Dylan’s tour openings are always exciting – what songs will be sung and in what kind of way (or key), who will play guitar (or guitars)? Will it be a warm-up-show, and not up to speed? Any lyric changes? Any new covers? Tonight we had it all!
Dylan hid himself as well as he could, under the hood, but from second row I could follow his micromanaging of his band all night, and the whole time follow how deeply engaged he was in his own timing and phrasing, sometimes tender, sometimes powerful, delivering the precious songs and making precious memories for us all.
The show started with a long and groovy instrumental intro to “To Be Alone With You”, followed by an ok warm-up-version of the song, the sound not so crispy as it came to be the rest of the night. Next up was a great version of “Man in the Long Black Coat”, as we has been used to through the summer shows. The first big surprise was a funky version of “Crash on the Levee (Down in the Flood)” from “Basement Tapes”, not played live since 2005, tonight not the hard rock version we know from the nineties, more like a lively outtake from “John Wesley Harding”. A beautiful and tender “Trying to get to heaven” before a low-key version of “Early Roman Kings”, a quieter version than normal, one that might grow on me, but that still needs some work to make it a killer, as we know this song sometimes can be.
Dylan must love both the groove and the sentiments of the Bo Diddley cover “I Can Tell”, one of the three covers that was used through the summer shows, all of them circling through versions of unrequited love: “I can tell you don’t love me no more”, in the Bobby Blue Bland cover “Share Your Love With Me”: “It’s a shame if you don’t share your love with me” and the Charlie Rich/Jerry Lee Lewis cover “I’l Make it All up to You”: “Lord I’m blue so blue but baby I don’t blame you/Guess I didn’t know the right things to do/someday I’ll make it all up to you”. Fine performances all of them, the two last in a fine country style crooning with lots of tenderness involved.
The next surprise was a beautiful version of Randy Newman’s great song “Louisiana 1927”, as far as I know never sung by Dylan before. Just Wow!!! Another great river song in the collection of Dylan’s facination for the river theme, as well as as the theme of flood and high water;
“River rose all day, the river rose all night
Some people got lost in the flood, some people got away alright
The river has busted through clear down to Plaquemine
Six feet of water in the streets of Evangeline”
The very well known version of “When I Paint My Masterpiece” made the audience dance in their seats. As far as I experienced the audience was into the show from the start, a lot of cheering, for some songs more than other – as when people understood that it really was a great new and tender arrangement of “Tangled Up In Blue”, even with several new lines of lyrics in some of the verses, cheering after each verse. For me the absolute highlight of the evening. The song was last played in 2018.
A solid and heartfelt version of “Crossing The Rubicon” as usual, but not the thundering piano as we have been used to. Still including the sad line; “In ten, maybe twenty, years, and I’ll be gone”, the shadow of death always an important part of Dylan’s art, from his debut to this day. It’s not dark yet, but it’s getting there.
After a fine “Soon After Midnight” another great and surprising cover from one more of my favorites, “Dublin Blues” by the late great Guy Clark. The band obviously thought they were going to play a different song, maybe “Under The Red Sky”, but Dylan, as he sometimes do, just pushed the band to change song, Tony laughing, the guitarists bewildered, but Bob with no mercy, started a beautiful rendition of the song, humming and singing the blue Dublin blues as only he could do it:
“Forgive me all my anger, forgive me all my faults
There’s no need to forgive me for thinking what I thought
I loved you from the get go and I’ll love you till I die
I loved you on the Spanish Steps the day you said goodbye”
A very well deserved and touching hommage and tribute to Guy Clark.
“Under The Red Sky” has seen his best years through the last summer tours, including this summer – then even better tonight with two beautiful harmonica breaks included, much to the audiences delight. Great stuff!
A very tender version of “I’ve Made Up My Mind To Give Myself To You” was delivered in a quiet and very soft way, as was it a song directly to the audience, who again greeted each chorus with a cool encircling breeze of gratitude, from them to Dylan, as the other way around. A fine moment of the show.
“Goodbye, Jimmy Reed” might, in my opinion, be the low point of the show, Dylan seemingly disappointed and dissatisfied with Anton Fig’s drumming, many evil eyes and loss of control of the song, long instrumental parts with no special direction – Dylan laughing exasperated when it, at last, was over. Is it time to say good bye to this one?
The new guitarists of Dylan’s choice, Joel Paterson og Jad Tariq, does a fine job tonight, each of them, but also together. Joel Paterson most prominent by far, but Dylan is giving both more space than Lancio and Britt not so long ago. He wants more guitars for this shows, as it started in the summer shows with the same guitarists and Julian Lage. Maybe Lage will show up again?
“I Shall Be Released” was just gorgeous sung tonight, and it made the whole audience whisper and cheer through the song and at each punchline. After the song Dylan and the band took a bow, and we thought the show was at end – a few seconds in darkness, then the light was back on, and we saw the musicians found their instruments again, and a joyful Dylan started to sing “You Ain’t Goin’ Nowhere”, once again in a new arrangement, the musicians tried to follow, but the let Dylan demonstrate the tempo and how he wanted this to be. He took further steps from the piano this time, before leaving us all behind. A great moment of the show, Dylan eager to start another leg of the tour in a way that both he and the band could be proud of, making a memory the audience will hide in their heart and cherish from here to eternity, at least the ones I spoke to after the show.
Bob ain’t goin’ nowhere, he’s still at the right place, playing his songs for us, sharing love and devotion of music, touching our hearts and compensates greatly for all the fabulous songs and greatest hits we don’t get this night, leaving me, one more time, grateful for just attending shows like this. Thanks, again, Bob. Great opening of the Tour of Europe 2026. See you in Gothenburg Monday!
Johnny Borgan
SETLIST 17th of October in Oslo.
- To Be Alone With You
- Man In The Long Black Coat
- Down In The Flood (Crash on the Levee)
- Trying To Get to Heaven
- Early Roman Kings
- I Can Tell (Bo Diddley Cover)
- Tangled Up in Blue
- Share your love with me (Bobby Blue Bland Cover)
- Louisiana 1927 (Randy Newman Cover)
- When I Paint My Masterpiece
- I’ll Make it All up to You (Jerry Lee Lewis Cover, written by Charlie Rich)
- Crossing The Rubicon
- Soon After Midnight
- Dublin Blues
- Under The Red Sky
- I’ve Made Up My Mind To Give Myself To You
- Goodbye, Jimmy Reed
- I Shall Be Released
- You Ain’t Goin’ Nowhere
