Reviews

Great to have Bob and his band back in our backyard, so to speak: the
Hutton Brickyard venue is just 15 miles north of home...and it's a
beautiful spot, right on the Hudson...Stu Kimball started things off with
a strong acoustic intro to "Things Have Changed", and the band really
started to cook about halfway into it...and they really kept it up pretty
much throughout the evening...running through rock, blues, jazz, a touch
of bluegrass, with reworked versions of almost every tune...a whole
different show compared to last summer's show at Tanglewood.  This time
the standout tunes were from the mid-60's:  "Highway 61". "Ballad of a
Thin Man", "Don't Think Twice", and especially "Desolation Row", which was
majestic, magnificent...of the crooned tunes, "Old Black Magic","Why Try
to Change Me Now" and "Autumn  Leaves" worked best..."Stormy Weather" was
less successful. Bob's piano playing has improved significantly with good
chording and some impressive fills...(as well as some overly repetitive
figures at times)...from where we sat (5th row left) the sound system
seemed unkind to Bob's vocals, but I also think the volume on the band was
just too loud. These criticisms are minor: this is a great band doing
great work all night, taking chances and constantly reaching for, and
often hitting incredible high points.   Larry K.

Kingston shares an exit on the NYS Thruway with Woodstock. 
Go west and you are in the idyllic Catskills or go east and you
hit Kingston, first capital of New York and like many upstate cities, a
little worse for wear. The years haven't been kind to Kingston and it has
been trying to reinvent itself for years. The Hudson  Brickyards occupy a
space along the river and holds unlimited possibilities. A local who lives
two houses away told me an upscale condo developer had plans for the site
but went bust much to her joy. The concert venue, a concrete slab covered
by a corrugated roof was supposed to be an indoor swimming pool. The stage
faces the river where plenty of boats we're moored enjoying the show. With
egress and ingress limited to a single road we parked in downtown Kingston
like most and took the free shuttle bus. This worked surprisingly well.
The seating under the roof was rows of folding chairs with a small
standing room area at the rear and off to one side. The other side was a
covered food court with some chairs and picnic tables. The smell of
Barbecue was overpowering in this area. The sound was crystal clear even
in parts of the food court. This show was better paced than Wallingford.
Love Sick in place of a Sinatra slot was a big improvement as was dropping
Scarlet Town for TUIB. Bob's vocals just keep getting better. No rasp, no
up singing, no sing song. Summer Days is a country hoedown and the
highlight for me. After the show I realized Dylan has become Handy Dandy,
from the way he dresses and moves, to the speakeasy stage setting to the
Sinatra covers to the menace and foreboding in his own songs he chooses to
sing. A whole new Bob.

Virginia Lennon came from NYC to 2nd show in Kingston and Syracuse. She
offered me a ride on her car to Hutton Brickyards 2nd show and what’s
more, a ride to Syracuse next day and to NYC on Monday 26th! Wow! My luck
had changed drastically for good.

Virginia and I even had the chance to visit the big pink house on
Woodstock on Saturday afternoon before getting ready for the show. A
really nice and historical place for us Bob heads. It was too pink but not
so big to be honest but who cares.

Second show in Hutton brickyards was also good but I guess 1st show was
better in many ways. Bob played the same setlist as previous night with
all the good Sinatra’s songs and his owns. It was funny but when Bob was
about to start any Sinatra’s he started standing up like in a ceremony
towards the microphone with his hand on his waist, really cool I’d say.

Again powerful performances of “Highway 61” and “Pay in blood”. TUIB and
“Old black magic” loved by audience.

I have to say that “Once upon a time” performance kept in my mind all
night long and even on the way next day to Syracuse.

Something I can’t forget, the organization of the show was a total
disaster, no one knew what their seats were, which section, if they were
going to have a reserved seating or not. If GA meant, right in front or at
the very back. But well, as it was a really small place you could see from
almost anywhere.

After the show it was nice to say hi to Jayne Watson, Mangala, Randy, Jay
and Joanna. Virginia gave a ride to my hotel after having some beers and
food in a bar.

Oscar Montes
forever_young74@hotmail.com