Never Ending Tour 2014

Never Ending Tour 2014

Tour by Bob Dylan
Location	Asia North America Europe Oceania
Start date	March 31, 2014
End date	December 3, 2014
Legs	4
No. of shows	17 in Asia 35 in North America 21 in Europe 19 in Oceania 92 in total
Bob Dylan concert chronology
Never Ending Tour 2013 (2013) Never Ending Tour 2014 (2014) Never Ending Tour 2015 (2015)

The Never Ending Tour is the popular name for Bob Dylan's endless touring schedule since June 7, 1988. ^{[1] [2] [3]} In 2014, his schedule ran from March to December.

Background

The first leg of the tour taking place solely in Japan was announced on Christmas Eve 2013, with large gaps between several dates. Three extra dates in Tokyo were eventually announced in late February 2014. ^{[4] [5] [6]}

It was announced via Dylan's official website that he and his band would perform two shows in Hawaii in April, one taking place in Maui and the second taking place in Honolulu. This was the first time that Dylan had performed in the state in twenty-two years; he last performed there in April 1992. ^[7]

Dates of a European tour were slowly published through several unofficial Dylan websites before being officially announced on BobDylan.com in March 2014. The European leg began in Cork, Ireland, at the Live at the Marquee Festival ^[8] and his appearance was met with relatively positive reviews. ^[9]

On May 26 a six-city Australian tour was announced, with several extra dates being added later throughout the early (Southern Hemisphere) winter. The same announcement revealed two New Zealand shows, bypassing the city of Auckland. ^[10] On August 18 a one-off small club show at the Tivoli in Brisbane was announced, billed as a "once in a life-time concert performance". ^[11]

The final leg of the tour, taking place in North America throughout the autumn and early winter, was announced on August 27, one day after the announcement of The Bootleg Series Vol. 11: The Complete Basement Tapes. ^[12]

Set list

This set list is representative of the performance on October 24, 2014 in Los Angeles, California. It does not represent all concerts for the duration of the tour.

Set One "Things Have Changed" "She Belongs to Me" "Beyond Here Lies Nothin'" "Workingman's Blues #2" "Waiting for You" "Duquesne Whistle" "Pay in Blood" "Tangled Up in Blue" "Love Sick"

Set Two "High Water (For Charley Patton)" "Simple Twist of Fate" "Early Roman Kings" "Forgetful Heart" "Spirit on the Water" "Scarlet Town" "Soon After Midnight" "Long and Wasted Years"

Encore "Blowin' in the Wind" "Stay With Me"

Songs performed

The Freewheelin' Bob Dylan Blowin' in the Wind Girl from the North Country A Hard Rain's a-Gonna Fall Don't Think Twice, It's All Right Another Side of Bob Dylan To Ramona Bringing It All Back Home She Belongs to Me Highway 61 Revisited Ballad of a Thin Man Just Like Tom Thumb's Blues Desolation Row Blonde on Blonde Rainy Day Women ♯12 & 35 Visions of Johanna Most Likely You Go Your Way and I'll Go Mine John Wesley Harding All Along the Watchtower Bob Dylan's Greatest Hits Vol. II Watching the River Flow Blood on the Tracks Tangled Up in Blue Simple Twist of Fate Shelter from the Storm Oh Mercy What Good Am I? The Bootleg Series Volumes 1–3 Blind Willie McTell Time Out of Mind Love Sick Million Miles Tryin' to Get to Heaven

"Love and Theft" Tweedle Dee & Tweedle Dum Summer Days Lonesome Day Blues High Water (For Charley Patton) Cry A While Modern Times Thunder on the Mountain Spirit on the Water Workingman Blues #2 The Levee's Gonna Break The Bootleg Series Vol. 8: Tell Tale Signs Huck's Tune Together Through Life Beyond Here Lies Nothin' Forgetful Heart Tempest Duquesne Whistle Soon After Midnight Long and Wasted Years Pay in Blood Scarlet Town Early Roman Kings Shadows in the Night Stay With Me Non-album songs Things Have Changed Waiting for You

Tour dates

Date	City	Country	Venue	Attendance	Box Office
Asia
March 31, 2014	Tokyo	Japan	Zepp Diver City	—	—
April 1, 2014
April 3, 2014
April 4, 2014
April 5, 2014
April 7, 2014
April 8, 2014
April 9, 2014
April 10, 2014
April 13, 2014	Sapporo		Zepp Sapporo
April 14, 2014
April 17, 2014	Nagoya		Zepp Nagoya
April 18, 2014
April 19, 2014	Fukuoka		Zepp Fukuoka
April 21, 2014	Osaka		Zepp Namba
April 22, 2014
April 23, 2014
North America
April 26, 2014	Kahului	United States	Maui Arts & Cultural Center	—	—
April 29, 2014	Honolulu		Neal S. Blaisdell Center
Europe
June 16, 2014 [lower-alpha 1]	Cork	Ireland	The Docklands	—	—
June 17, 2014	Dublin		The O2
June 20, 2014	Istanbul	Turkey	Black Box Istanbul
June 22, 2014	Thessaloniki	Greece	Thessaloniki Harbor
June 23, 2014	Athens		Terra Vibe Park
June 25, 2014	Bucharest	Romania	Sala Palatului
June 27, 2014	Košice	Slovakia	Steel Aréna
June 28, 2014 [lower-alpha 2]	Vienna	Austria	Wiener Stadthalle 2
June 29, 2014 [lower-alpha 3]	Upper Austria		Burg Clam
July 1, 2014 [lower-alpha 4]	Munich	Germany	Munich Olympiapark
July 2, 2014	Prague	Czech Republic	O2 Arena
July 3, 2014	Zwickau	Germany	Stadthalle Zwickau
July 5, 2014 [lower-alpha 5]	Słupsk	Poland	Dolina Charlotty Amphitheatre
July 7, 2014	Rostock	Germany	Stadthalle Rostock
July 8, 2014	Flensburg		Flens-Arena
July 9, 2014	Aarhus	Denmark	Musikhuset Aarhus
July 11, 2014 [lower-alpha 6]	Stavern	Norway	Skråvika Stavern
July 12, 2014 [lower-alpha 7]	Kristiansand		Bendiktsbukta
July 14, 2014	Helsingborg	Sweden	Sofiero Castle
July 15, 2014	Gothenburg		Trädgårdsföreningen
July 17, 2014 [lower-alpha 8]	Pori	Finland	Kirjurinluoto Arena
Oceania
August 9, 2014	Hamilton	New Zealand	Claudelands Arena	7,271 / 7,640	$656,978
August 10, 2014
August 13, 2014	Perth	Australia	Riverside Theatre	6,409 / 6,747	$852,829
August 14, 2014
August 15, 2014
August 18, 2014	Melbourne		Palais Theatre	10,952 / 11,504	$1,663,660
August 19, 2014
August 20, 2014
August 21, 2014
August 25, 2014	Brisbane		Brisbane Convention & Exhibition Centre	3,112 / 3,154	$461,681
August 27, 2014			The Tivoli	1,510 / 1,510	$122,095
August 29, 2014	Canberra		Canberra Royal Theatre	2,417 / 2,436	$385,837
August 31, 2014	Adelaide		Adelaide Entertainment Centre	3,393 / 3,497	$318,785
September 3, 2014	Sydney		Sydney State Theatre	6,015 / 6,015	$979,858
September 4, 2014
September 5, 2014
September 7, 2014			Sydney Opera House	4,159 / 4,209	$835,509
September 8, 2014
September 10, 2014	Christchurch	New Zealand	Horncastle Arena	4,971 / 5,026	$571,829
North America
October 17, 2014	Seattle	United States	Paramount Theatre	—	—
October 18, 2014
October 19, 2014
October 21, 2014	Portland		Keller Auditorium	—	—
October 24, 2014	Los Angeles		Dolby Theatre	8,748 / 10,398	$844,666
October 25, 2014
October 26, 2014
October 28, 2014	Oakland		Paramount Theatre	6,649 / 7,500	$710,396
October 29, 2014
October 30, 2014
November 1, 2014	Denver		Bellco Theatre	—	—
November 4, 2014	Minneapolis		Orpheum Theatre	7,154 / 7,587	$747,634
November 5, 2014
November 6, 2014
November 8, 2014	Chicago		Cadillac Palace Theatre	—	—
November 9, 2014
November 10, 2014
November 12, 2014	Cleveland		Cleveland State Theatre	—	—
November 14, 2014	Boston		Orpheum Theatre	—	—
November 15, 2014	Providence		Providence Performing Arts Center	—	—
November 17, 2014	Toronto	Canada	Sony Centre for the Performing Arts	—	—
November 18, 2014
November 20, 2014	Pittsburgh	United States	Heinz Hall for the Performing Arts	—	—
November 21, 2014	Philadelphia		Academy of Music	—	—
November 22, 2014
November 23, 2014
November 25, 2014	Washington, D.C.		DAR Constitution Hall	—	—
November 26, 2014	Newark		Prudential Hall	2,804 / 2,804	$267,058
November 28, 2014	New York City		Beacon Theatre	13,951 / 13,951	$1,511,562
November 29, 2014
December 1, 2014
December 2, 2014
December 3, 2014
Total				86,055 / 93,978 (92%)	$10,365,867

Notes

1. The June 16, 2015 concert in Cork was part of Live at the Marquee.
2. The June 28, 2015 concert in Vienna was originally scheduled to take place on July 2, 2014 but was rescheduled to make way for the concert in Prague.
3. The June 29, 2015 concert in Oberosterreich was part of Clam Live.
4. The July 1, 2015 concert in Munich was part of Tollwood Summer Festival.
5. The July 5, 2015 concert in Słupsk was part of Rock Legend Festival.
6. The July 11, 2015 concert in Stavern was part of Stavernfestivalen.
7. The July 12, 2015 concert in Stavern was part of Odderøya Live.
8. The July 17, 2015 concert in Pori was part of Pori Jazz.

Reception

Dylan's 2014 leg of the Never Ending Tour has been met with almost completely favorable responses and reviews. Many complimenting his quality of shows, now that he has focused on one particular set list.

In Japan Dylan was applauded for his selection and arrangement of the songs in his current set list, with one reviewer for the Japan Times in Tokyo "This [Dylan] is an artist still forever pushing the envelope, with one rendition of a song only rarely the same as any other". ^[13] In Osaka Dylan's vocal approach and quality were praised and a review called his vocal ability "solid". ^[14]

When Dylan visited the island of Hawaii straight after a run of concerts in Japan he was praised for "honey coated" vocals and the ability of his backing band. It was also noted how Dylan can make a concert feel "essential" for a fan whilst not particularly engaging with the audience. ^[15]

Dylan's return to Europe started with two shows in Ireland. At his Dublin concert it was noticed that Dylan still has the ability to attract a crowd of all ages. One reviewer, Aine Byrne, was slightly taken aback by some "unrecognisable" arrangements, the poor sound at the venue and the lack of interaction between Dylan and his audience. However, she stated "[Dylan] may be old and beat up, but the man has some punch in him yet". She also noted that the venue was full and praised the quality of the backing band. "A good concert, not the best, but to see and hear a living legend playing on form was a very pleasant experience indeed". ^[16] The Irish Mirror also called the concert a "rich theatrical experience". ^[17] In Bucharest the choice of instruments that the band chose to use to back Dylan were applauded. The show was called "Sometimes tender, sometimes playful and sometimes formidable – but always with venerable composure and poetic dignity". ^[18] In Vienna it was noted that Dylan is obviously comfortable with the material he is now playing and the order in which songs played was helped the sound and of the concert to create an "authentic theatre experience". ^[19] In Poland it was noted that Dylan's secondary 'festival' set list featured minimal materiel from the last few albums, the inclusion of a large amount of recent material became standard feature in set lists of recent years. ^[20] In Kristiansand, the inclusion of "Girl from the North Country" was met with a highly positive response, while the concert itself was deemed average, with on-and-off vocal performances. ^[21] This kind of report on his vocals lacking the smoothness of earlier in the year continued to the end of the tour.

The opening concert of the Oceania tour in New Zealand was met with the same very favourable reaction that met his tour in Japan. A reviewer from the Waikato Times noted the theatrical edge and stated that "Finally, Dylan and the band closed, leaving in their wake an awestruck audience, a standing ovation and the incomparable feeling of having witnessed a musical great – perhaps not in his prime, but by no means past it". ^[22] The second concert in Hamilton was met with the same kind of response. It was noted that a collection of microphones and dim lighting obscured the view of Dylan. ^[23] A review of Dylan's first concert in Australia at Perth's Riverside theatre by the Sydney Morning Herald noted that Dylan showed the Perth audience that he is "still on top of his game". The review made light that "He sang truly. This was as good as perfection, and there were diamonds, and little rust". ^[24] In Melbourne the show was praised for its intimate feel "It was a night to remember, though maybe not for the exact reasons we had expected. Rather, the aim seemed to be keeping everything as cosy as possible, inviting us to have a glimpse at Dylan's out-of-time universe for a couple of hours. Nothing more, and nothing less". ^[25] Dylan's main Brisbane show was also met with a positive response. The review also noted the dim lighting "He no longer plays guitar but occasionally piano, and under dim lighting – no doubt to discourage fans from sneaking a video souvenir". ^[26] Dylan performed a second, more intimate show in Brisbane and The Brisbane Times stated "Dylan was magnificent, backed by a band that switched between musical genres with effortless skill". ^[27] The positive reviews continued for Dylan's for the Canberra concert; "Looking dapper at 73, Dylan did not disappoint". ^[28] The Reviews of Sydney's series of concerts were also looked upon favourably, with the Brisbane Times stating "From evangelical to dirty roots, the veteran artist is in superb form". ^[29] The Oceania tour ended with a third concert in New Zealand. It was noted that although the set list of recent songs would disappoint the fans expecting early material however the review was favourable and noted "but we should be pleased that the creative Dylan has made it back to play his 21st show in New Zealand". ^[30]

References

1. "Bob Dylan begins his 'never-ending' tour". The Guardian. 12 June 2011. Retrieved 26 November 2011.
2. "The Evolution of Bob Dylan". Rolling Stone Magazine. Archived from the original on May 14, 2011. Retrieved 26 November 2011.
3. "Bob Dylan's Never-Ending Tour Keeps on Trucking". Rolling Stone Magazine. Archived from the original on January 8, 2012. Retrieved 16 February 2012.
4. "Dylan Digest- Breakin' News". Bob Dylan – Isis Magazine. 17 December 2013. Archived from the original on 17 December 2013. Retrieved 17 December 2013.
5. "Bob Dylan announces Japan tour". Inside Japan. 24 December 2013. Retrieved 27 December 2013.
6. "Bob Dylan Announces Japanese Tour". Jam Bands. 26 December 2013. Retrieved 27 December 2013.
7. "Singer-songwriter Bob Dylan to perform in Hawaii". Khon 2. February 18, 2014. Retrieved March 7, 2014.
8. "Bob Dylan, Imelda May & Lana Del Rey added to Live at the Marquee". Aiken Promotions. Retrieved 22 August 2014.
9. "Bob Dylan at The Marquee Review". GoldenPlec. 20 June 2014. Retrieved 22 August 2014.
10. "Bob Dylan downsizes for tour Down Under". The Australian. 26 May 2014. Retrieved 23 June 2014.
11. "Bob Dylan to play The Tivoli". Brisbane Time. 18 August 2014. Retrieved 22 August 2014.
12. "The Basement Tapes To Be Released November 4". Bob Dylan. Archived from the original on 26 August 2014. Retrieved 27 August 2014.
13. "Review: Bob Dylan at Zepp DiverCity, Tokyo". Japan Times. April 3, 2014. Retrieved 8 November 2014.
14. "In Context, Bob Dylan Delivers in Osaka, Japan". Live for the Music. April 25, 2014. Retrieved 8 November 2014.
15. "Review: Bob Dylan, essential". Honolulu Pulse. April 27, 2014. Retrieved 8 November 2014.
16. "Bob Dylan at the O2, Dublin – Review". Dublin Concerts. June 19, 2014. Retrieved 8 November 2014.
17. "Bob Dylan rocks Dublin's O2 arena in front of thousands of fans". Irish Mirror. June 17, 2014. Retrieved 8 November 2014.
18. "Concert review: Bob Dylan in Bucharest". Romania Insider. June 26, 2014. Retrieved 8 November 2014.
19. "Vienna 28 June, 2014: A surprising performance of a non-surprising setlist". Positively Bob Dylan. June 29, 2014. Retrieved 8 November 2014.
20. "Bob Dylan Plays Hits in Poland". Music News. July 6, 2014. Retrieved 8 November 2014.
21. "Bob Dylan in Kristiansand, Norway 12 July 2014". Johanna's Visions. July 14, 2014. Retrieved 8 November 2014.
22. "Review: Bob Dylan's a great with grasping growl". Stuff. August 10, 2014. Retrieved 8 November 2014.
23. "Bob Dylan – Claudelands Arena, Hamilton August 9, 2014". 13th Floor. August 11, 2014. Archived from the original on 9 November 2014. Retrieved 8 November 2014.
24. "Review: Bob Dylan shows Perth he is still on top of his game". Sydney Morning Herald. August 14, 2014. Retrieved 8 November 2014.
25. "Review: Bob Dylan – Melbourne". Faster Louder. August 19, 2014. Retrieved 8 November 2014.
26. "Bob Dylan performs at Brisbane Convention Centre". News AU. August 26, 2014. Retrieved 8 November 2014.
27. "Bob Dylan leaves Tivoli in awe: review". Brisbane Times. August 28, 2014. Retrieved 8 November 2014.
28. "Dylan rocks Canberra again, a decade later". Canberra Times. August 30, 2014. Retrieved 8 November 2014.
29. "Bob Dylan review: from evangelical to dirty roots, the veteran artist is in superb form". Sydney Morning Herald. September 4, 2014. Retrieved 8 November 2014.
30. "Review: Bob Dylan in Christchurch". Stuff. September 11, 2014. Retrieved 8 November 2014.

External links

• BobLinks  – Comprehensive log of concerts and set lists
• BobDylan.com  – Bob Dylan's Official Website Tour Page
• Bjorner's Still on the Road  – Information on recording sessions and performances