Reviews

Tonight was another great concert in my new home state New Mexico. It made
it even more special. By now, we know the setlist, but this doesn’t
matter. The times are over when I went to see Dylan 3 nights in a row. He
would sing 69 songs and from the 69 were 48 different songs. We hear the
same songs, but the concerts have a distinct sound and feelings. Dylan is
a storyteller. His voice is excellent, and we can understand all the
words. The audience is hushed while he plays and sings and standing
ovations at the end of almost every song. Tonight he enjoyed himself and
had no problem with the higher altitude. On my side, one woman in the
front row was dancing during many songs, and Dylan looked at her often and
smiled a lot. A few times, he said thank you, and the audience just loved
to hear him saying a few words. During the band introduction, he talked
about snakes in New Mexico and laughed. At the end of the concert, outside
the Kiva Auditorium, I finally met Laurette for the first time. For so
many years, I read her reviews. It was always interesting to read what she
thought. I wonder what she will write tonight. “Great seeing you
Laurette and good luck with your trips. Keep writing, people read it :)  "
While I am typing my short review at home, I close my great Dylan evening
with a glass of Heaven’s Door in a Heaven’s Door glass. I don’t
think you can beat that.

Roland Pabst

From Tucson to Albuquerque March 6th.
March 5th in the evening is a day off for Bob and his Band.
My couchsurfing host Joan and 3 friends invite me to a "live show " of 
blues music. We have a great time. 
By 8.30pm Joan drops me at the greyhound bus station for my trip to 
Albuquerque. First bus to El Paso , a change in the middle of the night 
then a bus to Albuquerque. Difficult to sleep in those buses. I dozed 
for about 4 hours.
March 6th. It's a new morning.
7.50am I walk the streets of Albuquerque. A Sunday morning, all the 
streets are empty.
I take photos of the murals ,here and there. 
My CS host Adam is waiting for me. My room is ready with a bar of 
chocolate on the pillow! :)
I immediately take photos of the pictures on the walls; two Renoir, 
one Georgia O'Keeffe, Native American Art (maybe Navajo?). Adam 
explains to me the two Renoir ;limited edition of special prints. He's 
got 20 of each he's willing to sell. I promise to help him.
A fan (Nancy) texted me that the entrance of the Albuquerque Art 
museum is free until 1pm. So I take a quick shower, change my 
clothes and off I walk the 20 minutes to the museum,
roam around the museum and the  Albuquerque old town, drink a 
strong latte and enter every single shop and gallery.
By 4 pm I am exhausted but it is time to meet again with Adam 
and have a late lunch(or early dinner) and walk towards the Kiva 
Auditorium. Adam is willing to join me in my crazy search for two 
tickets. One for each.

6.30pm. I put my sign out and present copies of my paintings.
Absolutely no harassment by any security guards. I don't even
see any. :) A Lady has 2 extra tickets but she asks 60$ each. 
She sells one and comes back to us. Adam buys the second one 
for 20$. It's not that easy for my ticket :(
I present my sign to a man passing by when I realize he is...Tony 
Garnier. Oops!
By 7.45pm I am a little bit desperate when a sweet young man 
comes to me and says " you need a ticket?" "Yes, how much?" 
"Nothing but you have to come with me, the ticket is on my 
telephone". Sure. Off we go. The seat is on the floor row J 
seat 1 and 2. I chat with my good Samaritan and give him one 
of my prints (the Rolling thunder revue) when a Lady behind 
us seems to be interested. I explain my situation and she gives 
me 15$ for the print of "Bob with the clear blue eyes".

8pm show starts.
The sound is a bit loud but fine with me.
Of course the setlist will be the same. No karaoke as there is 
people in front of me. Don't want to spit on them
By karaoke I mean I move my lips following Bob's lips. No 
loud sound. 
After "Melancholy Mood" there is an exchange between Bob 
and Doug. Doug drops his guitar and disappears few seconds, 
picks up another guitar. The other night, in Tucson, it was 
Bob Britt who had been scolded by Bob.
Tonight the chat is about the " Bullsnakes ". Bob has a good 
laugh with Tony before introducing the Band.
Then the final "Every grain of sand".
Same show with less confusions in the lyrics than Tucson. 
Bob definitely behind the piano. Moving front three times 
to...present his body???? 
Harp in "Masterpiece" and "I'll be your Baby tonight".
The highlight is always "You've got to serve somebody". 
Great "Black rider" and "Jimmy Reed". Sweet "Melancholy 
mood" (a bit short?).
I say goodbye to my sweet Samaritan. Say hello to Jason 
at the soundboard.

I wait for Adam outside. Nancy passing by I give her one 
of my prints. A fan from Swiss recognizes me from my 
Boblinks reviews. I give him one of my prints he hands 
me 20$. Much thanks.
It appears that Adam left before the end and walked 
back home...all by himself :(
Fortunately two other Fans give me a lift and I give 
them my last print.
All together a pleasant day.
Hopefully Bob will sort his problems with the guitar 
players and start to be more....social??? :) Moving front?
We Love you Bobby. Be happy!
See you in Lubbock.

Went for what may be my last rodeo with Dylan at the Kiva 
in Albuquerque. This one was bittersweet as Bob gave a 
performance that stuck in my psyche just as much as the 
Dylan I listened to in the 60’s when I was in high school.  
“Gotta Serve Somebody” and “Rubicon” were my personal favorites
tonight, although there wasn’t a bad song sung. The band was 
perfect, sweet and hard, meeting the demands of each song.  
Dylan sang with a clarity and deepness that was sincere, authentic, 
and desperate as if to communicate that if he never sang again, 
this was the way he wanted it to be remembered. I feel deeply 
satisfied if this is the last chance I get to see him. Maybe, like Bob, 
we have all crossed the Rubicon.  Those that have a chance to 
see him will not regret it.

Noel Trujillo
Chimayo, New Mexico

The man in command!  Intrepid captain of the SS Rough and Rowdy Ways!  
That was Bob last night at the 2300-seat Kiva Auditorium, which with the 
lights turned only two thirds down--perfect for occasional note taking and 
checking my setlist cheat pad-- appeared to be a late sell-out.

Oh the night could have been deadly dull with "x" or "y" artist standing 
for 97% of the one hour and thirty nine minute concert behind an upright, 
with only his head and a portion of his upper torso visible.  But Bob was in 
such strong voice, so expressive, that he easily crossed the wooden barrier.  
This morning, still stamped in my head are lines such as the deliciously 
delivered "I can't play the record 'cause my needle got stuuuuuuuuuuuuck!  
("Jimmy Reed").  And Captain Bob was LOUD in the mix.  His piano, too!  
(Damn the occasional clunkers on the keys!  Full speed ahead!)

The set was beautifully constructed, with the RARR tunes taking turns 
with gems from the multitudes in Bob's catalogue.  The pairing of "Gotta 
Serve Somebody"--a fiery powerhouse at the Kiva with Charley Drayton 
waking the rest of downtown Albuquerque up with his thunderous 
drumming--followed by the achingly tender "I've Made Up My Mind to 
Give Myself to You" was just exquisite.  Knowing he had stuck the 
landing on "Serve,"  Bob walked out from his piano a few seconds 
before the last rocking note to acknowledge the roar of the crowd.

Having read the Phoenix and Tucson reviews, I was primed for Bob to 
make some locally angled small talk before the band intros.  But I didn't 
expect him to tell a goofy tall tale about bull snakes!  "Went with Tony 
to see the bull snakes. Want to see the bull snakes.  Are the bull snakes 
still around here?"   Yes, Bob, bull snakes are a mainstay of the high 
desert and are definitely still around here.  But you'll not going to find 
any in the freezing cold of an early March Albuquerque night!  A night 
you warmed the heart of this fan, the top of whose young teenage 
head you blew off at his first rock 'n' roll concert in 1966!

Had already seen the show - Nov 19 at the Beacon - but New Mexico is home,
and on Sunday night locals, including one of my daughters and I, were out
in full force for Bob at the Kiva.

Found our seats easily - row H, in Section 5, with a clear view of Bob's
piano.

At 8 pm Beethoven's 9th informed us it was time, and the band kicked in
with the opener, WTRF. A rocking MLYGYW followed, with Bob snarling the
lyrics, and then a dip into RARW. FP, Multitudes and Muse were all stellar
renditions.

Band was fantastic - much better than they were right outa the gate - they
are all in the groove now, with Bob still behind his wooden wall, head
bobbing as he clinkity clunks on the keys.

In Nov, I said the Song and Dance Man had disappeared, well in
Albuquerque, he made a  micro reappearance ( you can't come back all the
way), shuffling up to center stage a few times before heading back for the
safety of his wall (and lyric sheets.)

The lights remained dimmed but not dark, all evening. Perhaps to help Bob
with the balance issues he appears to have. He stands with his legs apart
and holds onto the mic stand whenever he ventures out from behind the
keyboard.

Bob in strong voice, not as crystal clear as in the city, but fine - one
could hear (most of) the words, including the lyric changes, slipped in
here and there.

CTR was the highlight of the set. Brilliant rendition. KW, which I loved
in NY,  fell short - I kept checking my watch to see when it would be
over. My daughter was blunt, "this song is a clunker, a dud," she
whispered in my ear. Not so in my opinion, but on Sunday it fell flat.

SS is the standout on every level. Bob's delivery. the arrangement, not to
mention the sentiment during these harrowing times.

Bob talked more than usual on Sunday night; saying "thank you" a couple of
times(!) and joking with Tony about going to see the little-known,
semi-pro Albuquerque Basketball team, the 'Bullsnakes when they were last
in town.

Waiting for our Uber, we watched the hardcore fans make their way to the
side of the building where the busses were parked, to catch a glimpse of
their idol as he hit the road, headed for another joint. One informed us
on her way back, that they had "run her off," but she was all smiles and
seemed not in the least phased by it.

Another fan walked back and forth in front of the Kiva telling all the
passers-by they "had to serve somebody," because Bob said so.

The following morning as we were checking out of our hotel, we ran into
two friends also from Taos, whom we had run into the evening before, while
they were in a state of excited anticipation.. They had splurged on VIP
tix, and were clearly disappointed.

"He didn't connect with the audience at all," one complained. "And I
couldn't understand a word he sang."

Her partner hadn't seen Bob live for a couple of decades and was a bit
deflated by the experience. Perhaps a mirror to his own mortality? Bob is,
after all, a frail-looking, little old man at this juncture.

"We wanted him to address what's going on in Ukraine," they said.

Going to a Dylan show with expectations is a setup for disappointment, as
the diehards know - the magic of Bob Dylan is in those moments when he
connects with the spark of his own inspiration.

"He's on the job," my daughter (whose father is a blues musician) noted,
'he's turned into an old blues guy - you can get old and still play the
blues - it's part of the tradition - it was a blues show, in the cushy
seats of the Kiva, that we saw, not a rock and roll gig or some folkie
activist preaching."

 "This is what he knows how to do," she continued wisely, "and it looks
like he's going to do it till he goes out with his boots on."

A consummate entertainer, Bob Dylan's new RARW show, replete with its
David Lynchesque set, is as good as it gets; a respite from the world at
large, an almost vaudevillian escape from the pandemic and the rattling
sabers in the distance, with perhaps his strongest message ever, front and
center. The fan ranting outside the theater was correct, if you are aware
of the time, you've got to serve somebody.

Thanks Bob, for the reminder.