Bob Dylan Jams Out in Los Angeles

Posted on Oct 15th 2009 12:30PM by Steve Baltin
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For the man many consider to be the greatest songwriter rock has ever produced, there are quite a few clichés that surround Bob Dylan's current approach to performing, the most obvious one being he does what he wants. Why this cliché exists was evident as the Bard -- introduced as "The poet laureate of rock 'n' roll" -- and his band rolled up to the relatively small Hollywood Palladium for the second of his three nights in L.A on Wednesday.

Opening with Dylan at the keyboards, the group ripped out a muscular 'Leopard-Skin Pill-Box-Hat.' With Charlie Sexton back on guitar for this tour, the six-piece flexed their musical chops often during the first half of the show as they mixed electric-blues and country flavoring into less-obvious Dylan fare like 'Tweedle Dee & Tweedle Dum,' 'Beyond Here Lies Nothin'' and 'Cold Irons Bound.'

The just-under capacity crowd -- tonight is sold out, unfortunately -- ate up the stretched-out jams, turning the Palladium floor into the Hollywood version of Bonnaroo. But one of the most impressive moments of the night came when the band turned down the sound for a gorgeous 'Forgetful Heart' that showed off Dylan's vocals.

From there, the populist Dylan (almost an oxymoron, but not quite) emerged, playing some of his bigger songs, including a raucous, rolling 'Highway 61 Revisited' and an effectively dramatic 'Ballad of a Thin Man' to close out the regular set.

Back for the encore, Dylan, who seemed in good spirits as he thanked the crowd and introduced the band, opened the three-song segment with a sing-along rendition of 'Like a Rolling Stone.' After 'Jolene,' the group closed out with a ferocious 'All Along the Watchtower,' a perfect vehicle for their expert craftsmanship.