Performing at the Hollywood Bowl is no small feat, and to do so at a time of wavering interest in folk and an electric boom on the horizon is a bold move. Bob Dylan is full of bold moves, though, and yet he maintains the surprise, and has done for decades. Part of that is conviction, part of it is pursuing his interest without regard for what his audience may want. They are not part of the artistic equation, just recipients of it. Hollywood Bowl ‘65 is an example of that. Playing up the acoustic sentimentalities, the expected folk renditions to a perplexed Bowl audience is a brilliant occasion. For Dylan, it means advancing his sound, as he does in the latter stages of this must-listen live performance. Smatterings of gentle applause are heard after To Ramona, and the live energies, the chatter from Dylan, are all present.
A great performance even without the promise of electric latter halves. Not to sound too like a disturbed member of the Newport Folk Festival crowd, but Dylan in those gentle folk and acoustic occasions is a treat. Electricity after such a lengthy acoustic performance, especially with dominant pieces like Gates of Eden, is to split the heavens open. Gentle reminders of those acoustic powers on It’s All Over Now, Baby Blue, can be heard relatively early in this performance. A killer set, nothing but hit after hit of at-the-time contemporary material. This has been Dylan’s way over the decades. His best performances are of his latest releases, with a few pieces from the past sprinkled in. Hollywood Bowl ‘65 is one of the best showcases of his talent amid the controversial change to electric. Crucial to all of this is his vocal work, which is staggering on this Hollywood Bowl date. Crisp, studio-like but with a few bolder inflexions which separate these offerings from the album releases.
Again, the humour of Desolation Row is heard, a few pops of laughter from a crowd who would soon quiet. From the mighty moments of Mr. Tambourine Man to a few shouts of disgust from the crowd for closer Like a Rolling Stone, it all comes to a head at the Hollywood Bowl. A request for harmonicas, a blast of electrified appeal, every part of the performance a welcome example of Dylan as the hottest topic in America and music. Where the instrumentals backing him on those electric tracks are not as formidable as they would be just a year later, this is a teething issue more than anything. A need to find a better spot for it on the live circuit, and that was accomplished soon after. Like a Rolling Stone may sound a tad deflated, but it only takes a listen back to the roaring Maggie’s Farm to hear the electric swing take hold.
Such was the point of these live performances. Coax a listener in with the folk fundamentals and blow them away again with a burst of new music which, at the time, was seen as a direct competitor, a poison to the acoustic antidote. Bursting with some great live experiences, Hollywood Bowl ‘65 is a freewheeling live performance that serves as an opportunity to hear Dylan working these new tones into a set where audience expectations are certainly at play. But this is a sharp change from Dylan, who would not bow to anyone but himself and the mood of the set. The audience is a tertiary requirement, for live or studio performances. They are there to receive completed work, and this may be misrepresented as confidence or hate from Dylan. It is neither. It is just a pursuit of what sounds right.
