Reviews

Once again the circus came to town and this time it was my 47th Dylan
show. I was looking forward to the small venue in beautiful Lewiston,New
York but I must say the crowd was one of the worst I've ever seen and the
security was ridiculous! The lawn was way over packed and people sat
sardined very close together. As soon as someone attempted to dance or
stand & sway the security yanked them out of the show or severely scolded
them. This isn't a bloody Black Sabbath show! They were booed through-out
and it made a lot of people angry. The show on the other hand was as
delicious as usual. Great songs and played well. I enjoyed all the
different versions and the band was of course on fire. Met up with a few
friends which made the night a sure blast. Bob still has what it takes and
I will continue to support him as long as I am able. If you haven't seen
him do yourself a favour and go. You can't lose. I can't wait 'till the
next one. Thanks again Bob! See you soon....

Lewiston is a wonderful venue for a Bob Dylan concert be it your first or
your 41st  - small, excellent sound, excellent sight lines, great setting
and it was a great show.  The man who keeps reinventing himself and his
music put on a show that was vibrant, tight and a lot better than people
half his age could do.   The set was a wonderful blend of old and newer
and half way through contained a fabulous version  of "this dream of you"
which I certainly didn't expect.  It was also great to see Bob move
around, take center stage to play the harp and then return to the grand
and the rewritten versions of the songs with the piano lines designed for
his grand piano were like hearing the songs for the first time again.  New
rhythms and riffs, the band as tight as ever.  Once again, this was a
pleasure.  I've been saying it for a long time and it looks like I'll keep
saying it: "thank you Bob - may G-d bless and keep you always."

Wilson

The day before I fired up the Hyundai to run away and join the Bob Dylan
Roadshow for the umpteenth time I visited the Artpark website to find the
show had sold out. I had been concerned about that possibility, what with
only 4400 available tickets, but with my mom not in the greatest of health
I wasn't sure I'd be getting away at all, and so I neither bought  tickets
nor booked rooms for any of my targeted dates. Fortune smiled upon us,
however, and all systems were " go ", so I set off with a " what-the-hell
" attitude and decided to take a chance on Lewiston anyway. At worst I
would be poised at half the distance to the next night's show in
Massachusetts. At best, well....it's Bob Dylan, silly!

I arrived at my hotel on the outer rim of Niagara Falls, NY an hour prior
to showtime and made the easy drive to the village of Lewiston. There was
a long line of cars to get in, and people had begun parking along the
access road, which I decided to try myself. Getting out of my car I
noticed I'd parked near the booth where two attendants were collecting $10
parking fees. Looking before I leaped I asked them if it was OK to leave
my vehicle where it was, and they said " no, they're towing cars! " Having
lived through that situation in Louisville in 2003 I had no desire to have
my ride impounded hundreds of miles from home a second time. So I
explained to the guys that I was without a ticket and if I would be unable
to acquire one I didn't want to waste ten bucks on parking. One of them
offered to refund my money if indeed I was shut out. Cool! thought I. Then
they took it a step further by radioing up to the box office to check on
ticket availability, and SHO' NUFF there was one left at will call!! I
asked them their names before I set off excitedly to close the deal. THANK
YOU TRAVIS AND DAVID! It's people like you who make this world a much more
sane and pleasant place. Another reason why I love coming to shows in the
Empire State.

This is at least the eighth time I've seen Bob Dylan in New York. "
Watching The River Flow" and " It Ain't Me, Babe " had already passed by
my time of entry, but I could hear them clearly from outside the venue.
The Artpark Mainstage was intimate, more like a theater than a traditional
outdoor pavilion. There were multiple entrances to multiple levels within,
and the sound quality was stellar. I noticed I had a seat in Row U, but
all I really wanted to do was hang with the people on the hill and unwind
with my $5 can o' suds. This was the tiniest lawn I'd ever seen at an
outdoor venue, and was packed to the gills. I was able to find space at
the top and a fence to lean against. Unfortunately the sound from here was
poor, very tinny and lacking definition, but I held my ground anyway. Two
or three speakers hung from the facing of the Mainstage would rectify this
condition. From the Artpark website I was under the impression that the
stage overlooked the Niagara River, but such was not the case; perhaps a
different stage does. The performance itself was enjoyable, from the
mundane ( " Tangled Up In Blue " in slot four every night ) to the
surprising ( only the second " This Dream Of You " I've seen since 2009 ).
" Jolene " is much more at ease than the encores of summer '09, and " Love
Sick " and the freshly-arranged " Tweedle Dee And Tweedle Dum " are
exciting to hear once again. Whoever thought that could be said about
Tweedly Dee evermore? I like the improvisational jazz section of the
current " Highway 61 Revisited " and never can hear one-too-many
renderings of " Simple Twist Of Fate ". 

Not having seen Bob in thirteen months and the interesting folks I
encountered overruled the fact that I passed up improved sound and
visuals. Not to mention the fact that I got in at all. And this show was
the prelude that set up the next two perfectly!

Don Ely  Rochester, MI
kingsnake78@hotmail.com