One Night in Oxford (by Tim Edgeworth) BOB DYLAN 2022-11-04, New Theatre, Oxford, England

BOB DYLAN OXFORD (UK) REVIEW

Last night, recent Nottingham correspondent Tim Edgeworth caught the smallest show of Dylan’s current European tour, in the tiny New Theatre in Oxford town (okay, it wasn’t that Oxford town). Dylan roadie George Bade posted a photo from the stage last night:

Here’s Tim’s thoughts on the show:

• The New Theatre is a tiny, unassuming building on George Street. There was no fanfare of any sort to announce the Bob Dylan would be appearing there on this evening, which almost made it feel like we were attending a secret show.

• Bob’s huge tour bus was crammed into a tiny, dead-end alley behind the venue; I do not envy the driver who had to get it out of there.

• I got the feeling early on in the show that Bob was a little tired out, which is perfectly understandable: this was the 27th concert of the European leg of the Rough and Rowdy Ways tour, and the 101st show he has played since November 2021. That he keeps such a schedule in his early 80s is incredible.

• Over the course of the four shows I’ve been lucky enough to attend on this leg, I’ve noticed that the setup of Dylan’s vocal mic seems to change randomly from concert to concert. Sometimes it’s an actual mic stand (positioned next to his piano and extended to where he’s standing), and other times it’s a contraption that’s attached to the top of the piano itself. Tonight it was the latter.

• Bob was in full ‘riff mode’ this evening, often stretching out instrumental sections to trade repeated phrases with Donnie Herron.

• One thing I’ve enjoyed at previous shows is guitarists Bob Britt and Doug Lancio facing each other centre stage to thrash out the guitar break on “Gotta Serve Somebody”. Oddly, when they went to do it this time, Dylan waved Doug back to his usual position stage left, where he remained for the rest of the song.

• As he did at the final show in London, Bob played a short instrumental version of “Shenandoah” on the piano before “Mother of Muses”.

• Speaking of “Mother of Muses”, I thought it was the high point of the evening. On a night where it sometimes felt like Bob was – not for lack of effort – struggling to connect with his muse, it really felt like a plea of sorts.

• With Bob taking a little while to find the groove in the early part of the show, I was worried about the upcoming “Key West”, a song that requires Dylan to be totally ‘on’ to avoid falling flat. It felt like watching Evel Knievel about to perform one of his stunts: you’re praying that he’s built up enough momentum to successfully make the jump. Happily, Bob pulled it off with style, propelled by some amazing percussion by the dependable Charley Drayton.

• Despite the impression that he was pushing uphill for a lot of the show, Bob was in good spirits. During the band introductions he said that he and the band all wished they lived in Oxford and that “Bob Britt’s got a PhD, so he’d fit in here.”

• Celebrities are still turning out to see Bob Dylan: in the crowd tonight was actor David Bradley, who you may know as Filch from the Harry Potter films.