Bob Dylan show June 14 2026, Greek Theatre, Berkeley CA USA

 Set list: 

(from: https://www.boblinks.com/061426s.html, and https://www.setlist.fm/setlist/bob-dylan/2026/william-randolph-hearst-greek-theatre-berkeley-ca-1349693d.html, with some edits by me)

1.	To Be Alone With You (Bob on electric keyboard)
2.	Man In The Long Black Coat ( Bob on electric keyboard)
3.	All Along The Watchtower (Bob on electric keyboard)
4.	Tryin' To Get To Heaven (Bob on electric keyboard)
5.	False Prophet (Bob on electric keyboard)
6.	I Can Tell (Bo Diddley cover, song by Samuel Smith) (Bob on electric keyboard)
7.	Black Rider (Bob on electric keyboard)
8.	Share Your Love With Me (Bobby "Blue" Bland cover, song by Alfred Braggs and Deadric Malone) (Bob on electric keyboard)
9.	When I Paint My Masterpiece (Bob on electric keyboard and harp)
10.	I'll Make It All Up To You (song by Charlie Rich) (Bob on electric keyboard)
11.	Crossing the Rubicon (Bob on electric keyboard)
12.	Soon After Midnight (Bob on electric keyboard)
13.	Under The Red Sky (Bob on electric keyboard and harmonica)
14.	I've Made Up My Mind To Give Myself To You (Bob on electric keyboard)
15.	Nervous Breakdown (song by Eddie Cochran) (Bob on electric keyboard)
16.	Every Grain Of Sand (Bob on electric keyboard and harmonica)

Expecting Rain thread on these concerts. 

I enjoyed the concert: It was very "Bob". My main point of comparison is the June 11 2022 show at the Fox Theatre in Oakland (my impressions here). He was in a black hoodie, and it sort of looked like he was a little kid trying to be Emperor Palpatine. Wouldn't be my choice. It was hard to see his face. 

Some comments on individual songs:

"All Along The Watchtower": Probably the most famous song of the evening. Very laid back version that sounded way different than the Hendrix cover or the original recording on John Wesley Harding. Enjoyed hearing a different take on this. 

"Tryin' To Get To Heaven": I love this song on Time Out of Mind, but I didn't think this version was as good. 

"False Prophet": Liked this more than the album version or the one I heard in 2022. 

"I Can Tell": One take I had on this concert was that Bob Dylan and his band were time traveling back to 1959 and playing a high school dance (though this Bo Diddley song is actually from 1962). 

"Black Rider": Not as spooky as the album version or the 2022 I remember. Dylan was definitely committed to the storytelling, and the audience seemed to be captured by it. But I like the intense, spookier versions better. 

"Share Your Love With Me": High school dance vibes continue with this Bobby Bland cover. I didn't know who Bobby Bland was before looking this up. This is from a 1963 album, (single released 1964). It sounds "50s" to me, but when I think of the 1960s I think of Dylan, The Beatles, and The Rolling Stones, all of whom were avant-garde. A lot of early-to-mid 60s stuff sounds 50s to my ears. 

"When I Paint My Masterpiece": This arrangement sounded exactly like "Istambul (not Constantinople)" and I expected it to be a cover of that song. I think they were inspired by the They Might Be Giants version. Of course, when the vocals started, it changed to this song. I think it's hilarious that, at age 85, Dylan is singing this song about longing for some future time when he might do something artistically worthwhile. A fun novelty number.

"I'll Make It All Up To You": A Jerry Lee Lewis cover. The high school dance theme continues. This one is actually from the 50s! 1958, to be precise. It's interesting to see Bob Dylan's more contemporary works in this kind of musical setting. Bob Dylan is famously uninterested in indulging his audience's nostalgia, but with this set list he seems to be very happy indulging his own. Oh by the way, Jerry Lee Lewis is a better piano player than Bob Dylan is currently. 

"Crossing the Rubicon": This was a pretty "bad ass" musical arrangement, but I felt Dylan's lighter vocals were going in a different direction than the band. I liked how this sounded, I think I prefer this arrangement to the album version and the 2022 version. 

"Soon After Midnight": This sounds exactly like one of those 1950s songs in the show, but it's actually an original Dylan composition from his 2012 album Tempest. The more I look at this set list, the more convinced I am that Bob Dylan is deliberately taking us back to "the 50s" musically, and making some sort of statement about putting himself in that context. 

"Under the Red Sky": This was a song from one of Dylan's most poorly received albums. It went over pretty well in this context: it's an easy-to-digest, pleasant-vibes song that works nice on a summer night. He played harmonica, and the crowd went wild. 2026 Bob Dylan sounds most like 1960s Dylan when he plays harmonica. I think that's why he uses it sparingly now. It's too bad: I think 2026 Dylan is a much better harmonica player than a piano player. 

"I've Made Up My Mind..." The first of two songs that Dylan played that evening that I play! It was very sweet for Sarah and I to hear this again. The first time she heard it, she requested that I learn it. I still like the Rough and Rowdy Ways album version better than this version (or the 2022 version). I don't think anyone sang any background vocals all evening. 

"Nervous Breakdown" This cover of an Eddie Cochran song from 1958 was like the last fast song before the concluding slow dance at the high school sock-hop that I think this concert took place in. It was loud and rousing.

"Every Grain of Sand": Wonderful to hear this. This was the song that got surprise swapped out for "Friend of the Devil" in the 2022 concert I saw. It's so beautiful. It's very Christian. Like, not deist Christian, but theist Christian. I learned to play harmonica to be able to perform this song better. I'm not so into the "speak phrasing" that Dylan seems to apply to a lot of his songs these days. Sometimes it works, sometimes it doesn't, but it's near ubiquitous use makes it seem like he's just using the "late Dylan phrasing filter" on his earlier work. Throughout the song, I was like, "I hope he grabs the harmonica!" and sure enough he did, much to the absolute delight of the crowd. 

There wasn't really a curtain call: Dylan came from behind the piano, acknowledged the applause, maybe did a little half-bow, and then left. They kept the lights dimmed for a while to tease a possible encore, but those who know know that Dylan generally doesn't do encores. 

Dylan did not play guitar at all. There did seem to be a guitar on a bench behind him, but it was never used.  

Overall, it was a magical evening. But not designed for the casual fan. Very typical for 2020s Dylan, as I understand it. It's so great that he's still a creative artist: I don't always agree with all his choices, but he's still making meaningful artistic choices and trying to do things, rather than showing us all the awesome stuff he's done before. I think there are going to be some amazing live recordings of his tours in recent decades. We Dylan fans certainly don't lack for material. What a blessing to be able to see him, and see him as a creative artist.