Reviews

The most exciting show of the season came to and end… At least for me…
Great show in Tallahassee! 

A huge and great surprise was Sweet Marie with Bob on the keyboard to
begin with! Excellent delivery! Don’t think twice is always good and well
received by the audience, a good number with Bob on Guitar. Bob remained
on guitar to play a good and rocking Beyond here lies nothin’. Just like a
woman was also enjoyed by the audience, sweet deliverance!

Rolling and Tumblin’ is being performed so well in this tour! Very
danceable I must say! A beautiful Forgetful Heart was next, everyone
looked so hypnotized while listening to this sweet and so personal tune,
Bob played the harp on center stage in this one. Honest with me rocked the
Civic Center, so strong and powerful!

One of the favorite songs of Bob’s fans in this tour is Desolation row,
people really love this one! Such a huge classic! Cold Irons Bound with
Bob on center stage and harp was the following tune, a really good and
strong one! Spirit was ok with Bob on keyboard and harp. Highway 61 as
usual made everybody jump and dance! So rocky!

Can’t wait was a great surprise and was performed so well by Bob and his
band! Thunder on the mountain so good and making everybody dance on their
seats! Ballad of a thin man is also being performed by Bob so intensely,
seeing Bob playing the harp on this one is just magical!

The encore, Jolene, one of the best performances of this one I’ve ever
seen, people were really happy at the venue! Like a rolling stone so
great, all the people dancing and singing with a few lights on coming from
the stage towards them. I have to say that the Tallahassee people were the
most enthusiastic ones of this Florida tour!

This leg of the tour has many and exciting stuff on the stage, to begin
with, the movie that is played just before the show that you’ve already
heard about it. More colored lights have been added to the shows,
specially red and purple ones. While Bob plays Highway 61 the stage
becomes black and white with straps like if you were seeing a zebra! One
special thing you can notice is that in some songs like Thunder on the
mountain there’s a camera above Bob and his band and their image appears
live on the screen of the stage for a few moments! Wow!

History on the making while we see Bob shows! Thank you Bob, you really
rock!!! I hope to see you next year!!

I want to thank all the Bob fans I saw for the first time and the ones
I’ve already met! Bill, Kate, Judd, Jay, Nichole, Susan, Stefan and Thomas
from Germany , Doodie & Rita from Italy, Simone from Greece, Lori from
Washington, Ed & Michelle, Noel from Ireland and specially to Vera and
Denise and also to Oliver Jimenez, my friend from college in Mexico City
who now lives in Orlando and allowed us to stay at his home for 2 nights.

See you soon Bobcats! It was nice seeing you all!

Oscar Montes
forever_young74@hotmail.com

Life is short and Art
is indeed long. This rock-rollin' sideshow, wove some ole familiar
stories of different lives and times together into a field tapestry of
splendidly new relevance, contemporary and bright. As with Dylan's other
plays of recent days, the Tallahassee show was performed much more
theatrically complete with some well exhibited background visuals,
sometimes displayed with a dream-like subtlety cast upon the flowing stage
curtains and keenly augmenting the new sense intended for the prophesies
in tune and rhythm; sometimes the images were as shadow selves of the very
players before us and at others, metaphorical delights spring right out
from the words. These images provided the only harmonies as no other
song-voice was given except Bobby's crooning below that so familiar
Crowned Eye, watching all.

I can't find any
evidence in the set list that the short film clip of DW Griffith's 1916
cautionary warning, Intolerance: Love's Struggles Through the Ages, also
influenced the current ensemble drama, but it certainly is a nice pre-show
curiosity and encouraging attempt to sound the modern rallying horn in
this new dark age; Dylan is still sharing his visionary mischief! Dig it.

Generally the sound quality
was only fair to middling, but great for dancing too, at least for the
faithful of us who consistently travel along there among the well attended
throng. Unfortunately this arena is much better suited for blood
gladiators, spectaculars or worm grunting contests and couldn't well
justify the evening. Likely due to its empty vaulting size and a resulting
house mix (even a rare searing feedback at one point), the distinction of
instrumentation rapidly melded into a frequency range that often cycled
into a broader rhythm where the intricacies of the players were not
distinct parts but a huge sum. Yet, watching the players feed from one to
the other and to the other again was clearly a treat, the real saga.

Dylan's tone and voice
clarity is fine this tour, but the mix & volume often over powered it,
except on a few softer tunes, where it was almost stellar and melodic.
Often steadfast at the keyboard, that sometimes came off like a ball park
organ and others where his funky chops really made all the difference,
especially on Can't Wait, he was still very enjoyable.  His occasional
fights with the guitar were better than previous years and the tempered
and concise harmonica solos are always redemption for the faithful as the
crowd demonstrated. That professional display for audience respect from an
ole, well honed, song and vaudevillian dance man has kept us grounded
through life. Tony's rock solid, commanding improv and George's
groovingness and incredible poly-rhythm take you to spaces that seem
irretrievable yet eventually cradle the moment and rock right back in
place. Wow, these fellows are thunderous beyond compare! And Donnie's
smiles and glee were most evident throughout the evening and his mandolin
works especially flattering but we all wish for just a few soaring steel
interludes that would break the mind, just every little once in a while.
Kimball is a jumbo, a guitar foundation, a night owl left to shadow, and
soon loosed in solid blues and precision; he is fire's endurance.
Sexton-stiletto wildcat, a swing band canto, a barrel house rift
personified, and his phrasing and sliding like lazy lightning; Once again
at the feet of a master, his homage in sateen duck-walk is quiet
entertaining and a point to behold. He's a splendor but we can't help
hope for some tearing leads, firmly placed and commanding during some of
the extended jams. But you know, we are each grateful for just another
supreme opportunity for song and dance, art and philosophy, love and
tolerance all occasioned by these masterful players. 

This band is clearly
diggin' a worthy groove and knows what they are about! All were so very
animated and engaged, ensemble and the crowd; Time disappeared and flew
exceedingly fast, Down the road >>>>>>>>>>>>>>> never ending

Warren

I was so excited that Bob chose my hometown of Tallahassee for a show. I
saw him that last time in 1999, but this time I had 6th row tickets which
was even better. He seemed very engaged - not a "phone it in" performance
by any means. I'm talking eye contact, bobbing and weaving, dramatic poses
- even some classic rock star posturing. The sound was very good to my
ears - I could hear each instrument clearly and I could hear Bob's organ
swirling through the mix.  

Any Bob Show set list is great. Sure, there are songs you miss, but how
can you go wrong with anything from the catalog ? (Although I missed Every
Grain of Sand by one night - oh well.) Sweet Marie was a surprising opener
and set the tone for the whole show. We could hear the lyrics and sing
along if we wanted to. Other highlights for me: Don't Think Twice - Great
to see Bob upfront nailing it on the guitar. Awesome sound.  Just Like a
Woman - Bob delays the chorus and seemed to enjoy the crowd singing along.
The TTL songs were a particular highlight - Bob at center stage really
getting into it. First time hearing Desolation Row - classic.  New
arrangements for Cold Irons Bound and Thunder on the Mountain made these
numbers sound fresh again. There were several songs featuring the
harmonica playing - had not heard this at my previous shows and it was
thoroughly enjoyed by all. 

Although I have seen several shows in the past - this will always be my
favorite because I was attending with my 16 year old daughter and 14 year
old son. They grew up listening to non-stop Dylan on every car trip and
share my love for the music. What a tremendous night for us to see the
greatest living artist and musician of our times still going strong with
no end in sight. I will end with a thank you to my older brother who
couldn't attend the show and was greatly missed - thanks for turning me on
to Bob, bro. 

Melvin Cox

The Tallahassee audience seemed older on average than at the Gainesville show 
I saw a few nights before, though no less enthusiastic. I had a better view this
time, and caught nuances in the visual presentation that I missed before: 
picture projection that placed Dylan and the band on what appeared to be a film 
set, and a dramatic shadow play that flickered across the curtain from time to 
time.  The images underscored the unreal aspect of seeing Dylan perform at this 
stage in a lengthy career: or maybe just that Dylan still likes to play with how we 
perceive him. And fashion still counts for a lot: the Texan Dandy outfits of the 
band, Bob's Robert Mitchum-in-Night of the Hunter suit, linking the performance 
to other resonant images of Americana. Yet the central drama of a Dylan concert
is inevitably what he chooses to do with the words, and tonight was no different. 

"Absolutely Sweet Marie" is the surprise set opener, followed by "Don't Think Twi
 It's All Right," with Bob taking center stage as singer and lead guitarist.  "Just Like 
 a Woman" was the fourth song in the set, and memorable for the sheer musicality 
 of the interplay between Charlie's guitar and Bob's organ playing. We have to wait 
 until a dark, spare "Forgetful Heart," to hear Bob play harp.  "Desolation Row" was 
 another surprise; it seemed to take Bob a while to find a rhythm with his own 
 words; when he did, the song resembled its original arrangement. "Cold Irons 
 Bound" followed, but the easy-going swing of "Spirit on the Water" eclipsed it.  
 "Spirit" has lots of space for Bob to insert a relaxed, easy-going vocal.  "Highway 61"
 also got off to a rocky start, but ended up fierce; "Can't Wait," with a dramatic, 
 and assured, vocal followed. "Ballad of a Thin Man" closed the set, with Bob coming 
 out from behind the organ, confronting the audience, and, once again, singing 
 forcefully; every chorus ratcheted up the tension.  For me, it was the toughest, 
 most memorable performance from Bob and the band that night. 

Only two encores for the Tallahassee crowd, with "Jolene," distinguished by Stu's 
unassuming but graceful guitar fills, more memorable than "Rolling Stone."