A Personal Never Ending Tour #1: "Roving Gambler", Zurich 6/5/2000

This will hopefully be the first post in a series looking at what I see as landmark performances in Bob Dylan's Never Ending Tour, as I have experienced it over the last six years. The NET is a strange beast - most Dylan afficionados agree that in his twilight years Dylan's performances have been through something of a renaissance, to varying degrees. Yet no two people experience it in the same way. Everyone attends different concerts, listens to different recordings, and has their own favourite performances. Attention to setlists and recordings can wax and wane as much with the mood of the individual as with the quality of the performances. While no one (or no one in their right mind) would cite the NET as the peak of Dylan's recording career, it's understandably a period I identify with most on a personal level. I mean, 1966 was wonderful, but unfortunately I wasn't there...

I have so far seen over 30 Bob Dylan concerts since May 2000, in the UK, Europe and the US, and I've been lucky enough to witness some rare and fairly noteworthy performances on the way. I thought it would make sense to begin at the very beginning, with the first song of the first gig, in Zurich's cavernous Hallenstadion in May 2000. I had travelled to Switzerland especially for the concert, and was there with my girlfriend at the time, my constant Dylan companion (and the man responsible for this particular addiction of mine) Ed, and his girlfriend. It was exciting enough for four 18 year olds to be on a jaunt in a strange European city, but seeing Dylan for the first time was an incredible experience. I'm sure everyone can remember the moment they first saw that iconic silhouette emerge on stage, and on this occasion as no other since, the heart-in-mouth excitement continued throughout the show. It helped of course that Dylan and co were incredibly on form in the Spring of 2000.

So, back in the day, Bobby would generally open with a traditional song, done acoustically in a great jug-band style by what I think were one of his finest backing bands. "Roving Gambler" is a song that Dylan sang way back in the early 60s before his first album came out, and it was resurrected in the early years of the NET as a solo piece. Like the other openers at the time, "Roving Gambler" always made for a great start to a Dylan gig - over recent years he has often seemed most engaged with singing traditional material, and so starting like this gets his attention much more than slogging through another version of "Maggie's Farm" does these days. The rambling spirit of the song epitomises the romantic, hard travellin' side of the NET, and in this performance it is so much an ensemble piece; in those days seeing Bob Dylan really was about seeing the band as well. The backing vocals of Charlie Sexton and Larry Campbell, in particular, are much missed in recent years.

You can download an mp3 of this performance here:
Roving Gambler (Zurich 6th May 2000)

The Strokes: Shepherd's Bush, 25/1/06

I went to my first gig of the year last night, a fairly last minute dash to see The Strokes at Shepherd's Bush Empire. They're not a band I would say I'm necssarily a huge fan of, but a friend of mine had a spare ticket, and since there's generally quite a lot of hype around them I thought it would be good to see them first hand; I often think that seeing a band live is the best way to see if you like them or not.

I obviously knew the old favourites from their breakthrough album, and songs like "Last Nite" were the best moments of the night for me. There are some cracking songs on the new record as well - "You Only Live Once" and "Juicebox" stand out in particular. It wasn't a show that had much change in dynamics - it's pretty straight rock 'n' roll really, there's nothing revolutionary or even original about them, but much of it was very good fun. "New York City Cops" was the standout, though I don't actually know what record it'There more teenyboppers there than I've become accustomed to at gigs (more a reflection on the types of concerts I attend these days than anything else, methinks) with even a bit of the old crowd-surfing, not something I've indulged in for many a year. Christ, I'm sounding older than 24...

I noticed about halfway through the gig that the band look almost exactly the same as they did when they burst onto the scene 5 years ago - same clothes, same hair, same strut. For such a seemingly image-conscious group, it's slightly perplexing that they haven't evolved in that department too. There was a time when they first arrived when it seemed like they would be one of the bands to define the noughties as Oasis, Nirvana and Radiohead had defined the nineties. They're miles away from that now though... I wonder which bands will go down in history as defining this decade? Coldplay, certainly. The White Stripes, hopefully. The Arctic Monkeys, possibly. We shall see.

Here's the setlist, from nme.com:

'Heart In A Cage'
'The Modern Age'
'Juicebox'
'Evening Sun'
'The End Has No End'
'Barely Legal'
'Hawaii'
'On The Other Side'
'Red Light'
'Last Nite'
'Hard To Explain'
'Razorblade'
'Trying Your Luck'
'What Ever Happened?'
'You Only Live Once'
'Someday'
'15 Minutes'
'Reptilia'
'12:51'
'New York City Cops'
'Under Control'
'Soma'
'I Can't Win'
'Take It Or Leave It'

New music charts

I've added some new music charts to the right sidebar - these show what I've been listening to last week and overall, fed from my profile at www.last.fm.

Last.fm is this wonderful site that keeps a record of everything that you listen to through iTunes, and creates charts, makes recommendations on what you might want to listen to next, let's you set up listening groups etc etc. A wonderful concept.

And now that I've got my lovely new 60GB iPod (mmmm... Christmas presents to yourself are always the best) it can keep track of everything I listen to on that as well.

Martin Simpson - Vortex Jazz Bar, 24/10/05

I went to see Martin Simpson, the fabulous folk guitarist and singer, the other day. It was at the Vortex Jazz Bar in Hackney, which had all the ambience of a commmunity centre, but couldn't detract from what was a masterful solo performance from Martin. Over the last few years, Simpson has firmly staked his claim to
the crown of the likes of Martin Carthy, as one of the pre-eminent interpreters of traditional song in this country, if not the world.

His repetoire is a wonderful mix of traditional English ballads, American folk and blues, classy originals and
Dylan covers - which is more or less what I like to play!

As an acoustic guitarist, he is unmatched if you ask me. Beautifully clear and deft picking, and arrangements that are as intricate as they are moving. He began, as he has on the other two occasions I've seen him, with a well judged melody of "Air For Maurice Ogg" (a self-penned instrumental), "One More Day" (don't know what it is, but a gorgeous tune) and his arrangement of Dylan's "Boots Of Spanish Leather". I don't think I'm exaggerating when I say that Simpson's rendition of this song is my favourite Dylan cover, full stop. It never fails to get my attention, in a way not many songs can.

The evening had a reasonably strong Dylan theme - Martin admitted to have been caught up in the excitement of "Dylan Week" a few weeks ago. We got a sizzling, slide-driven take on "Highway 61 Revisited", and a wistful "You're Gonna Make Me Lonesome When You Go".

There were many readings from his most recent record, Kind Letters. As well as the enchanting "Here's Adieu Sweet Lovely Nancy", he played what my companion described as "the best folk song, ever, full stop" - "When First I Came To Caledonia". The tale of a chap who goes to work in a mine on a Scottish island, it's beauty can't be communicated on the page, but here are some snatches of lyrics:

When first I came to Caledonia
And I got loading at number three
And I got lodging with Donald Norman
He had a daughter who could make good tea

and later...

If I had pen from Pennsylvania
And I had paper of snowy white
If I had ink of a rosy morning
A true love letter to you I'd write

And I'd set my head to a cask of brandy
It's a dandy I do declare
For it's when I'm drinking I'm seldom thinking
How to gain that young lady fair

As Martin said when I chatted to him in the interval, there's something about the way the girl in the tale can "make good tea" that tugs at the heartstrings so.

I also mentioned to Martin that I had two wishes - first, that he should record a Dylan cover album, and second that he should record it with Larry Campbell, the former Dylan sideman who is apparently a good friend. I can think of few things more mouthwatering than a duet between Simpson's guitar and Campbell's
fiddle or mandolin on that arrangement of "Boots Of Spanish Leather"...

For more information: www.martinsimpson.com

The Editors @ the Astoria (10/10/05)

I went to see one of those hot new-fangled bands last night, The Editors, at London's Astoria. Someone had a spare ticket. I kind of put them in the same bracket as Franz Ferdinand, The Killers, The Thrills, Hard-Fi etc etc; all the fashionable bands that my workmates seem to listen to. You know the sort of thing; choppy guitars, get to the chorus within 20 seconds of the song starting, drainpipe jeans and all that gas.

They were actually pretty good fun. We stood upstairs, which was a novel experience at the Astoria when I've nearly always been on the sweaty floor. It meant we had better access to the bar though. They were fairly no-nonsense, just running through the dozen or songs they have in just under an hour, with no real chat between songs, and seemingly (though I'm not overly familiar with their songs) not much "exploration" of the songs. But that doesn't seem to be the way at the moment. It's bizarre - if I was 16 or 17 right now, they would probably be one of my favourite bands right now, but since I seem to be impervious to fads I find it hard to care that much. It's good to go to the occasional loud, sweaty rock gig though - it's almost as good as a game of squash for a stress reliever...

Bright Eyes - "I'm Wide Awake, It's Morning"

I'm listening to this album for the first time in quite a while. I bought it when it came out (back in January?) and listened to it to death, as you do. I'm still really annoyed that I didn't see him on either the tour for this album, or the "Digital Ash..." tour this summer, but he's young and I guess there will be other chances...

It's an incredible album, one of my absolute favourites from the last couple of years. So many cracking tunes and apt lyrics. It's "First Day Of My Life" at the moment, ripping off "Don't Think Twice", to some sweet (though just the right side of sickly) lyrics - a beautiful portrayal of young love...


I'd rather be working for a pay cheque
Thanks waiting to win the lottery

The exuberance of "Another Travelin' Song" and it's depiction of a chap in a hurry to get whatever it is out of his head ("Now my ashtray's overflowing/I'm still staring at a clean blank page"); the hushed confessional of "Lua" (When everything is lonely I can be my own best friend/I get a coffee and a paper have my own conversations); the riot that is "Road to Joy" - and through it all the album flows together, making more than the sum of it's parts. Album-making like this is becoming a lost art.

And then there's the show stopper - "Land Locked Blues". Part "protest" song, part love song, and including my favourite lines on the record:

A good woman will pick you apart
A box full of suggestions for your possible heart
But she may be offended, and you may be afraid
So don't walk away, don't walk away

Emmylou Harris' duet is just the icing on the cake, as well. I haven't been too blown away by her solo work, but whether singing with Gram Parsons, Dylan, Steve Earle or Conor here, she's just beautiful.

This is still my album of the year, and time is running out for something else to offer much of a challenge.

The Ballad Of The Gliding Swan

The other night I watched the BBC’s documentary about The Madhouse On Castle Street, a TV play that was broadcast in the winter of 1963, and happened to be one Bob Dylan’s first appearance on television. In their infinite wisdom, the beeb managed to wipe the tapes of the show at some point in the intervening years, so much of the programme was dedicated to the search for fan-made tapes. There don’t seem to be any video recordings out there, but a few audio recordings, from microphones put in front of the TV speakers, have surfaced. Dylan sings four songs – “Blowin’ In The Wind”, “Hang Me Oh Hang Me” (a song he’s played in concert a few times in recent years, “The Cookoo” (a blues standard and an early favourite of Dylan’s) and “The Ballad Of The Gliding Swan”, which apparently was written by the play’s author, with additions from Dylan.

It’s a rather macabre song, but it’s been going round in my head since I heard it on Wednesday (I must try to find an mp3 somewhere). The play was about a group of disparate people in a London boarding house, who go slowly mad one-by-one, and I suppose the images in the song (“…he opened her head with a butchers knife..”, “…a twenty pound baby without any head…”) were intended to complement this air of insanity. I have no idea of the merits of the play (those who recorded it seemingly only taped Dylan’s songs, so we can’t hear the whole thing), but this song, and Dylan’s performance of it, is particularly powerful.

THE BALLAD OF THE GLIDING SWAN

Tenderly William kissed his wife.
Then he opened her head with a butcher's knife.
And the swan on the river went gliding by.
The swan on the river went gliding by.

Lady Margaret's pillow was wet with tears.
Nobody's been on it in twenty years.
And the swan on the river goes gliding by.
The swan on the river goes gliding by.

Little Billy Brown will shake with fright.
He's got a new daddy and mommy every night.
And the swan on the river goes laughing by.
The swan on the river goes laughing by.

"I've got a sad surprise" the doctor said.
"A twenty-pound baby without any head."
The swan on the river went lookin' ..

Talkin' Bob Dylan Blues - a tribute concert

As part of the whirlwind of Dylan-related activity this week, centred around Scorcese's new documentary, the Barbican put on a tribute show, to be shown on BBC4 later this week (Friday I think...). They also cunningly scheduled the show for the night that the first part of the doc was going to air, so I'm going to have to wait until the DVD's out next week before I can comment on that... everyone seems to like it though!

The show was really well put together - each artist did 2 or 3 songs (generally including one of their own, which was sometimes illuminating and other times completely unneccessary) which were interspersed with readings from Dylan's memoirs, Chronicles. Billy Bragg began proceedings with a really good "When The Ship Comes In", and he compered throughout. Martin Carthy, Liam Clancy and Odetta provided some real historical gravitas, while Willy Mason and KT Tunstall did their bit for the youth. Highlights? Willy Mason's cracked "To Ramona" was lovely, and Martin Carthy's "Scarborough Fair" reminded me what a great old folk song that is. The showstopper was probably Odetta though, who hobbled onto the stage, only to deliver the most stately, regal "Mr. Tambourine Man" that seemed like it went on for half an hour, accompanied only by piano.

All performances were solo or nearly so, apart from KT Tunstall, who brought her whole band. I'm not overly keen on her music, but she belted through a terrific "Tangled Up In Blue" and "Simple Twist Of Fate" that made me think there's more to her than meets the eye. Dido she is most certainly not. The evening closed with the predictable collaborations; Odetta and Liam Clancy duetted on a quite moving rendition of "Blowin In The Wind" and then Bragg and Tunstall did a rowdy version of "This Wheel's On Fire" that everyone joined in with.

All in all, a most enjoyable evening - catch it on BBC4 if you can...

2 interesting reviews of this concert:
The Guardian
The Independent

Here's me...

Here we are then. My first blog post. Let's have a few vitals:

Lives: Stoke Newington, London, UK
Age: 23
Passions: Music (folk/blues/rock), Food, Film
Favourite TV show: Scrubs

Very odd, this whole deal. Wonder if anyone will actually bother reading my musings on things. We shall see...