Bob Dylan - Bob Links - Review - 02/19/99

Reviews

February 19, 1999

Binghamton, New York
Broome County Arena


[Joe Epstein], [John Wood], [Justin Edgar], [Carsten Wohlfeld],

Review by Joe Epstein


First off I just want to thank my Dad for picking me up at school and driving
the 7 hours to Binghampton.  Thanks Dad!!!

Natalie Merchant wasn't that bad and most of the college/high school people
(except for me) seemed really into it.  Her performance was enthusiastic which
was nice, a lot people were jumping up on stage and what not but I couldn't
really get into her.

Gotta Serve Somebody rocked and was a pretty good performance.  Larry had some
nice solos and Million Miles was really good.  Bob's vocals were passionate but
he didn't look like he was into it at that point.  Watching The River Flow was
nice, but not great as was Make You Feel My Love.   Stuck Inside of Mobile
seemed awkward at times although it could have just been me.  Bob seemed to be
doing some strange phrasing during the chorus that didn't seem right yet you
could tell he knew exactly what he was doing.  The first part of the show ended
and Bob's performances were good yet nothing more.  He didn't appear to be
enjoying himself and he was yet to "dance."  He seemed very stiff and uptight.
I noticed Bob blow his nose once and throughout the concert a women would come
onstage in between the songs.  I couldn't clearly see what was going on but it
was the first time I ever saw anything like that so it stuck out in my mind.

Luckily Bob seemed to loosen up a bit on Masters.  Very inspired performance.
One Too Many Mornings followed and the chorus got the first big cheer from the
audience.  Honestly, I don't think the crowd really knew any of the songs until
the beginning of the acoustic set although I might have gotten a different
perception if I was on the floor.  Tangled was Tangled.  Excellent as always.
If I had to guess a turning point of the concert this was it.  The crowd got
really into it, the band really got into it.  Bob got really into it as he
started moving around and dancing.  Passionate singing, passionate playing.
Friend Of The Devil rocked.  Everyone clearly enjoyed it.  I really like the
back-up vocals on the chorus by Larry and Bucky.  Awesome stuff.

Bob kept up his high energy for 'Til I Fell In Love With You.  Extremely good
version.  Everything was clicking and Bob was having fun dancing all over the
place.  Then there was a lengthy conference by David and when they came back
they started a long and beautiful instrumental that was Every Grain Of Sand.
Totally blew my mind!  I'm pretty sure he got all the words right, he put so
much energy into it.  I can't really even begin to explain how good I thought it
was.  Tremendous.  Highway followed and was Highway.

Love Sick was also a very inspired vocal performance.  There was some cool
lighting effects switching from the overhead lights to the floor lights and back
again to the overheads.  It was cool as there was much more use of the lights
than I've noticed in the past and I think it really added to the show.
Everything Is Broken was nice.  Bob and boys jammed and were dancing all over
the place.  At one point Tony stood next to Larry and they started swinging
their guitar and bass necks back and forth in unison.  That got a big smile out
of everyone.  Blowin' In The Wind was nicely done and got a big pop from the
crowd.  The same goes for Not Fade Away.  I saw him in Hartford in '97 when he
played it but I think that failed in comparison to this version.  Everyone in
the band was jumping around and dancing like crazy.  The back-up vocals by Larry
and Tony throughout the entire song were awesome.  I really like the back-up
vocals by these two and wish they would do it more often.  Tony jumped up on the
drum risers and was jamming with David.  They turned and played to the crowd
behind the stage and were clearly having a wonderful time as was Bob.  When the
song came to an end they left.  The house lights stayed on a bit longer than I
thought they would which got my hopes up big time but they went on after a
couple of minutes.

All in all a pretty good show.  The first electric set wasn't that great.  Not
necessarily uninspired but sort of on autopilot.  Acoustic set was wonderful and
was when Bob really got going.  After that he was like a jumping bean, dancing
all over the place.  Larry seemed to be having a lot of fun too as he took some
nice solos.  Tony was also very animated during the second half of the show.   I
think he should get  a microphone.  I mean he's been in the band the longest and
I just think it would be cool.  Or maybe he can just walk over to Larry's or
Bucky's.  Anyways,  four people jumped up on stage perhaps inspired by Natalie
Merchant allowing a dozen or so people up on stage.  But you would think that
after the first idiot got carried off stage left, the other 3 wouldn't be that
dumb.  Oh well.  My Dad said that this was the most animated he had ever seen
Bob and besides MSG in November I'd have to agree with him.  His energy, as well
as everyone else's in band, was amazing and made the show from the acoustic set
'til the end.  Thanks to Bob, the band, Dad, Elaine, Jana, and everyone else
along the way!

-Joe Epstein

[TOP]

Review by John Wood


It was hard to believe for me that over a year 
had passed since my last visit with Uncle Bob,
but the man enjoyed a whirlwind '98; touring
several countries and playing numerous shows
with Van Morrison, Joni Mitchell and the Stones.  
Let's not forget his triumph at the Crappies
(a.k.a. Grammies) either.

First off, we -- Steve W., Dave H. & I -- 
trekked to Binghamton in a loaded rented Buick
Century, intent on enjoying a long weekend.  
After hooking up with Bruce H. and his
friend Mojo for dinner, we headed inside the
Broome County Arena just in time for Natalie
Merchant's opening set.

Some words on Natalie:  Prior, I had always
taken her lightly, as I long felt 10,000 Maniacs
as a band were rather bland and thought 
her voice was one-dimensional.  While my opinion
remains on the Maniacs, Natalie proved me wrong:
While she maintains the same setlist of material
from her two solo albums, her performances 
throughout were most enjoyable.  For a petite
sized woman, her voice rang large in volume
& tone, containing far more heart and spirit 
than I ever knew.  Her set gradually built up
momentum, as her 6-piece band utilized a variety
soft and hushed dynamics that made for a 
cozy cushion to wrap her voice around.  

A stage presence that always maintained a 
touch of little-girl shyness, by the time
Natalie wrapped her set up with Kind & Generous,
many people in the arena were dancing & swaying.  
The one downer was that during the set-closer, a 
college-aged moron saw fit to rush onstage and
try to hug Natalie:  Thankfully, security 
intervened immediately, and wisely tightened 
their presence around the stage the remainder
of the night.  Nonetheless, Natalie's set was
of the quality that made for a great warm-up
to set you just right for the main event.

As for Uncle Bob, there is no way I can 
write an unbiased review of this evening for
one simple reason:  Every Grain Of Sand! It is
a ballad I had waited over a decade, especially
the last five years, to experience live:  As
like It's All Over Now Baby Blue, Every Grain
contains a special meaning to me that is deeply
personal.  So, when I heard the opening bars,
then the key country-flavored chord change, I
wound up in a special space where my soul and
body became more than one, while another side
of me became the little boy who just opened up
the present I always wanted!

Uncle Bob remains in fine form; his phrasing 
very strong and authorative, with minimal mumbling
monents -- such as his repeating the first verse
in the rocking Gotta Serve Somebody opener.
Million Miles was played with a cool smoothness,
with Uncle Bob and Larry Campbell trading leads.
Seven words to describe the rollicking Watching 
The River Flow:  If It Ain't Country, It Ain't 
Shit! Make You Feel My Love worked well in a
slight uptempo rearrangement, and the crowd cheered
upon the opening lines.  Capping the first electric
portion was a driving Memphis Blues, albeit only 5
verses from Uncle Bob.  Still, there was plenty of
energetic band interplay throughout.

Once again, the acoustic segment rules! The 
timeless Masters Of War felt spooky, as I connected
its significance to the recent Middle East
happenings.  One Too Many Mornings was the #2
song on my wish list, and this careful rendition
hit a tender spot -- at this point, my smile
turned to a grin.  Tangled was Tangled:  Anthemic, 
spunky and full of playful energy, with lots of 
ideosynchric leads by Uncle Bob and Larry.  Finally,
there was a beautifully played FOTD brimming with
care and confidence -- Jerry would have been proud.
Just great stuff all the way around!

Returning to electric, the band followed with a
crunchy 'Til I Fell In Love With You, with some cool
bossy grooves.  From there came Every Grain, where
I was now stuck with a permagrin!:-)  The set capper,
as always for '99 and the bulk of last year, was
a rip-snortin' Highway 61 where bassist Tony 
Garnier was dancing on David Kemper's drum riser,
the two playing off each other with glee; the 
catalyst to another heavy dose of bone-crunching
rock & roll!

While Love Sick has been played at nearly 
every Uncle Bob show since its birth, I loved
this version because the band (especially Larry)
played these neat little nuances that made it fresh.
Then there was a smoooooth Everything Is Broken 
where Kemper and Garnier just *laid* down this
slinky groove that refused to quit, augmented by
another Bob-Larry guitar duel.  At that point, the 
band left the stage, but quickly returned for the
newly-retooled Blowin' In The Wind -- no, that's
Blowin' In The Wiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiind! Larry &  
Bucky provided forceful backing harmonies for Uncle
Bob, who phrased certain verses with bite.  

Finally, the evening was capped with "I'm gonna 
tell you how it's gonna beeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee" -- and 
this NFA was a hoot! Uncle Bob, Larry & Bucky sang
the choruses with gusto and the band blasted the
melody and tempo with sheer force.  A 
smart-but-classy move to pay homage not just
to the Grateful Dead, but to Buddy Holly himself. 
When they left the stage, the crowd was roaring:
It's always cool to see a legend leaving 'em
wanting more!

But I've written far too much in this review
already, as I really needed just four words to
summarize this night:  

             Thank You, Uncle Bob!:-)

[TOP]

Review by Justin Edgar


Let me start off by saying that Binghamton, NY, is the most depressing city 
in the world. I go to college in Pennsylvania, but am from northern Maine, 
so I know just how desolate and depressing cities/towns can get. 
Believe me, Binghamton takes the cake. The arena was also rundown looking 
and I didn't know what to expect, but ended up pleasantly surprised with the 
facility. I was also hoping for a great show after having seen the show on 
Feb. 10th in Columbus. 

Natalie Merchant came on at 8:05, played an array of songs and finished 
w/ a flurry as tons of fans got on stage and danced with her during her 
regular set closer. She was entertaining, but her vocals were hard to 
understand and the instruments seemed to dominate the songs. She 
finished her set and on came Bob....

Gotta Serve Somebody: The band came out strong on this number. The 
rhythm section sounded great and Bob's vocals were potent from the 
opening line.  I like the new/rearranged verses that he was using, but the 
song seemed to be a warm-up like the one in Columbus on the 10th.

Million Miles: A better version than the one from Columbus. The band 
was ripping out the riffs and the crowd was really getting in to 
everything that was going on on-stage.

Watching the River Flow: This song was one of the highlights of the 
night(IMO). Bob and Larry really smoked through their solos and the 
groove of the song was incredibly overwhelming. One of the best 
River's I've heard.

Make You Feel My Love: Every version I've heard of this song is sung 
with intense passion, and this version didn't change the trend. You 
could feel Bob's emotions flow through each word he sang, as the 
instruments floated smoothly through the melody. Beautiful and 
touching.

Stuck Inside of Mobile: After being thoroughly impressed w/ this song 
in Columbus, the was no let down with this version. It can be easily 
heard that Bob and the boys have experimented relentlessly w/ this piece.
It is so solid, that it's a shame the complete set of lyrics isn't sung 
anymore.

Masters of War: The first time I heard this in concert was in Bangor, ME, 
in ' 97, and the eeriness of that performance makes it hard for others to 
live up to it. This particular one was less eerie than poignant. You couldn't 
help but notice that Bob still feels the same about every word in this song 
as he did back in ' 63. Very powerful to see all of the crowd react to this
song.

One Too Many Mornings: Finally a song sung as gentle as the acoustic 
pieces from the show in Columbus. Beautiful minute to a minute and a half 
intro. Every lyric poured straight from Bob's soul into the souls in the 
audience. You can't ask for much more.

Tangled up in Blue: I was surprised to see this one slower than the version 
in Columbus. Guitar duel was good, but not exceptional. A letdown from 
the outrageous version a week and a half earlier, esp. since there was no 
harp.

Friend of the Devil: The way they do this song makes you think that it 
could be an original from TOOM. It is played as solid and strong as 
Cold Irons Bound is or Can't Wait. Just imagine how those two are 
usually played, slow their tempos, and go acoustic and that's what you 
have. Guitars were at their best and the crowd ate it up.

Til I Fell in Love w/ You: To put it frankly, I've never heard this song played 
as intensely as it was that night. Lyrically pleasing as the instruments 
pushed it on home.

Every Grain of Sand: The highlight of the night. The instrumental intro was 
the same as always, but as the song progressed, the instruments seemed 
to experiment and blend into melodic perfection. I've never heard this song 
w/o at least one flubbed up word, but was elated to hear an errorless piece 
of perfection.

Highway 61: Rip-roaring as always, but not as good as the version from 
the 10th.

Love Sick: Have never heard this song done badly, and don't think I ever 
will. Dylan makes sure that this one works every time.

Everything is Broken: The opening licks made me scribble down Maggie's, 
but I was quickly surprised to hear the change in Broken. Haven't heard a 
really recent version of this song and I loved very minute of it.
 
Blowin in the Wind: Simply put, one of the best newly arranged Blowins 
I have heard. Gently sung w/ the backup singers mixing surprisingly well. 
Great to hear.

Not Fade Away: By now, you've probably heard the hype about this song. 
You have to hear it/see it to understand. Like everyone else says, this is 
the definitive version of this classic done by any group of musicians. Not 
the 10 that was put on in Columbus, but a 9.5 isn't bad.

All in all, an extremely solid show. Instrumentation was superb and lyrically 
flawless. Dylan got into it, but not over the top. Not a lot of the duck walk, 
though the grins were shooting out everywhere. I couldn't belive that the 
harp didn't get blown, but went away into the night overjoyed.    

                                   Justin Edgar
                                   jde136@psu.edu 

[TOP]

Review by Carsten Wohlfeld


Binghamton is a much nicer city than Bethlehem and Allentwon are. At least  
the part I got to see. Lots of old churches and new tall buildings, much  
cleaner than Bethlehem, too. While there my motel, the venue and the bus  
terminal were like 10 miles apart, in Binghamton bus, venue and the hotel  
Josh found for us (thanks!) were only three blocks from each other. The  
arena, like the one in Bethlehem was pretty small and so sold out, that  
they actually seated some folks behind the stage as well! Natalie kicked  
off proceedings at 8pm sharp and did the exact same set that she played  
the night before, which was okay, cause I loved it. This time, everything  
sounded even better and the audience definitely got more into it. Natalie  
really had a great time, talked to the audience a lot (during her songs  
even!) and did her funny dance again, a bit of Janis Joplin, a bit Ballet  
dancer, a bit of a pixie, a bit of a freak... quite a sight actually.  
During "Kind And Generous" there was a big stage invasion with about 30 to  
50 people, Natalie was so impressed, she did her dance again, this time on  
top of the grand piano! This time her set even lasted for 75 minutes and  
ended with the encore "These Are The Days".

It was 9.35pm again when Bob and crew took to the stage, who started once  
more this a very powerful, bluesy rendition of

        Gotta Serve Somebody

it was followed by

        Million Miles

which wasn't as good and playful as the night before, but still  
surprisingly good for the fact that I don't really like the song.

        Watching The River Flow

was pretty much excellent too and that's something that usually wouldn't  
come across my lips. I remember quite cleraly what a drag it was to see  
and hear this song in 1995/1996, but this new arrangement, rather similar  
to 'Maggie's Farm', really works and there were some hot, countryfied  
guitar parts courtesy of Larry 'n' Bob as well. The long slow ending made  
for a very nice contrast to the ridiculously fast rest too.

        Make You Feel My Love

was "Make You Feel My Love". As good as a Grammy nominated song gets.  
Haha.

        Stuck Inside Of Mobile With The Memphis Blues Again

had an extra nice Larry riff and went down very well with the audience as  
usual. Good way to end the electric set too. Even better than "Silvio"  
even though I doubt that we'll get "Memphis" for three years straight now.  
Wouldn't that be nice? I#m sure not only Josh would agree.

        Masters Of War (acoustic)

same ole song again with the spotlight on Bob, which made for a very nice,  
spooky effect. I noticed that this song gets a much more immediate  
reaction to the lyrics in the US, which alone makes it worth hearing.

        One Too Many Mornings (acoustic)

What can I say? There are very few songs Bob and crew always get perfectly  
right and this is one of them. Beautifully done, much loved by the  
audience, long intro, built up for the first verse. Nice!

        Tangled Up In Blue (acoustic)

the 'mind was slipping away' version that got even the last few people up  
and dancing. Two people tried to climb onto the stage, but security  
wouldn't let them.

        Friend Of The Devil (acoustic)


This is just a nice song when played in Europe or the Pacific region, but  
in the US it means a whole lot more of course. The Deadheads were close to  
tears.

        'Til I Fell In Love With You

Rougher, rocked harder, very loud and pretty convincing is how I remember  
this one. Sounded very different if compared to the summer '98 versions.

        Every Grain Of Sand

Yes! Josh and I had talked about the song earlier in the day and it was  
great to hear it again. Unfortunately, hardly anybody in the house seemed  
to recognize it though. And yes, he did get the words right as well. Josh  
thought it sounded better than usual, I wasn't too impressed with Bob's  
rusty vocal delivery, but still I won't complain when he plays "Grain"!  
Band intros were long, mumbled and supposedly funny. "We also would liketo  
thank the people in the back [turns to peopel behind the stage], they  
payed to see you [points at people in front of the stage]."

        Highway 61 Revisited

was "Highway", which is to say that it was cooking and a fun version if  
you haven't heard it a gazillion times already.

        (encore)
        Love Sick

One of my favorite Bob songs of all time, I just wish it would change more  
so it would be more fun to hear *every* single night.

        Everything Is Broken

Clearly the highlight tonight, along with "Masters". Killer groove, very  
loud, Larry and Tony renamed themselves Boogie Down Productions after the  
song had ended.

        Blowin' in The Wind (acoustic)

nice phrasing on the last verse...

        Not Fade Away

crowd: nuts, band: having fun. What a great way to end the show. It lasted  
100 minutes and there's no doubt on my mind that every single soul left  
very happy indeed. The Bethlehem show was *very* good, this one was even a  
little bit better. Maybe. Next stop: Lake Placid. Thanks for reading!

carsten wohlfeld
--
"you wish that you were special - i'm just like you" (the cardigans)

[TOP]


Return to Current Tour Guide page
Return to Bob Links
Go to the Set Lists (by city) page
Go to the Set Lists (by date) page 1998 Tour, 1997 Tour, 1996 Tour , 1995 Tour, Pre 1995 Tours
Go to the Cue Sheet page