| Reviews Columbia, Maryland Merriweather Post Pavilion September 14, 2025 |
Review by Corey
So we went to the Columbia show and, to be honest, it was a long way from
good. The "hiding" in a hoodie Bob thing was funny and strange, and no
complaints there (cracking up at Bob's audacity was the highlight of the
show!). But the show itself -- our first in two years, full disclosure --
was sort of a mess. After decades of scoffing at people who say "you can't
understand him!", I honest to god could not understand him, 85-90% of the
time. Neither could the poor sign language interpreters, who I thought
would be helped by the new, slow recitation arrangements, but it was such
a garbled mess they seemed *most* discombobulated, frantically shuffling
pages, with those songs in particular. As for the arrangements themselves,
I guess they were interesting, and I could see them working better in a
more intimate setting, but in a big outdoor venue it just fell flat. One
highlight was Desolation Row, which to my ear was arranged sort of like
the 90's era MTV recording, and which required Bob to really get into a
groove. And he obliged! It was a solid and fun and good performance. Other
highlights were Love Sick, appropriately haunting, and the covers, which
he clearly put more into from a singing perspective. The band was fine but
they seemed uncertain at times (from what we could see of them), and
struggled to find a groove. Also, Bob's "three cats in a mailbox being
dropped down a flight of stairs" piano playing was featured pretty
prominently in the audio mix. It was fine, sort of fun and fitting with
the overall vibe, but still... All told, between us we've been to 25-30
shows, and this was among the weakest in every respect--and that's okay,
the man is 84! Frankly, as rough sledding as Bob's set was, Willie didn't
fare any better, and ultimately Bob's insistence on being Bob -- the stage
setup, the new arrangements, the refusal to play the "hits" -- won the
day, and reminded us of why we love him. Though an aside: both of these
old timers owe a debt to the relatively spry Sheryl Crow, who absolutely
delivered the goods and got the crowd cooking. I'm writing this review (my
first since the early 00's) because, to the extent folks are still hemming
and hawing about jumping in on the remaining dates -- tickets to this show
were snapped up almost immediately, so we paid a premium on the secondary
market -- I thought it might be useful. But I know lots of folks have
really enjoyed this stretch, and maybe this show was an outlier, or I'm
just a sad curmudgeon. Despite all the shortcomings, Bob is Bob, the
hiding/hoodie schtick really did tickle us, and we had a good time! So
what the hell do I know? -Corey
Review by David Mendick
I saw Waxahatchee a few weeks ago at Newport Folk Festival. She's so
good. Sheryl Crow was great as always.
Merriweather has been good over the years for Dylan I remember a show
in the late 80s with Tom Petty. It was pouring down and the sun came
out just before Dylan came on to a stage backed by a spectacular
rainbow. Not too many years ago he was with Elvis Costello. Tonight's
show amazing. His voice needed no warming up. Masters of War a
brilliant opener. All Along the Watchtower and Highway 61 were
highlights. Desolation Row was astonishing. A version like no other.
And the close with Don't Think Twice had me almost in tears. The
lyrics so fitting. The solo harp at the end did have me in tears. The
audience was really good. Not too much moving around and seemed fairly
knowledgeable, I was sure someone would yell "we can't see you" but
nobody did. At the end the usual pose with hand on hip and then Dylan
pointed to the skies or the heavens with both hands. Dylan is quite
simply a genius like no other. So grateful and blessed to have lived
during his time.
Willie was wonderful. Audience showed their love. Finally, it was so
good to run into old friends Mira and Ashley. And to meet for the
first time the young Sammy. My most beautiful and perfect new Bob
Dylan fan.
David Mendick
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