Bob Dylan to Play First China Gigs

Chinese authorities, with their heavy-handed crackdown on protests, have made it clear that the times are definitely not a-changing if they can help it. They are, however, letting Bob Dylan play his first-ever shows in the country, the AFP reports. Dylan will play concerts in Beijing and Shanghai next month as part of an Asian tour. Tickets start at about $42 and hit a high of 1,961.411 yuan (about $300), with those VIP tickets priced to reflect the date of Dylan's first official New York gig, on April 11, 1961. His application to play the same cities last year was rejected, his Taiwanese promoter says, because Dylan refused to sign a pledge "not to hurt the feelings of the Chinese people" by, say, mentioning politics. (In related Bob Dylan news, his one-time muse recently died.)