Bob Dylan proves he hasn’t changed

Bob Dylan – pictured here on stage in the UK in 2012 – mixed experience and style at his Palais Theatre show.
Source: Getty Images

As the 2800 Dylan-philes find their seats at St Kilda’s Palais Theatre, there is an even greater anticipation to this gig because the iconic music figure will play whatever he wants to.

It’s heightened by the fact he is now 73 and he may decide to stop touring.

But that’s the way it is with Dylan, and, what he wanted to give is exactly what he did on Monday night.

Without even an introduction, Dylan walked onto a minimally lit stage with his band and began the Melbourne leg of his Never Ending tour — catching some of his audience still finding their seats on the stroke of 8pm.

Dylan has chosen to play theatres across Australia where the demand has exceeded expectations for a 15-plus gig tour.

Dressed in a broadbrimmed hat and southern gentleman get-up, Dylan, shadowed by four microphones, let out a raspy growl.

And as is now characteristic, worked his way into the performance.

Opening, as he did in Perth, with Things Have Changed, it was hardly the stuff to blow your hair back.

Dylan then took charge.

Once he got behind the baby grand piano it began to flow. His playing of harmonica was flawless and was received with raucous applause.

But his low-key approach, and his sometimes inaudible lyrics, are what make you listen even harder.

As Dylan and his five-piece band worked into the night, his gravelly voice hit the notes, and unlike many of his contemporaries, his sound constantly evolves.

His second offering, She Belongs to Me, from his 1965 album Bringing It All Back Home, was delivered like a moonshine runner.

Workingman Blues #2, from the acclaimed Modern Times, was moving, and although they weren’t his biggest hits, his musicianship could not be denied.

When Dylan emerged from the piano, he stood hand on hip, and without a guitar as he addressed the microphone.

Arthritis has robbed him of hoisting a guitar, electric or acoustic, across his shoulder on stage.

But it leaves Dylan more exposed to his audience, who have always seemed so vulnerable to him.

Who knows if Dylan will ever return, let alone headline a major festival again, as he did in 2011 for the East Coast Blues and Roots Festival in Byron Bay.

One thing is for sure, however – Dylan remains as relevant as when he first forged his career in the mid 1960s.

Originally published as Bob Dylan proves he hasn’t changed
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