Bob Dylan, Blackpool Opera House

Bob Dylan is back in town at the moment, and tonight I saw him in Blackpool at the Opera House. Each time I go to see him (and this was the third) I go with high expectations, but I'm always a little nervous that as he gets older he may not be able to fulfil them.

I needn't have worried, tonight he was as good as ever. He's 72 now, but his Never Ending tour which began in 1988 shows no sign of slowing down, with Dylan averaging 100 shows a year over the past 25 years. His back catalogue consists of over 35 studio albums from the past 50 years, and he's surely unique in that much of his recent work stands up well alongside the classics from the distant past. He's never been one to rest on his laurels, and could never be accused of being a greatest hits artist, and tonight he virtually ignored the first 35 years of his career, and sang a selection of songs largely from his more recent albums, and in particular last years "Tempest".

In fact only three songs survived from the 60's, She Belongs to Me, All Along the Watchtower and Blowin' in the Wind, and the latter was changed so much as to be almost unrecognisable. The 70's fared even worse, with only  Simple Twist of Fate and Tangled Up in Blue included, and again the latter was changed so much that it might as well have been a different song. Of these early songs, All Along the Watchtower rocked, and I loved the new version of Blowin' in the Wind.

The more recent songs were the highlight though, especially Love Sick, one of the stand out tracks from the Time Out of Mind album, Pay in Blood from Tempest and Forgetful Heart from Together Through Life. Forgetful Heart was a real surprise to me, and this was probably the best version of the song I have heard. The audience loved it, young and old, male and female they all lept to their feet and gave him a standing ovation for that performance.

Dylan alternated between standing at the piano or simply standing at the mic, occasionally playing the harmonica, but not once picking up a guitar. As usual, his band were superb, but it was hard to take your eyes off the living legend, hard to believe that you're in the same room as somebody of that stature.

It was such a good show that my immediate reaction on leaving the auditorium was to head straight for the ticket office and try to get a ticket for tomorrow night. Unfortunately for me, he's sold out.

Set list
Things Have Changed
She Belongs To Me
Beyond Here Lies Nothin'
What Good Am I?
Duquesne Whistle 
Waiting For You
Pay In Blood
Tangled Up In Blue
Love Sick
High Water (For Charley Patton)
Simple Twist Of Fate
Early Roman Kings
Forgetful Heart
Spirit On The Water
Scarlet Town
Soon After Midnight
Long And Wasted Years
All Along The Watchtower
Blowin' In The Wind