Bob Dylan 2000.09.29 in Frankfurt, Germany
Jahrhunderthalle, Menuhin Saal
Capacity: 2021
Date: Sat, 30 Sep 2000 00:24:49 +0200 (MEST) From: Michael Willys m_willys@gmx.de To: billp61@execpc.com Cc: webmaster@expectingrain.com Subject: Review - Frankfurt 29.9.2000 - Frankfurt Jahrhunderthalle Review - Frankfurt 29.9.2000 - Frankfurt Jahrhunderthalle I am just now back from the Frankfurt Yearhundredhall, the show finished about 90 minutes ago. There was traffic chaos after the show, there seems to be only one exit from the carpark and all cars tried to hit it at once. I didn't even try, I waited around and then though have a look around the back of the hall in case Bob was having a cold one or a smoke to relax after the show. Anyway I went around the back of the hall just to see Bobs bus start up and roar off, only to hit the traffic jam about 30 metres around the corner! Both buses were in the jam, the bus drivers got out and were examining the mess. Bob's bus was the second one. Some German guy want up to Bob's bus and held a cover of New Morning up to the windows and walked the length of the bus holding the cover. Like, Bob will open a window and sign New Morning? DUH!! Anyway these antics caught the attention of a security guy who, shall we say, gently asked the person to stop doing it. The guy complied. After a few minutes I went over to the security guy and chatted with him for a few minutes, a real nice guy and obviously one of the private security team. He mentioned the Cagliari concert where Bob went over to all the fans and signed things for them and took photographs. But he said, to try to meet Bob in a hotel, WRONG PLACE. Try to meet Bob at the airport, WRONG PLACE. After a good show, you stand a chance. After about 20 minutes, the bus drivers spotted a way out and the buses overtook some cars and made a speedy exit. The speedy way out was actually following an ambulance, someone had fallen or something and were rushed off in an ambulance. What about the concert? Well, I feel like writing many things but in a way its a bit pointless: You just had to be there. Its my 3rd show this year and I enjoyed it thoroughly. Bob was in extreme good humour and smiled constantly and seemed to be absolutely enjoying himself. Something I can honestly say I have never seen before. Each smile was greeted with a huge roar from the crowd, causing Bob to smile more. I have to say it was fantastic and I was very moved. I thought if Bob's mother was observing the show tonight she would have been very proud of her son. It seemed that not Bob Dylan tonight was performing but rather Robert Zimmerman. I was feeling this already by the midpoint, and what song does Bob play next? Seeing the Real You At Last. I felt like I saw the real Bob tonight, after going to his shows for 22 years. At last. A great song selection for me, as it did not clash with the Zurich and Cologne shows from earlier this year. I enjoyed Duncan and Brady, as well as an excellent Soldiers Grave. And Dignity! Excellent. Bob spat the words at us. "Dignity never been photographed!" HA! A superb superb performace. Desolation Row was great, and Bob spat out the Expecting Rain line! A nod to Karl-Erik? Then before the band intros, Bob said something like "You people here seem to undertand this music (not: my music but THIS music) better than anyone else in the whole world". Isn't that a great thing to say? I was rapt! Bob's first encore was "Things have changed" but the chorus gained an extra syllable: "Things HAAAAAAAAAAVE-unt changed". Things haven't changed. Bob laughed each time he sang this, I am not too sure that the crowd noticed it too much, at least for the first couple of times. I really loved I Shall Be Released, the crowd roo. A real highlight of the show. 4th Time Around was a real treat for me, it was a favourite song back when I was young and happy. I always got a kick that Bob was really saying crotch and not crutch. Tonite he said crutch but is sounded like crotch (as usual). Bobs used his best voice on this and hit a really deep note on the end of each sentence. Wicked Messenger was another highlight. Tangled was greeted with stone cold silence (I am sure Bob was taken aback by this). It was a good Tangled, but the cool reception to it seemed to inspire Bob for the rest of the show. Country Pie had him almost laughing, not just smiling. Well its late so I must finish this. A great great show, Bob's voice was excellent, the sound was excellent, the venue was excellent, the songs were excellent, the band was excellent, the security guy was excellent. The buses were pretty cool too. All we need now is a NEW ALBUM!!!!!!! Anyway, enjoy the rest of the tour! I am off to Greece for a holiday. Mike Willys -- Sent through GMX FreeMail - http://www.gmx.net
From: EFuchs@t-online.de (Erich Fuchs) To: webmaster@expectingrain.com Subject: Bob Dylan at Frankfurt Date: Sun, 1 Oct 2000 18:49:22 +0200 Hello there! Oh, back home again from a wonderful weekend in Frankfurt, from a wonderful, unforgettable weekend with Bob Dylan. Although the trip was horror, I will remember this show for a long long time. It was 300- miles journey to Frankfurt from where I live, and it took me over ten hours! Actually only 9 hours were planned, but between Nürnberg and Würzburg somebody comitted suicide in jumping in front of my train, and I lost my nerves and a lot of time. I felt so sorry for this guy and feared to miss Bob's show. When I came to Würzburg "my" train was already gone, and so I took an intercity although my ticket did not allow me to take this kind of train, but it this was so unimportant in this situation. In my wagon was a man with a Bob Dylan T-Shirt, and it was clear where he was going to, but I still felt so down, because I couldn't stop thinking about this man who died in front of my train and so I just sat down hoping that nobody would come around to control my ticket. I was lucky. It was like a cure to see Bob's show. He was in such great mood.ÊHe laughed and smiled and danced and used more than a handful of words when he introduced the band. In the end of the concert he did something (let's call it) very unusual: He took the glasses with water standing around on stage and put the water over the heads of those who were very close to the stage. Very funny Bob!!! Tini (mfuchs76@hotmail.com)
Date: Mon, 02 Oct 2000 11:00:28 +0200 From: Carsten Wohlfeld office@carstenwohlfeld.de To: billp61@execpc.com, rec.music.dylan@t-online.de, webmaster@expectingrain.com Subject: Frankfurt, Germany - September 29, 2000 - a review Bob Dylan Frankfurt am Main, Germany Jahrhunderthalle, Menuhin Saal, September 29, 2000 A Review By Carsten Wohlfeld The drive from Hamburg to Frankfurt was long and since there were many road accidents along the Autobahn, it took us longer than we expected. It was a bright and sunny day though, it might as well have been the last sunny day of the year actually, and since Gunter did all the driving (thank you, thank you, thank you!) it was quite relaxing for me nevertheless. I had high hopes for this show, because it was the smallest show of the tour (save for Dublin Vicar Street) in a very, very nice and stylish venue, very much like the famous Alte Oper, where Bob performed when he last hit Frankfurt four years ago. They put up the second rail/fence, whatever you may call it again, so you had to hunt down the security guard again to make sure you make it to the front. Thanks to Tim, we did and what a great night for a spot in the first few rows it was! As it has been mentioned before, you really had to be there to believe it. A look at the setlist may hint that it was a pretty ordinary show, but it wasn't. At 8.00pm, the band was ready to take to the stage. Well, that's just the band, but not Bob, so you could see the four guys waiting behind the amps for about 10 minutes, until Bob finally arrived. Duncan & Brady (acoustic) Was a very welcome substitute for the tired and boring "I Am The Man, Thomas", even though the sound was as bad as you'd expect it to be in the first few rows. Despite the long drive, Bob seemed to be in better shape than in Hamburg even and I thought to myself: If he's not gonna do "Times" now, we might be in for a really good show after all. Song To Woody (acoustic) Was next, Bob started it all by himself before the band came in and it was very well done, too. Better than in Dresden, I'd say, and that is the only performance I can compare it to, really. I wish he'd do it more often! Desolation Row (acoustic) Sounded terrifyingly similar to "Masters Of War" at the beginning and even though we've heard better versions of this song before, it was nice to hear it instead of yet another "It's Alright Ma". It was also during this song,that Bob spotted a girl in the front row (the stage was very low and there was no barrier, so people were VERY close to Bob and the band tonight). She was pretty young, very cute with long curly black hair. I'd say she probably was from South America, or Greece or Turkey, not very teutonic looking at all. And, for some reason, Bob fell completely in love with her and played the rest of the show just for her. That's right, it wasn't just only one song, like we've seen it so many times before, especially during the encores, it was the WHOLE show. More later. To Ramona (acoustic) Featured Larry on mandolin and was kind of a let down, since a lot of us in the front were hoping for "Frankie Lee" in this slot. I know many people adore this song, but as I've said many times before, I just down't get it. Tangled Up In Blue (acoustic) Was okay, but not spectacular. It was funny how people behind the second fence, the "iron curtain" went mad while the people in the first few rows greeted the song with stone cold silence. Searching For A Soldier's Grave (acoustic) Was the same that it ever was. Nice as a surprise once, but kinda boring if you hear it every night. It clearly isn't boring to play it every night as they don't even make the slightest attempt to even talk about the song selection in this slot anymore. Country Pie Bob remembered the girl in the front row and began to make contact. Not only was he looking at her conctantly, he was rolling his eyes, nodding his head, pointing his guitar at her and even sticking out his tongue, laughing out loud (he almost missed a few lines), looking at Tony as if he was to say: Hey, did you see HER? Dignity Was every bit as good as the night before in Hamburg. Obviously he's not singing all the verses, but he's got all my favourite lines in there, and that's all that matters to me. Best of all was the "Dignity has never been photographed" line. Meanwhile, he was still singing for Miss Curly Sue in row one. Stuck Inside Of Mobile With The Memphis Blues Again Larry on acoustic guitar. Another excuse for Bob to have fun, singing the song to the girl at his feet rolling his eyes, changing the phrasing and generally having a good time. When Bob was a good time, the band is more relaxed too and if the band is relaxed, the show is usually better and everybody has more fun. Just the way it's ought to be. Not Dark Yet Was very well done tonight, even though it doesn't changes enough for me to hear the differences between the many versions I've heard anymore. Wicked Messenger While it's still the same song as the current "Drifter's Escape" really, it's a little slower yet almsot as powerful. A great choice, which made a lot of people who hadn't heard it before very happy. Band intros followed and for the first time on this tour Bob said a little more. Unfortuantely he started talking as everybody was still cheering, so I didn't get it. Consult the tapes for that, but it was something along the lines of "best audience anywhere, you understand this music better than anybody else." Wow. He probably was just referring to the black-haired girl in the front row, but oh well... Leopard Skin Pillbox Hat Closed the main set and while the young girl was feeling very, very comfortable because of all the attetion Bob was giving her throughout the night, this was the song where she almost died. In fact she covered her face with her hands as if she was to say: "Okay, it's enough, I give in!" Bob didn't care though and we got a great rendition of this old warhorse. "I see you got a new BOYFRIEND [eyes rolling], I never seen him BEEEEEFORRRREEEEEE! I saw him making LOOOOOVE to you".... So funny! I'm sure Bob changed one of the lines as well, though I'm not positive. I usually don't pay much attention to the song's lyrics anymore, but tonight something sounded very different. (encore) Things Have Changed Had Bob come running in from the back of the stage while the music was already playing. Not the best version, way too slow. Bob was still singng to the girl in front of him though, so we got a lot of smiles and laughs from Bob which was better than an perfect rendition of any of his songs, I guess. Like A Rolling Stone Was above average again, which I still think is kinda funny as it's been a flatline for almost a year straight now, but in Europe Bob finally managed to bring it back to life. I just love the little riff that Larry only plays at the very end... Fourth Time Around (acoustic) When Larry reached for the bouzouki and Charlie was holding on to his electric guitar we knew what was coming. Despite the fact he he never sings the first line, it was very well done again. I think the songs that rhyme are easier for him to sing and it's more fun to play with the phrasing. At least that's my impression and it works very well on this song. Seeing The Real You At last Was the "surprise" for tonight, a first timer on this European jaunt. Not my favourite song, but a solid rocker than I definitely prefer over the slow "River Flow" that we were forced to listen to in Hamburg I Shall Be Released (acoustic) Great harmonies again, very well done. I like the song more than "Forever Young", so I wouldn't mind hearing it again soon. Highway 61 Revisited Another excuse for Bob to take a closer look at his favourite audience member, as he obviously didn't have to concentrate too much to get this right. Shorter jam/solo parts than usual, but still a high-energy performance. In fact, it was the only real rocker all night, except for "Pillbox". Blowin' In The Wind (acoustic) Closed it all off and after the show Bob picked up a few roses that somebody had thrown on stage, made a few steps towards the young lady in row one, basically handed her one rose and threw the others in the other direction, not aiming at anyone in particular. So, despite the fact that there definitely was room for improvement in the setlist department, it was a most enjoyable show in a terrific venue. I don't think I've ever seen Bob having so much fun. Not for the whole duration of a show, anyways. And it really was just down to this one girl, so whoever you are, thank you very much! Gotta make sure she's there again next time Bob hits Frankfurt! Carsten Wohlfeld -- http://carstenwohlfeld.de "i'll be jimmie rodgers, the cure or the who if it makes any difference to you" (billy bragg)
