Yes, Bob Dylan’s a contrarian, a trait he’s confirmed concert after concert, year after year for most of his life.
But he’s not crazy. So for the opening performance of Desert Trip in Indio on Friday, he prudently left the Great American Songbook that he’s been exploring extensively on his recent tours in his trailer and focused on the deep body of songs from his own repertoire.
Out of the gate, it looked like he might indeed indulge the audience’s reflexive inclinations for hits. He offered a set that opened with “Rainy Day Women #12 & 35,” with fans from various generations chiming in on its woozy chorus: “Everybody must get stoned!”
From there, he kept to the straight-and-narrow with “Don’t Think Twice, It’s All Right,” “Highway 61 Revisited” and “It’s All Over Now, Baby Blue.” Still, his craggy voice and ever idiosyncratic phrasing, pushing lyrics to the finish line early, and drawing out others leisurely, surely had some in the crowd of 75,000 playing “Name That Tune,” at least during the first few moments of each.
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Roger Waters performs on closing night at Desert Trip.
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A giant inflated pig is paraded over the venue during Roger Waters’ set at Desert Trip.
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Roger Waters performs on closing night of Desert Trip.
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Flying over the venue during Roger Waters’ set at Desert Trip is an inflated pig with ‘Divided We Fall’ written on the side of it.
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The sunset illuminates the sky behind the grandstands as The Who performs on the final day of the three-day Desert Trip.
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Roger Waters sends a message about presidential candidate Donald Trump as he performs on closing night of Desert Trip.
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An image of Donald Trump is projected on a large screen during Roger Waters’ set at Desert Trip.
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A camera operator works on a platform above the venue during Roger Waters’ set.
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Roger Waters sends a message about presidential candidate Donald Trump with a projection of Trump’s distorted image during a performance on closing night of Desert Trip.
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The Who’s Roger Daltrey, left, and Pete Townshend, right, on stage at Desert Trip.
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A closeup of a coconut drink served in the culinary experience area on the final day of Desert Trip.
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The Who’s Pete Townshend, right, on stage at Desert Trip.
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The Who’s Roger Daltrey on stage at Desert Trip.
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Fans take in the The Who on stage at Desert Trip.
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A giant image of The Who guitarist Pete Townshend and singer Roger Daltrey is projected during their performance on the final day of Desert Trip.
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The Who’s Roger Daltrey on stage at Desert Trip.
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The Who drummer Zak Starkey on stage at Desert Trip.
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Lynne Kaplan of Irvine dances through a mister in the culinary experience area on the final day of Desert Trip.
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The Who guitarist Pete Townshend on stage at Desert Trip.
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The Who’s Roger Daltrey, left, and Pete Townshend, right, on stage at Desert Trip.
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Neil Young fans take turns posing with Young’s 1970 album cover on the final day of Desert Trip.
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Neil Young and Paul McCartney on stage at Desert Trip on the Empire Polo Club grounds in Indio.
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An estimated Desert Trip crowd of 75,000 take in Paul McCartney’s music Saturday night.
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Neil Young and Paul McCartney on stage at Desert Trip.
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Neil Young and Paul McCartney sing “Give Peace a Chance” on stage at Desert Trip.
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Fans watch Paul McCartney performs on the big screen on the second day of the three-day Desert Trip.
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Paul McCartney on stage Saturday night at Desert Trip on the Empire Polo Club grounds in Indio.
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Fans watch Paul McCartney perform from grandstand suites on the second day of the three-day Desert Trip at the Empire Polo Club grounds in Indio, Calif. (Allen J. Schaben / Los Angeles Times)
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Paul McCartney on stage at Desert Trip.
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Fans cheer and sing along as Paul McCartney performs on the second day of the three-day Desert Trip.
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Paul McCartney on stage at Desert Trip.
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Rhya, 5, left, and Saydee, 3, Provensen of Huntington Beach dance to Neil Young at Desert Trip.
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Paul McCartney on stage at Desert Trip.
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A soulful Neil Young performs on the second day of the three-day Desert Trip at the Empire Polo Club grounds in Indio, Calif., on Oct. 8, 2016.
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A couple relax with their smart phones during Neil Young’s set at Desert Trip on the Empire Polo Club grounds in Indio, Calif., on Oct. 8, 2016.
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Neil Young performs on the second day of the three-day Desert Trip at the Empire Polo Club grounds in Indio.
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Tommy Teissere, 68, of Huntington Beach, relaxes in his inflatable couch on 2nd day of Desert Trip during the three-day concert in Indio.
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Neil Young is projected on a big screen performing near a teepee on the second day of the three-day Desert Trip.
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From left, Rolling Stones members Ronnie Wood, Charlie Watts, Mick Jagger and Keith Richards perform on the first day of the three-day Desert Trip at the Empire Polo Club grounds in Indio.
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Guitarist Ron Wood of the Rolling Stones performs on the first night of Desert Trip at the Empire Polo Club grounds in Indio.
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Fans pose for photos with a Who album cover backdrop at Desert Trip in Indio.
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From left, Rolling Stones members Ronnie Wood, Charlie Watts and Keith Richards perform.
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Fans cheer for the Rolling Stones at Desert Trip on the Empire Polo Club grounds in Indio.
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Mick Jagger appears on a jumbo video screen onstage with the Rolling Stones at Desert Trip.
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Guitarist Keith Richards appears on a jumbo screen at Desert Trip.
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Mick Jagger and The Rolling Stones perform on the first day of the three-day Desert Trip.
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Fans pose for photos with a poster of The Who’s “The Kids Are Alright” album.
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Fans watch the Rolling Stones perform at Desert Trip in Indio.
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Concertgoers eat, drink and relax at dusk on the first day of the three-day Desert Trip at the Empire Polo Club grounds in Indio.
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Fans await the start of the Rolling Stones’ set.
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The Empire Polo Club grounds in Indio are lit up as fans await the Rolling Stones.
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Fans cheer as the Rolling Stones take the stage at Desert Trip.
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Most fans in the general seating area could see Bob Dylan’s set only on a grainy black-and-white video screen.
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Fans enjoy Bob Dylan’s set at Desert Trip.
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Bob Dylan (at the piano) did not want press photos taken during his set, but promoter Goldenvoice allowed photos of the screen.
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Fans enjoy Bob Dylan’s set at Desert Trip.
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After driving 1,100 miles in his 1951 Austin panel truck, Lyle Brown-John of Vancouver arrives in Indio amid temperatures in the high 90s.
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Kara Farley of La Jolla, left, makes her own shade after arriving for the first day of Desert Trip.
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Concert-goers set up their seats amid temperatures in the high 90s.
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Jeff Kelley takes a photo of Lisette Valla, both of San Diego, as she mimics Keith Richards’ pose when he was photographed by Michael Cooper in 1969, in the Photography Experience exhibit at Desert Trip.
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Desert Trip attendees are reflected in a portrait of Roger Waters by photographer Barrie Wentzell at the Photography Experience.
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Antonio Villa, left, and Cayden Himes, 18, of Prescott, Ariz., take a photo with a Bob Dylan album cover poster.
(Brian van der Brug / Los Angeles Times) Following that opening salvo of Dylan chestnuts, he moved into more recent material, turning with meteorological relevance to “High Water (for Charley Patton),” topical as a killer hurricane wended its way up the southeastern coast of the U.S. Dylan sang, “It’s tough out there/High water everywhere.”
As he moved away from the best-known songs of yore, the crowd largely sank into indifference, applauding politely following more contemporary choices, including “Pay in Blood” (with its killer closing line “I’ll pay in blood/But not my own”), “Early Roman Kings” and the spiteful “Love Sick.”
Nevertheless, the timelessness and power of his metaphor-laden lyrics make them seem ever relevant, no matter the political climate or social setting. That made Dylan’s choice of “Masters of War” as his sole encore number to close out an 80-minute set feel as contemporary as Saturday morning’s Twitter news feed: “You that never done nothin’/But build to destroy/You play with my world/Like it’s your little toy.”
He took the stage with no fanfare and left without speaking a word — to the band or the crowd — ceding any celebratory spirit to others on this weekend’s bill.
Curiously, while his image was carried over the massive video screens for the first few numbers, for the majority of his set, the screens displayed vintage black-and-white film footage of city scenes, nature shots and other relatively random images.
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