Posted on 04/27/2005 4:56:24 AM PDT by pissant
April 27, 2005 -- CHALK it up to fingers stiffened over more years than Bob Dylan wants to remember, but rather than play his trusty guitar at the Beacon Theatre Monday night, the legendary songwriter clumsily pawed the keys of his electric piano.
Yet this nod to geezerdom during the first of his five-night series didn't hurt Dylan's set. The 63-year-old star kept his keyboards miked low, his vocals in front of the five-man band while he delivered 90 minutes of time-tested tunes.
But the buzz at this show didn't concern guitars, pianos or why the Oscar he won two years was placed on a table behind his keyboard. New York fans zeroed in on the song selection.
The fact is, no two Dylan sets are the same, so the devoted use the set list as the show's Bob-o-meter.
From the get-go, this gig — which opened with a Nashville nod on "To Be Alone With You" and took its final bow with the take-no-prisoners rocker "All Along the Watch Tower" — was upbeat and plainly spoke Dylan's passion for his return to Skyscraper Park.
There was no patter to that effect. But during his 14-song performance, the waif-like singer repeatedly returned to tunes either about the city or written while he lived here at the height of his career.
The rarity "Visions of Johanna" launched the night's New York theme, and throughout the show Dylan reinforced his empire state of mind with "Desolation Row" "Highway 61 Revisited," "Stuck Inside of Mobile With the Memphis Blues Again" and the first encore number — "Just Like Tom Thumb's Blues."
(Excerpt) Read more at nypost.com ...
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