Forever Young

First semi-coherent thoughts on the Dylan concert after the initial Oh Wowing:

The great man's voice was in fine fettle, certainly sounding a lot stronger than when he last played these shores in 2011. I recall thinking then, as the concert at Marina Promenade began, that he might not make it through to the end of the evening without drying up. Last night he sounded like he could have gone on for hours. Sadly we didn't get any of the recent standards stuff to showcase just how good he can be, but he impressively held some tricky long notes in Love Sick just to show he can (and because the song demands it, of course.)

The band was loud, to these ears a lot louder than seven years back. I wonder if that might be explained by the fact that the earlier gig had been outdoors and last night we were in the fairly cavernous and, I'm guessing, somewhat echoey Star Centre. And they weren't just loud but distinctly raucous, even when summoning some deep grooves. Dylan played piano throughout in the percussive manner to which we're all accustomed and the piano was very distinct in the mix. In 2011 I don't think I could really pick out the keyboards at all. The result was something wonderfully akin to recordings of Dylan with the Band on the European tour of the mid-sixties. At moments teetering on the edge of teeth-rattling sonic chaos, but emerging clean and triumphant. At times the voice got lost in the mix, but, again, I liked the effort and danger of it all.

I couldn't help but think of stories of Dylan as a teenager getting thrown off the school stage for playing edgily unacceptable rock and roll. I wonder if he felt that young again. I wonder if that explains the constant touring: the need to be entirely alive and vital, the need to be new again.