September 3, 2010
Review by Steven Thwaits
Last night I made the two and a half hour journey from Seattle,
through the late summer beauty of the Cascade Range and over the ever
barren Saddle mountains, to the desert town of Yakima. Bob Dylan and
his Band were playing the heartland once again, in one of those funny
little minor minor league baseball parks, Yakima County Stadium, home
of the Bears!
Yakima is 'small town,' just the venue for John Mellencamp. The man
writes good songs. But if I never hear 'When the Walls Come Tumbling
Down" again, it will be way too soon. The fist-pumping drunk lady next
to me (180 pounds of pure dumb) nearly knocked me over. "The next
sixty seconds could be like an eternity." Indeed.
Which brings me to the reason I drove five hours last night, and
persevered through the swaggering bombast of Mr. Mellencamp's last few
songs. (OK, to be fair, the first two thirds of his set is very
enjoyable. Love the songs from the new record, especially 'No Better
Than This.")
Bob Dylan. Bob Dylan. Bob Dylan. The greatest artist, of any kind,
alive on earth. In Yakima tonight. Great set list this evening. An
emphasis on the modern and the sinister, starting with the above
mentioned 'Things Have Changed' through 'Love Sick' seven songs later.
Band tight as ever. What a band. The lights seemed brighter tonight on
stage, or maybe it was just my angle on Bob (couple folks back from
the rail), but he was burning up in the heat. Sweating pints. He
seemed a little tired by the end, and sometimes I think Thunder on the
Mountain is a strange choice, lyric wise, at that point in the show.
He can't quite make every line count – there are so many of them and
the song is so fast. But really 'Thunder' is less about the words than
the jam. I know it will never happen, but man, you wish he'd take his
jacket off. I was a little worried about him tonight, but probably my
own deal – he was smiling a lot and blowing the harp perfectly. He
rocks so hard, sometimes you forget that he is, after all, 69 years old.
May we have shows for many more years! May he stay. . .
Bumbershoot, in my town, tonight.
Click Here to return to the Main Page |
page by Bill Pagel
billp61@execpc.com
Current Tour Guide |
Older Tour Guides |
Bob Links Page |
Songs Performed |
Set Lists by Date |
Set Lists by Location |
Cue Sheets |