| Reviews Minneapolis, Minnesota Farm Aid Huntington Bank Stadium September 2030, 2025 |
Review by Corky Williams
Where does one begin, to review the shortest set I'd ever seen by Bob Dylan?
First off, if you're possibly reading this Nightly Moth? A huge thanks for
all you do for Bob fans the world over! Your posts & most especially the
music you put up: it is ALL groovy! Big fan of all your hard work, & also
greatly appreciate your own art. I'm encouraging anyone with means, to
support his worthwhile efforts. Go subscribe, ok?
So, about that far too short but so dang sweet FarmAid 2025 set?
This was the only concert I've attended where I was concerned that I might
pass out from holding my breath. Anyone else ever felt like that at a
concert before? By anyone?
It was an especially manicured, well thought out & truly powerful set,
to my ears.
Forget all the hassles getting there. Including my baby brother (on the
day before his 65th birthday, & after buying our tix) sadly he'd tripped &
fell face first. On some loose asphalt at a Cum & Go gas station. We were
just 2ish hours away from our incredible air B & B, so kindly shared with
us (at a deeply discounted cost) by a lifelong friend, Mardi.
(His cracked ribs have very nearly healed up at this time. Tough bird,
brother Chris is!)
Back to the review:
I'm re-watching a video of the set, to refresh my memory of what (to ME,
mind you!!) was a set I simply MUST describe as: jolly, fun, & truly
mesmerizing. Twas just 25 minutes, by the most amazing artist ever. He
looks to be having a heck of a lot of fun.
* All Along the Watchtower. (Has anyone ever done a cooler rewrite? I was
clobbered!)
Years ago, I caught just one date of Bob's, where he had a rather famous
guest artist on lead guitar. Seems like he'd played with him before on tour
or record. Heck man, I not only don't recall his name. All that I can
remember for certain is his grinning mug & his (in MY opinion) very
blatant mugging & showboating out front. Bob. Was. Glaring.
This wasn't that. Nope.
From the very second that the band walked onstage, & they were all plugged
in, every band member's eyes were on Bob. How I saw it & it simply works
better, so obvious.
(It was Duke, memory caught up w/my mouth. Certain he's an Ace. Just not
Bob's....)
Is there any better feeling than being in the room with this killer band?
If you've never seen Bob Dylan live, ever, get on a plane to Europe ASAP.
Empty your bank accounts, sell a kidney. Or your childhood hot rod. Or the
lake place, whatEVER, alright? See the wonder of a Bob Dylan concert
before you die. We do not know the requirements to gain access to the
Afterlife. None of us do. Not for certain! But surely he's on that list!
* I Can Tell. (They broke into this tune so quickly! Was scrambling to
learn its title, ok?)
Younger brother was sitting, all but bored with Bob's set, tolerating &
only enjoying a wee bit. If his expressions & occasional head bobs were to
be believed. So, I pressed him to use his cell phone app & identify the
titles for me. Which a neighbor had called the 'Name that tune!' portion
of the show for his Missus. But, this really rocked! She was bopping along.
He was playing air guitar. Enough beer, you too can be an ace at it.
If you're a fan on the fence, if my half assed recollections have yet to
convince you that its really smart to leave retirement saving behind & hop
a plane & GO SEE DYLAN, go listen to this track. No more baby, no more
indeed. Yea, I can tell. Crap, it just rocked.
* To Ramona. Anything in a waltz time, captures my heart very quickly.
Other fans, is this the tune he was hammering a microphone with a wrench
to? Gotta go look that up!!
If you're a fan of great piano playing? Despite what my hero Bob Dylan may
think, he's really not above some coaching. Or lessons. Keep practicing
sir, you have lots of time, but the harp solo quite nearly redeems this
performance. I loved the heck out of THAT.
* Highway 61.
Okay.
So if any one of the other 36,231 other attendees had any doubt as to who
that old guy was on stage? He owned the crowd with this next one. At least,
ME & my neighbors.
Nobody knows for certain if Robert Zimmerman has ever been to Bob Links.
Or, if he has the skill sets to find the link to Bill Pagel's website is
accessed by here, & if you don't know where Bob Dylan's concerts are
reviewed here? Oughta be far easier. FYI.
Unless a major rocker died, Bill's link is that I scroll to. That's each &
every morning, if my AM time allows. And always after a Bob Dylan concert.
Looking daily, for reviews. Have for decades now. Just SO grateful to you,
Bill. And my thanks for that intro, sir, to a fellow fan across the pond.
That led to me seeing a show in Meridian, no less!!
* Don't think Twice.
To anyone reading this? Please. Click here.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?app=desktop&v=PBOe5KbKgcY
It's a link put up by your pal,
Nightly Moth. He would likely benefit, especially if lots of us watched it,
again & again.
Bob Dylan live at Farm Aid 40. 2025. Full set in HD Video. Minneapolis,
Minnesota.youtube.com
After seeing that, if you've still not experienced Bob Dylan ever? Sell
your Trans Am or that pre-war D-45 Martin that you've been saving back &
buy the plane tickets, ok?
Get to this tour. I'm simply dying inside, wanting to see another Bob
Dylan concert.
Every darned year, I tell myself that 'this year's his very last tour!' &
rejoice in the spring when this website drops the new dates, usually in the
discussions I lurk over.
But go listen to the incredible, amazing, yet heart wrenching harmonica
solo he did, after those too freaking brief 22.53 minutes he played. It
might have been 'bye USA.'
Mind you, that 22.53 included the kindly & croaky intro by John Mellencamp.
An artist that I not only have loved for all his output, but would truly
like to invite to please give up smoking, please John. My own brother got
up & left soon as he started. We lost both parents to smoking it was just
too horrible watching enter the stage smoking. Like always.
So, did any of you longtime fans think Bob would be playing such a short
set???
The 5 songs were killer, for this fan. But like an incredible session with
a lover? It's never enough. In the time it's taken me to write this review,
I've replayed this video at least 4x & it's simply incredible to this fan.
That the folks running the show, chose to have Bob play such a short set.
Maybe I'm dead wrong. Maybe it was all Bob's chosing?
During the sweetness that was song 5, his last few harmonica notes
convinced this hard core fan (surely others have seen so many more than me.
How many for you, Laurette? Thousands of them, yes?) that this one was
truly a potential goodbye to the US. Because to ME? That man played a
goodbye solo. I loved it all, still. Thanks sir.
It is now 2:23 in the am in Kansas City, Mo.
Just had to stay up, to finally at last finish my review. Only started it
like 10 or 12 times so far. It wasn't really that hard, come to think of it.
Please accept my apologies, Bill as it was truly my wish to have submitted
many more. I saw Meridian due to you, brother even though it wasn't all
that great. Felt like Bob played, only cause they made him. I am likely in
a minority in that opinion. Who knows, Nightly Moth may well have posted
that show & it'll be better on the next listen. It usually is, a Dylan
show. Right?
Signing off at 2:23 am. I'll simply post this, it's well done enough. Hope
someone enjoyed it, as I did writing for myself, and you all. Gotta wake
again by 6am or so.
If anyone wants to write me, others have included email here in past
reviews that I've been lucky enough to read. Love to hear any rebuttal.
Good or bad, I'd appreciate it ok?
(Get on a plane, if you can. OR send ME a plane & concert ticket if you
can afford one?(
Corky Williams here in rainy KC, Mo.
corkyfiber@gmail.com
| 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 |