Reviews

Edmonton, Alberta

Rexall Place

October 30, 2008


[Jack Brockie], [Geoff Nash], [Bob White]

Review by Jack Brockie



We arrived to the centre at 6:30 PM. It is a nice sized arena. The stage 
was setup already. I was hoping to see the roadies set it up and I was 
not disappointed. They were tuning the guitars and working on the 
pianos. They put towels by all the members of the band. They put 2 
cups of water by Bob's Oscar. You could see the Oscar nicely. Bob's 
piano was in front slightly to the right. You could not see Donnie when 
Bob played. They set the set-list up.

The ticket said it started at 7:30 PM, but 7:30 came and went and 
people were still mingling around and finding their seats. 7:45 PM and 
nothing. Then jut a little before 8:00 PM the music started and "Ladies 
and Gentlemen…" the boys walked out with Bob behind them.

Bob was dressed in his black suit. His hat reminds me a little of the 
Rolling Thunder Days.

"Columbia Recording Artist…Bob Dylan!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!" 
Watching The River Flow started. Bob was having fun on this one. 
Bouncing around and a good vibe with the band all around.

The Times started and the crowd went wild. Amazing!! I loved this 
one. Great vibe and great song.

Lonesome Day Blues!! First from the new album "Tell Tale Signs". 
Greta Great version. Really Rocking and Bob was having fun with this 
one. Great guitar work by everyone and they all seemed to be having 
fun. 

Girl Of The North Country. For all the North Country Girls. Bob was right 
on the borderline tonight. I loved this and I figured he'd sing it as he 
was in the North Country. I really loved this one and I was hoping for 
this or Boots of Spanish Leather live and I received this one!!!!!!!! : 
Amazing!! : He played a nice harmonica solo as well.

High Water. The next "TELL TALE SIGNS" song. Amazing version!! 
Really Rocking!!:) It irritates me how people do not recognize Bob's 
newer songs yet. It's weird how everyone goes crazy for the older 
songs and the newer rocking songs they do nothing. In any case, it 
was an amazing version and Bob was dancing around and having a 
blast.

Next: Chimes Of Freedom!!!!!!!!! Amazing!!!!!!!! Absolutely beautiful.

Rollin' and Tumblin' Amazing version. Bob always looks like he's having 
fun with this song. I Love it. It's very fast.

A Hard Rain's A-Gonna Fall. This one was amazing. The crowd went 
wild. Bob was having fun with this one. It's hard…it's a hard…it's a hard…

After this Bob walked around the piano and looked around. The crew 
worked on the piano and Bob looked at them for awhile and he looked 
like he was going to pick up a guitar, but no…he had his harmonica and 
stood centre stage for an excellent rendition of yet another "TELL 
TALE SIGNS" song!!!!!! Amazing!!!! Bob danced around and directed his 
band as he sang this one. Amazing!!!!!!!!!!

Then he went back to his piano and woo hoo:
Beyond The Horizon!!!!! I had never seen this one yet and was hoping 
for it. This is a great version. Very beautiful.

The Summer Days and it rocked. The mundane crowd danced a bit to 
this at least. Great version and the boys looked like they were having a 
blast.

Love Sick!!!!!!! Great version. Like the Summer versions. Amazing 
song!!!!!!!

Highway 61 Revisited. Great Rocking version. The crowd came alive again. 
Fun song.

Ain't Talkin'!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! : Amazing!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
The lights were all red and Bob had fun with this. Amazing song. 
Woo Hoo!!

Thunder On The Mountain. The Crowd Loved this and seemed to know 
this one. They started to dance around. Great version. The Band was 
having fun with this one.

Then Bob & the boys left for a while and the crowd cheered and stomped. 
Then…
Like A Rollin' Stone!!!!!!!!!! Amazing version as always and the crowd loved 
this one. Bob would sing a verse and then look out at the crowd while 
waiting for us to cheer for him. Amazing and fun song.

Then All Along The Watchtower!! Amazing song as well.

I was able to get Bob 2 months apart. Amazing. 

Bob was in top form tonight and he looked like he was having fun. The
crowds need to get more enthusiastic when watching him. This was 
fun and amazing performance!!:)

Bob-come to Denver or Montana this Spring!!!!!!!!!!!!
Thank you for coming closer to Montana this Halloween Season!!! 

[TOP]

Review by Geoff Nash



I won't indulge you by saying I'm a "hard-core" Bob fan. I wasn't old
enough to appreciate his early coffee-shop and protest material, but I do,
however, admire the man, love the sound of his voice and enjoy his lyrics.
Lethbridge is not exactly on the beaten track of concert cities and I
always have a sense that aging rock/folk/country singers use the
"dartboard" approach when planning tours in the later part of their
careers ... throw a dart/see where it lands/go there ... "Hmmm, where the
hell is Lethbridge? Let's go find out." We have a fairly small, but I
wouldn't say intimate venue in the Enmax Center and I would say it was
very close to a sell out at ~5,000. It is, after-all, a hockey arena, so
any complaints about sound quality should be taken with that disclaimer in
mind. That being said, my wife and I sat row 3, section B, directly stage
right with an unobstructed view of Bob on his keyboard, wearing his
trademark white, flat-brimmed hat and found the sound quality to be pretty
good, all things considered. The band was tight and we especially enjoyed
Denny Freeman's guitar playing. The arrangements on most songs were a bit
different from what I was accustomed to, so it took a minute or so to kind
of "get into it." But once done, it was easy to fall under the spell of
these accomplished musicians, resplendent in black, reminiscent of a Blues
Brothers show ... "We're on a mission with Bob!" Okay ... sorry about
that. The band opened with Watchin the River Flow and then into the
classic Times They are a Changin'. Bob sounds pretty good for a 67 yr old
that's been on a world-wide tour for almost a full year! I'm not sure who
else could keep up this kind of a pace ... well, besides Neil Young. Bob
and Neil should tour together ... maybe add Petty, Lynn and put Ringo on
drums for some kind of freaky Wilburys part 2 collaboration ... but I
digress. After a fairly soft Girl of the North Country, the band started
to get into their groove with High Water. Then followed a string of
favourites that was the highlight of the show for me. Chimes, Rollin and
Tumblin followed by Hard Rain. This was the heart of the performance.
Bob's voice, although ragged ... but when hasn't it been ... gave me
chills. As others have said, the social commentary is as relevant now as
it ever has been. Even a casual listener has heard the refrain: "Chimes of
Freedom flashing," and the gut-wrenching refrain of "It's a hard, it's a
hard, it's a hard rain's a gonna fall!" Bob does indeed, know his song
well before he starts singin'. Bob stepped away from the keyboard after
Hard Rain to sing a quiet song from Time out of Mind. I felt the energy
ebb somewhat over the next few songs, only to pick up with an energetic
Highway 61, the main set ending with Thunder on the Mountain, which I only
recently became familiar with after picking up tickets for the show. A
very good show finale. The crowd was very appreciative, being a very
sweeping mix of seniors, parents with kids and teenagers. After about 5
minutes the band came back for a fitting encore with Rolling Stone and
Watchtower. If the house-lights had not come up, I'm sure the ovation
would have lasted another 10 minutes. A very enjoyable evening. Thanks
Bob, for paying a visit to this small, out-of-the-way corner of the world!

Geoff Nash from Lethbridge

[TOP]

Review by Bob White


The Encana Centre is a small arena and a pretty good venue for Bob and his
band. The crowd was pretty mellow and generally appreciative of having an
act of Bob's stature in their town. I thought  the show was great. Bob in
great voice, the band hot and firing on all cylinders. Great versions of
Girl of the North Country and Chimes of Freedom. And although I've heard
theses versions of Summer Days, Highway 61, LARS and Watchtower many
times, they are still kick ass and hugely enjoyable. A terrific night in
southern Alberta!

BW


[TOP]

Click Here
to return to the
Main Page

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