November 17, 2010
Review by Owen Boynton
Already impressed by the show at Rochester, this one was even better. There
was not a single song that was anything less than “very good,” and four songs at
least stood out as being as good as anything I’ve heard Dylan do live: “Spirit
on the Water,” “Desolation Row,” “Blind Willie McTell,” and “Ballad of a Thin
Man.” There were some fans in attendance saying that this should be known as
the “Ballad of a Thin Man” tour and they’re right: it’s the center-piece of
every concert and somehow, at least in the two shows I’ve been in, a spectacular
performance by Dylan, full of acting and spot on delivery of the lyrics, with a
nice tweak here and there. “Desolation Row” was my favorite of the evening.
You could hear all of the band, even Donnie, who often is buried, Dylan’s organ
was swirling in and out, his delivery of vocals on the final verse killed—it
sounded like it could have been recorded for an album. “Blind Willie” with
Dylan center stage, harp in hand, receives the proper delicate lyrical handling
that Dylan gives to songs when he drops instruments entirely and focuses only on
delivery, and with these lyrics, and this arrangement, bluesy, dark, deep, and
brooding, and a bit of extra something from Dylan’s being in the right mood or
frame of mind, and it can’t be anything other than magical. Only a small cut
below those songs were “Gonna Change My Way of Thinking,” “I Don’t Believe You,”
“The Man in Me,” and…dare I say it…”Tweedle Dee & Tweedle Dum” and “Jolene.” The
inevitable disappointment when “Tweedle” started up and yet Dylan was having fun
with it, delivering the lines with clarity, and the arrangement works wonders,
hauntingly set back from the vocals. “Gonna Change My Way of Thinking” was quite
the surprise as the opener, and a treat to hear. “I Don’t Believe You” saw
Dylan hamming it up, facial expressions, hand gestures, and, for a few lines,
the soft-voiced vocal that he uses on “Modern Times.” “Jolene,” whatever its
worth as a song, makes great sense on this tour, with this band, in this slot.
And a lot of the reason it worked so well tonight…finally Charlie Sexton is up
in the mix on nearly every song, pouring energy into the numbers that can take
it (“The Levee’s Gonna Break” both here and at Rochester has been a great
surprise—there because the song is a bit drab on the album and rocked out, with
Dylan shaking his body all the way through—and in Binghamton because it was so
much better than Rochester, what with Charlie’s playing audible and powerful).
Nothing to complain about here; much to be grateful for.
Owen Boynton
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