Bob Dylan blew the doors off in Davenport with a show unanimously praised
by those lucky enough to see it. At 83 years and 10 months old, the man is
still putting together a better show than just about anyone and he's doing
it in small Midwestern cities on a Tuesday night.

Davenport clearly appreciated Dylan's visit as the theatre (a beautiful
old movie house) was sold out and jam packed. Unusually, the show started
around 10 minutes late, likely because of the outrageously long merch
line. It took me about 30 minutes to get through the line, find out the
shirt I wanted had sold out in my size, and settle for a beanie.

There were no set list changes from the prior show. As such the Rough and
Rowdy Tour delivered all of the album's tracks except the purposefully
set off Murder Most Foul. In addition it featured the same 5 songs from
the 60s, 2 songs from the 70s, and 1 song from the 80s. Despite the static
setlist, the performances felt fresh and vital. From my seat at stage
left, I could see only that Bob had on a dark jacket and some sort of
collared shirt. He also was the only band member who went hatless.

The show started with I'll Be Your Baby Tonight, which featured an easy
going start but soon jumped into a rollicking pace. The new drummer, Anton
Fig, was hitting hard, pushing the song into something surprisingly
danceable as Bob spit out the lyrics. Next up was It Ain't Me Babe, which
Bob played the intro on guitar as usual with his back facing the audience.
The guitar intro sounded great, following which Bob gave a conversational
performance of the song featuring some big piano fills. I wonder if this
song is a response following A Complete Unknown, telling the audience that
they still can't define Bob.

Next came a bluesy shuffle version of I Contain Multitudes, with the
backing making for an ominous sound that is not present on the album
version. Bob stood at the piano for this song, which led to some of the
vocals being a bit hard to pick out as Dylan struggled at times to stay on
the mic. Another R&RW tune, False Prophet, followed, with the show kicking
up a notch starting here. Fig gave the song a strong beat and Bob sang
very well and played a great piano solo. After this song, Bob said
something about Davenport that no one around me could follow, hopefully a
tape clears it up.

Dylan gave When I Paint My Masterpiece a lovely harmonica intro and the
song featured a sound that reminded me strongly of Man Gave Names to All
the Animals, which I found effective. I also enjoyed the staccato delivery
and Bob's piano before he ended with more harmonica. The only demerit here
is that Bob was off the mic too much at the beginning. Dylan turned back
to R&RW for Black Rider, which was given a very light instrumental and a
lot of vocal echo. I loved Bob's stripped down piano solo on this one.
I'd heard a lot of chatter about Bob's band taking over a lot of these
songs on this tour but that was certainly not true tonight.

Next up was My Own Version of You, which I thought was a highlight of the
show. The song featured an even more sparse arrangement and Dylan did a
version that came close to being spoken word. The unusual clarity of the
vocals had the crowd eating out of his hand. Bob taunted the subject of
the song and also the audience as the instrumental kept teasing a climax
that never came. Sometimes the wait is the best part. Instead, Bob's
vocals provided the climax as he was nearly shouting at the end. That
likely wore on the next song, To Be Alone With You, as Dylan's vocals
were often missing, particularly in the first half of the song. The
driving shuffle of the song along with Dylan's piano playing kept it
enjoyable.

Next the first big surprise: Bob turned and grabbed his guitar to play an
intro for Crossing the Rubicon. Bob's voice returned for this one, Anton
was slamming the drum beat, and Bob unleashed a monster piano solo on this
sinister and biting version that was another highlight. Next came the most
rhythmic Desolation Row I have ever heard, which brought out some hand
claps from the audience at the beginning of the song. The song featured a
good tempo, lots of energy (especially from the driving acoustic guitar),
and yet another guitar turn from Dylan, this one coming in the middle of
the song. I never imagined I would tap my leg so hard to Desolation Row
that it would start to hurt! It was simply one of the best performances of
this song I've heard.

Bob turned back to R&RW for Key West and again the song featured a very
sparse sound contributing to a nearly rapped version with a sung chorus.
Maybe Dylan's been watching more MGK videos. As usual the mention of the
Gulf of Mexico brought scattered cheers and I thought Fig did a masterful
job of playing a sparse but precisely supportive drum part. Bob grabbed
the guitar for the fourth and final time tonight for the intro to Watching
the River Flow, which featured a strong instrumental but was marred
slightly by the vocals not being clear, particularly towards the
beginning.

Next came the pinnacle of the show, and one of the finest live
performances I have ever heard. It's All Over Baby Blue started with a
forceful and beautiful harmonica intro that brought a huge crowd reaction.
The main instrumental was piano driven and drum supported with the rest of
the band far down in the mix. Bob finished the performance with another
harmonica solo that brought a tear to this reviewer's eye. After that
came I've Made Up My Mind to Give Myself to You, which I consider the true
jewel of the R&RW album. This version was more faithful to the album
version than some I've heard and was beautifully sung, perhaps the most
consistently beautiful singing of the night. After the show, a stranger I
chatted with specifically asked where he could find this song - I wish I
could hear that studio version for the first time again.

Bob introduced the band after this song and then went into Mother of
Muses, which was mostly notable for being more band dependent than the
studio version. This song was also well sung, with some of the vocals
bordering on booming. The vocals were a bit too quiet at times on Goodbye
Jimmy Reed but Anton's big drum part made this a fun shuffle. I also
enjoyed Dylan's piano solo here and the ending guitar solo.

Bob ended with Every Grain of Sand, which was powerful but understated
until the thunderous closing harmonica solo. While talking to a friend
after, we both agreed that Dylan's harmonica parts at this show were
some of the most impactful we've heard and his marvelous harmonica solo to
end Every Grain of Sand and the show was the best of those parts.
Following this song, Dylan posed towards the back of the stage, the lights
dimmed, and he and the band headed off to Peoria, leaving behind a
transcendent performance and a thrilled audience.

Don't walk, run to find this tape when it becomes available. This would be
good enough to officially release someday. While I will slightly ding this
show for the occasional vocal drop outs, the concert showed Bob's skill
at 3 different instruments and his ability to constantly reinvent songs
he's sung hundreds of times in the past five years. We'll never see
another performer like Dylan and he's on fire right now. While it is
always tempting to crown the latest show as the greatest show, this truly
belongs in the top tier of the shows I have seen.

So there I was: sitting in a combination bar and movie theater on the cool
block of Davenport - the block with the record store and the vintage shop.
I'd been wandering the city trying to find a cup of coffee, which is not
the sort of thing you can do easily after 3pm in Davenport. But word had
it that The Last Picture House would brew me one, and it was true. The
bartender mentioned that someone had just asked her what the state rock of
Iowa was.

"Is it the geode?" I asked.

It WAS the geode. She was amazed. I was amazed, too. The state rock of
Iowa is the sort of thing you learn as a fourth grader in Iowa and never
imagine you'll use again. Indeed, I may have a longer childhood than
most people by sheer virtue of the Iowa History unit I took in fourth
grade, in which each hour seemed to last a year. But now, 35-odd years
later, a fact I learned that endless year actually came up in the real
world, and I had it in the pocket.

"In the pocket" would be the theme for this show, in fact. The weather
was right in the pocket. The venue, the lovely Adler Theatre, was in the
pocket. The sound, after a song or two, was in the pocket. And the crowd!
The crowd was vocal in reacting to great moments, but around me it was a
total contrast to last night. Last night I had a drunk guy who didn't
shut up much next to me. Tonight I was surrounded by classic Iowans who
might have just stepped out of a Grant Wood painting. They seemed like
their drinking never went beyond medicinal wine from a teaspoon, and they
seemed not to have said a word since about the Eisenhower administration,
or a word above a whisper since Hoover. There would be no distractions
tonight. It was in the pocket.

But I wished there was some other veteran sitting right by me, because at
times I wanted to confirm what I was hearing with someone else. What I was
hearing was a show where Bob was being wildly inventive, not just with his
singing, but with his piano, harp, and guitar - but always getting the
ball in the pocket (never mind getting dandelions pulled or the screen
door patched or the beefsteak pounded).  

There was guitar on FOUR songs tonight: after the long "It Ain't Me
Babe" (playing half the song as an instrumental), he brought it out
again for "Rubicon" (after spending a moment fussing with his pants,
getting the cuffs over his boots), a long "River Flow" intro, and a
ripping mid-song solo on "Desolation Row."  And each of them were far
better than any guitar I heard in the fall. The piano was creative and
effective. And the harp... the harp!

Just a few highlights:
- The rocked up "I Contain Multitudes" was far tighter tonight. 

- "False Prophet" seemed to feature Doug more prominently on his
acoustic guitar. It was a jaunty version. The piano solos on the bridge
called to mind "St. James Infirmary." Bob pointed a bit as he sang,
and for the first time "Hold out your hand, ain't nothing' to
hold" seemed to have a double meaning to me. Is he saying there's
nothing for the hand to hold, or no hand to hold out? Part of the fun of
shows is noticing those nuances, and I'm still noticing new ones after
all these shows.

- Before "Masterpiece" Bob said something about "Cavortin' in
Davenport" before a particularly fine harp solo. By this point the
vocals had been softened - that's the only way I can describe them. They
sounded softer - not so much how he was singing, just something in the
vocal chain between the mic and the speakers (after another tinny sounding
opening song).  

- He was being very deliberate in his singing, really telling the stories
with clear intention, all night. The Hebrew word "kavanah" means
"intention;" it usually comes up when talking about praying sincerely
and thinking about the words and intent of your prayer. He sang with
kavanah all night. 

- A fight seemed to break out someplace in the crowd during "Black
Rider." The curse of London lives on.

- The quiet "My Own Version of You" seemed especially sinister. 

- The harp on Baby Blue! Bob played all three instruments especially well
tonight. 

- The openings to songs continues to be a cacophony sort of LIKE the band
tuning up, only they're not tuning up. It's just a bit of chaos - the
spirit moving on the water and darkness on the face of the deep - out of
which rises the song. 

- There was some talk about Doug's recording history in the band intros
but I couldn't make it out over the cheering. I felt like there was a
lot more interplay between Doug's acoustic guitar and Bob's piano
tonight. 

Maybe it was the sound and the crowd, but I thought tonight was light
years better than Green Bay. Bob's instrument playing was inventive and
creative, but almost never messy. The band seemed tight.  It was in the
pocket.  And seeing Bob in my home state (for just the second time) seemed
powerful to me, personally. The Mississippi River was a block away, and
coming into town you ride Highway 61 past Fourth Street. 

Now, as for the town: in Davenport, unlike some cities on this tour, you
DO have to watch both ways when you cross the street. But you don't have
to watch very carefully. Of the Quad Cities on the Mississippi River, this
is the one to go to - though at the bar they told me I should watch out
for gangs. I'm not sure what kind of gangster shoots for the status of
"Kingpin of Davenport," but, hey, I guess a job is a job. Enjoyed the
Last Picture House bar with Will, Dan Klute, and Mark V.  Post show hit
the arcade bar with all the above named plus Stu Levitan, Peter, Sue,
Kevin, and Maddy and Gary. Maddy, Gary, and I got a lot further on The
Simpsons arcade game than we did in Edingburgh last tour.  In the morning
I asked the front desk where to get a good cup of coffee, and they
suggested the Kwik Stop.  Things are cheap in this town. The coffee I'm
drinking now cost 2.50. Beers last night were $3. But Skee Ball cost two
tokens, which is double the normal price. Maybe it's the tariffs.  

Anyway, Bob seemed playful and creative last night. Things should start to
get interesting right about now. 

I attended Bob's Davenport show last night with friend Paul and wife
Betsy. We experienced a truly inspired performance! I shall attempt to
concisely describe the magic:

Absolutely inspiring show! The band was incredibly tight, one song
engaging rock and roll and next totally atmospheric deep groove. Bob's
piano playing was mesmerizing, and his guitar breaks firey. Bob's vocals
ranged from thunderous power to sensitive whispers.

I have seen Bob innumerable times and this show tops the list, because at
83 his passion, creativity, and expressive delivery are astounding!

In particular, there were passages during "It's All Over Now, Baby
Blue" and "Every Grain of Sand" that stirred my very soul and
brought tears to my eyes. It was Bob's harp solos and his delivery of
"forget the dead you left they will not follow you" on the former and
his delivery of "in the fury of the moment, I can see the Master's
hand..."n every sparrow falling..in every grain of sand" in the later.

I am feeling blessed to have experienced Bob's music live anew! It was
true Mastery.

Greg Swanson