Reviews

Southampton, New York
Long Island University
Southampton College
All For The Sea annual benefit concert
August 19, 2002


[Brian Slattery], [David Goldstein], [Marilyn Di Carlo-Ames], [Roland Pabst], [Tom Ostoyich], [Kathleen], [Trevor]

Review by Brian Slattery



It's three in the afternoon on Tuesday, and I just woke up, almost recovered 
from the long trip from Jersey City to Southampton College to see Bob and his 
band.  The road was long, but the journey was well worth it.  The venue, 
Southampton College's football field, was the strangest venue I've seen Dylan 
in to date, but I've only seen seventeen shows and know that there are many 
stranger places Bob has played.
  
I've heard a few songs from Worcester and Newport, and it sounded like Bob's 
voice was a little ragged.  Probably a result of his much needed and deserved 
time off from touring.  Last night, however, Bob's voice was clear, projecting 
out over the field, for the fans, and friends of the sea, alike.  The 
Southampton show was a benefit for "All for the Sea," and some in attendance 
were there more for the benefit than the concert.  Fortunately, they even seemed 
to get into the show.  Maybe it was recognition of his more well-known songs.  
During LARS, Blowin', and Watchtower, almost everyone was on their feet.  I'd 
like to think that it was more the realization that they were watching a genius 
perform his trade.

Whatever the case, the show was great.  Bob's opening number, A Voice from On 
High, is a nice addition to his 'cover' songs.  One particular line, 'he died 
on the cross, the old rugged cross,' has a great Bob feel to it, and his 
delivery was on target.  I'll Be Your Baby Tonight was done well.  It was 
interesting to hear it in the acoustic set, and Bob did a nice harp solo at 
the end.  It wasn't a highlight, but it was well performed.  It's Alright, Ma 
came next and Bob's delivery was strong, emphasizing all the right lines.  A 
nice treat for me was If You See Her, Say Hello done acoustic.  A harp solo 
would have added to its appeal, but just to hear it was good.
  
Next, came the first electric set.  Tweedle Dee was well played and had some 
nice guitar work, but nothing else stood out about it.  Bob surprised most of 
us with his next song.  Quinn the Eskimo hasn't received much play the past 
few legs of the Never Ending Tour.  Except for Baltimore on Sunday, I'm not 
sure how long it has been since Bob treated us to this fun song.  His delivery 
on this was great.  Bob and the band really seemed to be having fun, and at the 
end they even had a few lines where they stopped playing the guitars as the 
crowd clapped and sang along.  For a brief moment it was 'hootenanny' time in 
Southampton.  Here, the energy was high, and I expected it to blast off, but 
Bob then slowed things down with Moonlight.  It wasn't an inspired performance, 
but was well played.  He followed this up with a new take on High Water.  The 
arrangement was so different; I didn't realize what he was playing until he 
started singing.  Quite impressive, although I prefer the sound of the album 
version.  An acoustic Forever Young was a tender, crowd pleasing number, 
followed by a good TUIB that would have been great with a little harp solo.  
I wouldn't mind to see the harp brought out on every number though, so don't 
mind me.

Again, at this point, the energy was quite strong and I was expecting a Don't 
Think Twice, or Baby Blue, or maybe even Visions, but Bob slowed things down 
again with Searching for a Soldier's Grave.  He ended the second acoustic set 
with this, and then blasted off with Summer Days.  The crowd got into this one, 
with more than a few couples even swing dancing in the aisles.  Nice guitar 
work.  Then Bob treated us to Never Gonna Be The Same Again, another song that 
hasn't received much airing until this past leg of the tour.  Bob and the band 
followed this up with a searing Wicked Messenger, ending with a short harp solo.  
RDW12&35 ended the set, with everyone on their feet, and Bob doing his band 
introductions, and the band doing some nice solos.

On to the encores.  I noticed that he had been doing Honest With Me as an 
encore recently.  I was hoping for LARS and to my enjoyment, got what I was 
hoping for.  Nicely done, Bob's delivery was subtle yet forceful, if that is 
possible.  I think with Bob, it is.  The best harp solo of the night, (Bob 
didn't seem too into the harp for this show,) came as the intro into Blowin'.  
This, like LARS, had most of the crowd on their feet, singing along.  The 'too 
many people have died' line seems to continue to hold a more somber meaning 
since the events of 9/11.  At least that's how I look at it, having watched the 
events of that day from my doorstep in Jersey.  Maybe I'm reading into it too 
much, but I sensed that that line has more of an impact on the crowd now.  Then, 
the lights went down, and my cousin who journeyed with me to Southampton, (his 
first Dylan show) asked if that was it.  I told him I expected a 'Watchtower,' 
and sure enough, Bob and the boys delivered a powerful rendition of the song 
Bob once said belonged to Hendrix.  I think Bob has reclaimed that song as his 
own as of late.

That ended the Southampton show.  Overall, it was a great show.  The set list 
was good, and Bob and his band were excellent.  While you could always say that 
certain set list substitutions could make a show even better, I look at how Bob 
played more than what he played.  There were points where the show's energy 
would have surged if this or that song was played, and that can be said about 
any show.  Bob's performance on the songs he did play, however, could not have 
been improved upon much.  Like the set list, you could say that he could have 
put more feeling into this or that particular song.  And, while that could 
possibly be said about most shows by most artists, Bob delivered a great 
performance last night.  His most inspired.  No.  For me, that would be the 
MSG show last November.  For you, it could be a show you saw five, ten, twenty 
years ago.  Or maybe it was last night's show.  But without comparing to past 
concerts, Bob's Southampton outing was a great night of the Man, the  Myth, and 
the Legend's music.

I call him the Man, because like anyone of us, Bob is human and can make 
mistakes, as evidenced by a few minor flubs in songs.  I call him the Myth 
because for as long as he's been around, there have been people who have tried 
to create Bob Dylan, rather than allow him to be who he is.  They want him to
be a mythical figure of music rather than someone constantly evolving and 
sharing his unique ability with us along the way, wherever he might be at that 
time.  I call him the Legend, because he does what he wants and doesn't give a 
damn.  His impact on music will be felt for years to come.  He is comfortable 
with the fact that he is a man, and that people see him as a myth.  He 
continues to evolve.  He continues to listen and learn.  He continues to allow 
us to hear his voice and be taught.  He does not rest on his past achievements 
that help make him legendary.  He continues onward and upward, which adds 
credence to the fact that he truly is a legend.  He is a legend in the music 
he produced, in the paths he blazed, and in the fact that he continues on,
comfortable with where he's been, and always searching for new places to go 
with his music, his message, his life.

If you have any questions or comments, or just want to talk about Bob, you can 
email me at dylanfan522@aol.com. 

Sincerely,

Brian J. Slattery

[TOP]

Review by David Goldstein



After Aaron Copeland's "Fanfare for the Common Man" recording, "A Voice
From On High" emerged, not long after 7: 30 while the mixed ages, East End
of Long Island crowd waited in anticipation. The moon was waxing almost
full in the darkening sky as the sun slowly set. A picture perfect night
for what proved to be a great set... Highlights: the sexy groove and
delivery of "I'll Be Your Baby", The current incarnation of "Its Alright
Ma", simmering to a boil; "If You See Her", major reworking of this one
bringing the listener far from Blood on the Tracks; "Tweedle Dee and
Tweedle Dum" started the first electric set, grinding, percollating, and
by the time "...I've had too much of your companeeeee..." rolls around,
the band needed an emergency brake to stop the truck! ; "Quinn" was one of
the crowd's favorites and rightly so, due to its great vocal harmony and
straight ahead, solid approach - Tony IS the man on bass; The last time I
heard "Moonlight" was in Santa Barbara last year. This time around the
song featured the memorable "...You ask for whom the bell tolls? It tolls
for YOU my friend" ; "Highwater" was simply ON the money. One of the tunes
that truly exemplifies this band and where WE ARE in 2002; "Forever Young"
was another of a handful of tunes featuring that great Bob, Larry and
Charlie vocal harmony that punctuates his shows - beautiful; "Tangled"
began with a great extended acoustic reading of the song's chord
progression, GO Larry!! - and proved to be another crowd pleaser,
featuring "...me I'm still on the road, lightin up another joint" ;
"Searching for a Soldier's Grave" was lovingly performed to an audience
that will never forget the great complexity of a Bob show. Here in
Southampton it acted as a coda to the Country feel of the start of the
set; "Summer Days" is another one that exemplifies this band. All
business! All rockin! All out jammin! - "... why don't ya break my heart
one more time just for GOOOD LUUUUUCK ?!" "Never Gonna Be the Same Again",
last performed??? with a slow mysterious approach that was perfect for
some of Charlie's choice moves, as well as some impromtu horns from the
"slow train" that pulled out of the Long Island Railroad station at the
edge of the field!! ; "Wicked Messenger", awesome, step on the gas and
go!! Again, Tony IS the man on bass; perfect lead up to "Rainy Day Women",
sounding stronger than ever - "...like you got hit by a truck!" and at the
end of the final verse, before the band intro, Bob's voice with echo
effect: "....must get stooooonned"; "Like a Rolling Stone" sounded good,
not great, simply because of Bob's understated approach. The crowd dug it
nevertheless; "Blowin" has sounded great these last few tours, this was no
exception, again featuring that great vocal harmony; "Watchtower" was the
perfect closer. Solid and heavy. What a great song!! What a great closer!!
An homage to Jimi. Another inspired concert - as Bob continues to paint
his "masterpiece".  

David Goldstein

[TOP]

Review by Marilyn Di Carlo-Ames



I couldn't be more depressed about any Dylan show I've ever seen.

The band was in awesome form and their performance was amazing. Musically,
the evening was terrific. But how is one to enjoy the magic of the many
moments when the crowd is unruly, rude, and obnoxious? I am so depressed.

I spent $700 of our wedding gift money on VIP tickets for this show. My
husband and I have been especially looking forward to it, because this is
our neck of the woods and a rare (historic) treat that the band would be
playing in our town!!! We arrived at the venue at 4:00pm and I was in awe
that we were the second party to cue up for the VIP seating at the front
of the stage. The gate opened at 5:00pm and we situated ourselves, with
beach chairs and sheet, in the first row to the right of Dylan's mike. We
enjoyed indulging in the bountiful and delicious local fare prepared by
area chefs and served in the VIP tent. There we met many old friends and
became fast friends with serious Dylan fans. In general, the anticipation
level was high and everyone was psyched for the show.

As soon as the show started it was evident that there was minimal security
and "crowd control " is not terminology that the people supposedly
staffing the event were in any way familiar with. A constant stream of 
people kept passing the stage and attempting to weasel their way in front
of us at the rail and stand directly in front of Bob, while obstructing
our view. Every person who arrived early and earned their spot at the
front of the venue felt violated and was upset. We consisted of a core
group of serious fans who had several hours to bond before the show. We
were all previously very happy. The aggression level quickly became
dangerously high, which I attribute partly because to the unethical nature
of the behavior of the large number of  people being so rude, and to the
beer and alcohol that was served for several hours before the concert
began. Numerous fights broke out which consisted of verbal abuse, pushing,
threats, beer throwing, fruitless pleas with "security", more threats of
physical abuse, all in vain and to no avail. I was mortified. The whole
core group of fans were mortified. We are all in the forty-something age
range and I've never seen such fans become so desperate looking. I finally
plead with Baron to do something; he passed orders to the "staff" and mock
"security", but to no avail. Baron had his hands full with one woman who
weaseled herself in and insisted on video taping the show from the rail.
She smiled in a cunning manner and ignored the request and pushed buttons
and pushed until she was finally begging and being thrown out. Others were
thrown out as well. We spent more time interrupted that was possible to
listen to and enjoy the show. It was a disgrace.

Who were these people and why couldn't they stay in their own spots? There
was enough space for hundreds of people to settle in and enjoy the show! 
I had never seen a single one of these rude people at a single Dylan show
before. A man ten years my senior said to me, as he pushed his way between
me and my husband: "We all paid $350 to see this show, sweetheart". A
woman threatened my husband and proceeded to tell him she would sit on our
sheet for ten minutes. And that was just the beginning.

These were the same people who were profiled earlier this summer on
Barbara Koppel's miniseries "The Hamptons". Us local and real people were
outraged at the manner in which our beautiful and culturally rich,
diverse, and bountiful communities were reduced to superficial and shallow
playgrounds for narrow minded, self-absorbed adults who have issues that
leave them acting more immature than some of the Kindergarten and
pre-school children I teach.

This experience vividly brought back the other most disturbing concert
experience that my husband and I have ever encountered. Two years ago we
spent $135. a ticket to see Neil Young at the Long Island venue Jones
Beach. Of course, we were in orchestra. We sat amongst what I like to call
"fat rats" who could care less about the musical abilities of the
performer. These people were there because the tickets were comped or it
was a PR opportunity. They talked to each other throughout the show,
smoked cigars, and talked on cell phones. They were not there to see or
here Neil; it was just another night out for them. We know this is
definitely a Long Island thing and that the very high priced shows are a
really bad idea. 

We're not sure when we'll have another night out with Dylan. He took the
sunflowers I tossed him at the end of the show. That brightens my
perspective. I think I'll stick to Reno and Atlantic City shows where the
audience is always hard core and all about Dylan, the boys, and the music.
We were very lucky that the band played a full set in spite of all the
trouble up front. I'm really glad that they did; I bought my mom and dad
the $50. ticket for the very back of the venue. They told me they had a
huge, grassy area to sit on. They actually could clearly hear Dylan's
lyrics for the first time at a show. My father really thought Dylan was
great and loved the show!!! I wish we had sat way in the back with my
parents; we could have danced the night away.

Thanks for listening. Maybe now I can get some sleep... 

Marilyn Di Carlo-Ames

[TOP]

Review by Roland Pabst



Southampton - I was there

I wrote this in the plane this Tuesday and had of course no time to send
it out. In the meantime I read Marilyn's story. All I can say - I'm very
sorry. It reminds me of one Dylan concert in Munich, Germany. It's
horrible if you constantly have to concentrate on those drunk and rude
people.

Due to a heavy storm over New York last Friday afternoon the plane
returned to Toronto and I was "forced" to stay overnight. Booked a hotel
room and took a cab to see Dylan at the Molsen Theatre. I missed 1/3 of
the concert but it was kind of a nice bonus.

The Southampton concert was in my agenda for a long time. When I bought
the ticket thru ticketmaster I told them front - standing ( I hate to
sit). I knew that tickets were on sale for $ 350 - $1000. When I showed up
on this wonderful late afternoon I was kind of surprised to find myself in
the first row - but about 100m (300ft) away from the stage. In front of me
Sponsors for the University with their guests. They found rise more than
1.5 Mio$. Funny enough at 7:30, time for the concert start, it was quiet.
No whistles, no Boooobeeee. Nothing. It could have been the beginning of
anything. At 7:45 it started. But besides my concern this concert was one
of the best I saw. Dylan went right into it. First I thought he would be
bored to play in front of this crowd. One single woman danced and moved
her body to the music. But he was not. He had fun. My highlights: "I'll be
your baby tonight". Great voice, wonderful harp. For the first time I
heard "If you see her say hello". This was chicken skin music. With "Quinn
the Eskimo" almost everybody was on their feet. Now even the front people
started to dance to this song. Also extra ordinary were the songs "Forever
young" and a very interesting "Never Gonna Be the Same again". This was
definitely one of the best concerts I saw. Where will I enjoy my 20th?
Living in the States since more than 3 years - I'm looking forward again
to a European arena like Montreux in Switzerland or Bad Gmuend, Germany
last year. People are more polite. Don't talk and or constantly eat food.

Till next time

Roland Pabst

[TOP]

Review by Tom Ostoyich



I just want to add a few comments re:  the Southampton show in contrast to
the Worcester gig I caught two weeks ago.

Sometimes the size doesn't matter.  The Southampton gig was on a sports
field;  not a venue I'd make an extra effort to see Dylan at.  Granted, we
all want to see Dylan in an intimate setting and I was ecstatic that I
made it to the Palladium in Worcester two weeks ago. However, if Worcester
was an intimate show, it also was, for me, a show of moments--both high
and low;  Dylan caught fire that night at random and didn't sustain his
energy throughout the evening.  It was a "first night on the road"
performance and Dylan and the band hadn't hit their touring peaks yet.

Southampton was, thankfully, different--a show that was consistently
enjoyable throughout.  The Monroe song that kicks off the evening is sharp
and wonderfully executed.  It was clear that Dylan's voice was in its
finer form--he had recovered his middle range and was hitting notes
clearly.  Perhaps the salt air did him good.  There wasn't much of the
phlegm/death rattle quavering that, at times, hampers his delivery.  The
first acoustic portion was striking, especially "If You See Her"--a
welcome surprise.  "Tweedle Dee" seemed a bit more spare than last fall,
more forboding.  "Quinn" was my highlight--Dylan's clearly having fun with
this neglected tune and his vocal interplay with the band on the choruses
was stunning.  "High Water" retained its more rocking, more ominous guise
that I heard in Worcester.  And "Forever Young" was beautifully done, as
well as perhaps the best version I've heard of "Soldier's Grave".  Again,
his voice was strong and assured tonight.

If the second portion of the show seems OVERLY familiar to consistent tour
followers, i.e. from "Summer Days" onward, it still served to showcase the
band well--like most people who've seen Dylan umpteen times, I don't need
to hear RDW and LRS, or BinW again and again.  But tonight, these were
played with fiery conviction, especially the jams--these warhorses really
demonstrate how exceptional this band is.  And when the band plays well,
Dylan seems to feed off it, both on guitar and vocally.  He even sung
"TUIB" crisply tonight.  And, since "Watchtower" is no longer song #3,
it's grown a new and welcome place in my heart.  This arrangement still
works, even if it didn't slam as hard as I've heard it some nights.  Plus,
Dylan is sticking with "Never Gonna Be the Same Again" in its pedal steel
arrangement--it was a bit more fleshed out musically than in Worcester
(the band backs him a bit more during Dylan's guitar noodlings that
punctuate each line).

I always think on a great night like this, that if you took someone to a
Dylan show like this--someone who's never seen him or given up on
him--they would be blown away.

It should be noted that if Charlie Sexton does leave the group at the end
of this leg of the tour, we'll not only sadly miss his guitar, but his
backing vocals;  Campbell and Sexton's high harmonies are good
counterpoint to Dylan's voice and really add to the group's feel.  And if
the scuttlebut about Dave Alvin is true, then the sound of this band is
going to change;  Dave Alvin's a good performer and guitarist, but his
voice is low and far more limited than Dylan's. You can say good bye to
the high lonesome feel of this band.

I also want to add that for those that arrived early, we got to hear a
neat sound check;  the band minus Dylan.  They played cool versions of
"Solid Rock" "Tears of Rage" "You Ain't Goin' Nowhere" (in which they
sang/rehearsed their harmony vocals for each chorus), a complete rendition
of "Somebody Touched Me" and a couple of country cuts, incl. a rangy,
weird fiddle version of "Hey Good Lookin'".  Hopefully, some of these
songs, since they were rehearsed, will make some more frequent appearances
in the next few weeks, but with Dylan, you just never know.

OK, adios and good luck,

Tom O.

[TOP]

Review by Kathleen



To cheer myself up after a lousy year and a big scary
milestone birthday earlier this month, I bought a VIP
ticket to Southampton which was WAY worth the money.

I'm not one of those particularly knowledgeable or
gushy Dylan fans (maybe do 3-5 shows a year and
usually end up grumbling about this and that), but I
have to say that Dylan was beyond mesmerizing in
Southampton.  I don't think it was the perfect weather
or the front row center seat I had, either.  He came
out "dressed down" in mostly unbuttoned black cowboy
shirt, black riveted pants and a white cowboy hat,
looking yipes, I'd never thought of this before, sexy.
 His voice sounded the best I'd heard in awhile
--vocals clear, phrasing interesting, didn't miss a
word, very on all around.  For the first time ever, I
really liked his lead guitar playing.  I hereby take
back everything bad I've ever said about it. (a couple
of missed flatted thirds notwithstanding  :)  ) I
think that the most heartwarming part for me was that
he had this beautiful smooth glowing aura of a person
being himself, and though he did not have much more
than ½  a smiling interaction with the band (zero eye
contact with the audience, I have to agree with a
recent reviewer about Bob at outside shows), it seemed
he was way happier and having much more fun than last
time I saw him (Telluride).  Nice to experience that.

The stage was low so I think this was about the
closest I'd ever been, even with my propensity toward
ending up in the first row for the past 20 years of
shows.  Despite my close vantage point, I spent a good
portion of the show with my binocs trained on Dylan
which gave him a rock concert t.v. screen proportion,
with lots more detail.  His hands, my main focus, were
so much more delicate than I'd remembered, again
entrancing.  I also got some closeups of his
expressions, quite cosmic.  Oh, I sound like a gushing
Dylan fan.

The band had an "on" night also.  The recent reviewers
must've seen the same rhythm section as I did, tight
and a pleasure to see and hear with their contented
coolness. I also agree that Larry looks bored, or sad
maybe, but he sounds terrific and is so important to
the sound.  Nice to hear him take a guitar solo. 
Charlie had a couple of blazing solos that showcased
his expertise (bluesy with some effects--Watchtower
and Summer Days).  I thought letting the band add some
lead really bolstered Dylan's performance by getting
some overt interplay going.  Also, giving the band
some leeway unstifled the energy of both the band and
the crowd members who know of the bands' talents.
(Dylan fans who also admire/follow Larry and/or
Charlie were the length of the first few rows, based
on my two hours of roaming around.)

I'll let the pros write the song by song, but I will
say just a few things--  the acoustic early songs were
glistening, clean, lots of separation between the
guitars; Quinn the Eskimo was very fun, the audience
went crazy after speculation about whether he would
play it again so soon; Summer Days was very tight and
hotter than any August day anywhere.

In the how could I possibly complain category: the
crowd near the front couldn't get their stand-up sit
down code of ethics agreed upon so there were numerous
scuffles as the show went on–very annoying.  Some
fists thrown.  It offended my sensibilities (I mean,
it's a Bob Dylan show for goodness sakes), and I was
even born in Manhattan.  I really would have preferred
standing and dancing, but I didn't want to get knocked
out.

A great show for me, and I suspect for others.  I'm
all fixed from that silly problem with aging, now
counting my blessings that I got to be in construction
traffic jams on Long Island and in Norman, Oklahoma
within 18 hours of each other (which means I
successfully made it back to Texas to pick up my
companion in time to get us to his first Dylan show in
Omaha.)  We got gas in Guthrie, Oklahoma to ensure the
blessings of the travel and music gods (in the same
family, no doubt), and now we are in Kansas, en route
to Nebraska.  See everyone there!

[TOP]

Review by Trevor



The Southampton College gig was my 14th Dylan concert, my
2nd and last for this leg of the tour.  The only other show
I got to see was Hamburg, and while there were some similarities
between the two gigs, the venue and atmosphere made it two
completely different experiences.

The first thing I want to touch on is the security- at Hamburg
it was the most tight-ass security I have ever seen, it was as
if Bob Dylan was the president of the United States or something.
Here at Long Island Univeristy, it was as I expected.  Little
to none.  While my buddy and I were standing in line, he noticed
that he had his pocket knife on him (he always keeps it on him,
you never know when you're going to need one).  Since the line
behind us was so long, I figured he'd have to go back to his car
and put it away, then try to find me inside.  The security guards
frisked both of us, felt his pockets, didn't look inside, then
said "alright you're cool you can go."  Tons of people brought
in cameras and I would assume (I sure hope so) some people smuggled
in audio recorders.

Since there were tons of reviews already posted about this gig,
I'll just touch the highlights- Quinn the Eskimo!!!  I was dancing
my ass off when this one came on.  The coolest part was they just
opened the song with the chorus, there was no guessing on this one.
Bob did a bonus verse and I didn't get all of it, but it was along
the same lines as the other verses.  I also like the change he made
to "Moonlight:"  "My tears keep flowing without end, doctor lawyer
indian chief it takes a theif to catch a theif, don't ask for whom
the bell tolls for, it tolls for you my friend."

I was in the GA section, and from I have read I guess it was better
that way than being in the VIP section and having to fight with the
rich snotty hostile people.  I love the Hamptons, I hate the "better
than you" attitude of the people who live there.  The section I was
in was filled with young and old, families, lots of casual fans and
a small number of hardcore Bobcats who were at their umteenth show.
There was a major scoff at the beginning of the concert, half wanted
to sit, half wanted to stand.  I was intent on standing and dancing
the entire time and I did, the standers won, thank God.

"Never Gonna Be the Same Again" was also a highlight, I like it when
Bob plays a ballad towards the end of the show, sometimes he does,
sometimes he doesn't.  This song was played very well although I must
admit I enjoy the ragged version of this song he was playing in the spring
of '97.  I have a recording, it's either from Utica or Albany in '97, and
it was a wonderful version.  This one had some more open spaces, but the
band was still tight through it nonetheless.

I was extremely disappointed to hear LARS as the first encore...I know, I
know, it's the greatest rock n roll song of all time, but I much prefer
hearing something off Love & Theft instead, like Honest with Me. But I got
the impression this was a casual, greatest-hits kinda crowd, so Bob
delivered the goods and gave the audience what they wanted.

Blowin' was played exceptionally well again, you gotta love those
harmonies! My buddy and I left during "Watchtower," it was the first time
out of 14 Bob shows that I left early, but I'm glad I did.  We heard the
song from beginning to completion in the parking lot, and we avoided a
hell of a lot of traffic- we were back to our hotel in Riverhead in 20
minutes.  It was interesting walking out, we could see George Recili's
shadow through a curtain to the side of the stage, and that was pretty
cool.  It was cool to see a shadow holding drumsticks and just banging
away, which reassured me that he fits in the band like a glove and I'm
starting to miss Dave Kemper less and less.  Don't get me wrong, Kemper's
a great drummer, but this guy will kick your ass, musically speaking that
is.

So that's pretty much all of my observations.  The most interesting thing
is my friend whom I went with.  We saw Brian Wilson the night before in
Philadelphia at the TLA (Bob played 2 shows there in '95, very tiny
venue), then Bob on Monday night, and as we were driving away from the
show I asked him which his favorite show was.  He had never seen Bob nor
Brian, and much to my suprise he enjoyed Brian Wilson more!  But that
would be an unfair comparison, were were 10 feet away from Brian and
hundreds away from Bob. Both were great concerts in my opinion.

So here's the verdict from the 2 Bob shows I went to this summer:

Southampton had a better vibe, Hamburg had more beef.

Long live New York, long live Bob Dylan.


Keep on keeping on
Trevor
Renaldo308@aol.com

[TOP]

page by Bill Pagel
billp61@execpc.com

Current
Tour Guide
Older
Tour Guides
Bob Links
Page
Songs
Performed
Set Lists
by Date
Set Lists
by Location
Cue
Sheets