venue. looks a bit like an ampitheatre on the inside.
[Edited by Gazza]
glad you enjoyed mate...London Calling?! Jesus!
Brixton is an AMAZING venue it really is and all bands seem to sound louder and better there than anywhere else...it's definitely better than Hammersmith Apollo which I saw the White Stripes in 2 weeks ago. When I saw them in Brixton a year ago it was the best gig I've ever been to! But at Hammersmith t'was poor and seemed quiet, subdued even, probrably 'cos it's full of west Londoner snobs and Brixton is full of crackheads! |
| November 23rd, 2005 04:41 PM |
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| charlotte |
Dylan Brixton 20 November 2005.torrent
dylan brixton 21.11.05 flac.torrent
Dylan Brixton 22 November 2005.torrent
Excellent shows!!!! Dam good job Bob!!!!
Thanks for the review G
[Edited by charlotte] |
| November 23rd, 2005 06:05 PM |
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| Martha |
quote:
MRD8 wrote:
Martha,
Did you get the November 1st Brussels show yet?
No, I don't have it. |
| November 23rd, 2005 06:21 PM |
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| Gazza |
tonight's Brixton show (#4)
1. Rumble (insturmental song by Link Wray) (incomplete)
2. Maggie's Farm
3. She Belongs To Me
4. Cry A While
5. Shelter From The Storm
6. Down Along The Cove
7. Positively 4th Street
8. High Water (For Charley Patton)
9. Most Likely You Go Your Way (And I'll Go Mine)
10. Million Miles
11. Stuck Inside Of Mobile With The Memphis Blues Again
12. A Hard Rain's A-Gonna Fall
13. Honest With Me
14. The Lonesome Death Of Hattie Carroll (acoustic)
15. Summer Days
(encore)
15. Blue Monday (song by Fats Domino & Dave Bartholomew)
16. Like A Rolling Stone
17. All Along The Watchtower
Live debut for 'Blue Monday', I would imagine
I think this means that Dylan has played more songs in 4 nights in London this week than the Stones have played in their entire 3-month long tour to date....amazing |
| November 23rd, 2005 06:23 PM |
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| charlotte |
Thanks Gazza...now that is what I call playing some music... |
| November 23rd, 2005 06:28 PM |
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| Martha |
I'm going insane!
Oh, to be there.
Sigh................
I just received the Live Promos from a board member and am indulging in that to quell my need to be in London right now.
Gazza, I thought you were at tonight's show. Criminey my brain is going south....for the winter.
xxoo,
MM |
| November 23rd, 2005 07:20 PM |
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| Gazza |
sadly, no - I was only at the opening two shows
but I'll be at both Dublin shows this weekend (Bob's final shows of 2005..) |
| November 23rd, 2005 08:57 PM |
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| GimmeExile |
It's about time this board started discussing Dylan again 
We have some cool Dylan enthusiasts here...and that's a good thing!
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| November 23rd, 2005 08:59 PM |
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| Gazza |
quote:
GimmeExile wrote:
It's about time this board started discussing Dylan again
LOL...Bob and our band are eternally inextricably linked!
and thats not a bad thing... |
