Bob Dylan – Live at Warfield Theatre Review

Sore from those shows he played nothing but born-again material, Bob Dylan concedes defeat and reintroduces the hits. Not all of them, naturally, but enough to soothe the public. Even when he was at a critical low with Saved releasing around this time, Dylan finds enough momentum to incorporate well-received covers and even debut a new song. Though A Couple More Years would receive a similar fate to Am I Your Stepchild?, onto the “to be picked at by Sony Music vultures in the event of my death” pile it goes. Live at Warfield Theatre is a refreshing Dylan bootleg because it has him do away with expectations. He sounds completely indifferent to what an audience wants, hence the inclusion of Man Gave Names to All the Animals. But listen in a little closer to those Slow Train Coming moments. They are well received.  

A shock it may be to hear people cheering Slow Train Coming, this audience in San Francisco, forty-five years ago, is attuned to the modern-day Dylan listener’s taste. They receive the likes of All Along the Watchtower and Like a Rolling Stone in these rocked-out, post-Budokan stylings just as well as a cover of Dion’s Abraham, Martin and John, and Ain’t Gonna Go to Hell for Anybody. That latter track is a song seemingly rejected from the religious trilogy because its defiance is menacing. Another for the vulture pile. For those who enjoy the backing vocals period, the slight echo to the guitar and higher pitch Dylan was aiming for around this time, Live at Warfield Theatre is a fantastic show. Even for those who do not enjoy those tones compared to the bitterness of Hard Rain or the modern-day thrills of Rough and Rowdy Ways, there are some tremendous performances here. Simple Twist of Fate sounds a tad lighter than it once was, while Just Like a Woman fits in nicely with the new instrumental range.  

Blurring those classics into place with contemporary hits was crucial. It still is. Rough and Rowdy Ways depends on the blur of When I Paint My Masterpiece in the modern standard just as much as Live at Warfield Theatre hopes the blur of Girl from the North Country and Slow Train is a winning ticket. It is. Dylan should be gaffer-taped to his piano and made to do this indefinitely. Until we tire of performances which sound so boisterous, so ready to challenge the listener. Dylan sounds ready to fight his way into these gig-goers’ hearts, but from the first note, they are on board with whatever he wants to play. It is the energy, paired with the necessity to shake up a residential show setlist, that makes this such a special performance.  

Dylan’s lyrical hot streak meant many of the songs here went unreleased for a time. Let’s Keep it Between Us was left to rot after this tour, The Warfield residency marking its first appearance. It barely made it out of Salem before being dropped on December 4, 1980, never to be played again. Trouble No More, the official Dylan bootleg, has many of these unreleased moments, though hearing the audience tapes still offers a thrill or two. City of Gold, too. An apt title for a performance which is a rich avenue of deep cuts. Live at Warfield Theatre is a rarity for Dylan. He puts out a solid collection of somewhat hard-to-find songs, some of them still unreleased, yet the quality rings through clear. One of the very best experiences you can have with Dylan in the 1980s. Even his preacher-adjacent, poor pieces of work sound incredible here.