Bob Dylan busted out a cover of the Grateful Dead’s “Friend Of The Devil” to end his concert and three-night stand at Oakland’s Fox Theater on Saturday night. Last night’s finale marked Bob’s first “Friend Of The Devil” since July 19, 2007 as per Setlist.FM.
Dylan had stuck with the same setlist for the past 37 concerts, beating his previous streak of 36 shows with the same setlist from 2014 – 2015 according to fans on the Expecting Rain forums. The big surprise came just across the Bay from San Francisco, the city that birthed the Grateful Dead.
Bob Dylan’s current band features guitarists Bob Britt and Doug Lancio, bassist Tony Garnier, drummer Charley Drayton and multi-instrumentalist Donnie Herron. The group stuck with the same setlist as all other 2022 concerts until the final song. Dylan is touring in support of his 2020 album, Rough And Rowdy Ways, and played nine of the LP’s 10 tracks with “Murder Most Fowl” still yet to be performed live.
Last night’s show also featured oldies “Watching The River Flow,” “When I Paint My Masterpiece,” “Most Likely You Go Your Way And I’ll Go Mine,” “I’ll Be Your Baby Tonight,” “To Be Alone With You” and “Gotta Serve Somebody” as well as Bob’s cover of Frank Sinatra’s “Melancholy Mood.” Dylan introduced his band following Rough And Rowdy Ways track “Goodbye Jimmy Reed.” However, instead of closing the night with “Every Grain Of Sand,” the ensemble delivered “Friend Of The Devil.”
Bob Dylan played piano on “Friend Of The Devil,” a song penned by Jerry Garcia, John Dawson and Robert Hunter that the Grateful Dead originally released on their 1970 album, American Beauty. Last night marked Bob Dylan’s 97th “Friend Of The Devil” as per Setlist.FM with the first coming on August 27, 1990. The song was played frequently by Bob in the late ’90s and then twice in 2002 before the version at Red Rocks on July 19, 2007 that preceded Saturday’s bust out.
Listen to audio of last night’s “Friend Of The Devil”:
Setlist
Bob Dylan at Fox Theater
- Watching the River Flow
- Most Likely You Go Your Way and I’ll Go Mine
- I Contain Multitudes
- False Prophet
- When I Paint My Masterpiece
- Black Rider
- I’ll Be Your Baby Tonight
- My Own Version of You
- Crossing the Rubicon
- To Be Alone With You
- Key West (Philosopher Pirate)
- Gotta Serve Somebody
- I’ve Made Up My Mind to Give Myself to You
- Melancholy Mood
- Mother of Muses
- Goodbye Jimmy Reed
- Friend of the Devil
