February 22, 2008
Review by Steinar Daler and Paul Wultz
Last nights concert was good, but this nights was a couple of notches up.
All of the songs he played last night were better. Summer days was way
better. No more comments on yesterdays songs except for Workingman's Blues
that was even better than the recorded version tonight. Then on to the 8
new songs for tonight. Cat's in the Well was a good start but nothing
special. I'll be your baby tonight was great, we always like to hear that
song. Blind Willie McTell was awsome, sung with feeling and conviction.
Things have changed was not great but certainly done well, especially his
phrasing, as on all the songs tonight. Then on to Visions of Johanna,
definitely the highlight of the show. Wordperfect. We both studied him in
binoculars and he was smiling and seemd proud of what he was doing. After
Visions and between some of the other songs it seemed like Bob wanted to
say something in the microphone, but maybe it was only his high energy as
he paced around the area. When the deal goes down was close to the
recorded version. We had hoped for Mississippi tonight and got it. Not
extremly good but well done. For Paul, Masters of War was another
highlight, and Steinar enjoyed it too. The encores were the same as
Thursday' show, but we expected different songs tonght - and we will get
that tomorrow. The diffference in the encores from last night was that
tonight he remembered to introduce the band. Great, great show, we can't
wait for tomorrow.
Just a short note we forgot to mention last night. We spoke to Tony before
the show and asked about the European tour and if they were going to play
Scandinavia. His answer was "We always use to start up there but still
it's all rumors".
Steinar Daler & Paul Wultz
Review by Keith Venturoni
The first night was fine. The problem for me is I will travel a bit to
see Dylan and I download too many shows, at least that's what my wife
thinks. Anyway the result is the first night offered no surprises.
However, I really feel it is unfair to judge a show with that background.
Having said that, the 22nd's show was unbelievable. I don't care what
type of fan you are you had to be impressed. I went with a guy who had
very little Dylan in his musical map and he was blown away. For me this
was almost the perfect set list for 2008, short of me picking the songs
for him. His singing was full of emotion. I'm sick and tired of people
harping on his voice. The spirit is still evident. If Dylan was an old
black bluesman the voice would be considered part of the charm. It's time
for people who consider the voice a detriment to his shows, to move on, or
at least accept it as something that isn't going to change. The fact that
half the show was different from the first night wasn't a surprise, it was
the choices of songs that made it special. Mississippi, Visions, Blind
Willie, and a great Masters were just some of the highlights. Also,
Workingman's Blues, even though it was a repeat, was sung so much better
it is almost as if it wasn't the same song from night one. Finally, is
there another band that can rock so hard that George's sticks were flying,
literally, off the stage at one point, and then play a song that your
grandparents might have danced to in the 1940's? When I left Stubb's in
Austin back in September, I thought I'd seen a classic. This show has
supplanted that show for me. It's a top three out of the thirty plus I've
seen. I'm really looking forward to tonight, but I'm also girding myself
for a bit of a let down. I mean there's no way he tops this, right?!
Keith Venturoni
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