Bob Dylan sweetly serenades Chateau Ste. Michelle, despite some bumps

Concert review

Bob Dylan has been no stranger to the Seattle market since the pandemic curtain lifted on touring. Each of the past two summers, the great American songsmith has linked up with his old pal Willie Nelson at the Gorge Amphitheatreas part ofthe country icon's roving Outlaw Music Festival. But this weekend's sold-out doubleheader at Chateau Ste. Michelle marked the first time since 2022 Seattle fans have been able to catch the classic rock and folk legend without packing their sleeping bags.

Last year's wind-abbreviated Gorge set notwithstanding, local fans have seen Dylan, who turned 85 last month, in fine form. For the most part, Saturday's gig at the Woodinville winery on the second night of Dylan's current tour leg kept the winning streak alive, at least after a brief "oh no" moment to start the show.

Following a defiant, topical set from the queen of alt-country, Lucinda Williams - who aimed some working-class resistance tunes at "the big guy in Washington that wants to be king" - Dylan hit the stage withThe Band-era rarity "You Ain't Goin' Nowhere."

According to fan accounts, Dylan hadn't busted out the "Basement Tapes" gem in more than a decade, and it might have been a real treat if it hadn't been sunk by his rocky vocals out of the gate. Thankfully, Dylan quickly found his form after garbling through the wince-worthy opening number, putting some bounce in his pianos on "To be Alone with You," off 1969's countrified "Nashville Skyline."

By the third song - an utterly superb "Forgetful Heart" - whatever frog got stuck in Dylan's throat had hopped back to its pond on the Woodinville estate, bringing a sigh of relief as Dylan's nimble piano licks tiptoed up a spiral staircase on the moody blues cut.

By now, the book on the modern Dylan experience has long been out. Expect to hear all the greatest hits from his most seminal albums played true to the recordings and you'll likely leave bummed. Come with an appreciation for (or at least an openness toward) the breadth of one of the greatest American songwriters' expansive catalog, and there's ample reward in whatever treats are pulled from the tome, whatever form they may take.

Depending on one's take, it's either a thrill or ire-inducing to see how Dylan might rearrange some of his classics on any given night. On Saturday, "When I Paint My Masterpiece" was brilliantly reworked into a sly, slinky (and almost sexy?) number-with Dylan's pounce-and-dash pianos tangoing with the guitars, his clear and curious vocals peeking around corners as if wandering unexplored castle hallways.

The second of three selections from his work with The Band (including deep cut "Baby, Won't You Be My Baby"), it certainly beat the drowsy, heavy-footed take on "Early Roman Kings" that followed, paling in comparison to the spicier version fans were treated to two years ago at the Gorge.

Landing somewhere between the two on the rearrangement success scale was a flickering "All Along the Watchtower," as the man who penned the oft-covered classic fittingly performed a less-faithful rendition.

Not that the most mythologized man in music needs help creating an air of mystery or ambience, but Dylan's deft, four-piece backing band tactfully shaded the songs to suit various moods. They laid a groovy, saucy framework for "Love Sick"-with Dylan's piano chords crashing down like a love-frustrated fist-and smoothed "I Contain Multitudes" into a marble mantelpiece for Dylan's sweet-as-can-be voice, which was in truly great shape after that early scare.

A slow-marching "Crossing the Rubicon" - the only other song off 2020's superb "Rough and Rowdy Ways" - eventually brought the nearly 90-minute set to a rather ho-hum close, with the band's instrumental flourishes teasing at but never amounting to any sort of crescendo. The shadowy "Man in the Long Black Coat" might have made for a more enigmatic exit, or the let-it-loose "Baby, Won't You Be My Baby" could have sent the crowd home dancing.

But these are minor critiques of an evening of timeless songs from a singular artist plucked from another time.

Bob Dylan Night 1 set list

1. You Ain't Goin' Nowhere"

2. "To Be Alone with You"

3. "Forgetful Heart"

4. "Axe and the Wind" (George "Wild Child" Butler cover)

5. "When I Paint My Masterpiece"

6. "Early Roman Kings"

7. "Under the Red Sky"

8. "Love Sick"

9. "I'll Make it All Up to You" (Jerry Lee Lewis cover)

10. "All Along the Watchtower"

11. "I Contain Multitudes"

12. "Rainy Day Women #12 & 35"

13. "Share Your Love with Me" (Bobby "Blue" Bland cover)

14. "Man in the Long Black Coat"

15. "Baby, Won't You Be My Baby"

16. "Soon After Midnight"

17. "Crossing the Rubicon

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