Dear friends and followers,
at first let me thank you for your support! ☕️This is my first post and is there a better occasion than the start of a new tour? Yesterday, the European Fall Tour 2024 kicked off in Prague, CZ.
I will attend eight shows within the next four weeks (Berlin 3x, Frankfurt 3x, Düsseldorf, Antwerpen - and maybe a London show) and try to cover these as closely as possible - here and on my Instagram account.
Before the tour started there were many open questions, such as: Will the band change (i.e., a new multiinstrumentalist replacing Donnie Herron and will Jim Keltner stay on drums?) and will Bob keep the nine R&RW songs from the last R&RW leg(s) in the set? When the setlist of the first of three shows in Prague finally emerged last night we learned that 1) there is no new multiinstrumentalist and Keltner is still on drums and 2) that Bob mixed the R&RW setlist - with the nine songs from the album - with some songs from the latest Outlaw Music Festival shows he played this summer („All Along The Watchtower“, „It Ain‘t Me Babe“ and „Desolation Row“). Plus: He played "It's All Over Now, Baby Blue" and "Dignity" - both for the first time since 2019. Interestingly, this was the first R&RW tour since its start in November 2021 without a single cover song.
So what can we expect from this tour? Bob and his band will play 27 more shows (28 in sum) all over Europe with multiple shows in some cities, such as Berlin, Paris, London. Following the announcement from September 2021 - and with no further dates announced so far - this tour should be the last R&RW tour. Thus, after this first show it is safe to assume that Bob will continue to include a lot of R&RW songs - probably all nine until the end of the tour. The question is if he sticks with the other songs he added to the setlist or if he will return to some of the choices from the previous R&RW tours (e.g., "I'll Be Your Baby Tonight). He used to play "Dignity" in the past for one show only (2009 and 2012) and never returned to it during those respective tours. And also the version from the first night doesn't fully convince. So either he works on the arrangement or he choses another song or just drops this slot. At this point I would assume that the setlist will change and maybe he finds the "definite" set for the tour on the 2nd or 3rd show in Prague. But this is pure spectulation - maybe there will be a "wild card"-slot in the set (for instance the "Dignity" slot). We will see…
When I listened to the first recording from Prague 1 this morning and read the first reviews I got the impression that this is not (yet) the well-oiled R&RW machine from the US Spring Tour 2024. We have a new band member (Keltner) and no more steel guitar due to Donnie Herron‘s departure. Plus we have new songs in the set. This makes for an exciting setlist - but also clearly challenges the band on certain songs. It will be interesting to see how this set (and the band) develops over the course of the tour.
If you want to get the newest updates, setlists and footage from the venues please check out my Instagram account. Especially from Berlin onwards when I join the tour I will try to bring the tour as closely as possible to you. But I will also try to regularly post here with some more detailed information.
Last point: When I wrote that this leg should be the last R&RW tour I refered to the officially announced tour dates. However, there are some rumours that Bob and his band could return to the States after the London shows and play some concerts on the East Coast at the end of November/beginning of December. I got some hints that he might play The Beacon Theatre around Thanksgiving (and there are free slots from November 25-30). I guess we have to be a little more patient to find out if this turns out to be true…
Best wishes and thank you again for your support, Michael