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July 25: Bob Dylan Avignon  France 1981 (Video)

As Dylan concludes his moderately successful European tour, tragedy strikes with cwo deaths in the crowd. “Saved” is seconds old when the stage is shrouded in darkness as a member of the crowd falls onto the electrical cables. In the confusion a girl falls from a wall. Dylan and the band are forced to improvise some acoustic rhythms on stage until power is finally restored, after which Dylan performs a 25-song set to an enthusiastic crowd. The set includes five songs from Shot of Love: “In the Summertime,” “Shot of Love,” “Lenny Bruce,” “Watered Down Love,” and “Heart of Mine.”
~Clinton Heylin (Bob Dylan: A Life in Stolen Moments Day by Day 1941-1995)

Palace des Sports
Avignon, France
25 July 1981

• Bob Dylan (vocal & guitar)
• Fred Tackett (guitar)
• Steve Ripley (guitar)
• Willie Smith (keyboards)
• Tim Drummond (bass)
• Jim Keltner (drums)
• Clydie King, Carolyn Dennis, Regina Havis, Madelyn Quebec (background vocals)

The embedded video is ~57 min and includes the songs in bold from the setlist:

1. Saved (Bob Dylan/Tim Drummond)
2. Instrumental Jam
3. Saved (Bob Dylan/Tim Drummond)
4. I Believe In You
5. Like A Rolling Stone
6. Till I Get It Right (Red Lane/Larry Henley)
7. Man Gave Names To All The Animals
8. Maggie’s Farm
9. Girl From The North Country
10. Ballad Of A Thin Man
11. In The Summertime
12. Shot Of Love
    —
    Carolyn Dennis:
    Walk Around Heaven All Day (Rev. James Cleveland/Cassietta George)
    —
13. The Times They Are A-Changin’
14. Let’s Begin (Jim Webb)
15. Lenny Bruce
16. Slow Train
17. Mr. Tambourine Man
18. Solid Rock
19. Just Like A Woman
20. Saved By The Grace Of Your Love (Willie Smith/David Palmer)
21. Watered-Down Love
22. Jesus Is The One
23. Heart Of Mine
24. When You Gonna Wake Up
25. Forever Young
26. In The Garden
    —
27. Blowin’ In The Wind
28. It Ain’t Me, Babe
29. Knockin’ On Heaven’s Door

Check out:

• Alldylan @ Facebook
• –
• Bob Dylan: Live 1980 – 1989 (Video & audio)
  
• Bob Dylan: 8 essential videos from the 80’s
• –
• Olof’s “Still On The Road“

-Egil