October 20, 2012
Review by Brian Fugate
Bob Dylan's performance in Sacramento was unlike anything I've seen
before. Bob's show evolves and changes just like all of us. In 15 shows
since '01 and another back in '93 Bob has inspired me each time. This time
I got to be front row center with my girlfriend (it was her birthday)her
sister, her brother-in-law, and her uncle. Before Bob and the band came on
we started the evening with a very enjoyable set from Mark Knopfler and
his band. These guys were really good and the sound was great. I
particularly remember enjoying Privateering, Song For Sonny Liston, and So
Far Away but the rest of the set was not lacking in any way. We found out
during the band intro that one of the band members, Jim Cox, was from my
home town of Oroville which is about 70 miles from Sacramento. When they
started setting the stage for Bob it was a little alarming to see that
everything was being placed further back on stage then it seemed it should
have been. Mark Knopfler and his band were noticeably closer to us than
Bob was going to be. When the first mirror came out I was getting a little
more worried. Luckily there were only two mirrors and neither was blocking
our view of Bob. Tony on the other hand couldn't be seen for much of the
show as he was far back in the center and the mirror in the center of the
stage blocked him pretty regularly. I was mildly stunned when I heard Bob
start singing You Ain't Goin' Nowhere. He was right there 15 feet in front
of us playing on the keyboard and I was fully expecting him to open with
Watching the River Flow. My first Bob CD was Greatest Hits Vol. 2 (first
cassette was Blood On The Tracks) and it was great to hear an old favorite
from that cd open the show. I just leaned up against the rail and didn't
sit down for the rest of the night. Next up was Girl From The North
Country. I'd heard Bob close the show in '93 with this half a lifetime ago
in Sacramento at the Cal Expo. The harmonica on this one was played from
his seat at the piano and was a lot louder for us than we he played it the
rest of the night. This song and the first seemed to go by so fast. The
keyboard blocked our view of the bottom of Bob's face from 2 of the 5
seats we had when he was at the piano but we traded spots throughout the
night so we could all get a look. When Bob came out front to grab the mic
for Things Have Changed the mic holder gave him a little trouble and he
had a grumpy look on his face for a second but then he proceeded to knock
this performance out of the park. He was as animated on this song as I've
ever seen him. Great showmanship on stage. He was strutting and thrusting
his hips at times. Bob had a ton of hand gestures and cool expressions
during this song. He stayed up front for Tangled Up In Blue and his
enthusiasm continued as well. I loved hearing the switched up lyrics for
this song and it was good to hear this all-time favorite again. He played
it last time he was in Sacramento in 2006 when the building was still the
Arco Arena instead of the newly named Sleeptrain Arena (Power Balance
Pavilion is what is printed on the collectible poster) but that was before
he came out front and did the song and dance numbers that he does now. I
really do enjoy the out front stuff. In '09 at the Berkeley shows Charlie
really got out front and low-down and it seemed like he and Bob were
really feeding off of each other. Now he seems to hang back with Stu and
we could see him pointing to the sky in the sound tech's direction to get
more volume during Tweedle Dee & Tweedle Dum. The Lonesome Death of Hattie
Carroll and Ballad of Hollis Brown were both songs I expected and I really
enjoyed that he sang Hollis Brown out front. Mississippi was another good
surprise. I love this song and it was great to hear it again after hearing
it once in Reno in '05. I thought he sang it beautifully and the piano
playing was better on this song, too. The final songs included Highway 61
Revisited, Ain't Talkin', Thunder On The Mountain, Ballad Of A Thin Man,
Like A Rolling Stone, All Along The Watchtower, and Blowin' In The Wind.
It was nice to hear Ain't Talkin' but Thunder On The Mountain was the true
standout of the bunch. Bob really went off on that one at the piano and at
the end of it Donnie and Bob exchanged huge smiles and a handshake/high
five before Bob actually strutted behind and around the piano for nothing
more than to strut his stuff for the audience. He seemed very pleased with
the performance of this song and rightfully so. I hope soomlos was there,
too. Ballad Of A Thin Man had Bob out front again and giving us more of
his cool mannerisms. Like A Rolling Stone was followed by the Band Intro
and with something said about Donnie's steel guitar. All Along The
Watchtower was good to hear in the setlist again and after a short stand
in front and take a break the band came back to finish up with Blowin' In
The Wind. For the first time I didn't see a song that I hadn't seen played
before. I expected that might happen after reading the reviews but I am
surprisingly not disappointed. I thought for sure we'd see a debut from
Tempest when I bought the tickets but realized it wasn't likely in the
days leading up to the show. Oh Well. I used to care but things have
changed. From the front row in Sacramento Bob is definitely still busy
being born. It sure is nice to hear "Thank you friends" once again.
Brian Fugate
Comments by Greg Bowerman
"The function of music is to release us from the tyranny of conscious
thought." Thomas Beecham There were a lot of distractions at this
performance, the people leaving, the sound (Bob Dylan's voice does not
need further distortion), Bob's piano playing and especially the obnoxious
security people at the venue. I will take the last of these into
consideration before going there again. But the fact remains that Bob
Dylan and his band rocked the place hard and without a break. And every
time I turned my head off, it was a great show. As I hear is usual, the
songs were reconstructed, but they retained their essential spirit. Ballad
of a Thin Man was spooky/creepy. Tangled Up in Blue was wistful.
Expectations are high when you see a legend, especially for the first
time, but they were met so well.
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