Bob Dylan opens Japan tour for the first time in seven years | BARKS

Bob Dylan’s Japan tour <�“Rough and Rowdy Ways” World Wide Tour 2021-2024> opened on April 6th at Festival Hall in Osaka. We will deliver the official report.

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Chasing after Dylan – Heckle Kanno
A night of emotions: Bob Dylan
Osaka Festival Hall
April 6, 2023

In the fall of 2021, when the end of the COVID-19 pandemic, which has terrorized the world and brought all entertainment activities to a halt, Bob Dylan will announce the Rough & Rowdy Ways World Wide Tour 2021-2024. I started it and went around the United States and Europe until November 2022. And this year, he chose Japan to start 2023. This is the first full-scale Japan tour since 2016, and the first since 2016, after winning the Nobel Prize in Literature.

At 7:10 p.m. on April 6th, the lights in the festival hall were turned off, and classical music by the orchestra began to flow in the hall, and six musicians appeared on the stage in the dark. Among them is Dylan with a white hat in his hand.

In place of the upright piano until last year, a baby grand piano is installed facing the front in the center of the stage. Thanks to that, I can see the expression on Bob’s face well. Guitar and drums on the left, bass in the center back, pedal steel and guitar on the right, and Bob in the center of the five-man backing band.

After a slightly longer intro, Bob started singing. It is the classic opening song “Kawa no Nagare wo Mite”. Thanks to four months of rest, Bob’s vocals are really powerful and resonate clearly. The hoarse voice has no shadow or shape. Bob is wearing the same black country suit top and bottom with embroidery across his chest as he wore in the 2021 online Shadow Kingdom. The white cowboy hat he had in his hand was left uncovered by the piano.

Until last year, the stage floor was filled with white lights that glowed white, but only the powerful lights placed on both sides of the stage illuminated the stage. There are no overhead lighting devices. It’s brighter than Bob’s stage in recent years, but still darker than a typical concert. Moreover, it does not change the brightness depending on the song, it just dimly illuminates the stage. You don’t need gimmicks that rely on lighting effects. To the last, the leading role is Dylan’s song.

After two well-known songs, “I’ll go my own way” followed, finally two songs from the new album “Rough & Rowdy Ways” were sung in succession. “I Contain Multitude” “False Prophet”. The audience is silent as if holding their breath, and listens intently not to miss a single word. A strange tension envelops the venue. I think that this is also one of the elements of the real pleasure of Dylan’s concert.

“Masterpiece” is sung to ease the pleasant tension. Violin and acoustic guitar intertwined with the piano, and the new lyrics heard in were performed. In the second half of the song, a performance like a jam session led by Bob’s piano echoes in the hall.

Followed by the eerie “Black Rider” and “My Own Version of You” from the new album. A story about assembling a black rider reminiscent of the god of death, a frightening android reminiscent of Frankenstein, and Bob’s unique sense of death and the end spreads. Some of you may have felt as if Bob’s words were attacking you. Even if the meaning of the words is not clearly understood, Bob’s vocals attack. The magical power of the song is inspiring.

In turn, the violin is played, and Bob begins to sing slowly. “I’ll Be Your Baby Tonight”, I’m going to be your baby tonight. 81 years old, her charm shows no signs of slowing down. The second half of the song changes to a fun honky-tonk atmosphere that makes you want to get up from your chair and start dancing.

“Crossing the Rubicon” from the new album is sung in a heavy blues tone, followed by the clear violin-sounding “To Be Alone With You.” This was also sung with the new lyrics that were unveiled in .

Finally, one of the highlights of the night, “Key West,” began. A scene like watching a magnificent cinema comes to mind. Thinking about the ideal paradise of Key West, everyone should have been drawn into the world of singing. Having finished singing a masterpiece that lasted more than 10 minutes, Bob left the piano for the first time and staggered out to the center of the stage. He didn’t say a word, just looked around the audience to see if they would respond, and immediately went back to the piano. Perhaps Bob himself was basking in satisfaction. He looks like Bob.

Next is Bob’s hit single “Gatta Serve Somebody”. As expected, the audience is in high spirits. In a complete turn, a beautiful love song from the new album, “Anata ni Wagashin”, was sung. This song stands out for Bob’s singing ability. It could be a song like “Make You Feel My Love,” which many singers cover.

“That Old Black Magic” followed from the American Songbook, which highlighted Bob’s prowess as a vocalist. This song is finished to taste the splendor of Bob’s backing band. Next, “Mother Muse” from the new album was sung. It’s almost drumless, and it’s a beautiful, flowing song with just Bob’s piano and Tony’s string bass. The dreaminess of the audience expands.

The end is finally approaching. “Goodbye Jimmy Reed” was sung from the new album in Bob’s specialty Chicago Blues. Until last year, I would introduce the members here, leave the stage, and return to the encore after a break, but tonight was different. “Every Grain of Sand” began. The audience is intoxicated by the well-known and beautiful key of the representative song. I played the harmonica for the first time on this song. When I finished singing, Bob said “thank you” for the first time tonight. The audience boils. Bob then started introducing the members. “Jerry Pentecost on drums, Bob Britt on guitar, Doug Lancio on guitar, Donnie Heron on pedal steel, Tony Garnier on bass.”

After Bob finished his introduction, he put on the white cowboy hat that was on the side and walked out to the front of the stage. Musicians are lined up in a row across the bob. He just looked around the hall as if observing the audience for a while, and disappeared from the stage without saying anything. The final ceremony, which has become familiar to fans, has ended, and the 100-minute impressive concert that feels like another dimension has ended.

I can hear the audience heading towards the exit saying things like, “That was great,” “That was great,” and “The best!”

A friend said, “It’s a genre of music called Bob.” It may be so. It’s an art, a genre called Bob Dylan, that can’t be confined to conventional genres such as rock, folk, and popular. We are happy to live in Bob’s contemporaries.

Sentence ◎ Sugano Haeckel

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■＜“ROUGH AND ROWDY WAYS” WORLD WIDE TOUR 2021-2024＞SET LIST
1. Watching the River Flow
“Bob Dylan Greatest Hits Vol. 2”

2. Most Likely You Go Your Way and I’ll Go Mine
“Blonde on Blonde”

3. I Contain Multitudes
“Rough & Rowdy Ways”

4. False Prophet
“Rough & Rowdy Ways”

5. Masterpiece｜When I Paint My Masterpiece
“Bob Dylan Greatest Hits Vol. 2”

6. Black Rider｜Black Rider
“Rough & Rowdy Ways”

7. My Own Version of You
“Rough & Rowdy Ways”

8. I’ll Be Your Baby Tonight
“John Wesley Harding”

9. Crossing the Rubicon
“Rough & Rowdy Ways”

10. To Be Alone With You
“Nashville Skyline”

11. Key West (Philosopher Pirate)
“Rough & Rowdy Ways”

12. Gotta Serve Somebody
“Slow Train Coming”

13. I’ve Made Up My Mind to Give Myself to You
“Rough & Rowdy Ways”

14. That Old Black Magic
“Fallen Angels”

15. Mother of Muses
“Rough & Rowdy Ways”

16. Goodbye Jimmy Reed
“Rough & Rowdy Ways”

17. Every Grain of Sand
“Shot of Love”
(Band member introduction at the end)

Bob Dylan (Vocal, Piano, Harmonica)
Bob Britt (electric guitar)
Doug Lancio (Electric guitar, Acoustic guitar)
Donnie Heron (Pedal Steel, Lap Steel, Violin, Electric mandolin)
Tony Garnie (Upright bass, Electric bass)
Jerry Pentecost (Drums)

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