Bob Dylan – Never Ending Tour 1989





It’s not stand-up comedy or a stage play. Also, it breaks my concentration to have to think of things to say or to respond to the crowd. The songs themselves do the talking. My songs do, anyway.
-Bob Dylan (September 21, 1989 – Edna Gundersen interview for USA Today)

Band

The 1988 band (Smith, Parker, Aaronson) backed Dylan at the first three shows of 1989 and at the fifth through the eighth. At the fourth show, and at every show beginning with the ninth (June 10, 1989), Kenny Aaronson, who had to return to the U.S. for health reasons, was replaced on bass by Tony Garnier, who had played with G. E. Smith in one of his former bands. In late July, Aaronson tried to get his job back, but was told by Dylan, “I’m not sure if I wanna change the band right now.” In the long run, Garnier outlasted Parker and Smith, and is still playing bass in Dylan’s touring band.
-Paul Williams (Bob Dylan: Performance Artist 1986-1990 And Beyond)

Tony Garnier

Wikipedia:
Tony Garnier
 (born August 18, 1956 in Saint Paul, Minnesota) is an American bassist (both double bass and bass guitar), best known as an accompanist to Bob Dylan, with whom he has played since 1989. He is Dylan’s longest-running sideman, and has sometimes been characterised as his “musical director” as well.

Read more -> Tony Garnier @ wikipedia

1989 Summer Tour

  • First show @ Christinehofs Slottspark, Christinehofs Slott, Skåne, Sweden – 27 May 1989
  • Last show @ Panathenaíkos Stádio, Athens, Greece – 28 June 1989

..it is fair to say that Helsinki saw the first satisfactory show of what was to be a very gratifying year.
-Andrew Muir (One More Night: Bob Dylan’s Never Ending Tour)

Jäähalli
Helsinki, Finland
30 May 1989

Subterranean Homesick Blues

Confidential (Dolinda Morgan)

His early ‘protest’ classic “Ballad Of Hollis Brown” was moody and magnificent; after the words “ocean’s pounding roar”, there was the added effect of a thrashy electric guitar approximation of that sound. Then it was straight into a marvellous, inventive rendition of perennial classic “Just Like A Woman”. And so it went on: an enthusiastic crowd served with “Stuck Inside Of Mobile With The Memphis Blues Again”..
-Andrew Muir (One More Night: Bob Dylan’s Never Ending Tour)

Ballad Of Hollis Brown

Just Like A Woman

Stuck Inside Of Mobile With The Memphis Blues Again

Full concert video:

Although Dylan opens with “Subterranean Homesick Blues,” the 1989 shows are at last beginning to display their own identity. Ironically, this year it is the electric sets that are a delight, and the acoustic sets that are often disappointing. His harp playing is erratic but he still has his moments. Dylan is also incorporating a cover into the first set at most shows. Tonight’s second song is another 50s cover, “Confidential to Me.” The highlight of tonight’s show, though, is a gripping electric rendition of “Ballad of Hollis Brown,” it’s nagging, insistent riff complementing some impressive singing from Dylan.
-Clinton Heylin (about the Helsinki gig)

The third show, however, in Helsinki, Finland, May 30, sounds terrific. Dylan’s vocals and his harmonica playing are exemplary, and his rapport with the band, and with co-guitarist Smith on the acoustic songs, seems much improved over many of the 1988 shows. Helsinki is a tape worth pursuing (imagine a version of “All Along the Watchtower” noteworthy just for the excellence and inventiveness of the harmonica parts) and, along with Athens (the last show of the European leg, June 28), a solid example of the spring ‘89 tour at its best.
-Paul Williams (Bob Dylan: Performance Artist 1986-1990 And Beyond)

Simmonscourt
R.D.S.
Dublin, Ireland
4 June 1989

Knockin’ On Heaven’s Door (Shared vocal with Bono)

Hall 4
Scottish Exhibition And Conference Centre
Glasgow, Scotland
6 June 1989

  1. Subterranean Homesick Blues
  2. Congratulations
  3. Stuck Inside Of Mobile With The Memphis Blues Again
  4. Ballad Of A Thin Man
  5. Just Like A Woman
  6. All Along The Watchtower
  7. Barbara Allen (trad.)
  8. Mr. Tambourine Man
  9. It Ain’t Me, Babe
  10. Silvio (Bob Dylan & Robert Hunter)
  11. I Shall Be Released
  12. Like A Rolling Stone
  13. The Times They Are A-Changin’
  14. Knockin’ On Heaven’s Door
  15. Maggie’s Farm
Full concert audio:




International Arena
National Exhibition Center
Birmingham, England
7 June 1989

  1. Subterranean Homesick Blues
  2. Lonesome Town (Baker Knight)
  3. Highway 61 Revisited
  4. You’re A Big Girl Now
  5. John Brown
  6. All Along The Watchtower
  7. Barbara Allen (trad.)
  8. Girl From The North Country
  9. Mr. Tambourine Man
  10. Silvio (Bob Dylan & Robert Hunter)
  11. I Shall Be Released
  12. Like A Rolling Stone
  13. Blowin’ In The Wind
  14. One Too Many Mornings
  15. Knockin’ On Heaven’s Door
  16. Congratulations

  17. Maggie’s Farm
(nearly) full concert audio:

Wembley Arena
London, England
June 8, 1989

  1. Subterranean Homesick Blues
  2. When Did You Leave Heaven? (W. Bullock/R. Whiting)
  3. Ballad Of Hollis Brown
  4. Simple Twist Of Fate
  5. All Along The Watchtower
  6. Stuck Inside Of Mobile With The Memphis Blues Again
  7. Barbara Allen (trad.)
  8. It Ain’t Me, Babe
  9. The Lonesome Death Of Hattie Carroll
  10. Boots Of Spanish Leather
  11. Silvio (Bob Dylan & Robert Hunter)
  12. In The Garden
  13. Like A Rolling Stone
  14. One Too Many Mornings
  15. Knockin’ On Heaven’s Door
  16. Maggie’s Farm
Full concert

Les Arènes
Frejus, France
13 June 1989

  1. Hey La La (Hey La La) (McBride)
  2. Most Likely You Go Your Way (And I’ll Go Mine)
  3. You’re A Big Girl Now
  4. All Along The Watchtower
  5. Just Like A Woman
  6. I Don’t Believe You (She Acts Like We Never Have Met)
  7. Lakes Of Pontchartrain (trad.)
  8. Gates Of Eden
  9. Knockin’ On Heaven’s Door
  10. In The Garden
  11. Highway 61 Revisited
  12. Like A Rolling Stone
  13. Boots Of Spanish Leather
  14. Peace In The Valley (Thomas A. Dorsey)
  15. Man Gave Names To All The Animals
  16. Maggie’s Farm
Full concert audio:




Palatrussadi Milano
Milan, Italy
19 June 1989

Shelter From The Storm

Stadio Lamberti
Cava de’Tirreni, Italy
21 June 1989

Pancho And Lefty (Townes van Zandt)

Ethniko Stadio Patras
Patras, Greece
26 June 1989

  1. Most Likely You Go Your Way (And I’ll Go Mine)
  2. Tears Of Rage (Bob Dylan & Richard Manuel)
  3. Masters Of War (MISSING)
  4. Simple Twist Of Fate (MISSING)
  5. Shelter From The Storm
  6. Highway 61 Revisited
  7. To Ramona (MISSING)
  8. Blowin’ In The Wind (MISSING)
  9. Mr. Tambourine Man
  10. Two Soldiers (trad.)
  11. Knockin’ On Heaven’s Door
  12. Silvio (Bob Dylan & Robert Hunter)
  13. In The Garden (MISSING)
  14. Like A Rolling Stone (MISSING)—
  15. Girl From The North Country
  16. All Along The Watchtower (MISSING)
Video:

Panathenaíkos Stádio
Athens, Greece
28 June 1989

The final show of Dylan’s month-long European sojourn is one of the best shows of the tour. Although the main set is a standard length, Dylan includes a unique acoustic “Every Grain of Sand,” and a second and last “House of Gold.” The encore is extended to five songs when Van Morrison joins Dylan onstage, performing two of Van the Man’s better known songs, “Crazy Love” and “And It Stoned Me.” Filmed for the BBC “Arena” special, they end up unused, presumably because Dylan again has the lights way down.
-Clinton Heylin (Boll Dylan: A Life in Stolen Moments)

Athens, Dylan’s 21st show of spring ‘89, two nights after the “turn down the lights” concert in Patras and four nights after the memorable evening in Istanbul, is arguably the best single show of the twenty-one, not a transcendent masterpiece but a solid and pleasing portrait of a man in motion (“I saw you from a foreign window/You were trying to find your way back home/You were carrying your defects/Sleeping on a pallet on the floor/In the palace of the Lord,” as Morrison put it), doing his life’s work on the stages of a hundred nations, experiencing a kind of heightened and widened and very immediate awareness by standing up on stage and singing to the people in the room, feeling like some sort of conduit, a performing artist.
-Paul Williams (Bob Dylan: Performance Artist 1986-1990 And Beyond)

  1. Most Likely You Go Your Way (And I’ll Go Mine)
  2. You’re A Big Girl Now (MISSING)
  3. Ballad Of Hollis Brown
  4. Shelter From The Storm (MISSING)
  5. Ballad Of A Thin Man
  6. Highway 61 Revisited
  7. Don’t Think Twice, It’s All Right
  8. Every Grain Of Sand
  9. Mr. Tambourine Man (MISSING)
  10. Blowin’ In The Wind (MISSING)
  11. Silvio (Bob Dylan & Robert Hunter)
  12. I Shall Be Released
  13. House Of Gold (Hank Williams)
  14. Like A Rolling Stone
  15. Lakes Of Pontchartrain (trad.)
  16. The Times They Are A-Changin’ (MISSING)
  17. Crazy Love (Van Morrison)
  18. And It Stoned Me (Van Morrison)
  19. Maggie’s Farm

17-18: Van Morrison (guitar and shared vocals).

Video:

1989 North America Tour

  • First show @ Civic Center Arena, Peoria, Illinois – 1 July 1989
  • Last show @ Greek Theatre, Hollywood, Los Angeles, California 10 September 1989

Waterloo Village
Stanhope, New Jersey
17 July 1989

Early Morning Rain (Gordon Lightfoot)

Marjorie Merriweather Post Pavilion
Columbia, Maryland
19 July 1989

Another delightful cover is introduced, Don Gibson’s “(I’d Be) a Legend in My Time,” a rather ironic choice on Dylan’s part.
-Clinton Heylin (Boll Dylan: A Life in Stolen Moments)

Legend In My Time (Don Gibson)

1989 US Fall Tour

  • First show @ The Beacon Theatre, New York City – 10 October 1989
  • Last show @ Festival Hall, Tampa Bay Performing Arts CenterTampa, Florida – 15 November 1989

The Beacon Theatre
New York City, New York
11 October 1989

What Good Am I?

Dead Man, Dead Man

Love Minus Zero/No Limit

Full concert video:

12 October 1989 (The Beacon Theatre)
Seeing The Real You At Last

You’re A Big Girl Now

Boots Of Spanish Leather


13 October 1989 (The Beacon Theatre)

Dylan completes his Beacon residency in some style. He has visibly grown in confidence during the shows, and the Oh Mercy songs have grown in musical stature. “What Good Am I?” is graced with a harmonica solo, as is a fine “Man of Peace.” A lengthy “Precious Memories” becomes only the second “Never Ending Tour” performance of a song from Knocked Out Loaded. Dylan responds to a request during the acoustic set, performing an impromptu “Song to Woody.” The real surprises, however, are reserved for the encore, which opens with the haunting “Man in the Long Black Coat.” Then, during “Leopard-Skin Pill-Box Hat,” Dylan unhooks his microphone from the stand and, harmonica in hand, walks to the very lip of the stage, where he plays some knee-bending harp, before jumping into the audience and de- parting via the fire exit.
-Clinton Heylin (Boll Dylan: A Life in Stolen Moments)

  1. Seeing The Real You At Last
  2. What Good Am I?
  3. Man Of Peace
  4. Precious Memories (arr. by Bob Dylan)
  5. Simple Twist Of Fate
  6. Stuck Inside Of Mobile With The Memphis Blues Again
  7. Don’t Think Twice, It’s All Right
  8. Song To Woody
  9. The Lonesome Death Of Hattie Carroll
  10. Everything Is Broken
  11. I’ll Remember You
  12. It Takes A Lot To Laugh, It Takes A Train To Cry
  13. In The Garden
  14. Like A Rolling Stone
  15. Man In The Long Black Coat
  16. Leopard-Skin Pill-Box Hat
Full concert video:

Mid-Hudson Arena
Poughkeepsie, New York
20 October 1989

First concert where Bob Dylan plays piano during The Never-Ending Tour.

Ring Them Bells (concert debut)

Bob on Piano

Keaney Auditorium
University Of Rhode Island
South Kingston, Rhode Island
22 October 1989

  1. Trouble
  2. Man In The Long Black Coat
  3. John Brown
  4. You’re A Big Girl Now
  5. Just Like A Woman
  6. Stuck Inside Of Mobile With The Memphis Blues Again
  7. A Hard Rain’s A-Gonna Fall
  8. The Lonesome Death Of Hattie Carroll
  9. It Ain’t Me, Babe
  10. Shelter From The Storm
  11. Everything Is Broken
  12. I Shall Be Released
  13. Like A Rolling Stone
  14. Most Of The Time
  15. Maggie’s Farm
Full concert video:

The Opera House
Boston, Massachusetts
23 October 1989

  1. Trouble
  2. Man In The Long Black Coat
  3. My Back Pages
  4. Simple Twist Of Fate
  5. I Don’t Believe You (She Acts Like We Never Have Met)
  6. Stuck Inside Of Mobile With The Memphis Blues Again
  7. Gates Of Eden
  8. Don’t Think Twice, It’s All Right
  9. Wagoner’s Lad (trad.)
  10. It’s Alright, Ma (I’m Only Bleeding)
  11. Shelter From The Storm
  12. Everything Is Broken
  13. I Shall Be Released
  14. Like A Rolling Stone
  15. Most Of The Time
  16. All Along The Watchtower
Full concert video:

The Opera House
Boston, Massachusetts
24 October 1989

Man Of Peace
Full concert video:

The Opera House
Boston, Massachusetts
25 October 1989

  1. To Be Alone With You
  2. Man In The Long Black Coat
  3. Positively 4th Street
  4. Leopard-Skin Pill-Box Hat
  5. I Want You
  6. Stuck Inside Of Mobile With The Memphis Blues Again
  7. Love Minus Zero/No Limit
  8. It Ain’t Me, Babe
  9. Two Soldiers (trad.)
  10. It’s All Over Now, Baby Blue
  11. Ballad Of A Thin Man
  12. I’ll Remember You
  13. I Shall Be Released
  14. It Takes A Lot To Laugh, It Takes A Train To Cry
  15. Everything Is Broken
  16. Like A Rolling Stone
  17. Most Of The Time
  18. Maggie’s Farm
Full concert video:

Ben Light Gymnasium
Ithaca College
Ithaca, New York
29 October 1989

  1. Positively 4th Street
  2. Masters Of War
  3. Lay Lady Lay
  4. I’ll Be Your Baby Tonight
  5. Highway 61 Revisited
  6. It’s Alright, Ma (I’m Only Bleeding)
  7. Knockin’ On Heaven’s Door
  8. A Hard Rain’s A-Gonna Fall
  9. Everything Is Broken
  10. What Good Am I?
  11. Most Of The Time
  12. Man In The Long Black Coat
  13. Like A Rolling Stone
  14. Disease Of Conceit
  15. All Along The Watchtower
Full concert audio:

State Theatre
Cleveland, Ohio
2 November 1989

Disease Of Conceit



-Egil

2 thoughts on “Bob Dylan – Never Ending Tour 1989”

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