Dylan In Santa Monica

Bob Dylan
Santa Monica Civic Auditorium
Wednesday, September 3rd

Celebrating its 40th anniversary this year, the Santa Monica Civic Auditorium had its heyday in the 1970s and ’80s — the site of numerous concerts monthly that ranged from The Clash’s Los Angeles-area debut to landmark shows by The Kinks and Queen, to the prog-rock of Supertramp and Gentle Giant to Southside Johnny and The Asbury Jukes, Graham Parker and the Rumour, and much more.  By the ’90s the shows were fewer, but now the venue has a chance at a comeback, thanks to last Wednesday’s appearance by Bob Dylan.

Touring much more frequently in recent years compared to past decades, the American music icon seems to enjoy it…not that one could tell, per se; he said not a word to the audience of 3,500 at the Civic. Then again, perhaps one only needs those songs. With each Dylan appearance, you never know exactly what he’ll play, though some classics are almost guaranteed.

For this show, the 67-year-old poet laureate of rock ‘n’ roll (as he was introduced in a recorded intro before taking the stage) focused on his music in this decade and his first in the ’60s. Though predominantly mid-40s and up, the crowd was all ages, including younger Dylanoligists in their 20s or those seeing him for the first time, as well as families bringing ‘tween and teen kids in tow.

Dylan took the stage all in black, from hat on head to toe, still sporting that thin little mustache of recent years and looking like a character out of one of his western-themed songs.  In contrast, his band was all matching brown suits.  The five-man backing outfit has been with him for a few years now and has developed a loose yet punchy blues-rock style that matches his most recent work, applying some of those textures to revised arrangements of older songs.

When it comes to the old and the new, one never knows what the man’s going to play, how he’s going to play it or, for that matter, sing it.   On this night, there wasn’t anything from the ’70s or ’80s albums such as Blood on the Tracks or Empire Burlesque, but that’s the way it goes.

Because of the venue choice, there was a slight air of nostalgia in the the hoary old auditorium, as Dylan and company launched in the rollicking circus march of “Rainy Day Women #12 & 35,” (aka from its chorus, “Everybody must get stoned”), then let loose with “It Ain’t Me, Babe” — far more rough-’n'-tumble than its original acoustic incarnation — and followed with the glide of “Stuck Inside of Mobile With The Memphis Blues Again,” as the band stretched out a bit with solos.

There were five songs in all from his most recent studio album, 2006′s Modern Times, including “Mississippi,” “Rollin’ and Tumblin’,” the topsy-turvy “Tweedle Dee & Tweedle Dum,” and the near-epic “Thunder on the Mountain,” which closed out the main set.

He wielded a sharp blade honed by age, wisdom, and a touch of cynicism for “Things Have Changed,” his Academy Award-winning song from the The Wonder Boys, while other ’60s numbers included a crackling “I Don’t Believe You (She Acts Like We Have Never Met),” the searing-to-boil-over “Ballad of a Thin Man,” and a John Lee Hooker-style boogie ram-through of “Highway 61 Revisited.”

For an encore, he went for the crowd-pleaser in “Like A Rolling Stone” but offered up a transformed “All Along The Watchtower,” drawing on not just his original acoustic treatment and the Hendrix hurricane cover, but other versions he’d done over the years.

There was scattered grumbling about the arrangements (like he’s ever been a jukebox, duplicating studio versions. That’s an N-O), but more so a few complaints about the venue’s sound, which has never been all that good, even back in its concert heydey.  Things sounded better up front and in the back of the venue in the permanent seats higher up but muddled on the floor.  If the Civic wants to return as a westside concert destination, an upgrade to the acoustics is definitely needed…and worth the investment too.

Bob Dylan Set List – September 3rd:

1. ”Rainy Day Women #12 & 35″
2. ”It Ain’t Me, Babe”
3. ”Stuck Inside Of Mobile With The Memphis Blues Again”
4. ”Mississippi”
5. ”Things Have Changed”
6. ”Spirit On The Water”
7. ”Rollin’ And Tumblin’”
8. ”Tryin’ To Get To Heaven”
9. ”I Don’t Believe You (She Acts Like We Never Have Met)”
10. ”Ballad Of A Thin Man”
11. ”Tweedle Dee & Tweedle Dum”
12. ”Beyond The Horizon”
13. ”Highway 61 Revisited”
14. ”Nettie Moore”
15. ”Thunder On The Mountain”

(Encore)

16. ”Like A Rolling Stone”
17. ”All Along The Watchtower”