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By Dave Miller

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The last notes of a rousing "Like a Rolling Stone" faded and that was supposed to be it for Bob Dylan's show Saturday at the Riviera Theatre, according to setlists reports from the latest leg of his Neverending Tour. But the band wasn't moving to the front of the stage to bask in show-ending applause. Instead, everyone huddled near Dylan as he instructed them to play one more song, "Forever Young."

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You just never know what Dylan is going to do next. Recent surprises have included a Christmas album (which for all its criticism still produced two wonderful videos) and, of all things, an appearance on the reality TV show Pawn Stars. His setlists change nightly. You never know what he's going to play next or how he'll play it. A rarity might pop up or Dylan may interpret the same song differently. The element of surprise, which constantly updates his classic catalogue, is a big reason why so many fans keep coming back for more over the years that have stretched into decades. Dylan's songs and his presentation of them fascinate endlessly.

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Those lucky enough to be at the sold-out show on Halloween Eve caught Dylan and his band on a particularly good night. Hard-core fans were buzzing about the 17-song setlist, which some called the best of this edition of the tour. The show engaged from the start. The musicians took the stage looking like they just came from a funeral. They were dressed completely in black with the exception of Dylan's light-colored hat and the stripe running down the side of his pants. They opened with the fashion-ridiculing "Leopard-Skin Pill-Box Hat."

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While Dylan was in fine voice on the opener, his voiced degenerated into a gravelly mess on the next song, "The Man in Me," which was additionally plagued by feedback and a horrible soundboard mix. But that turned out to be the only black mark of the night. Everyone got back on track with a jaunty, deep grooving "Things Have Changed" that had Dylan delivering confessional vocals. Then came a big surprise with the 2010 debut of "Positively 4th Street," which received a fully-invested, expressive treatment.

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A swinging "Summer Days" saw Charlie Sexton shine on lead guitar and Dylan on keyboards, which these days feature an organ sound high in the mix. Sexton was not as animated in his playing or presence as he was in last year's Halloween show at the Aragon, but he remains a welcomed addition to Dylan's band. The current band has jelled as players, but there isn't much onstage chemistry between them. Dylan's longtime bassist, Tony Garnier, locks in with drummer George Recile, but otherwise they focus on Dylan and that's it. To that end, pedal steel player Donnie Herron, stationed in back of Dylan, interplayed with Dylan's keyboards interestingly for much of the night, at times answering them and other times shadowing them. Meanwhile, rhythm guitarist Stu Kimball spent much of the time playing behind the left-side speaker stack to the point of being unseen by part of the crowd.  

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The show soared on "The Lonesome Death of Hattie Carroll" with Dylan pouring himself into the lyrics as the band took a back seat to his performance. Then Dylan moved from his keyboard on the right side of the stage to the center microphone for "Cold Irons Bound" and belted it out like a tough Tony Bennett complete with hand gestures before diving into his harmonica. The band freed itself on this one. It sounded unleashed whenever Dylan was at the center mic with his back toward it.

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Dylan mostly plays keyboards and harp these days, but he still straps on a guitar once in awhile, and that's what he did for "Simple Twist of Fate," which received a gentle, sympathetic treatment. "Tangled Up Blue" received one of Dylan's trademark rearrangements as he fired off his vocals in staccato bursts. "Thunder on the Mountain" energized the crowd and featured cool keys by Dylan at its end. It was an example of just how prominent his keyboard playing has become since he first put down his guitar when his keys were buried in the mix.

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A strong "Ballad Of A Thin Man" featured dramatic front lighting that projected large shadows against the back curtain. Dylan has added some dark, gray images projected on the backdrop for certain songs and at times some video of him and the band are projected on top of those in avant-guarde fashion. It was just another twist to a career full of turns made my Dylan in his career.

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It was quite the night at the old, run-down movie house in Uptown. An old master created new art. As Dylan delivered the bonus "Forever Young" in the encore, I couldn't help but think he was singing it to himself.

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The setlist:

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Leopard-Skin Pill-Box Hat
The Man in Me
Things Have Changed
Positively 4th Street
Summer Days
The Lonesome Death of Hattie Carroll
Cold Irons Bound
Simple Twist of Fate
High Water (For Charley Patton)
If You Ever Go to Houston
Highway 61 Revisited
Tangled Up in Blue
Thunder on the Mountain
Ballad of a Thin Man
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Jolene
Like a Rolling Stone
Forever Young

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Start: 7:40 p.m./Finish: 9:28 p.m.
Totals: 17 songs, one hour and 48 minutes

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