The rain gave a truce this Wednesday night in Madrid for Bob Dylan to captivate the public on the first day of the Las Noches del Botánico festival, a space with a clear nod to environmentalism and far from the large venues that usually host macro-concerts. The American troubadour dazzled those present as expected, leaving no room for nostalgia in his repertoire, always at the piano and in a space not invaded by mobile phone screens, something unusual in these times.
Lately, at 9:45 p.m., the musician stormed the stage located in the unique Alfonso XIII Royal Botanical Garden together with his band, all in black, to kick off his ‘Rough and Rowdy Ways’ tour in Spain, with the who has been touring the world since November 2021. He did it just as the rain stopped and to the rhythm of the version of ‘Watching the River Flow’ from his recent release ‘Shadow Kingdom’ (2023), an album in which he reinterprets songs from his historic catalog .
Among the 2,200 people who filled the entire capacity of the venue, calm and enthusiasm reigned at the same time, respect and fanaticism were mixed for seeing one of the great musical icons of the 20th century. The most expensive concert of Noches del Botánico (tickets cost between 80 and 220 euros) was made even more unique by not interfering with the screens of mobile devices between the attendees and the artist, for whom this has already become an essential requirement. There are no videos or photos. It is not the first time in Spain that the protagonists make this decision, Bono or Quentin Tarantino already did it a few months ago.
In total order, with the phones kept from the entrance in sealed personal bags, the night continued with a Dylan who does not spend time addressing his audience and for whom the passing of the years is noticeable. Nothing less than 82 just turned. However, he also seemed a bit likeable, somewhat grateful, moving away for small moments from that surly image with the public that he has nurtured throughout his career.
peace and serenity
In a concert in which he did not take off the piano, the Nobel Prize for Literature played a version of his seventies song ‘Most Likely You Go Your Way and I’ll Go Mine’ to flood with peace and serenity after reciting ‘I Contain Crowds’. It was a highly applauded song belonging to the album that gives the tour its title, a thirty-ninth studio work irremediably related to the pandemic -it was published in June 2020-.
And it is that Robert Zimmerman -Bob Dylan’s real name- was sustained precisely on that album, his last of new and own songs, after ‘Tempest’ (2012), to weave his show into the Madrid nightlife. Up to nine of the ten songs on the album, highly praised by critics, were played at an evening in which the poet gave away 17 pieces. You just have to do the math.
With his cracked voice, Dylan sang this work in which he addresses love, cries out to life and talks with death, wrapped in history and cultural references. In this way it was possible to listen to the folk of the powerful ‘Black rider’ or ‘Mother of Muses’, and the blues of ‘False Prophet’;« ‘Crossing the Rubicon’, among ovations, or ‘Goodbye Jimmy Reed’, among others .
He left almost no room for nostalgia in his repertoire, although concessions such as the opening versions or the folk rock of ‘When I Paint My Masterpiece’ (1971) were appreciated, which raised ovations from its first stanza.
Hearing the harmonica that introduces ‘I’ll Be Your Baby Tonight’ (1967) also made the audience at his concert vibrate in silence and seated. The same viewers also later enjoyed the country of ‘To Be Alone With You’ (1969).
forgivable forgetfulness
The most rocky ‘Gotta Serve Somebody’ (1979) shone past the equator of a musical date in which many were left wanting to hear old gems like ‘Blowin’ in The Wind’, ‘Like a Rolling Stone’, ‘Forever Young ‘ or ‘Desolation Row’, among others. Surely more than one of those present would have made various changes to the appointment’s repertoire, but that did not mean that they were not enjoying a sublime show.
With ‘Every Grain of Sand’, from his album ‘Shot of love’ (1981), the American bard culminated the first of his stops on his tour of Spain and the opening of the Noches del Botánico, where he will play again this Thursday. To say goodbye to him, Dylan finally detached himself from his piano. And as if he had a hard time standing up in front of his audience, he waved timidly. The response he got was a tremendous ovation from the attendees fully delivered and on their feet.
Bob Dylan’s reunion with his Spanish followers comes after four years and with a total of 12 concerts. After Madrid, he will end up in Seville, Granada, Alicante, Huesca, San Sebastián, Logroño and Barcelona. Will this tour be the last of the great American troubadour in these lands? At 82 years old, it becomes increasingly difficult for it to be repeated. However, this tour will continue in other countries and Dylan is expected to continue playing until 2024, after which a new series of concerts would not be unusual, since he has spent decades from stage to stage, apparently tireless.
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