Review

Bournemouth, England
Bournemouth International Centre

October 2, 1997


Thanks to Matt Innes for the following review:

Bournemouth 2nd October

Not in all as special a night as the 1st, but still with it's 
moments, particularly the encore variation slot. Good warm up, ok 
Tonight I'll be Staying, but all a bit routine until It takes a lot 
to laugh took everyone by surprise. Fluent, and his voice was holding 
up well. The set list looks like it is settling down a little, but 
Roving Gambler was handled well by Bob and the band, and Tangled was 
good enough. Love Minus Zero keeps changing in its intent, and, 
alongside Tambourine form the previous night, had a darker, near Time 
Out of Mind tinge to it, far from the Tammy Wynettics of the 
Unplugged version.
All was to come though, as a fierce God knows kick started a superb 
Wheel's on Fire, conjuring up, again, the sinster sense of history 
and imminent despair/gloom of the Basement Tapes. Very difficult to 
describe, this one, but I guess he's old enough to sing these tracks 
with conviction, rather than the wide eyed fascination and intrigue 
of the original recordings. Then straight into LeopardSkin, and an 
aural mini-riot, seeming to release the gravitas of the previous 
track. This one was terrific, great fun, few lyrical slips, and back 
to the form of the previous night. 
The encore was not so good, apart from a fresh It Ain't Me Babe, 
which lit up hte venue. Love Sick was ok, but not nearly as driving 
as the previous night. 
Good, and surprising, but Bob was 20 minutes late on stage - there 
may have been a change of band personnel, but I couldn't spot it - 
any ideas? He looked fittish, but was still soaked in sweat by the 
end.

Matt Innes


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