Reviews

My third Dylan show was excellent, having seen him last in '99.  I hadnt't
seen Bob since he started including these old cover tunes.  Me and three
buddies zipped down I-57 from Marion, IL to Cape in good time and were in
our seats by 7:10.  Kevin and I were impressed with the coziness of the
Show Me center and the good reserve seats we had. The crowd was a mix of
old fogies, stoners ,young kids, and average guys like us.  At 7:30, the
lights dimmed and I recognized the first few notes to one of my favorite
covers, "Oh Babe It Ain't no lie".  Thank goodness for Bootlegs or I
wouldn't have known a lot of these new songs or arrangements.  Larry
played excellent mandolin on a solid version of "To Ramona" on the next
one.  Next was a kickin' version of It's alright Ma, but Dylan forgot the
words momentarily, stepped back and regrouped ,and finished the song on an
upbeat note.  The place was about full by now, and the somewhat lackluster
crowd finally started making some noise.  Bob and the band rocked their
first electric number -"Most Likely you'll go your way and I'll go
mine"-not one of my favorites- but nevertheless a solid performance.  Bob
did a decent harp solo at the end of this one, and didn't drag it out
long.  Next, was a song I didnt't pick up on right away, but soon realized
it was" In the Garden " off of the Saved album. I hadn't seen where Bob
had been performing this one recently.The song was great, it was truly an
obscure gem pulled out of the vaults of Bob.  The next one threw me for a
loop also.  It was "To Be Alone With You", off of Nashville Skyline. 
Needless to say I didn't recognize the rockin' arrangement , and it turned
out to be an excellent version, much better than the CD.  Kevin and I
rested our feet on the next one- a solid version "a Hard rain is gonna
fall".  I like the song but we had been standing all along and sat down
for a few minutes.  The crowd seemed relieved that they finally knew one
and sang along a little bit.  Next was the obligatory "Tangled up in Blue"
which Dylan has done every time I've seen him.They did a long version of
it with Bob getting several of those 4 note solos in.  Then he broke out
the harp for a particularlly lame and drawn out solo at the end. We were
amazed at how people go crazy when Bob breaks out the harp, it must have
some nostalgia value to it or something.  From my bootlegs, I recognized
the next one "Searching for a Soldiers Grave".  The harmonies were
excellent, and it is a shame that this song is so brief. One that I had
hoped to hear, "Maggies Farm" was next. He did the version where he said,
"I aint' gonna work on Maggie's Farm noooooooo more. Bob couldn't have
done this one better.  Next was "Cold Irons Bound" and it seemed like the
volume in the place went up alot.  Maybe it was the thundering Bass and
drum parts in this song. Bob has tinkered with the opening of this song
since I saw it last, but still a great song and they really jammed on it
closing out the set.  After the standard leaving of the stage, the band
and Bob returned with a stellar performance of"Leopard Skin Pill Box
Hat".This one was probably the highlight of the night for me, they went on
and on. Bob did his"guitar dance" on this one,swinging that knee out.He
also played like he was shooting a shotgun, and did his "puppet dance" on
his harp solos tonight.Bob is the only one able to get away with this
stuff. Bob did his band intro , his only words of the night."Some ot the
best players in the land."  Oscar winner "Things have changed" was next. A
solid performance.  Crowd favorite "Like a Rolling Stone was next, as the
lights scanned the crowd, they really got into this one.  "If dogs run
free" was next, and was as good as advertised.  The jazzy sound was a nice
change from the rock numbers.  "Watchtower" followed, an excellent job on
one of my favorites.  "Forever Young",  featured the beautiful harmonies
of Charlie and Larry. I really like this song now.  Bob and the band then
burned on Highway 61, my alltime favorite , doing a good 6 minute
version.. By this time I knew the end was near.  The acoustic "Blowin in
the Wind was the final number, another excellent performance. They stood
on the stage again, Bob seemed to be summing up the crowd (pretty
lackluster all night) and dissappeared backstage again. Momentarily I
thought we were going to get another one but the crowd was too quiet.I
guess everybody forgot their lighters!  In summ, this was another great
concert by Bob Dylan.His ability to change his songs around and do
alternate versions make every show exciting. 
         Kendall Johnson
          Apr 26, 2001
          Marion, IL

Bob Comes through Again
By Dave Moyer

I believe I created a monster.  When I invited my friend, a high school 
principal at the school where I am the AD, to a couple Bob Dylan concerts 
over the past year, who'd of thought it would be his idea to take a half a 
personal day from work, drive over six hours from suburban Chicago to Cape 
Girardeau, MO, drive back the same night, arrive back at the school at 
4:50 a.m. the next morning, catch an hour and a half of sleep on the floor, 
and jump right back in the saddle for another day at school?

We are the only sane people I know, because all I have to say is what a 
hell of an idea it was!

We sat next to some people who saw Bob in 1966 and recently several times, 
including the show in Colorado.  They clued us in on a couple things, such 
as how Larry Campbell now has a mustache, how he and Charlie Sexton have 
switched places, and most importantly, that Tangled Up in Blue, which has 
moved down a couple slots on the play list has renewed life.  Right on 
here-Bob and Company cranked out a fine version, with, to the delight of 
everyone there, a dynamite harp solo to close it out.

We sensed we were in for a treat when they plugged in early on song four, 
Most Likely You Go Your Way (And I'll Go Mine), and Bob pulled out the harp 
for the first time, bringing the house to its feet.  This rocked hard and 
was quite fun.  Make no mistake about it, this band is top notch.  While 
Campbell typically garners a lot of praise on these pages, let's not forget 
how essential Tony Garnier is on bass to the whole ensemble and how Sexton 
can really play it.

The highlight for me was a blistering version of Highway 61 for the second 
to last song of the evening.  We had hoped for 20 or 21 songs, but on the 
third show in as many nights, we had to settle for 19.  We had speculated 
as to how his voice would hold up-no problems here.  We were in the 19th 
row on the floor, and he came through very well and appeared energetic and 
into most numbers  (the binoculars of our experienced Bob- goers to our 
right proved invaluable-thanks a lot).

Other highlights included one of the better Like a Rolling Stone's I've 
heard in a while, a very heartfelt Hard Rain, a fine Things Have Changed, 
and some well-done standards such as All Along the Watchtower and Forever 
Young in the encore set.  It's Alright Ma (I'm Only Bleeding) was also a 
treat.

It's pretty hard not to comment on the girl two rows in front of us wearing 
a leopard skin pillbox hat!  It's probably not too hard to guess what her 
favorite number of the night was.  What fun.  And what a shame there were 
some empty seats.  There are a lot of people in Southeast Missouri who 
missed a legend thrill a very receptive and generally older crowd.  I 
sometimes think God gives us people like Bob, who have a status somewhere 
in between us mortals and the heavens, to let us know not to get too shook 
up when things aren't just right--to let us know all's well with the world 
and everything's gonna be OK.  Happy 60th Bob.  Keep on keepin' on.

Bob came out a few minuites before the scheduled ticket time of 7:30 PM
taking the stage while classical music played loudly.  Bob was wearing a
black coat, black pants with the white piping down the leg, and a black
buddy holly-style tie.  I was on the main floor, too low to see his shoes.
 Charlie was wearing a grey suit, black shirt, Larry had a black coat with
a blue shirt underneath, Tony wore a black jacket with very widely spaced
pin stripes, black pants, black tshir, and his ususal black fedora hat. 
Kemper was as ususal, hard to see behind the drums, but seemed to be
wearing the same black beret cap he's worn all week.

The Show-Me center's floor was solid concrete, very tiring to stand on for
a long time, and its ceiling was all metal, with gridwork hanging below it
for rigging, a very reflective room.  The seating on the floor was fairly
full, but there were empty seats, the uper sections were less full than
that.  People kept coming up to stand in the center aisle, but they were
told to find a seat and stay out of the walkway.  Other details of the
setup were the PA system, which in Columbia MO the previous evening had
been comprised of left, center, and right-side hangs, the Cape Girardeau
show had only the left and right line arrays, augmented again by the small
trapezoid cabinets flown out to the side to cover a wider area.  The first
few rows in front of the stage were filled in by small trapezoidal
cabinets facing the center.

Now, my comments: I took notes during the show, so this is not from
memory, but from those notes.  I also saw the Lincoln and Columbia
shows, so my opinions will be colored by the other shows I saw this
week.
1-2-3 Ain't no lie- Ramona- Bleeding  - LC on the mandolin for Ramona,
again the second song: "Two- Ramona."  For the Bleeding, Kemper used
brushes on the drums, Tony bowed his upright bass, and CS played the
guitar with the metal resonator on the front.  This is a guitar, it is not
a dobro, Charlie does not play a dobro with Bob, never has.  He uses a
capo for some songs, but not a slide, and he does not play it sideways,
like a pedal stel or a dobro, I wish everyone would stop referring to this
axe as a dobro.  Bleeding was great, but at one point Bob approached the
mic for a verse, sang half of a word, then backed off for another round of
guitars before actually singing it.  This was the only thing like a
mistake I noticed all evening.

Now electric: Most Likely UGYW & IGM Bob played a yellow stratocaster,
Larry the cream-colored telecaster, Charlie also on the tele, his was the
Checkered one with the black pickguard.  Tony got out the red 4-string
Lakland bass, he didn't use the 5-string in any of the three shows I saw
this week.  Bob finished the most Likely with a ripping harmonica solo,
holding the guitar in his right hand, and playing harp with his left.

5th we heard a nice rare one, which I had been confouned by at my first
Dylan show, but recognized easily here- In the Garden.  Larry sat down at
the Zumsteel, Charlie used his sunburst-colored strat, bob stuck with his
yellow one.  The chord progression of In the Garden is very strange and
distinctive, and fits perfectly with the way Bob solos currently.  A real
treat to hear, and friend told me that the song took her out of her body
at this show!  Powerful stuff, and had only been played once in the last
year or more. . .last fall some time. ..  (ann arbor?)

In the 6 spot, Larry got his fiddle working and Bob danced and smiled
during To Be Alone With You.

Number seven (7) was Hard Rain!  Charlie on the Red Gibson Acoustic
Always great to hear. . . A white curtain was lowered behind the
performers at this point, and it looked very different fron the austrian
curtains they had last year, which was curved in a scalloped pattern. This
white one hangs like drapes, but has a part in the center, and gives a
very dramatic vertical-sweeping effect when it's lit from the sides.  Bob
executed some good footwork during his guitar solo here.

8-TUIB- gotta expect to see this, even if he does skip it occasionally! A
Nice harp solo was the high-point of this version, with bob holding his
acoustic guitar in his right hand, then slinging it behind his back for
the ending of the solo, when he used his right hand as if to balance
himself like a surfer- (the reviewer for the cape paper also noticed this
surfer move)  Bob was doing his knee-bending dance, and played the harp
softly and sweetly, before stretching the notes into a long legato style
at the end.

9-Searching for A Soldier's Grave- LC on the mandolin, nice vocal
harmonies.

10- Maggiez Farm. .. Charlie with the Checkered tele again, larry on the
cream-colored one. . .Bob electric with what would appear to be his new
favorite axe. . .the yellow strat. . . pale, not bright yellow. ..

11-Cold Irons Bound. . . I never noticed last summer and fall, but now
tony plays tambourine on this song- shaking it during the start of each
verse, the tapping it for the later parts, and setting it down only after
the singing stops, so he can kick in the big bass sound for the jams. . .
Great sparse arrangement, highlighting David's Kick Drum. Big, bassy and
solid- Pablo Wheeler is a very good sound engineer. (Bob's Front-of-house
mixer) Giant shadows from the footlights played on the backdrop, making
the band appear as supersize sillouettes.

12- LSPBH- that Ol' Box hat. . . Bob makes it sound fresh each time,
even three nights in a row with the band introduction!  Tony picked up his
tabourine and shook it when bob introduced him on the bass!!  each member
gets to take a lick, charlie goes first, the david, larry and tony. . .
charlie using his guitar like a gun or a pointer to aim at the soloist. .
. end of the set, crowd responds appropriately. . .for "some of the finest
players in the land" Bob on yellow strat, LC and CS on the sunburst strats
for a three-strat attack. . .


encore set:

13- The curtain was drawn farther up each side of the stage to reveal the
flat screen in the back, but the curtain remained across the top, forming
a tent-like look, or a frame for the stage.  During the first encore, THC,
Deep Red light was projected on the backdrop.  Charlie on Cream tele with
a checkered pickguard, LC on sunburst strat, Bob on the yellow one. . .

14- LARS- distorted grid-like rotating yellow and blue gobos were
projected on the flat screen behind the band. . . LC- Sunburst
Telecaster for this song, Charlie and Bob keeping the same guitars as the
song before (if I don't note a different axe, you can assume that the
players didn't switch. . . I only note the changes for simplicity- well, I
try. . .for simplicity that is. . . einstein said "everythiong should be
made as simple as possible, but NOT SIMPLER" [caps mine])

15-Dogs Run Free. . .CS on the Red Gibson Acoustic, Larry- Cream tele. ..
Bob Acoustic. . .(he plays a sumburst- Gibson ??) Brilliant medium- blue
lights on the backdrop.  Tony played upright bass, which was carried off
the stage as soon as the tune was complete.

16-Watchtower. . . Larry standing at his yellow pedal steel apparatus. .
.CS- Cream colored strat with checked pickguard, capoed at the second fret
I think. . . yeah, a strat.  He used it to nice effect on the solo, then
on the line "wind began to howl" Pablo put a big tight delay on Bob's
voice, making it seem extra-huge!

17- the acoustic encore: Forever young. . . CS- Red Gibson, TG- acoustic
four-string fretted hollowbody bass guitar.  Easier to get off the stage
near the end of the show then the upright. . .

18- HWY 61 revisited/- CS on the blue-green tele with the pearl
pickguard. . . ripping a nice hole in the air with his soloing, LC on a
cream-colored tele. . . Green light on the backdrop here. . .

19- Blowing ITW. . . CS red gibson, TG- acoustic 4 string again, bob
acsoutic too. . .Larry's acoustic I would guess is a martin. . . big and
light-colored. . .

that's the tech-talk for the show, So long for now, I'll be back on tour
for the big street parties next weekend. . . Atlanta, Nashville (skyline)
and Memphis (Blues again)

later!!
-tom

My internet access has been down since the
show in Cape Girardeau , Missouri but I
wanted to do a quick review.  I have been
a Dylan friend ( I feel) since about 1972.  In
78 a friend and I started to follow him around,
going backstage, meeting Bob and band on
many occasions.  There was a time when he
knew me by name but unfortunately things
have changed and I am 44 now...Oh well...
I wore a white Stetson hat to the April 25
show and sat in the third row dead center.
I had a feeling Bob would see me and I
have to say that I think a song was mine.
When he played Most Likely.......I felt he
locked eyes with me again, I thought that
he acknowledged my tip of the hat and I
truly believe that he did.  It is weird but I
think we have a strange connection.  It is
sad that things are so weird and he has to
be so afraid of his fans.  I long to see him
again.

Julie Morrill 
Murphysboro, Illinois