NICK HASTED gets a first look at the Rough And Rowdy Ways Tour as it reaches Europe
“I HEARD all about it,” Bob Dylan murmurs sadly. “I heard it in Key West…” It’s the second night of the Rough And Rowdy Ways European tour, and outside Stockholm’s functional Avicii Arena lies a barren, resolutely unromantic plaza, shopping centre and football stadium. Up on stage, though, is something else. Dylan is sitting at the piano, a spot he’ll barely leave all night, black jacket removed to reveal a shiny, baggy shirt, which turns from peach to gold under the lights, and black white-piped trousers. He is finding the heartbeat of “Key West (Philosopher Pirate)” – a song about a shimmering, chimerical version of the Florida town, playing it for so long it’s like he’s moved there.
Dylan’s latest album, , is all about mood, weaving its spell at a stately, meditative pace. The nine songs he’s played from it for much of the last year mean that his live show now favours atmosphere and nuance, the tempo decidedly gentler and more
