Reviews
Noblesville, Indiana
Klipsch Music Center
July 5, 2013
July 5, 2013
Review by J. Mansfield
,
This is a review on bob's show only,although all 3 other acts
yesterday had spectacular performances/set lists... last time me & my wife
saw bob was in 2009 in south bend and the last time i had been to
"klipsch" was when bob played there in,i believe 99' with phil lesh....i
first saw dylan in 1994...saw him alot in 95',96',99',2001,2003 as well...
-things have changed...indeed,especially the lighting (bob has some big
tall spotlights that also fade but are aimed almost directly at the
crowd,a big fire burner to the left of his piano and everything is set to
mellow low light throughout, so be prepared to not exactly have an
illuminating (at least literally) experience...i actually liked the
lighting but now wish i'd been closer because of it (me & my wife were in
the back few rows of section d)..the mirrors on stage is very strange too
(is he making it hard for people with their robots/cameras to capture his
image?if so,that is great!)...the performance itself,music-wise was an 8
out of 10. -love sick...my sister & brother in law (who were in the lawn
with other family and friends) probably loved that he played this
song...it was a decent performance,but not the best i've witnessed-that
was back in 99' of course...7/10 -High Water...i started to notice charlie
sexton was back in the fold and could see some interplay/excitement
between him and bob at this point...bob wasn't as animated as what i saw
from you tube from a few nights before but it still was swingin'! a drawn
out ending too...8/10. -Soon After Midnight-first time i'd seen this
performed and i enjoyed it's brilliance...like a
"transfiguration"....8/10. -Early Roman Kings-first time for me here
too...muddy waters like romp sounded great a similar to "tempest"!...9/10.
-Tangled Up In Blue-could tell charlie was getting re-acclimated into the
brotherhood again...speakin' of brotherhood,the chris robinson brotherhood
or black crowes would's been a prefect group to have had on this
AmericanaramA tour as well!...some missed chords here & there but
anyway,tangled get's a 7/10. -Duquesne Whistle-yet another 1st for me and
highly enjoyable but it almost seems like it's re arranged a little from
the album w/some strange chord change somewhere.7/10. -She Belongs To
Me-this was by far the highlight of the show to me and not only because of
the chance to hear this great song but also because of it's arrangement-it
has a driving charge to it that you won't quite see coming...thrilling!
10/10. -Beyond Here Lies Nothin'-sounds like nietzsche dwelling on the one
that got away & his own eternal return...since i was here at this venue
for the last grateful dead performance in 1995,it reminded me of
that..."desolation row" would 'a fit in this set list slot just fine as
well,but i knew it wasn't to be because bob's set lists have not changed
much at all recently...8/10. -A Hard Rain's A-Gonna Fall was great
tonight! i sang along with him...he knows his song well!...& no rain fell
on noblesville this night but it almost did...8/10. -Blind Willie McTell
-the other top performance of the night, i thought...one of the most
existentialist blues numbers ever brought about by bob and an honor to
hear him perform it even in the middle of hoosier-land-10/10. -Simple
Twist Of Fate was beautiful and i just wish jeff tweedy would'a been
invited out on this number because he sang it at his own festival at the
wilco cover show just a short time ago and jeff could'a harmonized
beautifully with bob,without a doubt...9/10. -Summer Days was the weakest
performance which is odd w/charlie back in the band because he shines so
much on this one usually...but even the grateful dead had songs that just
burnt out on their own accord sometimes and i think like,"like a rolling a
stone",this one needs to be put to bed for awhile...6/10. -watchtower
started on a high note exciting the crowd then the second verse started
getting choppy with bob's up-singing but then came back into the last
verse strong after a mellow part-very cool!..hendrix was smiling down on
us tonight somewhere...is the last verse actually the first verse?this
songs narrative goes backwards,right?"time is running backwards & so is
the bride"?...history repeats itself..eternal return here again and
again...9/10. -the encore of thin man was perfect! bob's harmonica blew
the roof off the dump as that Indiana native,"letterdude" would say...i
just don't know what i'm gonna say when i get home...9/10. ...rock on bob!
we love you.
Review by David Lindquist
Dylan communicates decades of greatness at Klipsch
Bob Dylan delivered a crowd-pleasing career overview Friday night at Klipsch Music
Center, where Western swing, jump blues and rockabilly were his American music
styles of choice.
The Rock and Roll Hall of Famer is touring as headliner of the “Americanarama”
festival that includes esteemed modern bands Wilco and My Morning Jacket on
the bill. Friday’s show attracted an undersized audience of perhaps 7,000.
Dylan strayed from U.S. genres when executing 1960s folk standard “A Hard
Rain’s A-Gonna Fall” as a near-waltz. By repeatedly emphasizing “It’s a hard” and
treating “rain’s a-gonna fall” as an afterthought, Dylan taught his fans a new way
to sing along.
His efforts paid off during the song’s final verse — a crescendo of words bursting
in air: “Where the executioner’s face is always well hidden; where hunger is ugly,
where souls are forgotten; where black is the color, where none is the number.”
Dylan closed the main part of his performance with “All Along the Watchtower,”
spitting each syllable to land on the driving rhythm supplied by drummer George
Recile.
More 1960s magic arrived with a generous, measured rendition of “She Belongs
to Me,” accented by a Dylan talent that never ages: his harmonica playing.
Current album “Tempest” was represented by “Soon After Midnight,” a dreamy
rhyming game that featured guitarist Charlie Sexton adding a fine facsimile of
Santo & Johnny’s “Sleepwalk.”
Less engaging was “Tempest” selection “Early Roman Kings,” a dead-end retread
of “I’m a Man”/“Mannish Boy.”
Dylan’s eternally debated voice is an appropriate tool for weary blues and gallows
humor. When he fails to enunciate (by choice or otherwise), one of two sounds
is heard: gruff exhalation or piercing ascent in pitch.
But without question, the Minnesota native can get a point across. During “Love
Sick” (from 1997’s “Time Out of Mind” album), he threw out his arms to signal an
instrumental pause before theatrically barking “I’m love sick.”
“Watch the throne,” seemed to be the message from Dylan, a 72-year-old who
could give swagger lessons to Jay-Z and Kanye West.
Ego was mostly absent during Wilco’s performance. The Chicago-based band
opened with two gentle songs from “Mermaid Avenue”: “At My Window Sad and
Lonely” and “Hesitating Beauty.” A 1998 project in which Wilco and Billy Bragg
crafted songs from unreleased Woody Guthrie lyrics, “Mermaid Avenue” certainly
fits the context of Guthrie acolyte Dylan.
Wilco returned to “Mermaid Avenue” for a rendition of “California Stars” with
special guest Richard Thompson. The song’s democratic rotation of solos included
Nels Cline on guitar, Mikael Jorgensen on organ, Pat Sansone on piano, Thompson
adding Nashville-worthy guitar picking and Jeff Tweedy on acoustic guitar.
Long-running English musician Thompson opened the show with a 30-minute
showcase of multidimensional guitar solos, all jagged and purposeful.
Wilco and Thompson also collaborated on “Sloth,” a sprawling jam first recorded
by Thompson’s old band, Fairport Convention, in 1970. The guitar interplay
between Thompson and Cline became an instant classic of the “Americanarama”
experiment.
With no selections from breakthrough 1996 album “Being There,” Wilco’s
performance lacked a sonic cornerstone (even with the inclusion of “Shouldn’t Be
Ashamed” from debut album “A.M.”). Still, it was a treat to see new listeners
respond in awe to the white-noise surprise attacks within 1999 ballad
“Via Chicago.”
My Morning Jacket proved to be the most consistently entertaining act on the bill.
On “Where to Begin,” a song recorded for the 2005 film “Elizabethtown,” vocalist
Jim James sang in a warm croon reminiscent of Dylan on “Nashville Skyline.” MMJ’s
“Off the Record” arrived squarely at the intersection of brute force and dance
tune.
My Morning Jacket guitarist and Indianapolis native Carl Broemel should be
recognized as the night’s top fashion icon — even when stacked against the
wide-brimmed hats worn by Dylan and Tweedy. Broemel accented his dark pants
and jacket with a green shirt (tuxedo ruffles), blue socks and white shoes.
Set lists for Bob Dylan, Wilco and My Morning Jacket
Bob Dylan
1. “Things Have Changed”
2. “Love Sick”
3. “High Water (for Charley Patton)”
4. “Soon After Midnight”
5. “Early Roman Kings”
6. “Tangled Up in Blue”
7. “Duquesne Whistle”
8. “She Belongs to Me”
9. “Beyond Here Lies Nothin’ ”
10. “A Hard Rain’s A-Gonna Fall”
11. “Blind Willie McTell”
12. “Simple Twist of Fate”
13. “Summer Days”
14. “All Along the Watchtower”
15. “Ballad of a Thin Man”
Wilco
1. “At My Window Sad and Lonely”
2. “Hesitating Beauty”
3. “Muzzle of Bees”
4. “Shouldn’t Be Ashamed”
5. “Country Disappeared”
6. “Art of Almost”
7. “Born Alone”
8. “Sloth” (Fairport Convention cover, with Richard Thompson)
9. “California Stars” (with Richard Thompson)
10. “Via Chicago”
11. “I'm Always in Love”
12. “Dawned on Me”
13. “Heavy Metal Drummer”
14. “I'm the Man Who Loves You”
My Morning Jacket
1. “At Dawn”
2. “Outta My System”
3. “First Light”
4. “Lay Low”
5. “Where to Begin”
6. “Slow Slow Tune”
7. “Golden”
8. “Smokin’ from Shootin’ ”
9. “Victory Dance”
10. “Off the Record”
11. “Phone Went Dead”
12. “Gideon”
provided by David Lindquist
The Indianapolis Star
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