One of the early stories on tonight’s Dylan gig in the Basque region of Spain:

Tens of thousands of music lovers spread out along the beach near the Spanish city of San Sebastian to listen to US legend Bob Dylan perform in support of the peace process for the Basque region.

For an hour and a half, the 65-year-old folk-rock musician reached into his arsenal of timeless classics, including “Mr. Tambourine Man” to regale the crowds, mostly young, gathered on Zurriola beach.

Dylan made no speech, but the event’s organizers had said earlier his concert would be remembered as “a milestone in the path of peace”.

“The idea of a concert for peace in the Basque Country is interesting, espeically at this time of hope,” said Iban Urbiea, a 30-year-old teacher. “But I’m really here to hear Bob Dylan, the myth,” he added.

…

US-born Dylan, author of peace anthems such as “Blowing in the Wind” and “Masters of War”, followed an opening act by Mikel Laboa, a “living legend of Basque music”, according to the organisers.

Set list from Bill Pagel’s site (note the non-appearance of the two aforementioned songs):

1. Maggie’s Farm
2. The Times They Are A-Changin’
3. Down Along The Cove
4. To Ramona
5. It’s Alright, Ma (I’m Only Bleeding)
6. Girl Of The North Country
7. Highway 61 Revisited
8. Mr. Tambourine Man
9. I’ll Be Your Baby Tonight
10. Tweedle Dee & Tweedle Dum
11. Don’t Think Twice, It’s All Right
12. Summer Days

(encore)
13. Like A Rolling Stone
14. All Along The Watchtower

Years ago, I remember seeing Dylan at Tanglewood in Massachusetts, with my future wife, on the evening of the Fourth of July, just before they set the fireworks off. It seemed a kind of special night, and yet, the show was very much the same in tone as one we had witnessed some few months before. I realized then — as I should have realized sooner — that to Dylan, virtually every gig is “just another gig.” That’s not to belittle what he does: each gig is important to him (and to the band) as a performance. But the periphery of it all — the location, the context, the timing — very rarely reaches the level of being worthy of acknowledgement.

Today, Dylan played to over 30,000 people* in the Basque region of Spain, in an event that many saw as marking “a milestone in the path of peace.”

Tomorrow, he plays to about 2,000 people in Perpignan, France, and the next night he has a gig in Le Cannet.

Like the posters say: “Be in town early!”

*Addendum 07/12/2006 4:38pm: Reports now say that 83,000 people enjoyed Bob Dylan’s music in San Sebastian.

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