| Reviews Bridgeport, Connecticut Hartford HealthCare Amphitheater July 19, 2026 |
Review by Peter Smith
Sunday was a beautiful, sunny and breezy summer day in Fairfield County
CT. The weather over the preceding week was anything but that; from heat
and humidity to darkened smoke filled skies from Canadian wildfires, it
wasn't fun to be outside. It was a pleasure to stroll the plaza outside
the Hartford Healthcare Amphitheater in an effort to score a spare ticket
rather than succumb to the box office on site. The pleasant vibe was
enhanced by a remarkable young man with a guitar singing Dylan songs like
The Man in Me and Nobody 'Cept You outside the gate. His overflowing tip
jar was a good barometer of his talent. Once inside, the setting sun on
the open air sides of the venue cast a warm glow on the numerous Amtrak
and Metro North trains passing on the nearby tracks and the semis crawling
along on Interstate 95. Jimmie Vaughan and his band, complete with horns,
rallied the crowd in a spirited performance of Texas roadhouse blues.
Having not seen him perform, I was struck by how much he sounded and
looked like his more famous, long dead, brother, Stevie Ray. The shiny
steel tips on his black cowboy boots glistened in the sun on the massive
video screens on the side of the stage. Those same screens went dark when
Dylan and band took to the now dimly lit stage. Bob was wearing an
unzipped white shiny rain jacket with black borders at its two breast
pockets zippers. He appeared to be wearing a black hat under the rain
jacket's hood, but it was unclear whether it was a hat or part of the
hood as the two stayed fixed in place throughout the performance. When
Dylan stood before the audience at the end of the show, the long sleeves
of the rain jacket were visible and caused one to wonder how they would
not have made his piano playing a challenge. Judging from his limited
movements during the show, it seems apparent he has figured how to work
with this new fixture in his onstage wardrobe. After a ragged start on To
Be Alone With You, the new band settled in and Dylan hit his vocal stride
and greatest connection with the audience with his strong vocal
performance of a rearranged It Ain't Me Babe. This was followed by
understated, lyrical versions of Trying to Get to Heaven and the formerly
rousing False Prophet. The fun really started with Dylan's cover of
Samuel Smith's I Can Tell (You Don't Love Me Anymore). Julian Lage and
Joel Paterson got a chance to show their stuff on a rousing reimagined
version of When I Paint My Masterpiece. Dylan gave inspired albeit brief
harmonica solos on Under the Red Sky and Every Grain of Sand to close the
show. All in all, the sound of the band is more restrained in this new
incarnation, painting a picture of Dylan in another setting, different,
but no less enjoyable than prior versions. It was a lovely summer night
and a pleasure to witness the continuing evolution of this treasure of our
time.
Peter Smith
peter.smith156@gmail.com
Review by Henry Miller
Full Steam Ahead... The Bridgeport June 19, 2026 show was highly
enjoyable, not least because the heat and smoke cleared out and the
weather was perfect. Jimmy Vaughn was quite good as the opener - he did a
few older jazz and blues standards along with Texas guitar-slinger
straight-ahead blues that bridged the gap between older, more variegated
musical styles and newer ones as Bob has also been doing in recent years,
so a good fit. It was also somewhat of a lark to have Amtrak and Metro
North trains passing by the side of the venue (quietly, thank goodness)-
the ghost of Jimmie Rodgers was surely a brakeman on one of them.
Bob was in great voice - really about the best I've ever heard (if not
in range, then in clarity), though the mike might have been turned up just
a hair more to better effect. As for the guitarists, to date I'd say,
without getting into the weeds, that they have worked out certain songs
better than others. I found Paterson the more dialed-in of the two - I
don't think Lage missing shows right out of the gate helped. (Question:
if he's the jazz guy why is he playing so much rhythm, and on a Tele at
that? Redux Freddie Koella, with respect to a rearguard sound? Jet lag,
perhaps? Lighter strings might be worth a try, perhaps?) In short, they
need to play together a bit longer to fully iron things out - not
surprising where they have both come in mid-tour.
Overall the high-points (Share Your Love, Rubicon, Masterpiece, Jimmy
Reed) were quite good, as was the majority of the show - just a few awkward
guitar moments here and there as mentioned. I'd say the future bodes
well on present evidence.
Just one little further quip regarding a lyric re-write with respect to
Every Grain of Sand: Judging from current COL issues, AI
developments/employment concerns, and world conflagrations - not to mention
climate warming and wildfire issues - the notion that this world of all of
ours constitutes a 'perfect finished plan' strikes one as a bit of a
stretch. How about going back to 'the reality of man' language, Bob -
which reality seems particularly problematic currently, alas. It has a
vaguely French existentialist ring to it and you're so good at being
vague. More to the point, when the future is not known (vs. bing perfectly
planned) one may better be said to be hanging in a sort of balance, which
otherwise doesn't work as well as a metaphor. Just my agnostic, literary
opinion...
Review by Sabino
I was supposed to be out of town last weekend but my flight was canceled
on Saturday so I was home, and come Sunday I remembered Bob was 90 minutes
from my NJ home so about 3pm I bought a ticket and was on my way. The
Hartford Healthcare Amphitheater is a strange place between the Amtrak
Train station and route 95 which made me think if the travelers knew what
was happening as they moved through! Easy to park and I was in for Jimmy
Vaughn and his band which was a great start to the beautiful summer
evening. At 8:30 the lights went down and there he was Bob Dylan. To be
so close to him is such a rush! The show was sublime, I have seen the
Outlaw shows the past two summers and my first reaction to" To Be Alone
With You" is how perfect Joel Paterson and Julian Lage are together. A
perfect fit for the band and these songs! The whole show was fantastic
but "Man In the Long Black Coat" and "Crossing the Rubicon" were worth
the price of admission. Great harp in Red Sky and we got "Every Grain of
Sand" with another great harp solo. What a performance, Bob was on his
game in great voice and having a blast. Tony was thumping and Anton Fig
added some great new twists in Rubicon and Masterpiece. The only bummer
was a talkative crowd for the first four songs, then they settled in. The
coolest thing was seeing many families with kids from 5-25 wearing Dylan
shirts and taking family photos of this amazing night with the Master.
Lesson learned - Going to a Bob Dylan show is always a great
idea.
| Click Here to return to the Main Page |
page by Bill Pagel
billp61@boblinks.com
| Current Tour Guide |
Older Tour Guides |
Bob Links Page |
Songs Performed |
Set Lists by Date |
Set Lists by Location |
Cue Sheets |