Bob Dylan 2013 Never Ending Tour
Touring band
Bob Dylan: vocal, grand piano, electric guitar, harmonica
Duke Robillard: lead guitar US Spring Tour & Summer Tour June 26–30
Charlie Sexton: lead guitar US Summer Tour July 2–14, 26–27, 31 & Europe Fall Tour
Colin Linden: lead guitar US Summer Tour July 15–24, 28 & August 1–4 August
Stu Kimball: electric and acoustic rhythm guitar, maracas
Donnie Herron: violin, viola, mandoCaster (electric mandolin), banjo, pedal steel & lap steel guitar
Tony Garnier: double bass and bass guitar
George Recile: drums & percussion
Three legs, 85 shows: US Spring Tour (23 shows); US Summer Tour (27); Europe Fall Tour (35).
In the Summer Tour Dylan headlines the Americanarama Festival of Music, also featuring Wilco, My Morning Jacket, Ryan Bingham, the Richard Thompson Electric Trio and others. The McCrary Sisters do backup vocals on Blowin’ In The Wind June 30; Jim James, Jeff Tweedy, Peter Wolf and Ryan Bingham join Dylan on stage once or more. Dylan plays five different covers this Tour, always in slot 14.
The Never Ending Tour starts with a radical change. It’s done with the ever changing set lists which often brings his band members (and fans) in confusion. With a few radical exceptions (the explanation for the 60 different played songs) Dylan plays a standard set list.
Very witty, Dylan opens almost every concert (the coming years) with Things has Changed. The rather short set list with 14 songs plus 1 encore from the 2 American legs gets an upgrade to 17 (with intermission!) and 2 encores in the European leg. The result: stable shows with a solid playing band. Songs of this century in general and Tempest in particular constitute the majority.
Most importantly, for the first time in years Dylan is really singing again with a rather pure, stable voice. Often centre stage, with or without harp. He looks at ease standing (or sitting) at his grand piano.
New guitarist Duke Robillard is, after a short time, replaced on lead guitar in the second leg by good-old Charlie Sexton for a few concerts. After Sexton Colin Davis joins the band. “It wasn’t for musical reasons”, Robillard writes on his Facebook page about his short stay. But he could have been to much of a soloist in Dylan’s band . . .
Outside the Never Ending Tour, Dylan receives a lot of attention: inducted into the American Academy of Arts and Letters as first musician. Dylan was “extremely honoured and very lucky” with this prestigious award; inducted into the Berlin Academy of Arts, in the category film & media; receives the prestigious Legion d’Honneur award from France’s minister of culture, Aurelie Filippetti.
Releases
The Bootleg Series Vol. 10 – Another Self Portrait (1969–1971). A recommended standard edition with two CDs, and a ridiculously expensive DeLuxe edition consisting of four CDs and a 144-page book called Time Passes Slowly.
Finjan Club, a long circulating bootleg, is released in the UK. A registration of the Finjan Club concert in Montreal from 2 July 1962.
The Complete Album Collection, Volume One. A 41 CD box including all Bob Dylan albums from Bob Dylan to Tempest, and a double CD featuring side tracks from singles or compilations as Biograph and Bob Dylan Greatest Hits.
Recommended bootlegs
The Atlantico Roma Box (Crystal Cat Records 1035-38). Rome, November 06 & 07. Dylan plays two completely changed set lists, no Tempest songs.
Electric Halle 2013. (Crystal Cat Records 1033-34). Düsseldorf, October 22.
| 2013 * * * * * * * * * * 85 shows, 60 different songs played. 3 live debuts, 5 covers played. No live debuts or covers. | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Date | Venue | Title | No of Disks | Label/Source | Sound | Art/setlist/info |
| 2013-04-10 | Lewiston, ME | Adroscoggin Bank Colisée | 2CDr | Tom Moore Recording | A- | - |
| 2013-07-14 | Clarkston, MI | DTE Energy Music Theatre | 1CDr | - | A- | Incomplete, only last 5 songs. Debut 1952 Vincent Black Lightning, Richard Thompson cover. |
| 2013-10-13 | Stockholm, Waterfront Auditorium | Waterfront Second 2013 | 2CDr | Crystal Cat Records 1031-32 | A | Standard set list |
| 2013-10-22 | Düsseldorf, Mitsubishi Electric Halle | Electric Halle 2013 | 2CDr | Crystal Cat Records 1033-34 | A | Standard set list. Filler from 2013-07-10: Suzie Baby (Bobby Vee cover) with a suprisingly long dedication to Bobby Vee, who was in attendance for this performance. |
| 2013-11-06 | Rome, Atlantico | Atlantico First 2013 | Flac/2CD | Crystal Cat Records 1035-36 | A | Part of the The Atlantico Roma Box. Where everyone at least expected Early Roman Kings, Dylan played none of the new Tempest material in Rome. nevertheless he played two of his best concerts of 2013. Dylan starts with a 15 minutes intermission in his shows. |
| 2013-11-07 | Rome, Atlantico | Atlantico Second 2013 | Flac/2CD | Crystal Cat Records 1037-38 | A | Part of the The Atlantico Roma Box. 13 new songs compared to previous concert. No Tempest songs again. |
| 2013-11-26 | London, Royal Albert Hall | The Second Coming Of A Master, Lesson One | Flac/2CD + 2CDr | Godfather Records GR Box-23 A/B | A | Standard set list. Only deviation in the encore: Roll On John for the second time played. |
| 2013-11-27 | London, Royal Albert Hall | The Second Coming Of A Master, Lesson Two | Flac/2CD | Godfather Records GR Box-23 C/D | A | Standard set list. |
| 2013-11-28 | London, Royal Albert Hall | The Second Coming Of A Master, Lesson Three | Flac/2CD | Godfather Records GR Box 23-E/F | A | Standard set list. |
| 2013-11-28 | Londen | Royal Albert Hal | 2CDr | - | A- | Standard set list |