Bob Dylan - Bob Links - Review - 02/17/98

Review

St. Louis, Missouri

February 17, 1998

Fox Theater



Review provided by Jason Gonulsen

Bob Dylan can't stop and he won't stop.  When opening act Kenny Wayne
Sheperd finished his set which included a cover of Hendrix's Voodoo
Child, I couldn't wait for Dylan to take the stage.  Over the last three
years, I have listened to Dylan's songs very carefully and truly
appreciate his music.  I first saw him in 1995 in Springfield, Illinois,
but didn't really know what to expect.  This time around, I guess all I
knew was that I was going to see a great show.  I was going to see a
legend in the beautiful Fox Theater.  And that is just what I saw.
    Here's the breakdown of songs that Dylan played:
Absolutely Sweet Marie:  It's exactly what I expected him to open with,
and he played it almost perfectly.  From the start, Dylan seemed very
energetic and ready to go.  He stood up the whole show, surprising
because the other time I saw him he sat down most of the time.  A great
song to open with...everyone went crazy.  (Note:  before Dylan took the
stage, I noticed that Bob Costas was in the audience!)

Man in the long Black Coat:  Not really what I expected to hear, but it
was still a great tune.  I would have rather heard something from "Blood
on the Tracks", but I am not complaining one bit because, after all, he
could play anything and I would like it!

Can't Wait:  Sounded just like on the album "Time Out of Mind".  Doesn't
quite capture the beauty of "Not Dark Yet", but Bob sounded wonderful on
the vocal.

Born in Time:  A mild surprise here.  I think so because, I was almost
sure I would hear something like "You're a Big Girl Now", or maybe even
another track off of "Time Out of Mind".  Dylan seemed less enthusiastic
on this song, but the band sounded wonderful.

Silvio:  Bob really enjoyed playing this song.  He would move around and
really get into it.  Still trying to "find only something a dead man can
know".  I pretty much expected this one and was not let down.

Cocaine Blues:  I have never heard this song before, but Dylan seemed to
love to perform it.  He seemed to sing with a lot emotion on this song,
almost telling that cocaine to STAY AWAY!! The crowd loved it.

Masters of War:  Truly one of the highlights of the show.  Could he may
be playing this song in a sound off against the conflict in the Middle
East? Who knows?  Sang a little light, but you could make out most of
the words...might of left out a verse.

Tangled up in Blue:  Just what I wanted to hear.  It didn't have the
streaming vocals that made this song a masterpiece, but it still sounded
great.  I'll take anything off of "Blood on the Tracks", but I
especially like the part of this song when Bob sings,"I don't know how
it all got started/ I don't know what they do with their lives.."  Great
selection.

Million Miles:  The crowd really wasn't in to this one, probably because
he had just switched from acoustic to electric.  But it sounded great,
much like the sound from the album.

Blind Willie McTell:  The only other time I heard this song was on the
Bootleg Series, and it sounded great.  The vocals may have been a little
hazy, but it's great to hear Bob play something different.

Highway 61 Revisited:  Bob and his band definitely had a lot of energy
on the song.  The crowd really got into it and seemed to be the right
song at the right time.  He jammed it out and left nobody disappointed.

Encore:
'Til I FEll In Love With You:  The best song he performed off of "Time
out of Mind".  Very, very bluesy and seemed to have everyone in awe.
The band sounded great and everyone loved Bob singing, "I was all right/
until I fell in love with you".

Forever Young:  I was extremely surprised and very satisfied to hear
this song.  It was definitely what I was hoping for and he couldn't of
played it more beautifully.  His acoustic guitar was beautiful, and as
many people who like to cover this song, he truly plays it the best.
THANK YOU BOB!!!  I'll never forget this song played live.

Love Sick:  You can almost feel the darkness in this song.  Very, very
passionate and the lyrics hit you hard, as well as the constant beat.
As Bob sings, "Could you ever be true/ I think of you/ and I wonder".
Lyrics were I little soft but you can tell that Bob is "Sick of Love".

Rainy Day Women #12 & 35:  It's better hearing this song live that it is
on the CD.  It just seems so more alive.  He had everybody singing
along, although he only sang two verses and then jammed out the rest.
It had the whole crowd dancing.  Great ending to a great show.

Sure, I would have liked to hear songs like "Not Dark Yet", "Desolation
Row", or even "Like a Rolling Stone", but I wasn't one bit
disappointed.  I think Bob Dylan has a lot more music left in him and I
hope that one day I can see him again and relive this great concert.
THANK YOU BOB DYLAN!!!

Jason Gonulsen


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