Reviews

Washington, Pennsylvania

Falconi Field
August 20, 2006


[Carsten Molt], [E.B.], [Paul Tortolo], [Keith Harrison], [Harold Davis], [Jeannie Crane]

Review by Carsten Molt



i last saw Dylan in Columbus, Ohio last Sunday and since that was such  a 
good show, i was really excited to see him tonight.. This show took place at  
Falconi Field where the Washington Wild Things of the independent Frontier  
League play their home games. It is a pretty small park with a capacity of 3,000  
people. According to Ticketmaster, the show was sold out.  The park itself  is 
very nice even though the metal bleachers in the stands were uncomfortable.  
Washington is in the middle of nowhere but a short distance from Pittsburgh,  
Wheeling, and Morgantown. 

We arrived just as Elana James & The Continental Two were starting  their 
short set. Despite the bands name, there were 3 musicians in her band, not  
including Elana herself.  They played a short but entertaining set while  the crowd 
continued to file in and mill around.

Her set was followed by Junior Brown. i was very impressed with him in  
Columbus last week and he was just as good this evening. He played a impressive  
set and did some tasty solos on "Big Red", his double-necked guitar combining  
the standard instrument with a steel guitar.

The final opening act was Jimmie Vaughan with Lou Ann Barton. The crowd  
seemed to enjoy his set but i found him pretty uninteresting. He wasn't really  
bad or really good, just kind of there. Of course, that is just my  opinion.

At this point, my back was starting to hurt from the steel bleachers so  
after his set, i decided to join the large crowd of people who were standing on  
the field in front of the stage. i managed to easily navigate my way to the  
center of the stage about 6 or 7 people back from the stage. After a short time, 
 Dylan and the band took the stage. 

1. Maggies Farm-This was the show opener as expected. It was pretty strong  
and it was evident that we were in for a good show. Dylans vocals were really  
strong and the band were in the groove from the start.

2. She Belongs To Me- i was glad that he decided to play this instead of  
"The Times, They Are A-Changin'. It was really well played and Dylan capped the  
song off with a nice harmonica solo.

3. Watching The River Flow-The more i hear this song, the more i like it.  
This was a pretty scorching version. Dylan was bobbing and weaving behind his  
keyboard as the band was whipping up a maelstrom of sound that got the crowd  
really excited.. Dylan ended the tune with another good harmonica  solo.

4. Blind Willie McTell-One of my favorite songs and it was really well  done. 
Donnie Herron played some nice banjo on this song and Dylan gave a very  
strong vocal performance. i was amazed how forceful and intense his vocals  were.

5. Tweedle Dee & Tweedle Dum- i was disappointed when this song started  as i 
find it to be one of his weakest live songs. It sounded a bit better than  
other recent versions but still dreadful. Dylan seemed a bit agitated during the 
 song by something. Hopefully, it is is something that will lead to him to  
dropping the song from his live shows.

6. The Lonesome Death Of Hattie Carroll-i didn't recognize the song until  
the lyrics started and it turned out to be a highlight of the show. Dylan was  
deep into the lyrics and the band  laid down a understated groove for  Dylans 
vocals to ride upon.  The passion in this performance gave me  chills.

7. It's Alright, Ma (I'm Only Bleeding)-This song featured Donnie on  violin. 
It was a very strong version and i found myself enjoying it a lot more  than 
i thought i would. Dylan nailed every word of the song with conviction and  
vigour.

8. I'll Be Your Baby Tonight-i always like this song. Dylan was really  
enjoying himself and gave the tune a great, smooth vocal performance. Dylan  ended 
the song with a very long and fervid harmonica solo. The crowd gave this  song 
one of the biggest cheers of the night.

9. Ballad Of A Thin Man-Bob played around with the phrasing quite a bit.  His 
singing was probably one of the best of the night and Donnie's pedal steel  
solo was excellent as well. Dylan ended the song with another good harmonica  
solo. The whole band seemed to enjoy playing this one a lot. 

10. Highway 61 Revisited-This song was fantastic. I know it has been played  
to death but the entire band seemed to be into it as Dylan did a lot of  
shuffling and grinning during the jam. It was not one of the longer versions  that 
I have heard but not a note was wasted while it lasted.

11. Every Grain Of Sand-The biggest surprise of the night and it was sung  
ever so sweetly. Denny Freeman and Stu Kimball were weaving tender guitar  
tapestries for Dylans vocals to ride upon. It featured a very nice instrumental  
break that soared elegantly without a misplaced note to be found.

12. Summer Days- Needless to say, this song peaked in the fall of 2002 when  
Larry and Charlie were on the guitars. Since that time, it has lost more of 
its  fun and power with every ensuing tour. The crowd still enjoyed it a lot. 
This  version seemed pretty short and it no longer contains the lengthy jam in 
the  middle of it.

Encores

13. Like A Rolling Stone-This song was its usual anthemic, sing-along self.  
Denny Freeman played a pretty hot solo that seemed unique to my ears. The 
crowd  loved it as much as they always do.

14. All Along the Watchtower-The predictable show closer. Stu played a  
decent solo during the jam. Dylan delivered it strongly and it was a pretty good  
performance of a song that often seems to be played on auto-pilot.

Notes:

A. i was really impressed with how strong and clear Dylans vocals were all  
evening. i was a bit concerned that he may be tired as it was the 4th show in 
as  many nights but he didn't seem fatigued at all. There was a brief part in 
"Like  A Rolling Stone" where he sounded a little out of breath but he 
recovered  quickly.

B. The entire band was top-notch for the entire show. Tony Garnier was  
moving around all evening even spinning his upright bass around at one point.  
George Recile was having a great time and pounding up a storm on his drum kit. i  
don't think he ever has a bad night. Donnie Herron is a really good player  
whether he is playing pedal steel, banjo, mandolin or violin. Stu Kimball was a  
lot better tonight than he was last Sunday. He took a fair share of the 
guitar  solos and several of them were quite good. Denny Freeman played several hot 
solos but still has very little personality or stage presence.

C. The crowd was pretty good. They were extremely laid back. There was a  lot 
of people milling around but no one got in your way or tried to push their  
way in front of you. There was one couple that was exploring each others 
throats  with their tongues during "Hattie Carroll" which was pretty gross.

D. Falconi field was a nice place and i would not hesitate going back there  
for another concert or a baseball game. i thought that it would be a hassle  
getting out of the parking lot but it ended up being very easy.

All in all, i had a great time and the show was worth every penny. If  anyone 
has a copy of the show... Of course, these are only my opinions and i  
apologize for the typos and length but i tend to ramble.  In Bob we  trust,          
                 
Carsten  Molt
carstenbmolt@aol.com

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Review by E. B.



I've driven past Falconi Field on 70 west before, but since I didn't know 
exactly how to get there, I logged onto google and got "driving 
directions", the access road to the ball park is just off a "ring road" for 
a Mall. Once I got down there I saw there was a Garfinkle's at the Mall, 
and I stopped in there for something to eat at 5:15 pm (buffalo chicken 
sandwich and onion rings, iced tea, $10.00)... the place was PACKED, hardly 
anywhere to sit, but I got served in about 15 mins and was on my way by 6 
pm. ("GOTTA SERVE SOMEBODY", nope, he didn't play that.)

I left the Mall parking lot and got in line with the herd of cars moving up 
the access road to the ball park, there was a line because you had to pay 
$5 for the priviledge to park your car. All the lots were filled, with 
people camping out before the concert and bar-b-q-ing like tailgating at a 
Steeler's game... so our long line of cars was steered to an open field 
where for $5.00 we had the privilege of parking amidst discarded loads of 
asphalt from a long-ago paving project (probably the parking lot we just 
creeped through), and these discarded mounds made parking in the mud such a 
privilige. ("MAN WANTED 11 DOLLAR BILLS BUT I ONLY HAD 10", nope, he didn't 
play that either, but I thought of it as I paid for parking with five singles.)

I walked along with the mass of humanity that was: people with tattoos, 
little kids, (not the same people), old grandma types wearing sneaks and 
sun dresses and smoking cigs, skinny bikers spitting tobacco as they walked 
and chatted with the grandmas and kids, young 20-something boys in tie-dyed 
t-shirts with long curly hair and no facial hair though some were trying to 
grow beards, some middle aged men who were cataloging all the times they'd 
seen Dylan (60 times was tops for the record from those I overheard) and 
some of these men had their hair pulled back in a greying ponytail and were 
completely bald on top. The security types did not allow any brought in 
food or drink and no cameras, but people with cell-phone cameras took a lot 
of pics later on... the tickets were for general admission so you could sit 
anywhere you wanted, the stage was set up in the outfield, with an area in 
front for the "mosh pit" and the sound equipment was set up on the 
pitcher's mound facing center field with a small tent covering it, the 
whole grass area of the field was covered with a plastic flooring, so most 
of us went as close to the stage as we could get, ignoring the stadium 
seating, and we stood there between the stage and the sound tent. I was 10 
people from the stage. (But later on I had to move since tall people came 
and stood in front of me and then I couldn't see anything.) (LATER ON THE 
CROWD THINNED OUT AND I WAS JUST ABOUT TO DO THE SAME, nope, he didn't play 
that either, (TANGLED UP IN BLUE), BTW: the crowd did *not* thin out, it 
was a totally packed place and I only thought of that lyric when I was 
moving to higher ground.)

The opening acts were all great musicians and I enjoyed them all very much, 
the sound was great, an excellent audio mix, even up close to the stage, 
but the sound everywhere was surprisingly good and no matter where you sat 
you could hear a perfectly mixed performance, even back in the seats.

At 9 pm sharp they dimmed the lights and it was so dark you could look up 
and see the stars overhead. By this time the sea of humanity around me a 
few rows from the stage had gotten so thick that we all were touching like 
sardines in a can, but everyone was polite and friendly and gentle and 
awestruck and the sound system played 2 songs (from a CD? ipod?) of Aaron 
Copeland's Appalachian Spring, "Fanfare for the Common Man" (we all 
laughed), and something from the "Billy the Kidd" suite I think, we all 
laughed again.

THEN he came out on stage and they just started playing. No muss no fuss, 
they played through their entire set and the only time Bob spoke was to 
introduce his band-mates by name later in the evening, the band really 
looked to be enjoying themselves and Bob even danced around (briefly) 
beside the keyboard.

He started off with a re-done arrangement of "MAGGIE'S FARM" which I had 
never heard played like that before and it was interesting. I am fond of 
the re-arranged older songs and I enjoy hearing them played like new songs.

Bob's vocals were very upfront in the mix, and he sounded great to me, and 
I thought the fact that his vocals weren't buried meant that he was 
confident and he sounded very strong and I loved the fact you could hear 
his voice right on top of the huge band sound going on around him, everyone 
played well, the re-arrangements of his classic songs work great. 
Everything was crisp and nothing was muddy.

Some highlights for me were: BALLAD OF THE THIN MAN (that's the song with 
the lyric: Because something is happening here, But you don't know what it 
is, Do you, Mister Jones?) and at that exact time I glanced over at the 
truck traffic speeding by on Interstate 70 and I thought maybe a trucker 
named Jones was driving past just then......)

HIGHWAY 61 REVISITED:  they rocked out and played a long time, it was 1965.
Only better. Because in 1965 I was only 5 and could not drive to a Bob 
Dylan concert.

They played BLIND WILLIE McTELL, a big favorite with the in-crowd. I 
thought it was cool that he played it, but not one of my favs, it was 
during this song that I made for a bit higher ground so I could see the 
whole stage and actually see Bob, instead of the back of the neck of the 
man standing in front of me.) (When I relocated Bob was the size of my 
thumb, but I was closer to him than when I saw Andruw Jones of the Atlanta 
Braves at PNC Park here in Pittsburgh, since Andruw was the size of my 
thumb-knuckle when I measured him that day.) (JUST LIKE TOM THUMB'S BLUES, 
nope, didn't play that either.)

ABSOLUTE HIGHLIGHT FOR ME WAS: EVERY GRAIN OF SAND
Awesome, beautiful, poignant, heartfelt, sung and sighed and played to 
perfection. I was happy he played that. (If they had played DIGNITY or 
SHOOTING STAR I would have quit my job and joined the road crew.)

Another highlight was: IT'S ALRIGHT MA (I'M ONLY BLEEDING)
Fantastic.

He played for about 2 hours and they did not play any of the songs which I 
really dislike, so I was very happy about that! (songs I really dislike: 
Lay, Lady, Lay and Rainy Day Women), and his encore songs, after a lengthy 
applause and stomping session by the crowd, yes, with some people holding 
lighters in the air, were:
LIKE A ROLLING STONE, and ALL ALONG THE WATCH TOWER.
Beautifully done, even if expected and not surprises.

A note on the curtain call: Bob looks like a cat on a bare electric wire, 
he can't stand still and he can't accept the applause, he looks somewhat 
embarrassed and uncomfortable. He looked the exact same way on the MTV 
Unplugged show, like he's thinking, "Oh, applause, right, ok, what do I do, 
just stand here? Thanks, I guess, alright, :::nod, wave:::, can I go now?"

Yes, you can go, but thanks for coming.

I hope he knows he made a lot of people happy, me included.

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Review by Paul Tortolo



What can you do when the man described as the greatest American poet since
Walt Whitman is 65 years old, still on the NET (Never Ending Tour) and
playing inspired, searing and ever evolving versions of the best songs of
the last 50 years? What you do is get in the car and drive 6 hours from
South-western Ontario to see/hear the Bob Dylan Show in Washington,
Pennsylvania. Only Bob would come up with a tour of minor league baseball
parks including Falconi Field (home of the Washington Wildthings). This
concrete Elysian Field seats 3000 plus standees in the outfield facing the
stage. A rich man’s money couldn’t buy a better setting or a more
beautiful night for the show which featured the same three openers as the
other dates on the American Tour. Elana James, Junior Brown and Jimmy
Vaughn played with art and passion and their bluegrass, rocking country
and straight ahead blues were appreciated but could not satiate a crowd
pining for a little touch of Dylan in the night. Cursed with the opposite
of a musician’s ear I leaned forward in my seat on several songs to make
an attempt to break down the opening instrumental strains but in fact I
usually needed the words. This is not a criticism but a comment on the
magic the man distils. He spun the incongruous, “What’s the matter with
me, I don’t have much to say”, out of the opening licks of Watching the
River Flow and matched that with words and music that moved body and soul.
Tonight he started with Maggie’s Farm, ended pre-encore with Summer Days,
included Highway 61 Revisited and encored with Like a Rolling Stone and
All Along the Watchtower, as usual.  There were tour debuts of She Belongs
To Me, The Lonesome Death of Hattie Carroll, Ballad of a Thin Man
(awesome!) and Every Grain of Sand. Bob leaned into the keyboard and
rocked every song to the bare bones while the band supported with a
scorching scaffold of sound. Walking to the car I overheard a young fan
say, “There was one song you didn't recognize, right Dad? Maybe that’s
from the new album.” No, nothing new yet, just hits, home runs actually!
The only negative would be a surprising number of people who sat on their
hands and looked perplexed. What were they expecting? A funny little guy
in a odd cap with an acoustic guitar? It didn’t happen and it won’t. Bob
Dylan, rock and roll poet, man of words and music, is way beyond that.

Paul Tortolo
Waterloo, Ontario

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Review by Keith Harrison



I’ll echo an earlier reviewer from this tour: It’s time to stop whining 
about Larry and Charlie – because this current band, at least at this show, 
was incredible. Don’t make the mistake I almost made: Having been 
underwhelmed by this lineup in Chicago last year, and having been 
disillusioned with Bob’s “talk-singing” and “upsinging” dating back to a 
Pittsburgh show in ’04, I almost skipped this one. What a huge mistake that 
would have been.

I’ve been to nearly 20 Dylan shows, and this one lands in my top five. That 
new Highway 61 was unbelievable (and, frankly, smoked any version I’ve ever 
heard, live or on boot, from the Larry/Charlie days). And Bob was really 
“on” – his singing on Every Grain of Sand was astounding, truly one of the 
finest Dylan performances I’ve ever seen. Blind Willie and Hattie Carol were 
nearly as great. Hell, Tweedle Dee even sounded a little better (than in 
the, um, Larry/Charlie days) – it moved a bit faster and had a little more 
bite. Don’t get me wrong – I’m still not crazy about it. But I was surprised 
to see even that small improvement.

Oddly, only the closing Watchtower disappointed, with Bob slipping back into 
that speak-a-few-words-then-pause style, instead of actually singing, and 
the band failing for the first time to apply enough muscle. But by then we’d 
already had more than our share of fantastic moments. Don’t miss these guys 
if they come your way.

P.S. Is Dylan a Steelers fan? Just as he was at the University of Pittsburgh 
in ’04, Bob was decked out in black, with gold piping on his pants and a 
gold tie.

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Review by Harold Davis



I've seen Dylan many times and I am a daily expecting rain fan. I've seen every 
show in Northeast Ohio and Western Pa. since 1978. This show is most similar 
to the Budokon tour (also referred to as the Vegas tour). Each time you see 
him it's the same songs, different style. I've seen the country, rock, hard rock, 
laid back, Petty, crooner, Vegas styles and enjoyed them all. This was one of 
the first ones that I had some trouble with. 

I am calling this tour, the Bobby Daren tour. Each song could have been sung 
by Bobby Daren or some other nightclub singer. Don't get me wrong some 
songs I thought the Bobby Daren style fit great, especially Watching the River 
Flow (highlight of the show) and I'll be your Baby tonight. Some songs just do 
not fit. You just can?t pretty up Hattie Carrol and trying to pretty up It's Alright 
Ma is sac religious. These are serious songs that should not be sung by the Bill 
Murray lounge lizard. Bottom line, liked the approach but the wrong songs. 

Now Summer Days, that is a natural as it is a swing song to begin with. After 
watching the last couple of years when, he starting doing Summer Nights as his 
signature tune of the night I understand how this progressed to an entire 
evening of this type of show. All the other musicians were wearing the derbies 
etc. Ballad of a Thin Man did not work. I really think he should have done "One 
More Weekend" now there's one he never plays that would have worked.

Falconi Park (small ballpark in a Mall's parking lot) was packed! I mean packed. For 
a Sunday night, I could not believe how many showed up. Beautiful evening.

First Band Elena James was great. Actually she is a a great nightclub singer with 
a country twang and a mean violin. She did some Hank Williams that was sweeter 
than pie. Junior Brown was a Johnny Cash truck-driving son of a gun. Problem 
was his guitar was too loud and I could not understand his song. Soundman 
should be shot on that one. Jimmy Vaughn was great. About as nice a blues as 
you can get. Had a woman come out to sing most of the songs, which really 
broke up the set. I guess he is Stevie Ray Vaugh's brother. He is like Stevie Ray 
only not so over the top.

The night reminded me of the Rolling Thunder Revue because the four bands 
were so different. Like a smorgasbord of entertainment. I think that was what 
Dylan had in mind from Rolling Thunder.

anyways, that's it

Harold Davis
harold@ydcpa.com

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Review by Jeannie Crane



Hi everyone, Saw the great Bobby last night . He was amazing! Like a shaman 
with his flowing , black ,robe-like jacket-magical wizard-- working his songs ( for 
the most part) with the god like mastery of',well A GOD like he is.  Ballad of a 
Thin man brought me back to 15 years old when I was first discovering him. 
Awesome, true to the original.  All heart, he should have lengthened his harp 
at the end -and I think he would have if he was younger (or this wasn't the 
fourth night in a row of playing). At times in the show, he looked like he was 
trying to play his guitar--we love you Bobby no matter what you play! You 
sounded great on the keyboard anyway. She Belongs to Me was a treat, as 
was Watching the River Flow, Blind Willie, Hattie Carrol (the only one that 
stumped me)and Every Grain of Sand- sung with much feeling -although by 
this point I am up maybe 12 rows back and  can't see past anyone!  
Friendliest bunch of people you would ever want to be around though
 
When  making my way up front, people actually were helping me,  taking my
arm, politely moving over ,etc.  Too many cigarettes though (sorry) To the 
man who helped me with my sweater-chivalry is not dead! Thanks. At the 
end of the show, Bob looked at his band (posse?) and signaled to them to go
ahead,and they all held up their index fingers and pointed them out at us like 
they were oldtime cowboys who had just rode into town, conquered, and 
left. Bob had a real mischievous look in his eye, and I could see the jokester,
(but also the considerate host). Hilarious! I want more ! Go see him if you 
can.

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