Bob Dylan 951214 in New York, New York - at the Beacon Theatre
Date: Fri, 15 Dec 1995 00:22:20 -0500
From: Ray Schweighardt (rainman@BUTTERCUP.CYBERNEX.NET)
Subject: Beacon Theater, NYC, 12-14-95
Beacon Theater
New York City
12-14-95
Drifter's Escape
Tonight I'll Be Staying Here With You
All Along The Watchtower
Simple Twist of Fate
Just Like Tom Thumb's Blues
Silvio
Tangled Up in Blue
Masters of War
Mama You Been on My Mind
Dark Eyes (w/Patti Smith)
Joey
Highway 61 Revisited
Alabama Getaway
One Too Many Mornings
Rainy Day Women #'s 12+35 (w/G.E. Smith)
A wonderful performance, pretty much from start to finish. DARK EYES was
absolute perfection.
Bob was really into playing leads, including a great one on "Tonight ...".
Everyone was expecting Bruce for the encore, but instead we got "a face from
the past" (so said Bob).
rainman
------------
"A million faces at my feet,
but all I see are dark eyes."
Date: Fri, 15 Dec 1995 00:57:55 -0500
From: Ragman10 (ragman10@AOL.COM)
Subject: NYC 10/14/95 Setlist
Well, here's the setlist...I'll post a complete tour review later, but
I've got to get to sleep so I can look my drndest in Philly...
Drifters
Tonight, I'll Be Staying
Watchtower
Simple Twist
Tom Thumb Blues
Silvio
Tangled
Masters
Mama
Dark Eyes (with Patti)
Joey
Highway 61 Revisited
Alabama
One Too Many
Rainy Day (with GE Smith)
Simply an awesome show...in my opinion, the best of the tour.
"Happy birthday Mr. Frank."
-Josh
Date: Fri, 15 Dec 1995 06:09:20 GMT
From: Bill Pagel (billp61@EARTH.EXECPC.COM)
Subject: December 14, 1995 - New York City - Setlist
December 14, 1995
New York, New York
Beacon Theater
1. Drifter's Escape
2. Tonight I'll Be Staying Here With You
3. All Along The Watchtower
4. Simple Twist Of Fate
5. Just Like Tom Thumb's Blues
6. Silvio
7. Tangled Up In Blue (acoustic)
8. Masters Of War (acoustic)
9. Mama You Been On My Mind (acoustic)
10. Dark Eyes (vocals shared with Patti Smith)
11. Joey
12. Highway 61 Revisited
(encore)
13. Alabama Getaway
14. One Too Many Mornings (acoustic)
15. Rainy Day Women Nos. 12 & 35 (with G.E. Smith on guitar)
Thanks to Jon Casper for the preceding information.
Previous setlists, cue sheets, and upcoming concert dates, as well as
links to other Dylan related web sites can be found on the "Bob Links"
web page located at:
http://www.execpc.com/~billp61/boblink.html
Bill Pagel
billp61@earth.execpc.com
Date: Fri, 15 Dec 1995 12:03:43 GMT
From: Seth Kaplan (QPSJ61A@PRODIGY.COM)
Subject: Beacon, 12/14
Fabulous show. Patti reminded us why we loved her so much--the ultimate
free spirit, but not some disconnected ethereal being, rather an
incredibly funky, ex-Catholic schoolgirl, down-dancing poetess. She puts
to shame her imitators--she is the real deal. Her collaboration with Bob
on Dark Eyes was intense, heartfelt and loving--she represents so much
the best part of his spirit that the reflected image of him next to her
is devastating.
I love this band, and have since I saw it a couple of weeks before
Woodstock II backing him at some ski resort north of NYC. I've never
seen anything quite like this drummer--two hours of nonstop joyous rock
'n' roll energy, coming right at you like to knock you down. Bob at the
center of it looking as comfortable, relaxed, confident as I've seen him
since Rolling Thunder.
Don't miss this one when it comes to your town.
Date: Fri, 15 Dec 1995 18:34:33 -0500
From: Jason Chervokas (jmc@NYC.PIPELINE.COM)
Subject: Re: Beacon, 12/14
On Dec 15, 1995 12:03:43 in article , 'QPSJ61A@prodigy.com
(Seth Kaplan)' wrote:
>Fabulous show.
I'm going to give a dissenting opinion that a lot of Dylan fans certainly
won't agree with, but as a longtime fan seeing Dylan for the first time in
a decade, I must say I was profoundly disappointed by the Thursday night
show at the Beacon, which one rmd writer already labelled the best of the
tour.
The biggest problem with the show was an numbing sameness to every song.
Tempos were similar, arrangements were nearly identical--with extended
solos following every verse. Nearly every song ended with a few bars played
at half tempo followed by a retard and an elogated final chord. Not only is
this way of ending a song a hideous arena rock cliche, but after seven
songs ending the same way, it's just deadening.
Furthermore, every song was played at nearly the same volume. There was
almost no dynamic shading at all. I lay much of the blame for this at the
feet of the drummer. Anyone who's ever played drums in a rock and roll band
knows the extent to which drummers dictate volume, dynamics, and--for want
of a better phrase--orchestral variation. But this cat brought no variation
to the table--everything was played equally hard, with double crashes at
the end of virtually every line and similar straight up and down beats
beneath it all.
I love rave up rock and roll, but when every song is an identically paced
rave up, then there's nothing to rave up from. The result is a numbing
monotony, which I think fairly describes much of Dylan's set. The band
spent the night driving ten penny nails with ten pound sledgehammers.
On, "All Along the Watchtower," and of all things on "Sylvio," the approch
came off nicely. But every song was played the same way. The set had the
emotional and dynamic range of a Ramones show. I like the Ramones, but
from Dylan I expect more.
The second problem was Dylan's lead guitar playing. Frankly, it's awful.
While he ocassionally can pull of a nice short phrase or idea (as with the
first chorus of his solo on "One Too Many Mornings last Thursday), Dylan
seems hell bent on extending that into a jam.
If he cut the "One Too Many Mornings" solo off after one chorus, he would
have had a fine performance. But he pushed it. I'm all for instrumentalists
pushing themselves, but Ornette Coleman Dylan ain't. As a guitarist, he
has neither the technical facility nor the musical ideas to make his
extended solos compelling. Worse, he took extended solos on every song
(even the acoustic tunes). And each of those solos were nearly identical
rhythmic two-note riffs. Again, when everything in the set is the same,
there's no tension and release, just tedium.
(Much more effective was Patti Smith's dramatic rendering of "Wicked
Messenger," which alternately rose and fell, whispered and screamed.)
The third problem is the phony show biz crap Dylan seems to accept without
question. He's doing essentially the same mini-encore set (with a floating
acoustic tune) at every show, but he still makes the crowd go throught the
phony arena rock convention of cheering for an encore. Just play 'til yr
done, man, and if the spirit moves you, and the crowd is pumping, go with
the flow for a real heartfelt encore.
Finally, no one in Dylan's band or in his audience seems to be willing to
challenge him to do better. Dylan's gotten to the point that the Dead got
to--where the fans would howl if he stood up there and farted (which is
pretty much what he did as a guitarist).
One of the show's genuinely compelling moments was "Dark Eyes," a great,
neglected song to begin with given a fine reading in part because, unlike
Dylan, Patti Smith could carry the lovely melody, and in part because Dylan
and Smith passed some real energy back and forth.
Real energy-- not arena rock goof-balls cheering because the singer
mentioned their hometown, or loud guitar noodling--was sorely lacking, as
was the kind of challenging musical environment that can push musicians to
transcendence, and the kind of emotional and musical dynamics that can
tranform a rock show from a rote workout on a handful of tunes into a
gripping, compelling experience.
--
Jason
Date: Fri, 15 Dec 1995 08:30:18 EST
From: "Steven L. Bender" (Steven_L._Bender@MAIL.NLTL.COLUMBIA.EDU)
Subject: Beacon 12/14 setlist
I hope I remembered them all:
Drifter's Escape
Tonight I'll Be Staying Here With You
All Along the Watchtower
Simple Twist of Fate
Just Like Tom Thumbs Blues (!)
Silvio
Tangled Up In Blue (a)
Masters of War (a)
Mama, You Been on My Mind (a)
Dark Eyes (a, w/Patti Smith)
Joey
Highway 61
Alabama Getaway
One Too Many Mornings
Rainy Day Women (w/G.E. Smith)
An absolutely amazing evening. Bob looked great, sounded better. I've never
heard his voice sound sweeter on the acoustic material ("Tangled" and "Dark
Eyes" were especially beautiful) and the rockers rocked. This band has found
the zone and they are locked in deep. The interplay of Bob and J.J.'s guitars
is remarkable-- I don't know if I've ever heard 2 players snake around each
other with such drive, panache and wit. Bob's playing keeps getting better and
he seems to be loving it. There's been much talk here lately of how much
better The Band was for Bob than this group. I disagree. Bob is much more a
part of this unit, shaping the jams and communicating through his fingers as
well as his larynx.
Was it just me or did J.J.'s solos toward the end of Silvio and Joey have a
decidely Garcia-esque sound?-- like a sweet bell ringing through the Beacon.
Oh yeah, Patti was amazing too. I'm surprised that no one has mentioned that
she has the great Tom Verlaine (from seminal N.Y. "punk" band Television) on
guitar. A fine set-- my only complaint is that I could have listened to her
for another hour.
What a show.
sb
--
Delivered by the Dalton/NLTL Internet gateway.
Date: Fri, 15 Dec 1995 18:26:00 GMT
From: 102514.2307@COMPUSERVE.COM
Subject: Setlist: Beacon 12/14
Beacon Theatre 12/14/95
1. Drifter's Escape
2. Tonight I'll Be Staying Here With You
3. Watchtower
4. Simple Twist of Fate
5. Tom Thumb's Blues
6. Silvio
7. Tangled Up In Blue (a)
8. Masters of War (a)
9. Mama You Been On My Mind (a)
10. Dark Eyes (a, w/ Patti Smith)
11. Joey
12. Highway 61
encores:
13. Alabama Getaway (w/JJ singing on the chorus)
14. One Too Many Mornings (a)
15. Rainy Day Women (w/ GE Smith)
This was an incredible show. Bob said something about how they couldn't
wait to get back in NYC after Monday's show. I think this was before
they played Tom Thumb's Blues so it was fitting for the last line of the song,
which got the expected response. Silvio and Tangled got standing ovations
and deserved them. These two and One Too Many Mornings were the
highlights for me, but everything was great. Bob introduced GESmith by
saying he was going to teach us how to play these things. House lights
were on for Rainy Day Woman, and Bob spent the jam looking around at
the upper balcony with a smile. Walking off after Rainy Day Women,
Bob showed off the black bra someone had tossed on staged.
Ben Fisher
Dates 1995
