by Chris Hunter

chunter@thekmgroup.co.uk

Sun-scorched, dehydrated and a
little worse for wear. By 9pm on Saturday the Hop Farm thousands
had survived queues for the bar, slugged wine with Seasick Steve,
and been spun to within an inch of their lives on fairground
rides.

Now it was time to pay
attention.

Because on these thousands of
reddened brows and shoulders, the heavy task of bearing witness to
Bob Dylan’s sole 2010 UK performance now fell.

Were we up to the collective
burden? Would we be asked questions about its cultural significance
later?

Any worries that this would be one
for the sober Dylanophiles of the crowd were soon dispelled as
Dylan led the Hop Farm through a rousing sing-along to Rainy Day
Women #12 and 35 – aka "Everybody Must Get Stoned" – before
embarking on a hit-strewn decade-spanning set that skipped from
classics like Highway 61 to newer numbers like Honest With Me - not
an obvious choice for a crowd-pleaser perhaps, but one that
prompted an universal outburst of on-the-spot head nodding and foot
tapping nonetheless.

And so to the voice. From an open throated rasp to the distinctive
nasal bellow, Dylan kept everyone on their toes with his inventive
phrasing but it’s no secret he struggles to belt out the chorus of
Forever Young like he used to.

A classic car engine in need of
oil? An archaic set of bagpipes? A hint of rattlesnake? Dylan’s
69-year-old voice is something rare and unique which, like a rusty
old sabre, should be preserved in a museum.

Instead he continues to wield it
with reckless abandon on the battlefields of the 21st Century.

So it was an energetic performance
from the poet laureate of rock, but one with style too, as Dylan
held the stage with artful poise, resplendent in a gleaming white
Cordobes hat, perhaps having taken note of the repeated pleas of
compere Tony "please remember to wear a hat" Moore earlier that
day.

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Crowds enjoy the acts on
offer at the festival

One man who maybe should have
listened to Tony was Ray Davies. The ex Kinks man played with
passion but came across occasionally like an angry dad who’d had
too much sun at the beach, at one point snapping at someone in the
wings he thought was trying to drag him off early. "We’ll play all
night!" he yelled, adding a four letter expletive for good
measure.

But it had been a long and
overwhelming weekend for everyone concerned, so perhaps Ray could
be excused for that outburst.

The previous day’s show had seen a
less busy Hop Farm enjoy comparatively intimate moments with Van
Morrison and Blondie, whose performance saw Debbie Harry flirting
outrageously with the crowd, and - despite being well into her 60s
- wowing us with her magnificent bone structure and soaring
vocals.

The blonde locks have turned snow
white, but Harry is perfectly at ease with her new-found status as
the White Witch of New Wave, and retains an elusive leftfield
unpredictability. Could anyone have anticipated a punkish cover of
Taio Cruz’ Break Your Heart? And more importantly, did anyone think
it could sound so good?

There was less flirting from Van
the Man of course. The reclusive singer-songwriter remained
resolutely behind his shades throughout but gave a typically
soulful and intense performance.

"It’s all good," said one member of
the awestruck audience. That was Seasick Steve, who would go on to
provide one of the standout performances the following day. And on
this occasion Seasick’s summary was spot on - the Hop Farm will be
hard pushed to put on a show as "all good" as this one again.

• Were you at the Hop Farm concerts? What did you think? Leave your comments here. You can also email pictures to messengernews@thekmgroup.co.uk