As people checking Bill Pagel’s website would be aware, Bob Dylan’s European tour kicked off last night in Stockholm, and continued tonight in that same city. The news at this stage is that Dylan played guitar (electric) on the first seven numbers at the initial gig, and then on the first five numbers at the second gig. He played keyboard on the remaining tunes (I haven’t heard yet whether he’s using the “piano” or the “organ” sound, or maybe something else like “mellotron” this time around).

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In other Dylan news: Academics gathered at the University of Minnesota for a four day symposium. I like this quote from Christopher Ricks:

“I should think people need to explain themselves if they’re NOT intrigued, enthralled and obsessed with Dylan,” Ricks said during a lecture at the symposium. “Those of us who are, we don’t have any explaining to do.”

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The people behind the film “Factory Girl” continue to take advantage of the Bob Dylan angle for free publicity, as in this story: Dylan’s anger put director in a spot.

Bob Dylan’s hissy fit over Sienna Miller’s new film Factory Girl – about the abrupt life of Edie Sedgwick, with whom Dylan is rumoured to have had an affair – was awkward for the film’s director George Hickenlooper.

Dylan objected to a character played by Hayden Christensen – a singer who “wears a leather coat, uses a harmonica brace and performs solo”. Dylan feared the portrayal falsely implied he had contributed to Sedgwick’s suicide.

It landed Hickenlooper in the glue, as he’s friendly with Dylan’s eldest son, a director. “I know his son Jesse well,” Hickenlooper says. “I haven’t spoken to Bob about it and I probably won’t. I think he’s portrayed favourably in the movie, so I don’t know why he’s angered.“

Well, perhaps Dylan doesn’t share Hickenlooper’s standard for what a “favorable” portrayal is. Hickenlooper does confirm, with that quote, that he was doing nothing other than deliberately trying to portray Bob Dylan, despite the dodge of using a different name for the character and putting out stories that it was a “composite” of several people. It would seem in any case that Dylan and his legal people decided that making noise about it only enhanced the film’s box office potential. The box office to date appears to have been extremely underwhelming.

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