Aging Dylan Offers Intimate, Energy-Infused Collection of Rock Classics

Bob Dylan is back, having recovered from a potentially lethal illness and from a long string of relatively unimpressive albums. Anyone not convinced of this by Dylan's excellent new release, Time Out Of Mind, would certainly have been won over by his triumphant and exuberant performance at the Avalon. Performing a well-balanced mix of classic material and selections from the new album, Dylan and his four-member band delivered a mostly electric, uptempo set that gripped the audience from the start and kept them rocking all night long.

Dylan, attired in a classy, dark suit and tie, took the stage to the impassioned cheers of the audience, who recognized this opportunity for the precious one that it was--a chance to hear a legend, aging but still creative as ever, perform in an intimate setting. As Dylan, a Stratocaster slung over his shoulder, launched into his classic, "Maggie's Farm," the thick, biting sound of the band immediately announced to the audience that this concert was not going to be a swan song for an artist past his prime, no nostalgia trip for those wishing to rekindle fond memories of the 60s. Much of the audience knew the songs by heart and cheered wildly when they recognized them, and each rendition stood on its own.

After a well-received reading of his Nashville Skyline classic "Tonight I'll Be Staying Here With You," the band prefaced Time Out Of Mind's "Cold Irons Bound" with ominous swirls of electric guitar, giving the live version of that song the same dark, brooding quality exhibited on the album. Two more songs passed before Dylan closed out the first portion of his set with a hard-driving "Silvio," unleashing his band and raising the intensity yet a few notches more. The lights dimmed, as they did after every song, and when they came back on, Dylan had replaced his electric guitar with an acoustic. The band followed suit, with the bassist picking up an upright bass and the drummer switching to brushes. It was well-timed transition; soon the audience was swaying to the country-tinged "Cocaine" and the waltz-time "Lonesome Death of Hattie Caroll." The true audience-pleaser, though, was a wonderful acoustic rendition of "Tangled Up In Blue," the most well-known song from his arguably best album, 1974's Blood On The Tracks. Embellished by the mandolin-playing of Bucky Baxter (who manned the pedal steel guitar most of the night), this favorite struck a particularly responsive chord.

The many audience members, stifled in their attempts to sing along to "Tangled Up," served to demonstrate Dylan's penchant, especially for older songs, to never give the same vocal delivery as in the studio. Part of this, undoubtedly, is the deteriorating quality of Dylan's voice--his already-limited range has only diminished, and his singing, which was never beautiful in the usual sense, has become even more gravelly and ravaged-sounding. Nevertheless, both the new album and this performance showed how Dylan's singing, though sounding worse, is gaining a more powerful effect within the context his songs. It certainly gives the weary, heart-rending honesty of Time Out Of Mind a unique appeal.

Dylan and company soldiered through more standards and new tunes, pausing only once to allow the leader to introduce his band. In fact, Dylan rarely even altered his facial expression, basically maintaining a deadpan scowl for the duration of the performance. Even his cues to the band were minimal, with only a stiff nod to the drummer signifying the end of a tune.

Nevertheless, there were ample clues, beyond the obvious energy of the music itself, that Dylan was having a great time onstage. At times he allowed his guitar playing to take the forefront, plucking lead lines with gusto. Reappearing from backstage for his first encore, Dylan delivered a marathon version of "Highway 61 Revisited" in which he traded bluesy licks with his lead guitarist. During several such moments in his performance, Dylan allowed discreet grins to betray the pleasure he was finding in these vigorous interpretations of his compositions.

A second and third encore passed before Dylan and cohorts left the stage for good. A poignant version of "Knockin' On Heaven's Door" was certainly a high-light, with the telling addition of the lyric, "just like so many times before" a testimony to the many trials Dylan has recently faced, most notably his diagnosis with a serious heart condition.

It is this increasingly literal and openly personal narrative that has marked Dylan's recent work. The opening cut from Time Out of Mind, "Love Sick," followed "Knockin' On Heaven's Door," and was given the most striking live interpretation of all the songs that evening. "Love Sick" sets the introspective tone of the new album with a moody sound and sedate tempo, and in concert, with a thick and reverberating sonic treatment applied to the instruments, it was particularly effective.

The playful "Rainy Day Women #12 And #35" ended the third and final encore on a high note. Audience members clearly would have been eager to hear yet more music, but when the house lights came on and other music was piped in through the speakers, the crowd dispersed, very satisfied and with expectations fulfilled. They left knowing that Bob Dylan's songs have a timeless appeal and stand alone as hallmarks of expression through contemporary music. More importantly, though, they left knowing that Dylan still has much more to say.