Bob Dylan 2018 Never Ending Tour
Touring band
Bob Dylan: vocal, grand piano, guitar, harmonica
Charlie Sexton: lead guitar
Stu Kimball: electric and acoustic rhythm guitar, maracas
Donnie Herron: violin, viola, electric mandolin, banjo, pedal steel & lap steel guitar
Tony Garnier: double bass and bass guitar
George Recile: drums & percussion
Dylan starts with 26 concerts in Europe. The Sinatra-covers are almost gone. Most of the time Dylan stays behind the piano, again no harp is played.
After a few changes this is the standard set list: 1. Things Have Changed; 2. Don’t Think Twice, It’s All Right; 3. Highway 61 Revisited; 4. Simple Twist Of Fate; 5. Duquesne Whistle; 6. Melancholy Mood (Bob centre stage); 7. Honest With Me; 8. Tryin’ To Get To Heaven; 9. Come Rain Or Come Shine (Bob centre stage); 10. Pay In Blood; 11. Tangled Up In Blue; 12. Early Roman Kings; 13. Desolation Row; 14. Love Sick; 15. Autumn Leaves (Bob centre stage); 16. Thunder On The Mountain; 17. Soon After Midnight; 18. Long and Wasted Years (Bob centre stage); (encore) 19. Blowin’ In The Wind; 20. Ballad Of A Thin Man.
The summer tour: 16 concerts in Asia, Australia and New Zealand. Again less Sinatra tunes. Back is All Along The Watchtower, long time a closer, in Seoul the opener. Bob picks up the guitar by times and plays harp again.
The fall tour: a long run, 42 shows in October, November and December in the US. Again a lot of songs in totally new arrangements. Missing in the band is Stu Kimball on rhythm guitar, no one replaced him. The result is a somewhat clearer sound.
Again a steady setlist until on November 3 Ballad Of A Thin Man is skipped out of the encores for Long And Wasted Years. On November 6 Moon River (Henry Mancini) is the surprising closer; the following days that surprise is even bigger with It’s A Man’s Man’s Man’s World, Dylan’s first ever cover of a James Brown song. Also All Along the Watchtower and It Takes A Lot To Laugh, It Takes A Train To Cry show up in the encore. Watchtower even in a reggae version.
Releases
More Blood, More Tracks: The Bootleg Series, Vol. 14. A 1 disc edition and a Deluxe Edition boxset with 6 discs. The two recording sessions for Blood on the tracks (1975).
Recommended bootleg
Bootleg Whiskey (Crystal Cat Records 1091-92). Bielefeld, Seidensticker Halle, April 21.
| 2018 * * * * * * * * * * 84 shows, 41 different songs played. No Dylan debuts, 9 covers played. | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Date | Venue | Title | No of Disks | Label/Source | Sound | Art/setlist/info |
| 2018-03-22 | Lisboa | Altice Arena | Flac | Spot | A- | A very loose opening show of the year. Only cover: Why Try To Change Me Now. |
| 2018-03-24 | Salamanca | Multiusos Sanchez Paraiso | Flac | Markitospb | B+ | - |
| 2018-03-30 | Barcelona | Gran Theatre del Liceu | Flac | Carbobueno | A- | Some sounddrops during Thunder on the Mountain. |
| 2018-04-21 | Bielefeld, Seidensticker Halle | Bootleg Whiskey | Flac | Crystal Cat Records 1091-92 | A+ | - |
| 2018-07-29 | Yuzawa-town, Niigata | Fuji Rock Festival, Naeba Ski Resort | Flac | rober953 | B+ | remaster version 2. |
| 2018-07-29 | Yuzawa-town, Niigata | Fuji Rock Festival, Naeba Ski Resort | Flac | rober953 | B+ | remaster version 2. |
| 2018-08-22 | Newcastle, Australia Entertainment Centre | Gotta Serve Somebody | Flac | Crystal Cat CC 1097-98 | A | Bonus tracks from same Australia/New Zealand tour. |
| 2018-10-10 | Irving, TX The Pavilion at the Toyota Music Factory | Irving 2018 | Flac | ZION 135 | A | Great version of When I Paint My Masterpiece. |
| 2018-10-13 | Tulsa, OK | Paradise Cove | Flac | Soomlos | A | Highlights: Cry a While & Scarlet Town. |
| 2018-10-13 | Thackerville, OK | Global Event Center, Winstar World Resort | Flac | David Sell (Falconidave) | A | - |
| 2018-11-23 | New York City, NY | First Beacon Theatre | Flac | Crystal Cat Records 1099-00 | A | Bonus Tracks from same American leg include Moon River (11-06, Savannah), It's A Man's, Man's World (11-10, Roanoke) and San-Ho-Zay (11-14, Rochester). |