Review by Luke Copeland
I attended the Dylan show in Winston-Salem Friday night. For those of you
who weren't there, which is almost all of you, you missed a great show.
I've seen Bob ten times now, the first being in 1978, and his voice was
better than I've heard this decade. I may have heard a little bit of up
singing on *Like A Rolling Stone*, but only for a moment. He was really
putting a lot of emotion into the lyrics. Great phrasings and pauses. I
was pretty close and it looked to me like Bob was having a good time. As
God is my witness I saw him smiling on several occasions. Maybe it was
just gas. The crowd was sparse Friday night, but hey, that much more Bob
for the rest of us, right? I've attended Dylan shows over the years with
college buddies, my wife, my girl friend (yeah, in that order), but this
time I took my ten year old daughter. I was really proud of how she
enjoyed the whole spirit of the event. And the minor league ball park idea
remains to be pure genius in my opinion. The fans were allowed to
congregate right in front of the stage in a festival style I haven't
enjoyed since before the tragic stampede at The Who show in Cincinnati in
1979 (or 1980?).
My favorite songs of the night were *Just Like A Woman*, *Shelter From The
Storm, Highway 61, Summer Days, A Hard Rain *and the two encores. I don't
recall ever seeing Tony Garnier as animated as he was Friday night on
*Summer Days. *At times his upright bass was tilted at a 45 degree angle
from the stage floor while he was boogying to the beat. I even think he
spun it around a time or two. The whole band was really on fire. Donnie
Herron on pedal steel, lap steel, and electric mandolin is in my opinion
the best secret ingredient to the band since G. E. Smith. I even heard Stu
Kimball on rhythm guitar pretty high in the mix and it was a nice touch,
especially on *Shelter From The Storm*. And since when have the band all
worn the same shirt? This was a nice touch. And three of them were all
wearing the same flat black hat. Sort of reminds me of a traveling lounge
lizard act, and a damn good one at that. Bob wore his black cowboy hat,
white sequined dinner jacket, and black trousers with a white stripe down
the side. Visually and musically, this was an entertaining show. I'm glad
I could share it with someone I love.
Review by Jesse Jones
It was a beautiful evening in Winston-Salem. Children played, young
people partied, and us old folks enjoyed another fine concert.
Elena James, starting exactly at 6:30, revealed a smoky voice to
match her incredible fiddle playing, and her singing fit the music
perfectly. She did Guthrie's "Oklahoma Hills," some of her own
compositions (from her new CD, which is great), and closed with a rousing
"Orange Blossom Special." The only problem with her set was that it was
too short.
Junior Brown followed. His technique on his combination guitar and
peddle steel was dazzling, but the band, an electric bass and a snare
drum, were boring, as was his singing and the presentation. His set was
too long.
Jimmy Vaughn followed - lots of great blues licks, an enjoyable set -
it was just right.
Dylan started promptly at nine and played a great set. His singing
was melodic, focused, and creative. The new version of "Shelter from the
Storm" was a thrill, and he did great versions of "Most Likely You'll Go
Your Way and I'll Go Mine," "Boots of Spanish Leather," and "A Hard Rain's
A-Gonna Fall." "It's Alright, Ma (I'm Only Bleeding)" was another
highlight for me.
Dylan and his band played the set fresh and engaged, as if he were not
about to release his first album in 5 years. It was a splendid night!
Jesse Jones
Huntersville, NC
Review by Reid Evans
Just got back from Winston-Salem, figure I would share some thoughts
before I hit the sack.
I got into town at about 8:15, and despite my best efforts to miss the
entire opening portion of the show, I could still hear Jimmie Vaughn playing
as I was parking. He was doing the exact same set as last night. I'm glad
neither of my siblings are famous.
He finally put it down around 8:30, and they started to set up for Bob. I
found a nice little seat behind the 3rd base dugout and settled in. Tonight
the stage was setup in the outfield of this 50 year old relic. It was probably
the least aesthetically pleasing of the seven of these ballpark shows I have
seen, second perhaps to Greenville, SC last year.
About twenty minutes later Bob and the boys came out, wearing what I
call their bib uniforms (that's what those shirts look like). They opened
with No Time To Think, from Street Legal. It was an okay version. Donnie
substituted his pedal playing to make up for the horn work o the album
version.
I'm screwing with you. The opener has become just as predictable as the
encores. It was Maggie's Farm: pretty good rendering of the overworked
classic.
The Times They Are A Changin: Was not as crisp as last night, but the
Harmonica playing was superb. Also, Denny's style of play fits this
arrangement perfectly.
Lonesome Day Blues: In this case Bob's voice fits this key perfectly.
Most Likely You'll Go Your Way (And I'll Go Mine): This was a highlight of
the night, a different arrangement, played I believe, in a minor key. It
was a softer version than what was a staple last year. This version was
not as riff driven as last years. Bob sang the piss out of this one.
Boots Of Spanish Leather: The slightly altered intro threw me off for a
second. Well sung, with an absolutely stunning harp solo to finish it off.
It's Alright, Ma (I'm Only Bleeding): Another highlight for me, this
arrangement was a litle different than it was in the spring, like Most
Likely, it was softer. Bob sang it softly, with some really good phrasing.
There were no manic violin fills from Donnie though he did play it. Bob
ended it differently too, instead of the usual, "it's life and life
ohn-leeeeeeee with the nasally high pitched effect, we got a much
darker and much lower (thing of the "down sing" on She Belongs To
Me from the spring) "it's life and life own-layyyyyy.
Shelter From The Storm: A good version, again slightly different from
last year. Not so much in form as much as in instrumentation, mainly
from Stu picking as opposed to strumming. I thought it was a good
choice, a pretty hope filled song to follow up an anthem to life's
uncertainties.
Highway 61 Revisited: It was okay, Denny did some interesting guitar
work.
Just Like A Woman: Crowd favorite. Nice though. I always wonder
why the Europeans sing along to the song like a choir, and it never
happens here. I'd be mortified if it happened though.
Honest With Me: This one kind of limped out of the gate, missing an
early turn around. It was just very vanilla, I think is the nicest way to
put it. I remember hearing this in 2004 and it was such a high energy
song. To be brutally honest with you, no pun intended, what was
missing was Larry Campbell. What he used to bring to this tune,
especially with the slide, was simply empty space on this rendition.
A Hard Rain's Gonna Fall: I really enjoyed this, Bob phrased it beautifully.
I think I had a moment during this song where I just thanked God for
Tony. He's the one you never look at on stage, but if you ever took
him away, it would be like watching the rest of them naked. He's a
rock.
Summer Days: Bob has so much fun playing this. That song brings joy
to even the most mirthless of concertgoers.
No time at all passed and they were back to finish it off, there's no
point in commenting on the encore. That would be like reviewing air.
It's there, it's good, so just accept it.
There was an interesting part in the band introductions where I think
Bob said that Denny played the drums, then he looks at him and says,
"you can play the drums"? "Wowww". Something like that, I didn't
process it as it was happening.
And I beat the traffic out only to get as lost as I could be.
It all started when I asked this teenage girl for directions at a stoplight.
Don't ever do that, don't ever ask a teenage girl for anything. Unless
you're a teenage boy I guess.
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