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Bob Dylan 980120 in New York, New York - Madison Square Garden - The Theater


       Address: 7th Ave. & 32nd St. 
       Capacity 5610 
       Double bill with Van Morrison 
       Ticket prices: $75.00 and $45.00 

Subject: Tuesday Night at Madison Square Garden From: (warren@villagenet.com) Date: Tue, 20 Jan 1998 23:40:09 -0500 I just got back from the concert and let me just say that Bob Dylan is the undisputed King of Rock and Roll. His voice is in great shape and his guitar playing is amazing. This was the second time I saw him do 'Tonight I'll Be Staying Here with You' on this tour and again he gave a superb performance complete with cheers from the crowd after he says 'I can hear that lonesome whistle blowwwwiinnnggg...'. He also delivered a much better 'Born in Time' than Sunday night (although I wouldn't trade that 'Desolation Row' from Sunday for anything). The first real surprise and my favorite of the night was 'Hard Rain' the opener of the acoustic set. There was something indescribable about what was happening in the crowd as the energy would build during the choruses - 'It's a Hard..., It's a Hard...' - It was a very intense buildup every chorus. After finishing this, he jumped right into a nice 'Girl From the North Country'. I really like David's drumming on this how he kind of gets that sound resembling a train rolling down the tracks (similar to some past 'John Browns'). He also did a great 'Million Miles' (faster tempo than the CD) and a mean 'Positively 4th Street'. He is very animated on stage (fancy footwork) and is definately interacting with the crowd in the front by shooting them looks and smiling and snarling. His voice can growl out the vocals to 'Highway 61', and then it be smooth as silk in the acoustic set (particularly 'Hard Rain'). If you get a chance - GO SEE HIM NOW he's putting on some incredible performances on this tour. Warren
Subject: 1/20/98 review From: Small Change (schd@pluto.njcc.com) Date: Wed, 21 Jan 1998 21:14:29 -0500 I'll just say that having the last shows at the Trocadero and going to MSG was very difficult to adjust to. The venue was a oversized high school auditorium with rows and columns of yellow light bulbs on a very low ceiling - quite disorienting! If you listened carefully, you could hear noth'in but idle chatter before the show. Well, what the heck, at least I didn't have to pay for parking. I wondered just how far this place (sub\sub/sub|sub basements) went down after the theatre and if any shadow government has it secret headquarters down there? Soon the thoughts mutated into hellish rage at the extra charges ($40) that ticketbastard added on to the price of my tickets [*&%$#@.] Then, I smiled when I found out they have drinks! The selection of corporate beers was disturbing [nevertheless, we did see lots of suits in line for High Balls.] So we got in line with the suits and sadly enough; there was NO grapefruit juice for Salty Dogs :-(. So I tried the gin'n'tonics; geez, but they really went down way too easy and at $5 a thimble full, I wonder how they let them go so cheap? Bob opened the show with what sounded like he was sucking on an atomic fire ball. I tried to explain it would get better, but nobody listened or noticed the incredible display hydraulics that made the stage float over the audience. I could see the mechanical arm [kinda like a waitress holding a tray of the stage] almost tilt, and send Bob and the Band into the begging arms of his fans - but when I tried to explain, it was just too obvious to see. During "Tonight, I be staying here with you," Bob promised us that he would not leave, and everyone felt much more comfortable. I really heard "Cold Iron Bound" like it came from Tom Waits _Bone Machine_. Soon, the backdrop of the stage had a computer generated hologram of a train coming right through the stage and into the audience, almost like the Kodak pavilion at D-World. Then, there was a big screen TV behind the stage that had kinda like the ending at the Kennedy Center honors on, but they played it in reverse. Gosh, the crowd cheered louder and even more...than the original gala star-studded event. "Born in time" soothed and smoothed, and I believe mentho liptus was pumped into the ventilation system. Then all of the sudden, Bob was telling everyone that he had to *go*, "to find out something "only a dead man knows," and we were all bumming and begging him not to leave so soon? It musta worked cause he decided to stay and play "Hard Rain." MSG had multiple particle beams that shot out of yellow lights above and gave the effect of riding on a motorcycle when it's raining. When Bob would crescendo the "Hards," the liquid less rain would really pelt ya! "Girl from the North Country" was soo sad, but I found myself laughing while crying? [more "sweet" ventilation.] Bob changed all the words of "Tangled Up..." to tell about his life in the medical profession, and it just wasn't that vagabondism as it we know it to be. But, I was found it interesting about his job in a morgue and gynecology departments. "Million Miles" was loaded with exaggerations. The intro to "Positively 4th Street" was what the good doctor bob ordered and played to save the show from the military recruiters that were now stationed with flashlights at every aisle with quotas that they had to meet before the end of his set. Then came "Till I fell in Love w/you" which was enigmatic and shifty. While Bob shuffled in small circles the MSG ushers started playing this game around the theatre of opening and closing these doors that had REAL BRIGHT LIGHTS TM behind them. I lost my focus of being at a Dylan concert when that happened, its kinda like getting pulled over. During Hwy 61, I was visited by the ghost of Jonathan Winter (he's really white!) who showed me where the smoking place was (nobody at MSG wanted to divulge this information.) We missed the rest of the show and just went exploring the bowels of MSG & Penn Station. We found the secret headquarters. All in all, it was a fantastic show. We saw Van and his sequined singer for awhile, I think it would have been better to see Van's band first, but that's the breaks. After, Mr. Winter showed me where to find the fast way home. I traveled in one of those tubes that you see at the bank's drive-up tellers directly to my house; pretty slick, eh! joe
Subject: New York, NY 20 January 1998 - a review From: Carsten Wohlfeld (happyjaq@confetti.ruhr.de) Date: 30 Jan 1998 22:11:00 +0100 Bob Dylan New York, NY 20 January 1998 Madison Square Garden - The Paramount Theater A Review by Carsten Wohlfeld After we all had a day off on monday, we all met again at the MSG to hear Bob opening for Van. He came out at about 7.50 pm, tonight waring his r.md. flower suit if I recall correctly. (He wore it on a few nights actually). Very stylish. Absolutely Sweet Marie Started out rather unconvincing, but got really good closer to the end, with a sarcastic "HAH!" thrown in for good measure before - I think - the last verse. Tonight I'll Be Staying Here With You A first-timer live for me, so I only can compare this rendition to the taped versions. Nice, very "Nashville Skyline"-ish arrangement with great phrasing from Bob, even though his voice wasn't exactly smooth all evening. Cold Irons Bound Really good, but maybe not as good at the show before. The cuesheets arrived very late, the roadies only taped them to the speakers during this song. Born In Time If you've read my previous reports, you'll know that this is the song - along with "Not Dark Yet" and "Hattie Carroll" - that I really wanted to hear on my little tour. Thanks, Bob! Maybe a bit too fast, but beautifully done with all the great and officially unreleased "Oh Mercy" lyrics as usual. I love it *thiiiiiiiiiiiiiiis* much :-) Silvio Had a nice variation in the jamming end part - Larry was playing a different solo. Unfortunately Bob still played his familiar part and old and new didn't go too well together :-) A Hard Rain's A Gonna Fall (acoustic) I had hoped for "Visions" in this spot for reasons too complicated to explain here (Rainman will know) and because the first acoustic slot had featured rarely performed gems before ("Tomorrow...", "Desolation Row") over the last few nights. Anyways, this was as close to "Visions" as it gets and the nearby perfect delivery made the crowd go wild during the refrain and listen stunned during the verses. Girl Of The North Country (acoustic) One of my first ever Dylan favourites when I was about 13 years old and a song I had hoped to hear live for several years. Now I finally got to hear it and didn't even recognize it! They played it to the tune of "Boots Of Spanish Leather" and as soon as I heard the intro my mind switch off. Even though the lyrics obviously didn't match, it took me quite a while to figure it out! :-) Nevertheless the best vocal performance from Bob all night. Tangled Up In Blue (acoustic) Some nice new phrasings and the probably best Bob slo on "Tangled" all week. Million Miles Bob stumbled over a line or two, but the stage rush helped him to turn this into a smoking version. Positively Fourth Street This slot is apparently becoming the subsitute slot for #4, after "Just Like A Woman" another #4 regular turned up high in the set. Faster than the lush (but beautiful) summer '96 arrangement that I loved so much and more rocking, but the awesome vocal performance turned it into one of the night's highlights neverthless. Probably the most casual version ever! 'Til I Fell In Love With You Smiliar to "Million Miles", as it rocked harder than usual as well. The band intros before this song very pretty standard and we were told that "the great Van Morrison" would be "out in a few minutes". (encore) Highway 61 Revisited Smoking, with an unusually loud Larry solo very prominent in the mix. Don't Think Twice It's Allright (acoustic) Crowd obviously loved it to death. Nice version with a great Bob guitar solo, but nothing to sell your grandma for. Lovesick Bob had some problems with the words, otherwise great choice as usual. Rainy Day Women Nos. 12&35 The expected Van duet was absent, as well as the Carl Perkins tribute (he died the night before). This song however was still there. My whole experience of this show was kinda ruined by the retard next to me and his equally asshole-y wife, who kept hollering and clapping in the wrong places and singing along without knowing the words. If, in thirty years or so, I ever behave like this at a rock 'n' roll show, please shoot me without warning. I'll appreciate it. Btw, the asshole's worst line was: "Go for it, Bobby" (punching the air during "Hard Rain"). Ummm, 'xcuse me, but is Bob Joe Di Maggio nowadays or something? Join me tomorrow for my report on the last New York show. Two reviews of the Boston gigs will also follow this weekend. As always: Thanks for reading. -- carsten wohlfeld "i'm caught in a trap and i can't get out cause i love you so much, baby!" (elvis presley)

January Setlists Tour