Review by Bobcat-72
This is my first ever review here. Figured I would post it since nobody else has. This was
my eighth Dylan show in the last four years and eleventh overall.
Made the trek up from North Jersey on Sat. morning. Figured we could make a weekend
out of it and visit the Baseball Hall of fame on Sunday since I have never been there.
Parked in the "Red lot" behind the First union Bank. We got there around 5:30 but nobody
else was tailgating.
Headed into the park at 7:30 just in time for Jimmy Vaughns set. He was ok, but not real
crazy about that style of blues. Stood and waited for Bob to come out. Pretty good veiw
from left side diagonal from Bobs keyboard about 200 feet back. Got to see Bob and band
walking in from their buses on the street.
1. Cats in the well
Not my favorite song, Bob sounded good though, but the music was way to loud and
. B -
2. Lay, Lady Lay
Nice surprise, was expecting Tweedle, Bob sang good and with conviction, and the wolfman
voice only crept in here or there. The band doesent play this as nice as Charlie and Larry
however. B+
3. Lonesome Day Blues
I like this one live, Bob was still singing well and the band was gelling on this one. A
4.Dont think twice....
This one was just ok, Bob flubbed a few lines and his singing was to subdued, and the band
didnt seem on the same page. C
5.Its Allright Ma......
I dont like this version at all and wish he would go back closer to the original. Bob upsang on
this one also. I just never though this song worked with the blues arrangement. C
6. I dont belive you .......
Ok version, Bob was mellowing back at this point. The Band played it pretty well though C+
7. Blid Willie Mc tell
Another nice surprise, Bob sang this one real well and the band did a pretty good job. A
8. Highway Sixty one
I wish he would retire this one for a while. He seemed bored, Bob and the band were on two
different pages, the guitar solos went nowhere. D
This was a different song when Larry and Charlie played it, they used to smoke this one !!!
9. Simple twist of fate
BIG SURPRISE ! In my eleven shows this is the first time he has done it. Pretty good version,
some upsinging though, but still nice. B
10. Cold Irons Bound
New Version I havent heard yet with a repetitive beat, liked the Spring 04 version better. Bob
did a good job though, loud,strong and clear singing. B
11. My back Pages
Another surprise, think last time I saw this one was July 2000. Pretty good version, Bob
seemed to be having fun and still singing well. B
12. Summer Days
Another one that should be shelved, maybe a modern times cut will takes its place soon. What
happened to the jam that used to happen at the end of this one ? Flat, and cut short. D
13.
LARS
Not much to say on this one. Bob sang well, business as usual. B
14.
Rain Day Women......
Another surprise, was expectin Watchtower of course, glad he changed it up. Solid, straight
ahead version. Bob was singing loud and clear again. B
All in all a good show, better then Spring 05, Bob seemed to have more energy and
concentration and clarity in his voice. the setlist was nice. This current band is just average
however.
Bobcat-72
Review by Don Ely
At last! A REAL ballpark, not another cutout cookie from the 1990's baseball boom! It was
such a pleasure to be seated inside a venue with a past, listening to music imbued with a
strong sense of history. Doubleday Field is the place where history says the great American
game of baseball was first played in 1839, in Cooperstown, New York, though in truth that
fact may be less than accurate. The people of Cooperstown and the baseball world have
taken that fact to heart in the ensuing 168 years, however, with the choice of this village
as the site of the National Baseball Hall of Fame. Doubleday Field officially opened
September 6, 1920 with a game between Cooperstown and Milford, and the stadium as
it stands today was constructed in 1939 in time for baseball's centennial. An annual Hall of
Fame Game between two major league teams ( usually stocked with minor leaguers ) is
played here, and each season sees hundreds of youth baseball, high school, college, and
senior league teams take to the field. In 2004 Bob Dylan and His Band and Willie Nelson
and Family commenced their popular ballpark tour here at the point of baseball's origins,
and the following year The Beach Boys staged a concert at Doubleday. Now it was time
for a return visit by Mr. Dylan to fill the friendly confines with the sound of American
music.
I was running dangerously low on funds as my friday and saturday night rooms cost more
than anticipated on this Labor Day holiday weekend. To conserve cash I decided to forego
the opening acts, about whom I had only passing interest anyway, and arrive in time for the
primary reason for going. From my hotel in Oneonta I drove up the dark and curvy Route 28
sometime after 8 o'clock. I had been on Route 28 much of the afternoon, cruising leisurely
through the rainy Catskills listening to Ani Difranco's excellent "Revelling/Reckoning" and
"Reprieve". The highway became Main Street and took me into the heart of Cooperstown.
It was a cinch finding the ballpark; just roll down the window and follow the music! I was
fortunate enough to find free parking right on the street, grabbed my camera and took a
shot of the sign announcing Bob that sat outside the fire station. Doubleday Field is tucked
right in the neighborhood, and folks were having parties in their backyards and getting free
entertainment. The sound carried really well, and while I skipped the openers Jimmie
Vaughan and Lou Ann Barton sounded great on Slim Harpo's " Te-Ni-Nee-Ni-Nu " while I was
walking through town. The dark red brick entrance of the stadium was beautiful in the
nighttime spotlight, and I felt a real sense of pride, both for the venue and the music to
come, as I entered it's celebrated gates.
I went down on the field, but after a moment's pause decided I'm gonna watch this one
from the stands. I'd've had to be pushy to get close to the stage anyway, and in this house
it seemed more fitting to be in the seats. The last sputters of Hurricane Ernesto had moved
through the region, and though it was dry by this point the occasional wind gust blew at us
as a reminder. I have to disagree with Bob about what he said in his recent Rolling Stone
interview about sound quality in open-air venues; at least in enclosed small (9000 at this one)
ballparks the sound is top notch. Tonight's set, the third of three I'd caught this week, was
another example of how good this band can be, and how Bob hasn't "lost it". "Cat's In
The Well" revved things up nicely, and "Lay, Lady, Lay", which Bob sometimes has trouble
with vocally, was spot on. "Don't Think Twice, It's Alright", while lacking the emotional
punch of Bob's guitar days, was also very good. "I Don't Believe You ( She Acts Like We
Never Have Met )" was a pleasure to hear, only my second version ever, the first being in
Kansas City this spring. Hearing a fabled song about a fabled bluesman on a fabled baseball
field was quite poignant; the imagery evoked by "Blind Willie McTell" ( who was from Georgia
but probably played in East Texas ) meshed well in this structure from a similar era. And "My
Back Pages" only puts a bigger smile on your face everytime you hear it; Bob Dylan does
seemingly beat the odds and remains an ever-younger enigma. Only "Cold Irons Bound" has
lost it's impact from earlier performances, but he doesn't play it every night, so it's not a
problem.
Partly due to the setting, I'd say I enjoyed this show the most of those I attended on the
2006 ballpark tour. It also gave me a sense of closure in that I had a ticket to Bob & Willie
here the first time but couldn't make it because I broke my leg in a car accident. I've come
full circle; as a Libra I like things like that. I really like these ballpark tours, though I'd rather
see them in June instead of late in August, and would pare down the opening acts to two
instead of three. I'd love to see Willie Nelson back on the bus next year, but if he can't
make it, rather than quantity I'd like to see another sort of co-headliner on board. There
were no new songs, but so what? A good time was had by all, and we'll see 'em soon
enough. Modern Times are here again!
Don Ely
Rochester, MI
kingsnake78@hotmail.com
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