Expecting Rain

Things Have Changed has been going strong for three full years now!

Great, and most appropriate opener, in my opinion. "Things Have Changed" is the basic Bob Dylan lifetime theme anyway. Perfect.

Who had 'perfect' in the pool??

I think it's wonderful that Bob introduced Things Have Changed as the set opener just as things stopped changing in the set.

Like when he used to care.




Sent from my LG-D221 using Tapatalk

It felt like Leopard Skin was a perpetual opener, which of course it wasn't, but it must be up there as one of the most frequent.

I always thought Cat's in the Well was one of the best in the later years.

Leopard Skin did feel like forever!!!

Though I believe THC stayed for the longest time there are a few more. Back in 94 "Jokerman" was played in every show (only once they opened with To Be Alone With You). 95 Crash on the Levee stayed for a very long time and was later replaced by "Drifter's". 96 just four openers: crash on the levee, drifter's, to be alone with you, pill-box.

but there are always some songs that stay: in the 90s "AATW" was in slot#3 for about 5 years I believe. Silvio for 3 or 4 years. and just recently the "encore slot" thunder on the mountain, ballad of a thin man, lars, aatw (2010 - 2013 I believe)

Very ironic song title, in terms of comment on the likely setlist.
The only gigs at which there were major changes to the set- ie rome 2013- didn't have things have changed as the opener.
Love the song as it is currently performed , though.

I could live with Silvio too - one of his greatest songs, and again, quite representative of the Dylan package - a search for answers.

Silvio, of course, with lyrics by Robert Hunter, and music by Bob, is really the perfect combo meal. For it was the Dead who helped bring Bob back to life, and the main refrain of Sylvio "got to find out something only dead men know" - is there life after death - is probably the biggest question mankind has ever faced.

If I remember right, THC was in slot#3 for quite awhile before this, I bet in the last 5 years it's the most played song in his catalog - which doesn't bother me, as it's one of his best. He certainly played Rolling Stone and others at every (or at least most) shows for longer, but I think 3 years as opener is unprecedented. It does work well in that spot and I wouldn't surprised if it stayed another year or even more - but the Bob Dylan show is always evolving.

I always liked Silvio, even if some of those versions dragged on a bit with all the jamming. The lyric seems to express so much on Dylan's behalf that it doesn't matter who wrote it, he's always on board.

Just a bit of trivia: he actually opened with Things Have Changed for a couple of shows on the first 2006 leg (http://www.bjorner.com/DSN27960%20-%202 ... m#DSN28000). I've never actually heard what these 2006 THC opener's sound like. Considering how poor that opening leg was I'm not hopeful that it sounded as good as today's versions.

And yeah, as smoke says, THC had been in the set throughout 2011 and 2012.

I'd rather hear THC over Rolling Stone any day - I got sick of that one decades ago. THC is a crown jewel of the modern Bob era, which some so detest, but it instantly melts any claims that Bob lost his gifts in the last century. I think we see in the modern era, along with the same other worldly lyrics, much more sophisticated musical arrangements, although subtle in a lot of ways, but built upon all that is behind it, and always amazing.

Like LSPH, Maggie's Farm felt like it was continually there for a few years in the mid 2000's.

according to some newspaper reporters, it's probably Hurricane.

I think "THC" wins the cake simply because there wasn't any other (full) touring year that opened with the same song without exception.

"THC" didn't appear at some 2014 shows though, and not in Rome 2013, so just like "Pillbox" and a few others it only feels like it's *always* been there.

Watching the Leopard Skin Women #12 & #35

From 2006 to 2012.

Make it 6! Even after THC dominating the opening spot for this long, I would still rather continue to hear it than any of the blues numbers from before (Rainy Day/Leopard Skin, etc.). Not only is it a better song, but it's evolved over time in ways those others never did to any enjoyable degree.

I think the opener of Things Have Changed and the closer of Ballad Of A Thin Man is a genius statement of his life.

Three years later it's still opening (!) and he's still (!) finding new wrinkles in it - still ironically making it change from night to night, even as

*however much things have changed since

The two latest arrangements could be called 'Chords have changed'.