Last Night in Ridgefield (by Henry Bernstein)
2025-05-24 (Bob's 84th birthday!), Cascades Amphitheater, Ridgefield, WA
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Last night, Bob Dylan played in Ridgefield, Washington. This is not what was notable about this show (no offense to Ridgefield, Washington). What was notable is that the show occured on Dylan’s birthday. This is a rarer occurrence than you might think. In fact, it is only the fourth time he has ever performed on his birthday—and the first time in the U.S.
Henry Bernstein was on the ground for the celebration, and reports in with his review as well as a bunch of videos and a tape. Henry hosts the great Dylan podcast Songs of Experience and writes a Substack with a lot of Dylan content.
Let’s cut to the chase here, since we’re a-thinking and a-wonderin': Bob did not acknowledge his 84th birthday nor did he play any “bust-outs” or change the set list from the previous show on May 22. Billy Strings did not come out again, or any other guest. I guess you could say it was a pretty standard Outlaw Bob show, and he has settled into a “standard setlist.” And I ain’t mad about it!
The Venue:
I hate these giant, soulless amphitheaters and, if I’m being honest, I was really not feeling the vibe when I arrived. The parking was a 20 minute walk away on a grassy hill. What if it rained? As it turned out, I was greeted by the great live Bob fan Sue Osborne who happened to park at the same time and we walked in together yapping about how much we love going to see Bob and all the crazy travel. I went exploring the ridiculously-priced food, drinks, and stupid rules about opening up your canned water so you don’t throw the can. The idea that someone would throw something at Bob Dylan or Willie Nelson is insane to me. Corporate nonsense. The amphitheater itself was huge. I don’t think I could even see the lawn. My seat was in Section 103, Row P, seat 22, Doug Lancio, side. Perfect view.
The Crowd:
Let me paint the picture of how ready I was to celebrate. I made birthday friendship bracelets, signs that said “HAPPY BIRTHDAY BOB,” and was dying to geek out about my man’s birthday. Well, the vibe there was mostly Willie people; I found it very hard to find people in Bob shirts. When I did and offered friendship bracelets, they seemed surprised and honestly a little weirded out. I guess they didn’t make it to the Eras tour. Too bad for them.
I was feeling pretty down but then with the help of my dear friend Olivia W, I connected with Nightly Moth, Peter Hayward, and Sergi. That’s when the vibe changed. Sergi and Peter were in birthday hats and then folks came up to us asking for signs. By the time I got to my seat, people were asking for signs, and they all got handed out! We all agreed to hold them up when Bob came out and throughout the first song.
Folks before the show were actually really excited for Bob and thrilled to have a psycho like me in their section. The show started with everyone on their feet, then by the second song most sat down. In our section, there were two people who stood the whole time. I normally don’t care, and of course would prefer to stand. But in this case they weren’t standing, they were just doing it to be obnoxious, which made everyone behind them freak out and yell and scream at them until they sat down. It was very disruptive and annoying.
The Show:
The opening version of “Gotta Serve Somebody” is not a rocker. It’s very subdued, with every line slow and intentional. The crowd was up and ready to rock out, but the rocking out never came. It’s a very strange way to start a show, but I loved it and the crowd appreciated that he “PLAY(ed) SOMETHING WE KNOW!”
“Simple Twist of Fate” was great and again appreciated by folks who love Blood On The Tracks (It’s me, Hi. I love BOOT, It’s me).
I was excited to hear “Forgetful Heart.” I was at the first ever performance of it on July 1, 2009, also with Willie Nelson, at Summerfest in Milwaukee. It was fantastic. The loud guitar riff at the end of each verse really lifted the song up. And although not many folks around me knew it, they seemed to like it. That was sort of the vibe the whole time. It was a festival with a lot of artists where folks didn’t know their catalog, but they were sort of game for whatever until Willie. I didn’t hear one complaint about the set list.
After “Axe and The Wind,” a fantastic blues cover, the unmistakable chords and melody of “To Ramona” started. I was thrilled. There’s something mesmerizing about hearing him sing the '60s songs and then hearing him play harmonica on those songs. It’s the closest we get to the Bob Dylan that everyone knows. I had only heard this song once before on Halloween in 2009, so to hear it sung so beautifully gave me goosebumps.
After “Early Roman Kings,” Bob dove into a gorgeous “Under The Red Sky,” which always makes me think of my friend David Lizerbram, host of the podcast Rock Docs who came on my podcast Songs of Experience to talk about this one [he wrote our previous dispatch as it happens]. The harmonica on this one might’ve been the best of the night.
After the lovely cover of “I’ll Make It All Up To You” came what I call the Murderer’s Row of the setlist. I never thought I would be excited to hear “All Along The Watchtower” again (15th time), but, with the new arrangement, this was the one I was waiting for. The soft opening, the recurring riff by Bob Britt, the acoustic strumming, the minor fall and then the major lift just gives this song a whole new life. You could feel the energy lift everyone and Bob up when he went to that major chord on “Businessmen they drink my wine.” Don’t miss this one if you see him!
“‘Til I Fell In Love With You”—this is one of my favorite songs from Time Out of Mind and I had only heard it once before, in 2007. I was worried it would leave the set, but thrilled to see it stayed and he was definitely having fun playing it. He did one of his funny additive lines, after the “Dixie Bound” verse he ad-libbed, “I don’t know what I'm gonna do, I said that.” It was very funny.
“Desolation Row” was my song at the spring’s Rough & Rowdy Ways tour. I cried every time I heard it, as I did last year at Outlaw. I’m so happy he rediscovered it, now played at warp speed. Thank you, wrench? Drummer Anton Fig really drives this one and Bob is singing the verses perfectly and precisely. You have to really focus here to catch them all. I cried again.
After a straight-up perfect “Love Sick” and the lovely cover “Share Your Love With Me” comes the end of the show. The real standout of the final stretch is “Blind Willie McTell.” As I said in my post-show field report, “Desolation Row” and “Blind Willie” were the ones I felt privileged to hear the man who wrote them singing them on his birthday. There was something magical about it, two of his most lyrically brilliant songs. This version really swings and moves. Thanks Anton!
Before the last song, Bob introduced the band. No jokes, no recognition of the special day, but he seemed sincere and appreciative.
“Don’t Think Twice It’s Alright.” The final song. Did he bring this one back because of A Complete Unknown? Can we call this the “Timmy bump?” I don’t know, but I’m glad it exists in the setlist. What a way to end the show. One of his signature “greatest hits” featured on a Hollywood blockbuster closed down the set. People were hanging on every word and cheering after every “It’s alright.” The harmonica solo was one for the ages. What can I say, I was in tears once again.
Thanks Henry! Check out his Substack (where he’ll be writing about tonight’s show too) and his Dylan podcast Songs of Experience (which has some sharp merch). You can also find him on Bluesky.
2025-05-24, Cascades Amphitheater, Ridgefield, WA [untracked raw tape]
Thanks for “like being there” stories of the 84th birthday concert, I greatly appreciate it. I bookmarked it