Reviews

I had seen him in Zurich at the beginning of May so I'm gonna
compare the two dates. First of all it was just great beeing able to see
the concert just 10 minutes from my house. The seats were numbered and I
left my house at 8.30p.m. when the concert started at 9p.m. The Milan
crowd seemed to be warmer then the audience in Zurich right away. Apart
from we italians known for beeing kind of warm people, I think it also
comes from Mr. Dylan beeing away from Milan for a pretty long time.
Anyway, talking about the concert, the main thing I can say is that I
didn't like the setlist too much. Just too many super big hits and no
rarities apart from "Tell me that it isn't true". I preferred the Zurich
setlist, no doubt. Mr. Dylan and the band played perfect and the voice was
clear enough. I think Mr. Dylan played some very good guitar solos better
than in Zurich. He just seemed a bit too cold to me during the first hour
and a half. What really amazed me was the encores part. He just started
getting really energetic and warm. He really seemed to be in great
physical shape. Good sign for our neverending tour! Just hope he finds
some time for recording in the studio and not use all his energy and
creativity for the concerts. I just can't wait to hear a new studio album,
especially if it has the same quality level of the last precious jewel he
gave us (Time out of mind).

Luca Mazzotti
email: mazzotti@puntoinrete.com

I'm sitting in my 8th row seat in the Palavobis, it's almost time for Bob
and the band to come out, and i'm just wondering how long it will take
before the predictable rush to the stage...I don't have to wait long.
Lights go down and before i can even realize it, dozens of people rush to
the stage. I stand up but keep my seat, it's pretty close and the view is
really good anyway. Bob and the band go straight intot 'Roving Gambler'.
Not much to say about it. Ususal standard, Bob's voice sounds really good
but i have the feeling he's not 'focused' yet. Weird grins on his face, he
looks almost sleepy, but the song is ok on the whole. 'Times' is just
good, I still cant get how Bob can't mess up the lyrics although he's
playing this one
 almost every night...'Desolation row' and Bob really starts to warm up.
Focused, caressing every line...really good. 'Baby blue' is only adequate,
Bob's singing is always pretty good but the inspiration seems to be
somewhere else, tonight....The usual rockin' Tangled up in blue'. I've
heard this hundreds of times but this night it really works out right, the
band is uptight and Bob looks quite focused again. 'Ramona' closes up the
acoustic set. Waltzing version, with Larry's mandolin in evidence and some
nice guitar pickings from Charlie. I smile when they start 'Country pie'.
I love this rocking version, pure fun and they play it just great. this is
the first time Charlie really shows up, and he does a great job indeed. I
didn't expect 'Tell me that it isn't true' and it's a welcome surprise.
Bob sings it just great, really into the song, Larry is perfect on steel.
Then what we have is a old-style pretty rockin 'Watchtower'. Great sound, 
Bob' s singing is just good but not so powerful. He lifts his guitar up
(like so many times during the show)..this looks weird...his playing is
quite rough, just some notes thrown in meaningless... i begin to think
that his back problems are really back...Usual great singing on 'Not dark
yet'. I love the live version of this, delicate and heartfelt. Then we are
given one of the highlights of the night..An amazing 'Cold irons bound',
with a pretty much different verse structure than the 97/98 versions. Just
Bob's voice, Charlie pickin and, at the end of each verse, all the band
burst in to get back into shadows and then in again..It's great, and the
sound is fantastic. H61 closes the set. Before this one, Bob introduces
the band. When it comes to David, Bob says "David's one of the few drummer
who's better than no drummer at all...'  Not really much to say about this
version. I expected Love sick as first encore, but what we've got is an
only adequate 'Thin man'. Bob sings it good, but his solo is really
terrible...'Rolling stone' and the crowds sings along and dance and jumps
as usual. One too many mornings is another highlight, one of the best
Bob's performance of the night. His singin here has gotta be heard to be
believed...and it's hard to describe. The next three songs bring the show
to its end. They're good but not unforgettable, although 'Forever young'
is sung really great these days, sweet and careful. A pretty good show on
the whole. As soon as Bob keeps such a good voice and delivers it so well,
i'll never go out disappointed. Inspiration...well, this is a different
matter. Whereas in Modena Bob was 'plugged in'  and inspired all through
the (fantastic) show, he didn't look  that inspired all the time in Milan.
It's ok, of course, these are pretty good shows anyway, so i won't 'lay
down my bandana and complain'. Not at all.

Alessandro Cavazzuti

Hey all, I'm back from my trip to Italy, Milano. After I've seen Bob in
Zürich, and I was disapointed there, I wanted to know, how it will be to
see him for the second time in three weeks. And let me tell you: He was
wonderful. His voice was so soft while he was singing Ramona, a beautiful
waltz.. (Hope it will not be the last one...). Cold Iron Bounds was so
surprising with his new cloth. Bob shouted the words out like a hurricane.
The precision of the band members is unbeliveble. I wonder: Are these
alternate versions they also recorded for TOOM? Can't wait in Zürich was
played very slow, an angry blues it was there. In Zürich I thought Dylan
can't play the guitar (acoustic) anymore. It was soooo bad. But in Milano
he played with so much feelings. The people were really crazy about Bob. I
love this Italians. There was no bad tune the whole concert. NOT ONE!! All
along the watchtower was rocking like in the "good old days".... Hey
people, let me tell you this. Don't be too disapointed if you once visit a
"bad" concert from our grandfather. He's always worth a second chance (or
a third one...). The Bob concert of my dreams was in Montreux 98 where he
nearly danced the whole show through, smiled the whole time, made some
jokes, touched hands of the people... But it can't be every day like
Montreux, so thanks Bob! May God bless you! Paddy from

http://www.streetlegal.ch

About 6000 people came at the venue tonight, all  reserved seats except
for some seats in the stand from where you could not see or hear anything.
I had bought one of those tickets, but luckily just as the lights went
down and the first notes came out of the amps, I (and other people too)
rushed to the stage eluding the security man who was supposed to prevent
people without tickets for the reserved seats from going to the parquet.
Well this was the beginning of:

> Roving Gambler

I love this one, and I loved the way they played it. Very, very good.

> The Times They Are A-Changin'

No big surprise to me, I knew that among the choices for the second slot
there was The Times They Are A-Channgin’ and so it was. I think it was
quite good and Bob managed to play some good stuff on his guitar. At the
very beginning of the following song I thought it was Masters again,
instead it was:

> Desolation Row (acoustic)

Wow! What a version! Really amazing, the first real emotion of the night.
Even if he started to play his totally absurd notes on his guitar, this
was sung in a terrific way. I loved it.

> It's All Over Now, Baby Blue (acoustic)

Another song which he didn’t play yesterday in Modena, much less
rhythmical than the one recorded in Vienna last year that I listened to,
but very good indeed. Bob seemed very concentrated on the words which he
sang very clearly.

> Tangled Up In Blue

Pretty much the same as yesterday

> To Ramona (acoustic)

Well, after the first four song all different from yesterday’s set list,
To Ramona in the same slot as yesterday, but in a less fascinating version
and without harp.

> Country Pie

Yeah! Warm up for the electric part! Great stuff from both Larry and
Charlie as usual. Maybe this is the only song in which Bob doesn’t play
any solo letting the two fellows enjoy themselves a little bit.

> Tell Me That It Isn't True

Uh! Another one from Nashville Skyline! This was really great and Bob
nearly played a good guitar solo. It seemed they really had a great fun
playing this song, and then came:

> All Along The Watchtower

Nice, very loud and played with a lot of energy, this was greeted with a
big roar by the public who recognized it from the first two chords (one of
the few song everyone recognizes right away). Things got a little bit
softer with:

> Not Dark Yet
which was played well, but the big surprise was:

> Cold Irons Bound

After the amazing “Can’t Wait” yesterday we got this great rearrangement
of Cold Irons Bound and it really kicked ass!! After that I was expecting
Leopard instead there was:

> Highway 61 Revisited

Another different song from Modena, but according to me, just like leopard
yesterday, this wasn’t played well and the absurd soloing of Bob ruined
the song. As I said in yesterday’s review, I guess he’s making fun of us,
he knows how to play guitar, but he’s a folk guitar player not a guitar
hero and who knows for what reason he decided to play the role of the
guitar hero in the past few years.

The second part of the show included:

> Ballad Of A Thin Man

What to say, he really sang very well this one but once again he lost
himself in a dreadful sequence of absurd notes. Apart from that I liked
it.

> Like A Rolling Stone

Bad just like yesterday, even if the public seemed to appreciate.

> One Too Many Mornings

Quite good, even if Bob sang it almost without melody.

> Not Fade Away

> Forever Young

I don’t know what happens in other countries, but here in Italy people
always try to sing along and this is fun even if sometimes, and this was
the case, they sing completely out of tune.

> Rainy Day Women #12 & #35
> Blowin' In The Wind

Apart from the second part of the show which, according to me, got worse
and worse, this concert was better than yesterday’s and had a completely
different set list (twelve different songs!!). Lucky me and all the people
who could see both.

Bye
Matteo

Several things made this the best of three concerts for me. First, we had 
excellent seats but at a little distance, so I was able to pay more attention 
to the music. Second, the audience was very receptive right from the start. 
Third, although Bob looked more tired than the night before, at times he 
truly melted me down with the beauty and tenderness of his singing. 
Fourth, of the nineteen songs sung, twelve were different from the night 
before!
This night he was dressed more casually, short black jacket, white shirt, 
red tie and white boots.
High points of the acoustic set were an elegiac "Times Changin'" in the 
second slot, and "Tangled Up in Blue," not one of my personal favorites 
but I did dig it in Milan.
The electric set was really exciting, with Bob pulling "Tell Me That It Isn't 
True" out of his hat, followed by "Watchtower" and then, the two songs that 
were the great moments of these shows for me, "Not Dark Yet," and a new 
arrangement of "Cold Irons Bound" that positively shook me. I'm no music 
critic but I'll try to explain what it was like. The song was organized in 
three repeating sections. First, a stop-and-start bit, then, when the lyrics 
say he's "out of control," the music is chaotic and all over the place--it 
really made me feel physically uncomfortable--and then, the song just 
rocked out! I really hoped to hear this again in Ancona, but no luck!
The encore set opened with "Mr. Jones" in place of "Love Sick," which I 
couldn't complain about, and included a lovely, tender, "One Too Many 
Mornings," almost a lullaby. The words were grouped together in short 
phrases, like "one too/many mornings/and a/thousand/miles behind," with 
a rising intonation at the end of the line. After that it was fun to hear "Not 
Fade Away" again after last year in Zurich, before the evidently obligatory 
"Forever Young," "Rainy Day Women" and "Blowin' in the Wind."