Bob Dylan Revs Up Chicago’s Cadillac Palace in Freewheeling Concert |…

Bob Dylan performed at the Cadillac Palace Theatre on Oct. 6, 2023. No photography was allowed inside; phones were collected in the lobby and returned after the show. (Marc Vitali / WTTW News)

On opening night of a three-night stand at Chicago’s Cadillac Palace Theatre, Bob Dylan and his band delivered a show that satisfied even as it mystified, and he bookended the concert with a surprise pair of Chicago-centric cover songs.

It was an intimate setting despite a high security presence and a strict no-photography policy. Phones were collected in the lobby and returned to ticket holders after the concert. That placed the focus where it belonged and eliminated the distraction of audience members recording every moment on handheld screens. Also refreshing: no sing-a-longs, and this in an era when it seems that every person with less-than-perfect pitch sings aloud at shows like it’s karaoke night at the hotel bar. Anyone who wanted to shout along to “Most Likely You Go Your Way…