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Bob Dylan 2001.10.23 in Sioux City


Date: Wed, 24 Oct 2001 12:24:51 -0500
From: Scott and Lisa Bauer  slbauer@alltel.net 
To: webmaster@dylanite.com


Sioux City Review: He's such a skinny, little man

With near perfect acoustics, an attentive, appreciative
crowd, and a high-fiving Bob Dylan, Tuesday's concert at
Sioux City's recently restored Orpheum Theatre was full of
Love, and Theft. The atmosphere outside the downtown theatre
harkened back to Dylan's Rolling Thunder days, with a lit-up
marquee proclaiming the show was "SOLD OUT" tour buses
parked just outside the side entrances and ticket holders
milling about taking their last cigarette draws before the
curtain's rise.

Like a vaudeville act that could have played the 74-year-old
theatre in its heyday, Dylan and band weaved their way
through a menagerie of musical styles, including folk,
bluegrass, country, blues, swing and good 'ole rock 'n'
roll.

The most chilling moments were when Bob quieted things down
to a near whisper for "Mama, You Been on My Mind" "Boots of
Spanish Leather" and most impressively "Sugar Baby."

The crowd responded, hanging on his every word and even
shushing those who made the slightest noise. For most of the
show audience members remained seated, more out of reverence
than lack of enthusiasm.

The acoustics allowed for every guitar note, every brush of
the drums and every syllable to fill the space within the
2,500-seat theatre. The music seemed to embed itself in
every crevice, weave its way into the carpet and walls, and
soak into the bones of each audience member, making them a
part of the musical canvas.

The show was almost as noteworthy for what was not played as
for what was. There was no "Rainy Day Women" "Tangled Up in
Blue" "Things Have Changed" "Highway 61" "Leopard-skin
Pill-box Hat" or "All Along the Watchtower."

While those omissions may have upset those who stopped
following Bob in 1966 and listen solely to his greatest hits
album, it was a joy to the more knowledgeable fans who
responded with glee to the five songs played from "Love and
Theft."

For its live debut, "Floater" was mesmerizing. Charlie
Sexton handled the fiddle part on his guitar, Dylan nailed
the lyrics, and the audience responded with rapt attention
and applause.

After making it through the song, Dylan turned his back to
the crowd and had a few laughs with guitarist Larry Campbell
and a couple roadies, perhaps relieved he made it all the
way without a gaff.

Dylan's forceful singing of "High Water" his admitted
favorite tune from the new album, again elicited applause at
the end of each line. Larry showed his versatility, handling
the banjo admirably, if not a little drowned out by the
other instruments.

Dylan let Sexton cut loose on "Summer Days" only to be
out-rocked late in the show by "Honest With Me" which even
rattled the eardrums of ear-plug wearing senior citizens in
the last row of the balcony.

Even with those highlights, nothing was more beautiful than
Dylan's plaintive rendition of "Sugar Baby." It stands as
another example of a song that when heard on the studio
album appears near perfect, until Dylan does it live.

Dylan enunciated every word, the crowd applauded at lines
about love, women and pain, and the band wrapped itself
around the lyrics, allowing them to breathe on their own
while at the same time being inexorably tied to the music.

After closing out the 20-song set with "Blowin' in the Wind"
Dylan and crew assembled at the edge of the stage for their
obligatory stand and stare at the audience routine.

Only this time something unusual happened.

Someone at stage right had caught Dylan's attention late in
the show. He pointed and smiled in that direction
repeatedly, before he actually approached the person, leaned
over and picked up a bouquet of yellow roses.

But he wasn't done. He then proceeded to make his way along
the stage from right to left, bending over to high-five
audience members, smiling all the while. The band members,
perhaps in shock, stood back and laughed almost as heartedly
as they did when he accepted his Oscar.

At one point Dylan was so emphatic in his hand slapping, it
looked like he might dive into the audience for a little
crowd surfing. But, alas, he pulled back, and made his way
off the stage, leaving behind plenty of Love.


Newsgroups: rec.music.dylan Subject: Falling In Iowa - Part I - Warning -Long But Ridiculous From: Tumulty Tumulty@aol.com Date: 24 Oct 2001 12:07:45 -0700 Six hours of driving and it was getting close to showtime so naturally my sister simply must inhale a cancer stick and change her outfit. We were twenty-five miles away from Sioux City but it might as well have been the Hinterlands so I pulled over to the side of the road. She got out for that all important smoke and to change under the stars. I turned my head and watched the road for cars but I saw nothing and it was incredibly quiet. Some time later I looked over to see what was taking so long and there she was hopping about on one leg, trying desperatley to get the other one into her jeans. All the while puffing madly on a cigarette. Hopping, puffing, puffing, hopping. Puff puff hop hop. It was amusing and ridiculous and I laughed out loud like an animal, the only noise around for miles. Then I stopped laughing,remembering how accident prone she's always been.She has fallen off of curbs when walking. She's driven her bike into countless pits, holes, trees and people. She has sprained things without getting out of bed. I looked over at her again and all was fine. Hop hop puff puff hop.. That's when she dissapeared. I remained seated and squinted hard hoping she'd show up. She'd fallen right into the ditch and she wasn't reemerging either. After a few minutes passed, I began to panic and I got out of the car and ran over to where she had last hopped. There she was, lying in the fetal position, whimpering. The poor devil never did get the other pant leg on and I noticed she was wearing the most ridiculous pair of underwear, possibly in the world. Still, I yelled down to her that I was going to the car to fetch the cell phone but I never moved and she waited a moment and thinking I was at the car, lit up another cigarette. I watched her lying there dragging on a smoke and I knew she was planning a huge production. I looked at my watch. I thought about the following hours. I'd surely be tortured waiting in some emergency room or I could go happily unescorted to the show. Welly, the show was the greatest and my sister will speak to me again, someday, I'm sure. P.S. I did go to fetch her on my way back to Minneapolis. I was a little worried that maybe she became irritated and strayed after realising I had left. Not to worry, I spotted her right off. It wasn't difficult. On my first pass I drove slowly by her, trying to get a feel for her mood. She was standing in the road shaking her fist at me like some stark raving Joe Louis. Frankly, I was a bit concerned about what she might do and I must admit, I considered leaving her there again. Too harsh, I thought. Anyhow, I wondered, if looks could kill, where would I be now?. When I finally let her in, she pounded my back with her fists which set me into a laughing fit for half an hour. TuMuLTY Newsgroups: rec.music.dylan Subject: Falling In Iowa -Part II From: Tumulty Tumulty@aol.com Date: 24 Oct 2001 13:11:17 -0700 Larry Campbell might as well be on the campaign trail. I drove into Sioux City with maybe ten minutes to spare. I didn't feel like being late so I asked the first person I saw where is the Orpheum? He said "what's an orpheum" and just then somebody walked around a big dumb bus and explained "it's where you're playing tonight." Anyhow, what a great little theatre it is. The sound in that place was perfection but it was terribly difficult sitting, especially after a drive like that. You've read the setlist by now so what news have I? Everybody seemed fairly shy at first, changing and warming by mid-show, I guess. Strange that I never looked back last night to see how people were responding, it never occured to me for once. The was my favorite performance of all. The way BD sang Highwater was absolutely unforgettable and stunning. So help me, I can't imagine a better band than the one he's got. I've never felt in awe of anything like a band of musicians before and I've seen these folks on several occasions. Perhaps it's fleeting, but I guess it was in awe that I stood during the encores. Everybody in the place opened up more and more as the night progressed but I just felt more and more timid. I wanted to watch from the shadows but I couldn't have been further away from them. What made me feel like that? Was I falling for BD, or was it my conscience and the fact that I left my sister smoking somewhere in a ditch? This is why (did you say "bark bark"?) we cannot run free like dogs, I'm afraid. Luckily I can sleep freely with them - and so to bed with the best basenjis this side of the Congo, Hero and Jip. I remain, TuMuLTY
From: "David Steichen" steichen@midlands.net To: webmaster@dylanite.com Subject: Sioux City Review Date: Wed, 24 Oct 2001 17:11:00 -0500 This was my 4th Dylan concert experience, and also the best. I headed down to Kearney last year, along withÊconcertsÊat the State Fair in Des moines and Sioux Falls, SD. This was a great show from start to finish, and i'll go song by song to try describe the magnitude of the Show last night. 1. Wait For The Light To Shine---This was the first time I'd heard this song.ÊÊI hadÊbeen following the setlists so iÊknew it was coming. After the first verse of this song i was hugely impressed by the sound system in the Orpheum theater. The State Fair show was not a good venue to enjoyÊBob toÊthe fullest, but this small 2600 theater was a perfect venue, and i really enjoyed my firstÊtaste of this song. 2. Mama, You Been On My Mind--SungÊvery confidently, and a nice suprise. Long live the Bootleg series! Very nice harmonica! 3. A Hard Rain's A-Gonna Fall--This was one of the songs never performed at my prior concerts, and my dad and I were loving every minute of it. There was some added reverence to this song due to the nations current situation, and u could tell the crowd realised the signifigance. 4. Searching For A Soldier's Grave---Much like the first song,ÊIdÊnever heard it, but enjoyed it just the same. 5. Down Along The Cove---First of several shockers,Ênice to hear a little JWH other than 'Watchtower' 6. Floater---sweet!!! My second favorite L&T song to Mississippi, and the first time played live. What a suprise.ÊÊIt was easy to recognise right away, mostly due to the fact that IveÊbeen listening to it about 10 times a day. Love the line "gotta sit up near the teacher if u can, if u wanna learn anything", and there wasÊlaughter from the audience at the 'romeo and juliet' line. 7. Tell Me That It Isn't True---Great version, sang "so ya gotta tell me, tell me that it, that it isnt trueeee' 8. High Water---More l&T, and the crowd appreciated it. Steady clap-along from theÊbobcats. 9. Don't Think Twice, It's All Right--Awesome version. Very quiet and the whole crowd wasÊinto it. And yet another harmonica apperance.Ê 10. Boots Of Spanish Leather--Another quiet one. Very nice phrasing. Very Clear singing.ÊÊAt this point i had to tell a few middle aged ladies what song this was. 11. Masters Of War--I usually dont prefer thisÊsong in concert, but tonightÊBob sang it with a real fire, like a song of warning. Just like the old days! And much like "hard rain" the crowd seemed aware of the importance. 12. Summer Days--He really got rockin' with this one. Very swing-ish, andÊmuch like theÊalbum version. BobÊhad some happy feet on this one. 13. Sugar Baby--One of the nights highlights. Sang even better than the album version. Crowd was hanging on every word. Awesome. 14. Cold Irons Bound--He brought back to TOOM songs tonight, crowd was waitingÊfor something moreÊwell known here, but the majority were still into a rockin version of this one. 15. Cat's In The Well--Very rockin'. He introduced the band on this one.Ê"Probably the best band in the world right now", very nice. ÊCrowd was on its feet. (encore) 16. Love Sick--More TOOM.ÊÊThis is where the excitement started! My dad and I raced down the isle to theÊfront of the stage on theÊright side, and enjoyed being this close.ÊÊWe kept lookin at eachother like "oh my god, can u believe this?ÊBob is right there!" We'd never been closer than theÊ20th row before, and nowÊwe could see every wrinkle in his face. 17. Like A Rolling Stone--CrowdÊreally loved this one as usual. Maybe it was just me, butÊthis version was a lot closer to the origional thanÊit normally is in concert. 18. If Dogs Run Free-- Bob was really gettin creative here. Pointing at people in the audience, laughing with the guys in the band, dancing around, and giving those looks at people in the frontÊrows, including theÊmiddle aged bearded guy next to me. 19. Honest With Me--Very rockin number. Lots of dancing all around the theater. At this point we were havin a great time right up near the stage with lots big time dylan fans. 20. Blowin' In The Wind--Great closer. Harmonies from Larry and Charlie. After the final song Bob and the band did the usual stand and stare. Thats when Bob made his way to the front of the stage, walking toward some people he'd been making eyes at the last few songs. He accepted some yellow flowers and then went along the whole front of the stage giving handshakes. At this point im about in shock. He was at about the middle of the stage and I'm on the far right, one of the last people on the opposite end of the stage. Bob begins to go down the line shaking and touching several hands along the way. He's gettin closer! Hes right there! My hand, His hand! I just shook Bob Dylans hand! Think of whos all shook that hand, and what great lyrics and guitar that song has made in the last 40 years. Wow! Shocking. Ive never heard of any fan interaction by Zim in the past, but he was having a grand old time. Who'd of thought that such a thing would happen only 35 miles from my home in Northwest Iowa? unbelievable. They left the stage after that. The crowd remained and chanted loudly 'BOB, BOB, BOB'. The place was shaking. But Zim was already headin for another joint. What a show. We left the orpheum and i couldnt quit hitting my dad saying 'i just touched THE Bob Dylan, can u believe this ?!?!' A wonderful experience, dont miss this tour if u can help it. Oh, almost forgot, i met a very nice couple from Council Bluffs. Great Zim fans like myself. If you two are reading this drop me a line at mattyjstikes@hotmail.com. That address is also available if u wanna talk about Bob, or have any bootleg info about this concert. Love and Theft rules! Go see Bob! -Matt
Newsgroups: rec.music.dylan Subject: Sioux City revue: Absolutely long, relatively self indulgent with some mature content (hunting bare) From: "gadugger@sunflower.com" gadugger@sunflower.com Date: Sat, 27 Oct 2001 23:32:33 -0500 Disclaimer: I have this friend - - named I - - hence the story of I. How I Spent My (Indian) Summer Vacation I hadn't driven 300+ miles one way to a Dylan concert since my first - St. Louis 1974 with the Band - in the middle of the gas crisis, filling up my 1966 VW bug at the interstate truck stop, the only place open in the middle of the night on the way back. I was young and foolish then. Now, I am no longer young. And there has been a lot of water under the bridge - a lot of other stuff too. This time the origin point was the same, Lawrence, KS. but the destination was Sioux City, Iowa or Siouxland as they say. I had a miserable cold compounded by allergies and was hoping that this trip would not be something to be endured but enjoyed. Most of the trip up was foggy so I let a little sunshine in via The Best of Van Morrison followed up by something recorded in the year that Bob first landed in NYC - The Great Summit: Louis Armstrong & Duke Ellington then on to an excellent Tom Waits bootleg from a 1979 Australian radio concert. The eclectic mix seemed to fit the road trip perfectly though maybe it was just my mental fog from the prescription allergy medicine and the over the counter cold medications. Got to Sioux City in time to take a quick tour of the local art museum which architecture over-promised its contents. Inside I asked a local Siouxlander if it would be safe to walk to and from the concert from my hotel. I guess being post 9/11/01, she gave me a rather noncommittal answer. I walked on to locate the venue and in the process spotted two of the black tour busses parked just north across the street from the restored Orpheum theatre which external architecture belied its opulent internal French renaissance decor. While waiting across the street from the Orpheum entrance I saw someone looking a lot like Al ("Ladies and Gentleman, would you please welcome . . ." ) Santos cross the street and go into the building behind me - turns out it was a public library - reminded me of Bob's cryptic comments on a bootleg about supporting your local library. About the same time a third tour bus pulled up immediately north of the theatre. After about 5 minutes Larry Campbell gets out and walks by himself eastward to the alley behind the theatre apparently arriving for soundcheck. I waited a while then decided to walk by the bus before heading back to the hotel for some rest before the concert. I went past the bus and saw a single security person by the alley. At that point I had to cross the street to the north due to construction and became aware of a presence to my right just as I started crossing the street. It was Charlie Sexton though at first I wasn't sure as his hair was not as slicked down as it is during performances. Neither of them carried any instruments. I didn't say anything or try to take their picture and as I had enough stalking for the day (I'm trying to get a life, Bob) I walked on back to the hotel though there were probably other tour personnel on the bus. I rested but not comfortably at the hotel having this waking nightmare about falling asleep and missing the concert. Also still concerned about venue security as I wanted to take some nonflash photos and still vividly remembered that close encounter of the film confiscating kind last year at Sandstone. Getting in to the venue with the camera turned out not to be a problem even though my binoculars were kind of bulging in one of the front pockets of my vest - my theory being that noticing them might distract from noticing the better hidden camera. I also asked about location of the bathrooms as they were taking the ticket as a further distraction but I think both steps were unnecessary. Security seemed to be much more focused on what you did with whatever it was you got in. As a professional reviewer said of a recent California concert, most everybody was either 22 or 52 though I saw one circa 72 couple (he was fully suited) about 8 rows back stage left. My seat location was my personal best -even better than anticipated from the seating chart which interestingly was never posted on ticketmaster- third row lucky 11 seats left of center which meant only about 25 feet from Bob as this was a small venue with a correspondingly small stage. If Winston Watson were still playing drums I would have had to dodge drumstick fragments and flying sweat. My location in fact was almost too good - on the aisle literally about 6 feet from the security guard stationed next to the stage right stairs. Coincidentally the people immediately in front of me were also from Lawrence and were driving back that night and going to work the next day (see young and foolish above). I expressed my concern with the other Lawrence folks about whether a sit down policy would be in effect and the prospects of taking photos. The venue was an architectural and acoustic delight. Interestingly the bottom sections of the speaker stacks were facing away from the audience presumably to keep sound levels tolerable in this small theatre. The theatre has a web cam that I assume was not turned on that night. Here's a couple of theatre links: http://www.siouxcityorpheum.com/ and http://www.siouxcitytourismconvention.com/orpheumgallery.html Soon enough the classical music stopped and the incense was lit. Also soon enough we learned that the Taliban like policy of no standing was indeed in effect. While my short-term memory is long gone, my recollection is that even before the now customary opener was concluded we were being directed to sit down. The only positive side effect of this policy is that combined with the stress of stealth photography and feeling somewhat spacey from the allergy/cold medicines led to a certain emotional detachment so even though I was probably in the closest physical proximity of Dylan that I will ever be, I was in no danger of Stendhal's syndrome. The house lights remained higher than what I have experienced at recent Dylan concerts which perhaps is a new security wrinkle. There certainly was a surfeit of formally attired ushers and red tee shirt clad security, which certainly complicated photo taking. I have never seen more people attempt to take flash photos and get caught. One unfortunate soul was at least 25 rows away from security and still got caught. I was not sure even steganographic technique would work tonight. I was resigned to waiting at least until the encore to try when the security staff left his post for what would hopefully be at least a few minutes. I snapped two quick shots while still sitting without raising the camera above my shoulders - probably got a great shot of the back of the heads of the people in row s 1 and 2. Not long into the concert someone went right up to the security staff by me carrying what at first looked like a Federal express letter packet - I thought he was trying to make a delivery and immediately thought of anthrax. It apparently was an album that he wanted to get autographed right then and there. When security said no way he then wanted to leave the album with the guard who said no again. The person left without incident. Meanwhile the incredible concert visuals possible from being that close were driving me crazy not daring to try to take photos. The footlight effect previously used in some concerts I attended was great and there were a couple of other lighting effects I had not seen before. .Bob was nattily dressed in one of his black on black outfits looking at times like a bushy haired Walter Cronkite. Being as close as I was, I rarely used my binoculars but noticed a couple of things when I did. Bob's black and white acoustic guitar strap was heavily carved leather. His fingernails were clean and not of Howard Hughes length. His traditional red tie had a pattern that I could not make out. I also could see but could not make out what the writing was on the inside of his acoustic guitar - I guess that would make the ultimate Dylan trivia question. The sound quality in the theatre was excellent though Larry's banjo in Highwater was mixed way too low and the overall volume could have been a little louder for my taste. I don't remember any particular lyric fumbles but did detect a few out of place sounding guitar notes in one number. The setlist was incredible what with the L&T numbers including the live debut of Floater, several other numbers that I hadn't heard live before and the three part harmony songs. Though Cat in the Well really rocked I had hoped for Wicked Messenger which was incredible at Sedalia. Cold Irons Bound didn't do much for me this time and If Dogs Run Free in the middle of the encore decreased the energy level too much for me. As people were finally allowed to remain standing during the encore and as a number of people filled the area between the stage and the seats a little cover was created for photography. Additionally the security staff had retreated a few feet up the stage stairs though an usher joined him so now there were two people scanning the crowd in close proximity to me. Aiding my cause by drawing their focus was a stereotypic deadhead who had some kind of necklace with charms attached that he was waving at the band - couldn't tell if he wanted to give it to somebody or what. Anyway he was becoming quite distraught and beating his chest with his one free hand. Security kept eyeing him and after he had set the necklace down on one of the speakers one of the road crew had security make him remove it. Later after the show I saw him over by the two remaining tour busses still with necklace. About the same time a young lady pushed her way to the stage to toss a small bouquet of flowers. I thought that she threw them too soon as I expected another couple of songs. About this time I noticed another young blonde woman about age 22 with a white-cropped top and low-rise bottoms on the rail near where the flowers had landed. This particular dear had a near trophy rack and a tailbone area tattoo, which would probably be painfully removed in a decade or so. After the encore formation, when Bob surprised everyone by approaching the rail stage right to pick up the flowers it was obvious by his eyebrow acting that Bob had noticed the blonde also. His attention was not directed toward the flower thrower as reported by others. He then proceeded stage right to stage left giving a low five to the front row's high fives. You could then see him virtually complete a circumnavigation of the stage either stumbling slightly or briefly dancing a jig when crossing behind the stage just before donning his hat. He then approached the front stage right area again giving an encore eyebrow acting performance directed toward the lady in question who I do not think was either his aunt or his second cousin. I know that Bob is a man of many interests including mathematics and architecture and maybe even physics and may have been seeking after concert conversation about flying buttresses or the latent heat of fusion - though more likely demonstrations of such. Bob was not yet standing stark naked but I think he was clearly hunting bare. The woman was later seen walking alone in the alley behind the theatre heading towards the tour busses. Reflecting on this episode and knowing full well that Dylan's private life is none of my business and that I am in no position to judge others I still experienced a wave of disappointment demonstrating that in some respects I was perhaps still as na•ve as the guy earlier seeking to get his album autographed during the concert. If this episode had not been played out in public view I wouldn't have included it. Driving home back to Kansas the next morning the concert afterglow soon briefly became a Maslowian peak experience with the Loess Hills on the left, linear strings of blazing yellow cottonwoods hard on the right their leaves being pasted against the car by the stiff westerly wind, the sun low ahead between puffy white clouds backed by a brilliant blue late autumn sky providing that certain comforting radiant heat through the windshield with Visions of Johanna from the 1996 I've Got a Song to Sing bootleg on the CD player. Either that or my meds were out of balance again. The experienced faded soon enough, I's presence had become obnoxious to me and this whole scribbling exercise had become tiresome. Throwing I overboard at the borderline, now I-less in Kansas, I end. No longer I and I "There's no excess like stricture and stricture is no excess at all."
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