Talking Bob Dylan Blues

Barbican, London

Robin Denselow
Wednesday September 28, 2005
The Guardian

"It's great that we're doing this while he still walks the earth," announced Robyn Hitchcock, and that summed up this strange, unexpectedly emotional event. Tribute shows normally occur when an artist dies, but here was a packed Barbican honouring the fact that the most influential songwriter of his age has actually given an interview (albeit to his manager), and that this has allowed Martin Scorsese to construct his two remarkable biographies of Bob Dylan's early life for BBC TV's Arena.

It was just too bad that Part One was running while this show took place, for everyone in the audience ought to have watched it, after first reading Dylan's autobiography Chronicles, to get full value from what was taking place on stage. For here, live and in remarkably good form, were many of the characters who appear in the film and the book. The show was far too long (over four hours), but it was cleverly constructed, with readings from Chronicles introducing many of the performers.

Billy Bragg, who acted as MC, was preceded by Dylan's friendly words about himself ("I know that passage by heart," said Bragg). He was followed by Martin Carthy, who played The Lonesome Death of Hattie Carroll and gave a remarkable description of how he and Dylan chopped up a piano for firewood with a samurai sword in London during the cold winter of 1962. I trust that a blue plaque will now be erected outside 184 Haverstock Hill.

Then there were the Greenwich Village set. Liam Clancy mixed the Irish rebel songs that so influenced the young Dylan with stories about the legendary White Horse Tavern in New York, where they met, and then led a bizarre sing-along to Those Were the Days, which was written there. The best performance of the night came from the veteran gospel and blues singer Odetta, whom Dylan massively admired, and who makes a powerful appearance in the Arena film. Backed by a pianist, she now sat to sing her highly distinctive, soulful treatments of Tomorrow Is a Long Time and Mr Tambourine Man, transforming them into songs of her own. She was a hard act to follow, but Hitchcock provided a welcome reminder of Dylan's best recent work with a thoughtful Not Dark Yet, KT Tunstall and her band tackled songs from Blood on the Tracks and cabaret star Barb Jungr showed remarkable bravery with her quietly theatrical treatment of Like a Rolling Stone. Then there was Roy Harper, mysteriously following a fine version of Girl From the North Country with his homage to the Ashes, When an Old Cricketer Leaves the Crease. Absolutely nothing to do with Dylan, but a glorious song. I suspect that Bob would have approved.

http://www.guardian.co.uk/arts/reviews/story/0,11712,1579616,00.html