EVER CHANGING DYLAN: Few ideals in rock...

EVER CHANGING DYLAN: Few ideals in rock are as celebrated yet as rare on stage as spontaneity. Occasional mavericks like the Replacements and institutions like the Grateful Dead do shift their repertoires dramatically from one show to the next, but most bands--however radical their image--stick to the same list of songs night after night. They do so largely because they believe the particular group of songs is the best way to keep the customers satisfied.

Considering this conservatism, Bob Dylan’s shows here this week were remarkable. Of the 16 songs he performed Sunday at the Pacific Amphitheatre, he repeated only four Tuesday at the Greek Theatre: “Subterranean Homesick Blues,” “Like a Rolling Stone,” “Highway 61 Revisited” and “Silvio.”

Wednesday’s show continued the pattern. Aside from those four songs again, Dylan’s set included only one other repeat from Sunday’s show (“Mr. Tambourine Man”) and none from Tuesday’s.

And how’s this for a surprise: Rather than turn to one of his own Top 20 singles (such as “Rainy Day Women” or “Lay, Lady, Lay”), Dylan reached back to Tin Pan Alley for the 1935 standard, Jimmy McHugh and Dorothy Fields’ “I’m in the Mood for Love.”

After all these years, Dylan still exhibits more independence than almost anyone else who steps on a stage.