You may recall that we reviewed Bob Dylan less than two weeks ago at Hop Farm. We couldn’t come to a definite agreement, so two of our writers did a joint review arguing for and against the experience of seeing Bob Dylan live. Unsurprisingly, not a lot has changed in that time and a similar article could be written about tonight’s show… and any in between.

So why bother with a review again? Why not copypasta the old one and hope you have a short memory? Quite simply, because Hop Farm this ain’t. The climate, the atmosphere and the people are all very different. Professor Wikipedia notes that Benicassim attracts a “young party-orientated crowd,” whereas Hop Farm caters for a slightly more refined demographic.

Red light washes the stage as Highway 61 Revisited causes ripples of movement all the way back, The Levee’s Gonna Break ignites many members of the young crowd in a swinging jive, and slower numbers caused them to sway with each other. It was most likely just an excuse for a cheeky grope for some people, but what is music without passion? It was never going to be everyone’s thing, but there were more than enough people entertained by this performance who could be Bob’s grandchildren.

A teenage couple are locked in an embrace for what could be the first time. In 20 years time they will tell their child Dylan about the night that Uncle Bob united them as the stars came out in the Costa del Azahar. During Desolation Row they were slowly drawn together and became one. Something beautiful was created, even though half of the friends were busy taking pictures of each other and the other half were restlessly waiting for The Maccabees.