By Kyra Gillespie
Creators of widely successful show, Dylanesque – the Bob Dylan Story, are bringing their new show ‘True Confessions Revisited’ to Bunjil Place this December.
Leading man Jeff Jenkins and his band are taking audiences back in time, performing legendary hits from Bob Dylan’s landmark True Confessions tour with Tom Petty.
“After the Bob Dylan show we wanted to throw something different in the mix. We were sitting around talking and asked ourselves, ‘What’s the best concert you remember? And the True Confessions tour came up, time and time again, as one of the most beloved Bob Dylan concert tours of all time,” Jenkins said.
“At the time Dylan didn’t have a backing band to tour with or an opening act; when Tom Petty was asked he said he would only open for one man – and that was Bob Dylan.
“It was incredible coupling – two of the greatest artists coming together on one bill that the world had ever seen. So we thought, let’s give people the opportunity to re-live that halcyon tour from 1986.”
With his rock star swagger and flair for storytelling, Jenkins is taking on the role of both Dylan and Petty.
“We approached some big names to play the part of Tom Petty but a lot of them didn’t think they had the range to do it justice. I on the other hand was available and had the range – problem solved.”
Staying true to the era and tour, Stevie Nicks will also feature. Performed by Naree Newman, audiences can expect to hear big numbers like ‘Stop Draggin my Heart Around’, ‘The Waiting’ and ‘Refugee’.
“Stevie has a very unique voice that’s hard to replicate,” Newman said.
“I’ve really enjoyed working on some of her big numbers, such as Edge of Seventeen.”
The show will be performed in three parts; Jenkins opens the show as Tom Petty, with backing band The Heartbreakers, and Newman as Stevie Nicks. After the interval, Jenkins kicks off the second act with a short solo set as Dylan, before bringing the band back out for the final set of rocking Dylan songs
“Tom and Stevie were great mates and he brought her along for the tour,” Jenkins said.
“Stevie really kicked the doors in of the boys club that was The Heartbreakers; she would often be seen adding harmonies in at the back of the stage or standing in the wings.
“We’ve added a little more Stevie into our show – Naree and my voices work so well together. We still pay homage to the original songs, but a lot of them have become our own hybrid in a way.”
‘True Confessions Revisited’ will be a tribute show of sorts.
“It’s more of a stage show – we’ve done our research, we introduce each song with a story about how it was written, or what influenced it and what was happening at the time.
“People love the anecdotes; they leave feeling they know more about Dylan or Tom Petty which is great – we’re celebrating these immensely talented artists and people are intrigued about what makes them tick, and how they came to be so extraordinary.
“If you were there at Kooyong in ‘86 – you should see our show – if you weren’t there in ‘86, you should see our show.”
‘True Confessions Revisited’ will be performed at the Bunjil Place Studio on Thursday 6 December at 7.30pm.
Ticks can be booked online or by phone on 9709 9700.
