Watch & Listen: Bob Dylan Sounds Damn Good In Milan, Italy

Bob Dylan and his superb band arrived in Milan, Italy for three shows — November 2, 3 and 4, 2013. Here are six songs from the Nov. 3rd show. Dylan sounds pretty good and his band is excellent.

I’ve got to warn you that there’s almost no light on the stage. You can hear the songs but can’t see much.

I’ve also included a version of “Desolation Row” from a 2011 show in Milan. I think he’s singing better now than two years ago.

About Michael Goldberg

Michael Goldberg is a distinguished pioneer in the online music space; Newsweek magazine called him an ‘Internet visionary.’ In 1994 he founded Addicted To Noise (ATN), the highly influential music web site. He was a senior vice-president and editor in chief at SonicNet from March 1997 through May 2000. In 1997, Addicted To Noise won Webby awards for best music site in 1998 and 1999, and also won Yahoo Internet Life! awards for three years running as best music site in 1998, 1999 and 2000. Prior to starting Addicted To Noise, Goldberg was an editor and senior writer at Rolling Stone magazine for 10 years. His writing has also appeared in Wired, Esquire, Vibe, Details, Downbeat, NME and numerous other publications. Michael has had three novels published that comprise the "Freak Scene Dream trilogy": "True Love Scars," "The Flowers Lied" and "Untitled" which can be ordered here. His new book, "Wicked Game: The True Story of Guitarist James Calvin Wilsey," can be pre-ordered from HoZac Books. In November Backbeat Books will publish "Addicted To Noise: The Music Writings of Michael Goldberg," which can be be pre-ordered here.

3 thoughts on “Watch & Listen: Bob Dylan Sounds Damn Good In Milan, Italy

  1. why don’t you understand that all these people filming destroy the pleasure of the here and now of the live experience and force Dylan into keeping stage lighst low??? I for myself am not even interested in these bad pictures with awful sound, just visited this site to express my discomfort with the stupid bootlegging system… Be there or not at all!!!

    1. Hello Hans, I don’t think it’s black and white. Those who don’t want to watch bootleg video or listen to bootleg audio don’t have to. As for the stage lighting, Dylan is making a choice about his lighting. Certainly, many Dylan fans, myself included, are glad that the many bootleg albums have existed since the ’60s. I think, in fact, that the existence of those bootlegs, going back to the Great White Wonder and the Live at the Royal Albert Hall discs, ultimately led to the many official bootleg albums from Sony that we’ve been enjoying. I agree with you that there is nothing like being in the here and now of a concert, surrounded by other fans, experiencing a great artist live, but on the other hand, for those who aren’t there, and for history, these audio and video records are important. Thanks for your comments.

  2. Dylan performed in near darkness in the late 80’s and early 90’s as well as wearing hoods and hats. I don’t think that was to prevent people from filming his performances.

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