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My Favourite Bob Dylan bootleg 2011: Funen Village Odense Denmark June 27

This is a great sounding Bob Dylan bootleg from his 2011 European tour, we saw Dylan in Bergen, Norway two days later, and the Odense concert is really close to my experience in Bergen. I have the recording from Bergen as well, and I did consider that show as my 2011 choice. But in the end I had to admit that I like the Funen Village show a little bit better. It sounds very good and Bob Dylan is clearly enjoying himself. I also love his version of The Man in Me here (we didn’t get that in Bergen).

The highlights for me are: The Man in Me, and then  “the three in a row”, Boots of Spanish Leather, The Ballad of Hollis Brown and Every Grain of Sand. Jump down to the video and check it out!

Bob Dylan – guitar, keyboard, harp
Tony Garnier – bass
George Recile – drums
Stu Kimball – rhythm guitar
Charlie Sexton – lead guitar
Donnie Herron – violin, viola, banjo, electric mandolin, pedal steel, lap steel

Other entries in this series:
My Favourite Bob Dylan bootleg from 1962: The Freewheelin’ Bob Dylan Outtakes
My Favourite Bob Dylan bootleg from 1969: The Dylan / Cash Sessions
My Favourite Bob Dylan bootleg from 2012: The Day of Wine and Roses, Barolo, Italy July 16

“…We participated all in a great garden party, perfect environment, amphi theatre packed with 2,000 spectators, surrounded by large trees, no wind,
20 degree C, blue night sky, my wife and I dancing few meters from the stage.

Most of the evening Bob acted as a showman, relaxed and unpretentious, rocking center stage with his microphone, harp or guitar, smiling “his” smile.

The band was swinging and the sound mercury clear, Bobs words came out personally strong, with long notes, in delicate balance with his tight band.

His standout songs tonight were many: The Man In Me , Things Have Changed (crooning with funny arm gestures), Ballad Of Hollis Brown (obsessive),
Ballad Of A Thin Man (majestic theatrical) and specially Forgetful Heart (beautiful, who induced goosebumps)…”
– Lars Jørgensen (Boblinks)

Full Funen Village, Odense playlist, very closely filmed and with good sound:

“Watching this as I type. The sound is excellent, and the focus/color/resolution is as good as it gets, particularly when viewed on your computer or on an “up-converting” blu ray player. There’s a minimum of obstruction and shakiness, which makes this a pleasant watch, with no need of special video effects, except for stills between songs when the camera is either off or hidden from sight.

The cameraman does a fine job of zooming and panning, thus affording close-ups of Dylan and the rest of the band as they take their turns on leads. When Dylan is singing, the camera is mostly centered on him from the waist up with Donny usually in the picture. For any of you guitarists out there, this program provides an excellent opportunity to watch Bob and Charlie’s technique. A lot of negativity has been aimed at Dylan’s guitar-playing over the years, but I, for one, see him as a master of the instrument.

Regarding the singing/performance, Dylan is fully engaged, and seemingly pleased with the cleverness of his lyrics. Check out “Things Have Changed” to see what I mean.

The disk author, madhasse, has done his usual excellent job of editing and sound upgrading. He tells us that he’s “not even shy to call it the best captured/perfomed Bob Dylan show in years!”

Who am I to argue? 5 stars if ever there were stars in the sky.”
– yassou (DVDylan)

Set list (Boblinks):
1. Rainy Day Women #12 & 35 (Bob on keyboard, Stu on acoustic guitar)
2. The Man In Me (Bob on keyboard then center stage on harp)
3. Things Have Changed (Bob center stage on harp, Stu on acoustic guitar)
4. I’ll Be Your Baby Tonight (Bob on guitar, Stu on acoustic guitar)
5. Beyond Here Lies Nothin’ (Bob on guitar, Donnie on electric mandolin)
6. Boots Of Spanish Leather (Bob on guitar, Donnie on violin, Tony on standup bass)
7. Ballad Of Hollis Brown (Bob center stage, Donnie on banjo, Tony on standup bass)
8. Every Grain Of Sand (Bob on keyboard and harp, Stu on acoustic guitar)
9. Tweedle Dee & Tweedle Dum (Bob on guitar)
10. A Hard Rain’s A-Gonna Fall (Bob on keyboard, Donnie on electric mandolin, Tony on standup bass)
11. Highway 61 Revisited (Bob on keyboard)
12. Forgetful Heart (Bob center stage, Donnie on viola, Tony on standup bass)
13. Thunder On The Mountain (Bob on keyboard)
14. Ballad Of A Thin Man (Bob center stage on harp)

(encore)
15. Like A Rolling Stone (Bob on keyboard)
16. All Along The Watchtower (Bob on guitar then center stage on harp)
17. Blowin’ In The Wind (Bob center stage, Donnie on violin, Stu on acoustic guitar)

The best known bootleg (from  Crystal Cat) has some very fine bonus songs as well:

18. Gonna Change My Way of Thinking
19. It’s All Over Now, Baby Blue
20. High Water (for Charlie Patton)
21. It Ain’t Me, Babe
22. Simple Twist of Fate
23. Mississippi

Tracks 18-19: 20 June 2011, Ramat Gan Stadium, Tel Aviv, Israel.
Track 20: 29 June 2011, Bergenhus Fortress, Bergen, Norway.
Tracks 21-22: 30 June 2011, Spektrum, Oslo, Noeway.
Track 23: 13 August 2011, Nikon At Jones Beach Theater, Wantagh, New York, USA.

– Hallgeir