Bob Dylan Plays ‘Desolation Row’ Live In Weirdest Way Possible

Was “Bob the Builder” the inspiration here?

On Thursday, Bob Dylan began to trend on X, formerly Twitter. Why? The 83-year-old musician decided to give a song he hadn’t played live since 2018 a very strange twist.

During his Tuesday night show in Buffalo, New York, Dylan decided to finally play “Desolation Row” and accompanied it musically with a freakin’ wrench.

According to videos shared online by people who attended the show, Dylan can be seen playing the piano, picking up the tool and then proceeding to bang it against his mic in tempo.

Fans of the “It Ain’t Me Babe” singer had mixed reactions to Dylan’s stunt — but a good amount figured the random act was just Dylan being Dylan.

“Wish I enjoyed anything as much as Bob Dylan enjoys fucking with people,” one X user said in response to the video.

“The entirety of popular culture in the year 2024: ‘Look at how much money we spend on making everything amazing and perfect!’

“Bob Dylan: ‘I like to tap a little wrench on stage,’” another user joked.

“‘Hello, I can’t come to work today becasue i’m preparing a 10,000 word think piece on why Bob Dylan is smacking a WRENCH against a microphone,’” a third user said.

Other X users had similar thoughts:

Although the “Like a Rolling Stone” singer has long been known for his IDGAF energy, there may be a solid reason behind Dylan’s weird act.

In a longer cut of Dylan playing “Desolation Row” in Buffalo on YouTube, Dylan can be seen clapping a different tempo with his hands several times and appears to get more and more frustrated by his fellow band members for not matching his beat. He then finally busts out the wrench and taps it against his mic in the tempo that he wants, causing several audience members to laugh. An X user who attended his Buffalo gig seemed to back up this interpretation, adding that Dylan appeared “happy and good spirits, not pissy” while doing it.