ALPHARETTA, Georgia — We weren’t in Tulsa, but we were at the scene of the crime.
Bob Dylan kicked off the latest leg of his Outlaw Tour in Alpharetta, Georgia, where Dylan’s Outlaw Tour adventures began a year ago. Last year’s show is still the talk in Dylan circles for its wild and unexpected setlist (Cold, Cold Heart, anyone?). Last year’s show also marked the first show in years without long-time instrumentalist Donnie Herron.
The question, as always, is: How did the concert stack up?
Well, for a performer who has given more than 4,000 concerts, according to setlist.fm, it’s hard to say. Was this the 1,213th best ever? If that were the case, it might not sound that impressive.
How did it stack up against his Newport Folk Festival 1965 performance? Does that mean it wasn’t good? And that doesn’t mean he didn’t subtly give the momentous moment a nod.
That’s the beauty of a Dylan show. He’s in the moment. He’s playing the songs as they should sound today. He doesn’t look back, and this isn’t an oldies show.
Dylan made his way center stage for two songs — Under the Red Sky and Love Sick. Before Under the Red Sky, it looked like he said something to long-time bassist Tony Garnier.
He also performed Positively 4th Street. It was the first time in a dozen years that the song had been included in a regular Dylan concert setlist (excluding Farm Aid).
He said something to the audience after Positively 4th Street, a rare and exciting moment for the Dylan faithful.
“I didn’t really write that song about anybody. Just wrote it to write,” one fan confirmed the poet laureate of rock and roll as saying.
Aside from the chatty crowd, typical for Outlaw Shows, it was a great evening nonetheless. The Dylan set was very relaxed, and his voice sounded great.
As usual, there were new arrangements to behold.
The version of “Gotta Serve Somebody” I heard a few weeks ago in Cuyahoga Falls was an unexpected, yet enjoyable way to start the show. The new version unveiled in Alpharetta was just as fun, sounding like it was straight out of the Empire Burlesque era.
(That is hardly a complaint; I find that album compelling.)
Another classic, “Rainy Day Women #12 & 35,” sounded like it was from the Gospel Era. The band picked up where he was going with that song, as well as with “Positively 4th Street.”
Who else in rock and roll would have the audacity to rearrange a classic like “Rainy Day Women #12 & 35?”
It took a moment, but everyone made it there. Just like with the harder stuff after starting on Burgundy…
(As an aside, people around me also look at me like I’m a nutter when I say what song he’s playing. Maybe I’m sitting in the wrong sections for these shows!)
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