Bob Dylan
Pearse Stadium, Galway, 27 June 2004
Review Snapshot:
Bob Dylan rolled into Galway one beautiful weekend in summer 2004,
marking the open-air gig debut of the city's newly rebuilt Pearse Stadium. Hugh
Tynan joined the throng which gathered to see the septuagenarian performer put
on yet another strong show. A positive atmosphere and an accessible sprinkling
of old faves soon had the crowd roaring along with the grizzled folk legend,
while the Salthill air filled with the energetic clamour of his sturdy back-up
band. Guess he's gone electric...
The
CLUAS Verdict? 7 out of 10.
Full review: A large but wobbly young fella with a military crew-cut was pushing clumsily
past the three older gentlemen beside us. They looked like sixties vets,
probably even original Dylan followers: but now with grey beards neatly trimmed,
and wearing sensible waterproof jackets, with special inner pockets for their
camera phones. As he jostled his way by, standing on their expensive sandals,
the happy youth grabbed one of them by the shoulders. "LIKE A COMPLETE UNKOWN!"
he bellowed into the bemused face, before smiling widely and pinballing deeper
into the congregation. A pleasant intergenerational exchange? The hippy spirit
infecting a crowd of Galwegians more accustomed to holding tightly onto their
wallets when out in public? The magic of Bob Dylan's anthemic 'Like A Rolling
Stone', pealing down from Pearse Stadium's first rock-gig stage and washing the
28,000 reported attendees in its timeless, almost rabble-rousing glow?
Who cares? I thought it was pretty funny, and so did the greybeard.
The
gig was funny too. Dylan marched on only a few minutes late, wearing what looked
like a black cowboy suit and a white stetson. The set was fairly strong and
offered a fair mix of eras; he opened with 'Rainy Day Women #12 and 35' which,
unsurprisingly, got the West of Ireland masses excited. 'Forever Young' was in
there somewhere, plus 'Tangled Up In Blue', a countrified 'Tambourine Man',
Highway 61 Revisited', and a few more (sorry, setlist obsessives, we didn't take
notes). Bob sat at the edge of the stage throughout, craggy right profile facing
the audience, banging on his keyboards, singing, and wheezing through his
harmonica, while his impressive band of seasoned-looking pros churned out the
obligatory 12-bar boogie between verses, padding already-long songs into
ten-minute workouts. To be fair though, they played for nearly two hours. With
no giant screens and a promoter's ban on human pyramids, it must have been hard
to see the figures on stage from the back, or the stands; it was hard enough
from the centre of the field. The sound quality was excellent, thanks to the
massive suspended speaker stacks swaying gracefully in the warm Atlantic wind.
The occasional seagull or blackbird came swooping lazily over the hordes below,
dropping an inevitable splatter of faeces onto a couple of random revellers,
then curving back out toward the bay, frightened by the volume.
Dylan only spoke once, between encores, to introduce the band, and sounded like
he was parodying himself when he did ("playin' on the bass geetar, Mr Whosis
Whatsisname!"). The time zipped by in a mood of mostly cheerful bonhomie,
although those queuing for upwards of an hour for overpriced, sugary,
watered-down plastic cups of beer would probably disagree. And maybe also those
who had sat or stood through the promise-breaking support line-up (sorry, Aiken,
but Paddy Casey and Gary Moore don't count as "major international acts" when
they're playing at home). But still: things have changed, for sure, when you get
the legend himself doing his thing in a venue more commonly used for community
games.
Hell knows what Bob himself thought of it all. Another million bucks in the heel
of his Spanish leather cowboy boot, or a chance to connect with a new audience?
Then again, if he approved the ridiculous spoken intro which preceded his
appearance ("he emerged from decades of substance abuse to forge a new
identity as a rock legend", or something like that) then his every
motivation must truly be a mystery. But perhaps it was ever thus? Anyway, as he
might say himself, don't look back. Don't look too closely at the old geezers on
the stage. Certainly don't look at your bank statement after shelling out for
the tickets. But don't think twice, it's alright.
Hugh Tynan
Check out the CLUAS review
of Bob Dylan live in Kilkenny in 2001. Check out the CLUAS review
of Bob Dylan's album 'Live 75: Rolling Thunder
Revue'. Check out the CLUAS review
of Bob Dylan's album 'Love and theft'
(released in 2001).
