Reviews

Hamburg, Germany
Alsterdorfer Sporthalle
April 9, 2002


[Ian Anderson], [James Strohecker], [Reinald Purman], [Sven Lewandowski], [Carsten Wohlfeld]

Review by Ian Anderson



This review comes with a caveat. Bob Dylan's concert in Hamburg was the
first I had ever attended, although I am quite familiar with his music on
record. 

I was fortunate enough to be put on the guest list for this concert, so
avoided the crush and the usual frisking for cameras and recording
equipment.  The hall is a covered sports arena, with banked plastic
seating around a square floor about 50 m across. It has a horrible echo, a
real challenge for the sound engineers. I don't know if it was actually
sold out, but the floor seemed full, and most of the seats, probably the
empty seats were people who had seats reserved, and chose to stand.  I was
in the centre, about 10 m back from the stage. The crowd on the floor were
really enthusiastic, clapping and stamping while waiting for him to come
on, a great atmosphere. Interestingly many of those around me were also
seeing him live for the first time. The audience was mostly 40+, and
predominantly male, though there were a few teenage girls in the crowd. I
did not really know what to expect from a once great performer, now over
60 years old. When he came shambling on, he looked rather bewildered, and
during the first song, Humming Bird, I had the impression that he was
really leaning on the band; I felt a great sense of disappointment that I
had left it too late to see him live. However things got better, when he
launched into The Times They Are A-Changing he changed gear, and suddenly
seemed to be enjoying himself again. Desolation Row, and Girl of the North
Country, were rather nondescript, a bit of a blur. Like many of the older
songs, his voice can no longer follow the original melody, and the new
arrangements are all rather the same. By this time the sound crews seemed
to have sorted out the problems they were having at the beginning, during
the first two songs one of the guitarists was frantically signalling to
the guy doing the stage mix to change things, and Bobs voice mike sounded
really grungy. Lonesome Day Blues showed off the skill of the band, and
Bob was really jamming with the other guitarists, proving that he is still
a great showman, and a great musician. The remainder of the main set
followed much the same pattern, the songs when Bob played harmonica
bringing wild applause from the audience, the band always strong,
sometimes sounding a little like a heavy metal band, sometimes playing
melodic blues, always good but never up-staging him.  There was sometimes
be feeling that they were humouring him a bit though. There was never any
question that there would be an encore, and it was better than the main
set.  Like a Rolling Stone, and the final triumphant Blowin' in the Wind
were the highlights for me of the whole evening. The crowd tried hard to
get a second encore without success. I was glad I had gone, but I think if
I had paid 50 Euro for a ticket, I might not have been.

Ian Anderson

[TOP]

Review by James Strohecker



Quite frankly, and most surprisingly, this was one of
the better Dylan shows Iäve seen in the past year or
so -- rivaling Medford or even Schwabisch Gmund.  Bob
was on.  Larry was really on as were Charlie, Tony and
Georgio.  It was just a damn well-played and executed
show.  And suffice it to say that according to the
locals, the Bob Dylan and his band clearly eclipsed
any previous milestone of excellence that he`d
established in Hamburg.

The show was great -- getting there was another thing.
 Under the brisk, blue Hamburg sky, I finally found
der Sport Halle.  Not easy when most people here
struggle with English, if they know it at all, and
you're from California equally struggling to remember
the words from your grandparents, and high school and
college German courses that you slept through.  It
would've been a good Candid Camera -- picture this, a
California Dude in sunglasses and jean jacket and
fanny pack, asking directions from little old ladies! 
Pretty funny.  Finally a biker helped me out and gave
me perfect directions.  Thanks and a tip of the hat.

The Hamburg Sport Halle is some sort of athletic
facility nestled in a neighborhood and healthy grove
of trees-  A nice setting in the summer to gather for
a show;  in the cold wind of April, it was a little
tough standing around waiting outside.

Nonetheless, there was a lot more energy and
anticipation in the line and inside and outside the
Halle then the previous night.  Chalk it up to a
younger, more anxious and dedicated crowd.  And the
early birds knew what they wanted -- a place in front
of the stage.  Albeit when they crowded up to the
front, there was still over an hour before show time
so some of us sat down to wait . . . 

And again, it was worth the wait.  Bob and the boys
slipped onstage under the darkened house and stage
lights and cranked into a tasty rendition of
Hummingbird  (at 8:17 p.m.).  Hummingbird featured
some sharp finger and thumb picking by Larry that
would rival or better the best of any C&W guitarist in
the States.  Both Larry and Charlie added strong
harmony vocal back-up to Bob, making it both stunning
and clean.

As usual, the band immediately rolled into their
standard number two song, The Times They Are
A-Changin'.  Bob's voice was much stronger and less
rough than the night before and he added some
surprising, good late harp action which brought the
song out of the doldrums.  This was the only song all
night that dragged and the band just looked plain
bored during it.  

No worries, though, as they didn't miss a beat and
quickly launched into a lively and upbeat Desolation
Row that was more "tour mode," but still clean and
fresh sounding.  The band could`ve mailed this one in
and they didn't -- which was really the tone of the
evening:  they were there to play well and have fun
doing it.  Larry added some hot, sharp riffs and Bob
stepped up and gave the audience some ooh's and ah's
with a little Shaky Leg and picking of his own.

If you've ever wondered if Desolation Row is a tough
song, click over right now (in a new window) to
bobdylan.com and check out the lyrics.  Lots of words;
and Bob didn't miss a one.  

But now what, the crowd buzzed in anticipation -- and
they didn't disappoint as Bob stepped up and
harp-soloed the band into a soulful, well´wound Girl
From The North Country.  Sweet, Sweet, Sweet.

Next, the group launched into a lugubrious version of
Lonesome Day Blues -- gutsy and wicked.  Bob spat out
the words and Larry followed with a great pinky slide
guitar work that gave it a hot, nasty blues sound.  My
friend, M-2, didn't like this in Philly, but what he
heard and what we heard last night had to have been
two different sounds.  This is a hot song for this
band and included a tight finish, Strats-akimbo.

Floater was next -- upbeat and electric with some good
strumming by Charlie on his red Gibson and good
picking (no surprise all night) by Larry.  Not to be
outdone, Bob stepped up picked a bit as is his mettle.

OK, all a good, clean show so fat.  No real surprises,
right?  Wrong.  Bob led off with a wild, excited
version of Subterranean Homesick Blues that had all
the band members laughing and rocking throughout.  I
think they were as equally surprised as the audience
to see Bob actually played it, and their collective
fun just made it that much better.  Wowee!  Obviously,
the top song of the show.

A nice instrumental guitar lead-in to Standing in the
Doorway put the band back on even kilter and quieted
the audience down.  They were buzzing and fascinated
by what they'd seen and were intensely listening and
appreciative.  Standing was flowing and even with an
elevated tempo, and included Charlie and Bob going
toe-to-toe, with Larry close behind.

But it was just another sampling of a great,
well-played concert, as evidenced by the shifty-sweet
opening harp intro to Mama, You Been on My Mind.  Bob
really has turned up the song openings a notch with
his (new) harp intros;  they really have caught some
of the most hardened Dylan fans off guard and made
them smile.  A good thing.  I gave this my second pick
of the show.  It was just too good.

Next they launched into a strong, tight, well-sung A
Hard Rain's A-Gonna Fall that was just top drawer. 
Bob showed off a bit picking and moving around the
stage, and the band followed and climaxed the song
with an acoustic crescendo that really put the icing
on it.

Don't Think Twice, It's All Right paid the bills and
got the crowd into the the final song-quad before the
break.  No surprises, and enjoyable.  They followed
this with a good R&B version of Lovesick that was
highlighted by a tight Larry solo.  

The band followed Lovesick with a funny, fun,
rockabilly version of Summer Days (can this get any
better?) that was really a hoot.  Tony was reaching
down low on the bass and giving it a swivel as he
gigged with the guitarists. These guys are good and
they know it -- and tonight they collectively had fun
playing.

Drifter's Escape was rocking as usual, and
interestingly, Bob encouraged Charlie to add some solo
licks where normally he'd blow the harp.  Finally,
though, Bob grabbed a harp and brought the song to a
solid close in a way that left the audience stunned
and appreciative.  They followed this with the
predictable Leopard Skin Pill Box Hat and band intro
into the break.

Bob led the second set with a harp intro to Country
Pie, which completely changed this from the tired song
of last year into a revitalized stunner.  The song was
perky and infused with energy and led into the
standard-bearer, Like A Rolling Stone, which brought
the whole house to its feet, as usual.

Next, the team strummed into a really bright, saucy,
If Dogs Run Free.  The song was a nice slow down
segment, both well-picked and rich.  Larry sounded
more like Django in his playing than a great rock and
roller, but that's just another example of his
versatility.  And Bob's sultry voice echoed his words
around the arena much to the delight of the audience.

Larry was just ON tonight -- laughing and getting into
it with Charlie across the stage.  He's looking like a
cross between Frank Zappa and the U.S. speed skater,
Apolo Anton Ohno with the chin puff.  And when Bob
would face Charlie and go toe-to-toe, Larry would step
in close and close the circle.  Interesting.

The band finished strongly with a good Honest With Me,
where Tony stepped up the the front row with the boys
and went at it with a grin, and capped the night with
a captivating [sic] Blowin' In The Wind, that included
great harmony by Larrv and Charlie behind Bob's words.
 Almost chilling, and certainly a good topper on a
great show.

More to come in Germany, Italy and the UK.  Don't miss
this tour. There's something special about it.  Bring
a friend.  Aloha.


RANDOM NOTES ... Ran into Frederica, nee Freddie, the
Italian woman from Torino, Italy, who seems to follow
the band every time and every show they play in
Europe.  She's a nice, kindred soul and has earned a
place in the Dylan troupe -- you'd think they'd give
her a job, if nothing else than to escort some local
disadvantaged group to the show ... Crowd control
getting into the event was awful.  People were crushed
by the metal gates in front in the early squeeze. 
Learn from the concert master, Bill Graham, and take
care of security away from the gates so that people
don`t get hurt ... Hamburg's old train station is
gorgeous and you can see its spires from most places
around town ... 

[TOP]

Review by Reinald Purman


Hamburg is not a too bad place to start a rock-tour over Germany. I
learned in 2000 that the Hamburgians liked their honey sweet, e.g. the
electrified part of  that Mans oeuvre. This time a very modest security
and some 4 - 5000 people in a mixed crowd, but many from the generation of
our Man - to avoid that word "elder".- After some excerpts from the work
of Mr. Copland ( his "Fanfare" is well known to the friends of 
ice-dancing )  at 20.15 the usual announcement. Mr. Dylan in a
anthrazit/dark-blue suit, black shirt and hat, golden tie - and a real
moustache. His band all in dark-red ("burgundy") suits, Tony with a black
hat. - After the little known "Humming Bird", the man and his band shows
their abilities witrh "Times". A first high-light was "Desolation Row",
appreciated by the aufdience.  "Girl f.N.C..." followed, Mr. D. on harp
and swinging his legs. After that the first song from L&T, the "Lonesome
Day Blues"with the appropriate phrase - "I wanna speak to the KRAUTS", who
were thios night happy for that. Dylan in a very clear, energetic voice
for all the show. Very concentrated to each song. The next high-light,
"Subterranean H.B." was very well received. We all remembered the young
man from "Don`t look back". The range in his songs, from the Sixties up to
L&T is astonishing and full of real power.  "Doorway" was great, "Mama"
was soft and with a nice harp. The audience goes crazy then for the words
" my blue eyed son ..." and "Hard Rain" was the real high-light of the
show. Incredibel version.   "Don`t think twice", very tender, very wise,
yes - it is o.k. (now). At the end he turns to Mr. Racalli, "one flick
from his wrist" (better: a look) and the fantastic weaving, jamming,
mäandering of the guitars around that simple tune came to an exact and
perfect close. Love Sick was very tense, Dylan and Saxton guitar-duelling.
You can feel the emotion in his words and the intense impressing, not
only, but special in this song. "Summer Days" was very well received from
the audience, rocking, steaming, full of power. What energy this four
guitars and a drummer can produce to fill a big Arena ! Dylan smiles,
nearly laughs to this. High-Light ! - Drifters Escape and "Leopard
S.P.B.H" followed. Dylan gave his old love & hate song a very fresh,
emotionally impact. The band intros were the only words he spoke to the
Krauts and in the (more standard) encore added with Country Pie and "If
Dogs..." another colour to this picture. In this part was LARS a real
high-light, the audience roaring and very enthusiastic. Honest With Me was
accompanied with some lighting-effects and work with the curtain - this is
maybe the "show-portion" from the posters. "Blowin" with some very good
harp-work closed the show shortly after 22.30 h. They stood in the line
than, Dylan touched the brim of his head and - for the split of a moment -
felt down to one knee in a silent greeting to his audience.  The audience
was very happy and hoped for more - but the travellin men had gone.

R.Purmann     

[TOP]

Review by Sven Lewandowski



Bob Dylan at Hamburg (Alsterdorfer Sporthalle) April 9, 2002
What a terrbile defeat ! It was really bitter to eye-witness thin
man´sÝtriumph (see:  http://pool.dylantree.com/ - but congratulations
anyway !). Having been to California in October I didn´t expect to hear
any songs I haven´t heard before on this tour. At least the winter tour
2002 wasn´t very promissing and I was thinking about skipping my UK Tour.
But as I read in the reviews on to first shows in Europe I recognized a
kind of change. There seemed to be reheasals and few ìnewî songs. But
still my expectations were not very high. Dylan´s last shows in Hamburg
(1996, 1998, 2000) all turned out to be rather substandard, especially in
the beginning. But now it was the other way round. Right from the
beginning he sounded concentrated und fit. They started with Humming Bird
and I enjoyed the song very much - maybe because it was the only one of
his opener I haven´t be treated with before (my trip to California made me
find out what humming birds are, but I had to stand Wait For The Light To
Shine every night). The Times They Are A-Changin´ wasn´t as bad as it used
to be, but nothing special to me. But to be honest: the song sounded a
littel be refreshed - thanks to Larry for fine cittern playing. Desolation
Row was sung with affection and concentration and was higly enjoyable.
Girl From The North Country opend with a harp solo and closed the first
acocustic set. Throughout the whole first acoustic set Dylan was
concentrated and I think the whole band delivered fine performances. But I
was rather looking forward to the electric songsÖ The electric set began
with a hard rocking version of Lonesome Day Blues. Although I was
distracted by some problems in the audience, I enjoyed the performance
very much and during the song I decided to fly to the UK (after having
heard some newer bootlegs I decided to make my final decision on the UK
after the show in Hamburg) Floater followed and it was enjoyable -
although I don´t really love that tune. I wasn´t able to recognize the
next song instantly. So I thought it might be Solid Rock - being the only
song he performed that I haven´t heard in concert before. Then Dylan sung
the first lines and I wondered what the hellÖ It soon became clear that it
wasn´t Solid Rock, but what else ? ìThe man in the trenchcoatÖÝî Oh, my
god - can this be true ? Subterranean Homesick Blues - it was
unbelievable. But to be honest once again: The fact that Dylan performed
this song was the highlight of the show, but not the performance itself.
The music was good but not as fast as it used to be. And the song has
definitely to be rehearsed some more times. Especially Dylans phrasing was
not always perfect and sometimes he didn´t really sing to the microphone.
But - hey - nobody in the band except for Dylan and Tony has ever
performed this song on stage beforeÝ! It was surely a surprise and
immediately after I recognised the song I had to think about my special
friend thin man - knowing that did chose Subterranean Homesick Blues while
I ìvotedî for Idiot Wind. I once told him it was a battle of the
uncorretable idiotsÖ But shit - he´s surely going to win the pool Standing
In The Doorway followed and meant another 10 points for thin manÖ But the
performance was really good and so we got an electric set that featured
three songs in a row that I haven´t heard live before. I wonder when that
happend last timeÖ If Dylan had left the stage right after Standing In The
Doorway the concert could have been a very good one. But as he contunuied
it became only a good one. The songs featured in the second acoustic set
were well done but nothing special, altought Mama You Been On My Mind
featured some more good guitar work provided by Larry. As kind of surprise
Love Sick opened the second electric set. It´s been the first time I heard
it not being on of the encores. The performance was very good and Dylan
seemed to be in the song. At least his phrasing was good, which can´t be
said on the way he treated Summer Days. The music was great and especially
the longer intrumental part of the song was impressive. But Dylan´s voice
once again lacked of the agressivness that´s necessary for Summer Days.
Drifter´s Escape and Leopard-Skin Pill-Box Hat followed. Nothing special,
rather (well done) business as usual. The encores began with Country Pie,
which featured a very nice harp intro but then became a substandard
performance. Charlie´s riffs as well as his solo were completly missing.
There´s nothing to be said on Like A Rolling Stone exept that the
songsneeds a rest. The performance was just weak. If Dogs Run Free was
neither good nor bad. Honest With Me made the same problem obvious as
Summer Days: Dylan´s voice sometimes lacks of agressivness. Blowin´ In The
Wind closed the show (nothing to be said about it, too). So all in all we
got a show that was very good through out the first half, good during the
rest of the main set and with rather boring encores. And not to forget
Subterranean Homesick Blues which proofed that there´s still something
going on in Dylan´s shows.

See you in Hannover

Sven

coments are welcome: Sven.Lewandowski@stud.uni-hannover.de    

[TOP]

Review by Carsten Wohlfeld



In the end, Bob Dylan was stronger. Last year I had intended to see five
shows on Bob's European tour in the summer, but I decided to give the last
two a miss. Simply because I figured that actually travelling with one of
my favourite artists (that would be Ken Stringfellow, whose recent album
"Touched" you should by immediately!), having the chance to hang out at
the soundcheck, request songs etc. was more fun than just seeing Bob for
the umpteenth time, never being able to actually meet him, never having
the chance to even think about requesting songs etc. So when the 2002 Euro
dates were announced, I thought it would be more than easy for me to stay
away from the Bob shows, even though I had been to most of his German
shows since 1996. Not least since Ken Stringfellow had played some quite
staggering shows in Europe just last week.



So I had only plans to attend four Bob shows,starting in Frankfurt next
week, but when I saw the Scandinavian setlists with stuff like "Solid
Rock" and "Constant Sorrow", I just couldn't resist! So I made the four
hour train journey to Hamburg, only arriving half an hour before the show,
leaving five minutes after the last chord. In an ideal world, Bob would've
played three songs "for me": The aforementioned two plus my alltime
favourite "All Along The Watchtower". He didn't do any of them, yet I have
to say that this show was probably the overall most enjoyable Bob gig I've
seen in five years (and as some of you know, I've been to quite a few).



Why? Well, mostly because there where so many new and exciting things.
Being busy with my graduation, I hadn't been able to follow the review and
bootleg scene as usual, so I was pretty surprised to see so many changes
even in the set-up. First of all, there were cardboard posters for the
show on sale at the merch table, a first in Europe. There was also a huge
backdrop behind the instruments (the "eye" logo) that was new to me as
well. I hadn't seen the by now entirely computerized light show either (it
was fab!) and the way they set up the amps on stage now comes closer to
having a preplanned "stage deco" than it did for at least 15 years. There
was also no incense (at least as far as I could see / smell), so that was
unusual too - for me anyway. The Oscar trophy was still sitting on Bob's
amp, good to see not everything changed, then!



The five of them took to the stage at 8.20pm - and there was yet another
surprise, as they all wore matching purple suits. And they were custom
made too, so each band member still sticks to his individual clothing
style. Pretty funky indeed. Tony, Larry and newbie George (who looks very
much like Tony's twin even without the suit) also had matching outlaw
mustaches, how cool is that? J They started with the song I had hoped
would be the opner, a first for me:



                Hummingbird (acoustic)



Actually Larry was playing an electric Fender, giving it a very Johnny
Cash/countryish feel with some stunning finger ficking. I loved the way
Charlie and Larry sang almost the entire song with Bob. Bob himself was in
surprisingly good form (for a first song anyway), he seemed to be very
alert and pretty much into it from the start. Great stuff!



                The Times They Are A-Changin' (acoustic)



Surprisgly good as well. As far as I recall Bob didn't stumble over any
lines this time, unlike last year, and he closed the song with a long harp
solo as well. He actually picked up the wrong harp first, so there was a
big gap between hislastline and the start of the harmonica solo. You could
tell that he wanted to try something different with the solo, and it was
pretty good, nowhere near as tuneful as his mid-90s stuff, buta lot better
than his alibi soloing from a couple of years ago.



                Desolation Row (acoustic)



Wow! The best version I've ever heard! Geoge played bongos during the
intro (his drumming skills were used to great effect on this number!) and
when the song took off, it was just magic. I think Bob sang a few
not-so-common verses as well and he really put a lot into the phrasing
which matched quite perfectly with the reworked arrangement.



                Girl Of The North Country (acoustic)



Started with Bob's harp solo and there was a strange pattern about the
opening solos. Bob would pick up a harp, do the solo, then try to put it
into his (too tight) pants, thus missing his guitar intro, then looking
confused, thus missing the first line of the song. He would also try to
stuff the harp deeper into his pocket after the first verse (this happened
during all three harp solos that started off the songs in Hamburg.very
weird and something that potentially ruins the song - more later). Even
though he did miss the first line of the song, it was a sweet and tender
rendition, a perfect close to a very, very good first acoustic set.
Haven't seen Bob so concentrated in a while and the band did a great job
as well.



                Lonesome Day Blues



It was on this rocking blues, that I finally noticed what was different:
It' s the dynamics within the band. I don't know if this is due to George
(who seemed to have fun thought the show, pulling faces and doing funny
stuff throughout the night), but I don't recall a show where Bob was so
totally in charge, yet the band had a great time too. Usually when Bob's
really in charge, there's kind of a tense atmosphere on stage, but tonight
it was very loose, all four musicians were smiling a lot and Charlie even
found the time to hit George's cymbals with his hands  inbetwen lines on
this song!



                Floater



I really missed the fiddle on this one. The song had the same loung feel
to it that we first heard on a Bob stage when he introduced "If Dogs Run
Free" to the set in late 2000, but some element was missing and it most
definitely was the fiddle. What followed was both a treat and a shock. The
band started the next song and for a second it sounded as if they were
gonna do "Solid Rock" - VERY badly. "Oh no", Iwas thinking to myself,
"after such a great start they are gonna ruin it now", but then Bob
stepped up to the micophone and the first words out of his mouth where
"Johnny's in the basement, mixing up the medicine!" - Blimey, it's



                Subterrean Homesick Blues



For the first time in eleven years! Themother of all list songs! So how
was it I hear you ask? Well, it was stunning to see Bob sing/rap
thelyrics, but the band didn't seem to know what the hell they were doing.
The arrangement pretty much sucked and I would think they either gonna
work on it some more or drop the song again. Bob looked as if he couldn't
believe that he was doing the song either and he actually tried to step
away from the mic after what would've been a "regular" line, before
noticing that he song actually went on without a pause!



                Standing In The Doorway



Was quite stunning. Long intro, very thoughfully reworked arrangement,
great sining from Bob. It featured the line "swallowing my pain" - is that
a new addition? Gotta check back with the recordings, I guess. I don't
think it was a great choice for the crowd (who didn't seem to know the
song), but I thought it was one of the best songs of the night, very
subtle, very beautiful. Back to the acoustics with



                Mama You Been On My Mind (acoustic)



Larry started the song with the familiar riff while Bob was still trying
to figure out which harp to use for the opening solo. As Bob was nowhere
near the mic when he was supposed to start playing, Larry improvised a bit
and played something that sounded very much unlike "Mama", but pretty cool
nevertheless. So Bob finally played the harp solo, did his "and now I'm
trying to put away the harp" ritual, failed miserably and actually started
the song with what sounded remarkable like "this is a godawful song".
Maybe he said (directed at Larry) "Why don't you just play the godawful
song") maybe I completely misheard it, but something was different.
Turnned out to be the low point of the night, George's drumming was very
substandard too and it wasn't very surprising that it ended rather quickly
without much soloing.



                It's A Hard Rain A-Gonna Fall (acoustic)



Standardversion, Bob was playing around with the phrasing quiet a bit,
without actually finding a way of doing the chorus that satisfied him
100%. I've certainly heard versions a lot worse, but this didn't do much
for me either. There was a nice crescendo at the end, but nothing that  I
would lose my sleep over.



                Don't Think Twice (acoustic)



Nice, without being special. Same as it ever was basically, with some fine
fingerpicking by Larry.



                Lovesick



Was an interesting choice, George's drumpart is considerably different to
David's and that gave the song a different feel. After having heard the
amazing White Stripes cover this tune last year, I kinda missed their
aggression in Bob's version, but it's still a highlight every time he
plays it. Nice light show (the band as giant shadows) as well.



               Summer Days



One of the high points of the night. Charlie completely switched to
Rockabilly mode and if I wouldn't know better I would've thought the guy
plays lead in a rockabilly outfit since the 50s. He's absolute
incredible!!! There was a lot of jamming at the end, triple guitar solos
and all! I don't dig rockabilly, but this was G.R.E.A.T.!



                Drifter's Escape



Extended version of the regular thundering arrangement. Before the
standard closing harp solo, there was an extra guitar break and a lot of
soloing from Charlie (and Bob). George liked to play this song a lot!



                Leopard Skin Pillbox Hat



Even with the new drummer it sounds the same. So the highlight for me was
that a very cute american girl walking past me (her boyfriend in tow) the
very second Bob reached the "new boyfriend/never seen him before" part. He
introcuded the band at the end of the song, saying "On steel guitar- Larry
Campbell", shortly afterwards he noticed that Larry hadn't actually been
even close to playing the (pedal) steel, so Bob turned to Larry (off mic),
said something and they both laughed. After the song there was the
formation and after about 100 minutes the main set was over.



                (encore)

                Country Pie



Started off with a lengthy harp solo, which obviously was fun (change is
always good), but you couldn't help thinking that it was kinda out of
place. The puzzled looks on Charlie's and Larry's faces seem to suggest
that they though the  same.



                Like A Rolling Stone



Standard, still connecting to the crowd like no other song.



                If Dogs Run Free (acoustic)



Bob went back to George said something and than bursted out laughing
halfway during the song. Apart from that you couldn't help thinking that
we don't need to hear the song in a set that included the similar
"Floater" already.


                Honest With Me



Most rocking song of the night, with some great slide guitar courtesy of
Larry. Even though he's clearly not lead guitarist anymore, it was good to
see how he's always keeping eye contact with Charlie, really trying to
fill out and complementing his "rival's" great soloing. Bob was way into
it as well and this song certainly deserves its place as the last electric
number in the set.


                Blowin' In the Wind (acoustic)



Again starting off with a hamonica solo, ending with a new harmony at the
end - apart from that just as you would expect it! Since there was such a
loose atmosphere on stage, I had hoped they would return for "Watchtower",
but they didn't. After all, they had delivered a great solid 2:15 hour
show already!



If the rest of the shows are as good as this one, make sure you don't miss
this tour! Oh btw, if there's anybody out there, who can give me a lift
back from hannover to the Ruhrgebiet area on Saturday, please get in touch
(mail@carstenwohlfeld.de). See ya next time!


Carsten Wohlfeld

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page by Bill Pagel
billp61@execpc.com

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