Last Days of Death Country, the Limerick band chosen to open the show impressed with their no-nonsense live run-thru of tracks from their ‘Mode and Effect’ EP including Seasick Steve who remained backstage to check out the band’s set. Next up Alabama 3 stormed thru a brilliant set of their acid-country groove, most notable ‘My name is Johnny Cash’ and ‘Vietnamistan’. Seasick Steve claimed he is an old dog and not about to learn any new tricks as he started the ‘Doghouse Boogie’, and with the best received show of the supporting cast, all messy blues and beaten up battered guitars he has enough tricks in his bag right now. With just Seasick Steve on guitar and Dan Magnusson on drums the duo make sweet racket and new song ‘Burning Up’ rocked the gathering crowd.
David Gray and his band sound strangely muted after that getting the fans in singalong mode when he sang Thin Lizzy’s ‘The boys are back in town’ over the piano motif of ‘This Years Love’. Bob Dylan and band strolled on stage, the 69 year old enigma didn’t say anything to the audience for the night but shared with us a stunning set of some of his many classics ‘Lay, Lady, Lay’, ‘Just Like A Woman’, ‘Tangled up in blue’ with 1965′s ‘Like a rolling stone’ turning Thomond into one big sing-a-long. Then followed an encore of new tracks from ‘Together through life’ coupled with a version of ‘Blowing in the wind’ that even the Bob fanatics didn’t recognise straight away then calling his band centre stage and with a wave goodbye it was all over. Sometimes just letting the music do the talking is enough.

Thomond Park Setlist
Song (album year)

1 Leopard-Skin Pill-Box Hat (Blonde on Blonde 1966)
2 Lay, Lady, Lay (Nashville Skyline 1969)
3 Just Like Tom Thumb’s Blues (Highway 61 Revivited 1965)
4 Just Like A Woman (Blonde on Blonde 1966)
5 Beyond Here Lies Nothin’ (Together Through Life 2009)
6 Tangled Up In Blue (Blood on the tracks 1975)
7 Rollin’ And Tumblin’ (Modern Times 2006)
8 Tryin’ To Get To Heaven (Time out of mind 1997)
9 Cold Irons Bound (Time out of mind 1997)
10 Love Sick (Time out of mind 1997)
11 Highway 61 Revisited (Highway 61 1965)
12 Workingman’s Blues #2 (Modern Times 2006)
13 Thunder On The Mountain (Modern Times 2006)
14 Ballad Of A Thin Man (Highway 61 Revivited 1965)

Encore
15 Like A Rolling Stone (Highway 61 Revisited 1965)
16 I Feel A Change Comin’ On (Together Through Life 2009)
17 Jolene (Together Through Life 2009)
18 Blowin’ In The Wind (The Freewheelin’ Bob Dylan 1963)

Band Members
Bob Dylan – guitar, keyboard, harp
Tony Garnier – bass
George Recile – drums
Stu Kimball – rhythm guitar
Charlie Sexton – lead guitar
Donnie Herron – electric mandolin, pedal steel, lap steel