Bob Dylan is no stranger to inviting surprise guests to perform with him on stage. From Jack White to Patti Smith, Dylan has featured some of the greatest musicians in history alongside him during live shows. His first year of the Never-Ending Tour featured Tracy Chapman for three nights in the latter days of August, and on the second night together, Dylan performed a three-song encore.
Chapman would join for the final song of the night, and while Dylan no longer performs an encore, there was a time in the late 1980s when it was a given that he would be back on stage for a few more hits. Chapman joined for a rousing performance of Knockin’ on Heaven’s Door, while the rest of the show featured a cover of Eileen Aroon, Silvio, and Like a Rolling Stone.
Dylan was joined by Chapman in Calgary for his performance at the Olympic Saddledome. A full setlist for the performance can be found below.
- Subterranean Homesick Blues
- Just Like a Woman
- Driftin’ Too Far From Shore
- Simple Twist of Fate
- I’ll Be Your Baby Tonight
- Highway 61 Revisited
- Don’t Think Twice, It’s All Right
- Girl from the North Country
- It’s Alright, Ma (I’m Only Bleeding)
- Eileen Aroon (traditional cover)
- It Ain’t Me, Babe
- I Shall Be Released
- Silvio
- Like a Rolling Stone
- Mr. Tambourine Man
- Maggie’s Farm
- Knockin’ on Heaven’s Door (with Tracy Chapman)
Dylan would perform Mr. Tambourine Man and Maggie’s Farm as part of his encore, before being joined by Chapman for the final song of the night. The show would also feature one of the final performances of Driftin’ Too Far From Shore, a Knocked Out Loaded song that was dropped just a year later.
It has not been performed since Summerfest 1989, which took place on July 3. This Chapman-featuring performance would be the third from last time that Dylan performed the Knocked Out Loaded song.
Many Knocked Out Loaded songs have gone unperformed, including Brownsville Girl and They Killed Him. Dylan would perform a cover of Precious Memories, which featured on his 1986 album, just three times. The final performance came at Toad’s Place in a legendary set that ran for 50 songs.
This Chapman-featuring encore is not the first time Dylan has hosted the Talkin’ ’bout a Revolution hitmaker either. The pair had joined up the show prior to this performance and delivered another rendition of Knockin’ on Heaven’s Door. Decades on from this performance and Chapman would cover two Dylan songs as part of a benefit birthday tribute in New York City on May 19, 2001.
Chapman performed I Threw It All Away and Gotta Serve Somebody as part of the tribute concert. Despite Dylan featuring Knockin’ on Heaven’s Door during his Vancouver show, the track had not made an appearance during the first-ever Never-Ending Tour show.
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