Two Versions of Rough and Rowdy

2023-11-03, Orpheum Theatre, Boston, MA

I’ve written about many Rough and Rowdy Ways shows before, but always in their immediate aftermath (usually the next morning). So when subscriber Mike H requested this 2023 show in Boston, I thought it would be a good opportunity to look just a little ways back. I’m going to compare it to a show that just happened on the same date—November 3rd—two years farther on down the Rough and Rowdy road. The 2023 show took place in Boston; the 2025 show was in Cologne, Germany.

Here’s how the setlists compare:

Different songs in bold, a few others were moved around

You’ll notice a couple things there. First: Fall 2023 was still following Rough and Rowdy Setlist 1.0 mode: “River Flow” to start, “Most Likely” and “Gotta Serve” in there. Last fall, he began Rough and Rowdy Setlist 2.0—“Desolation Row,” “Baby Blue,” etc—and hasn’t left.

The second thing that might jump out is that Fall 2023 was the covers era! Every few nights, another surprise cover, often, though not always, connected to the city he was playing in. This was the final performance of the Dead’s “Brokedown Palace,” which as far as I know has nothing to do with Boston.

I wanted to go through both tapes to compare them. Of the non-bolded songs, the ones that he played both times, which ones have changed the most? The plan hit a snag when the Cologne tape I had sounded rough, so hissy it was hard to focus, so I switched to an Amsterdam tape night later. Same setlist so close enough. How does November 3 2023 compare to November 4 2025—two years and one day later?

As a general statement, I’ll say the show rocks a bit harder now. Several of the songs have gone from spare and subdued in Fall 2023 to upbeat and jamming in Fall 2025 (though one song went the other way). “Jamming” is maybe the key word, as this fall, Dylan played quite a bit of guitar. Five different songs in Amsterdam featured extended Dylan solos. There were none in Boston two years prior. Also a lot more harmonica now. The Boston show, surprisingly, didn’t feature any—not even on “Every Grain of Sand.”

Extra guitar-soloing aside, these four songs feature the most dramatic arrangement changes, then to now: