Bob Dylan 990724 in Hartford
Subject: Hartford 7/24 -- short review From: gwiii@mailexcite.com Date: Sun, 25 Jul 1999 18:01:52 GMT I thought Dylan gave a very solid show last night, but not an outstanding one. Perhaps I've been spoiled by the excellent run of shows I've seen over the last two years; more likely, I suspect, the current version of the band hasn't gelled yet. The show opened with an effective "Friend Of The Devil." "My Back Pages" followed, with nice fiddling by Larry; Dylan's harp work came off as strident, probably because it was miked too loud. "Masters Of War" was again effective, but misses Bucky Baxter's mandolin work. After rattling off the first three songs in almost unbroken succession, Dylan paused, and called for "Tomorrow Is A Long Time" in place of whatever was originally set. It was easily the highlight of the show. "Tangled Up In Blue" closed the acoustic set on a relative low point; there was certainly nothing wrong with Dylan's rendition, but it had none of the liveliness of the performances of '97 or '98. He's changed his phrasing of the climactic line, too; putting the emphasis on "tangled" rather than building through to "blue." "All Along The Watchtower" was compact and powerful, although by design it didn't howl. "Just Like A Woman" was quite effective. The instrumental work on "Silvio" was one of the show's high points for me, with all three guitarists driving away on distinct but complementary lines. Dylan's vocals seemed a bit perfunctory. "Not Dark Yet," just as the sun was setting, was splendid, and "Highway 61" brought the main set to a solid conclusion. "Like A Rolling Stone" was a potent encore, and "Blowin'" was quite effective. The Dylan/Simon duets were solid, but only "Sounds Of Silence" really worked. Long review to follow.
From: "Michel Jacques" mickj@total.net To: "Karl Erik Andersen" karlerik@monet.no Subject: Mansfield and Hartford Date: Mon, 26 Jul 1999 18:00:09 -0400 Again, we took the road from Quebec City, my brother and I to see Bob on stage for the third time since last October, but this time, for three consecutive shows: two in Mansfield, near Boston, and one in Hartford. Ê Mansfield, 072299: Bob opens with the cover song Babe It Ain't No Lie and seems in a good mood. The acoutsic set was very good, especially My Back Pages with Larry on fiddle. Dylan was laughing all the time. The electric set began with another well done version (as always) of All Along the Watchtower. No big surprises in the setlist but good performances. We were happy to hear Positively 4th Street. Ê The songs with Paul Simon were funny and a little approximative. Bob was looking like if he didn't remember all the words of Sound of Silence and especially That'll Be the Day. But it was just OK, funny and really in the Dylan spirit. During Knockin' on Heaven's Door, they were singing and laughing "I hear you knocking but you can't come in" and they ended it with "Just like so many times before"...Ê A big laugh. Ê Mansfield, 072399: Bob opens with a different cover song, Somebody Touched Me and seems again in a good mood. Then he did good versions of Tambourine Man, Desolation Row and Don't Think Twice, but the sound was not loud enough (don't know if it was because of the place we were in the lawn?) and Dylan was more like tellings the words, not really singing. It was good, but we could expect better. It wasn't as exciting as it was the night before. Things went finally better during Tangled Up in Blue when he took is harmonica for a an excellent solo. The electric set was OK again. Not Dark Yet was better than the night before and Charlie Sexton came on front for the first time in two nights, with a great guitar solo in the closing song, Highway 61 Revisited. For the encores, Dylan did one more song than the first night (Not Fade Away, one the crowd's favorite). Like a Rolling Stone was also better than the night before, more convincing, more passionate. The songs with Paul Simon was with Simon's band (Dylan was closing tonight) and sounded different. They made a great reggae-like version of Knockin' On Heaven's Door with, again, the funny part "I hear you knocking but you can't come in". Dylan seems to remember the words tonight... Ê Hartford 072499: Finally, our last night with Bob 'til the next time.... He opens with the Grateful Dead's song Friend of the Devil and the crowd loved it. The sound of the acoustic set was better than the second show in Mansfield. Dylan was singing with more power. He did a real good version of Tomorrow Is a Long Time, the first time I heard him play this song live. As for the two shows in Mansfield, no big surprises in the setlist, but good performances again. It was good to hear Just Like a Woman. Silvio and Highway 61 were really grooving.Ê And the set with Paul Simon was the best in three nights. They were really laughing and having good times. Ê So, if we hadn't any big surprises in the setlists for these three nights with Bob Dylan, we had good shows. Bob played a total of 37 songs in these three concerts (without Simon), and he played 24 different songs. Not too bad! Not the best Dylan shows we've seen but no disappointments. The good old Bob is alive and well and living on the road.
Subject: Hartford & why Bob is Important From: tricia_n@my-deja.com Date: Fri, 30 Jul 1999 01:41:33 GMT The Monday after the show in Hartford (7/24), a local talk show host, who went to the show, was talking about how Dylan is considered Important (capital I), where Simon is not....and asked why? Here's what I e-mailed to him: You had to ask, didn't you? In a very Dylanesque way (NOTE: there is no "Simonesque way"! ), you have broached the subject that lurks in our unconscious, but we can't verbalize: who was better Saturday night, Bob or Paul? I must say that, out there in "the world," I am known as a Dylan aficionado. I have all of his albums, I've seen him in concert 14 times since 1992 (including the Columbia/30th anniversary concert at MSG - my first Dylan show), I learned how to play guitar because of him, for chrissakes! But I will try to be objective: Bob was good. He sounded good, he played well, he seemed healthy and in a good mood. We fans were very happy to see that - we fans are concerned about Bob's health & welfare, and it is a large wave of relief that washes over us to see him, when the curtain rises and the spotlights go on, pale and wrinkled but all dressed up and able and willing to go on with the show, dancing, crooning, wailing, and we wish that he would have played for another hour or so. He might have hit a few more high spots than he did - I really liked "Tomorrow is a Long Time", "Like a Rolling Stone" and "Not Dark Yet" (from the new Time Out of Mind), and when he and Paul Simon sang "Sounds of Silence." I have heard him sing all of the other songs before, and Saturday night's interpretation of them was good, interesting, and I was pleased that I saw him. Paul was, well, wow. I don't own any Simon albums, except a copy of the "Graceland" tape that my ex-husband gave to me because he didn't want it, which I never listened to, and an original copy of Bridge Over Troubled Water (in poor condition) that I used to listen to on my parents' hi-fi when I was a kid. I would sit by the tiny speakers and actually cry at the end of "The Boxer," but I never really "got into" Paul Simon. Has anyone? Does he have a great following, "Simon fans", people rummaging through his garbage or breaking into his house or bootlegging his recorded or live material? Why not? It seems to me that Paul Simon has, in a very intelligent and artful way, created music (going back to the sixties up to now) that is erudite, sweet, jazzy and inventive, even as based on tribal rhythms as it seems to be. It was wonderful to hear him Saturday night - I'm guessing he sounded better than on most of his albums, because he was in the moment, feeding on the crowd's excitement and feeling his own nervousness. Because he was on right after Bob, though, I could feel that the two artists tapped into different places in me, and therein lies the reason that Bob is considered Important, and not Paul: Bob, with words harsh, evocative and poetic, with melodies and arrangements that frame and illuminate his ideas, uses emotion, writes with his emotions, taps into our emotions - the world's collective reaction to Bob was and is emotional; yet, on a conscious level, intellectual as well, since analysis of his work reveals a moving, multi-faceted, very personal view of life in general and his life in particular. To look at it another way, Bob is a Gemini - communicating is his fortŽ, his gift, and his genius lies in laying bare his soul, while Paul is a Capricorn whose logic, diligence and determination has brought him to where he is today - a well-respected artisan of his craft. Paul's music is not as balanced - I didn't feel emotion pouring through each song. I was awed by what Paul "invented," but not to the point where I forgot to wonder how he did it . . . the way it is with Bob. Between Bridge Over Troubled Water, his various radio hits, and Saturday night's excellent performance, I have to say that he has immense talent as a composer, and certainly his voice has held up much better than Bob's, but if I had to choose the music for a time capsule to be opened in the year 3000, it would definitely be Bob, not Paul.
Date: Mon, 02 Aug 1999 20:11:12 -0700 From: Carsten Wohlfeld carsten.wohlfeld@ruhr-uni-bochum.de To: karlerik@monet.no Subject: hartford review Intro: Just a few words before I start my usual round of reviews. Needless to say, all the views expressed in these articles are purely mine, thatâs why the posts are signed with my name and my name only. If you have any comments please e-mail me. The reviews of the shows in Hartford through to Long Island will be shorter than usual. Not only because the sets were generally shorter, but also cause I found it very hard to comment on them. I donât think Iâve ever seen six shows in a row that were both so good, yet so - unexciting. Of course the two shows in Manhattan were sort of an exception but still: The over all quality of the shows last week was very, very good, yet it was certainly not a show that somebody who has seen Dylan a number of times would jump off a cliff for. Anways, enough of that, here we go, round 1: Bob Dylan Hartford, CT, July 24, 1999 The Meadows Theater A review by Carsten Wohlfeld It was hot. Very hot indeed and you wonder why Bob picks the end of July to tour the east coast. Probably for the same reason that he piked February for his first tour of the region. Even though I donât like those US ampitheaters at all, I have to say that the Meadows was quite nice. Seemed to be pretty new (or very well kept) and you had a pretty good view even from the (still-not-so) cheap seats in the back. A guy called Stephen Smith opened and he was pretty good, looking and playing like Dylan in 1964. At around 8.10 the strobe lights signalled it was time for the show: ³Ladies and gentlemen, would you please welcome...ã They opened with: Friend Of The Devil (acoustic) which was okay, but Bobâs singing sounded a bit tired all night, so it wasnât very smooth and that didnât exactly improve any of the acoustic numbers. Larry played the mandolin and proved that you can play a rather decent solo on that tiny thing, too. Something which Bucky never really did. A new variation to the routine followed. Not ³Thanks evârybodyã, but ³Thank you ladies and gentlemenã My Back Pages (acoustic) Then Larry grabbed his violin and started off this song with a long harp solo that just can be described with one word: spectacular. For that solo alone it would be worth hearing the song every single night. Larry joined Bob with the fiddle during every chorus and when it was time for another fiddle solo at the end Bob cut it short by starting a harp solo. He didnât even wait for Larry to finish, he jumped right in. At least it was a pretty good and long solo. None of the recent noodleing, but more reminiscend of those gorgeous long solos from around Î95. Masters Of War (acoustic) was next, of course. Charlie Sexton, who so far had only been looking great playing his red acoustic guitar switched to dobro, though you couldnât really hear it in the mix. Very strong version actually, as Bobâs singing was better on this one than on the first two. Tomorrow Is A Long Time (acoustic) A very pleasant surprise, got a very strong reaction from the crowd (about 20,000 people I guess), which I wouldnât have expected. The song itself sounded a lot like the Î98 version - lovely without being spectacular. Larry alone sang backup vocals and cause Bob was strechting out the lines it was almost like a duet sometimes. Nice! Tangled Up In Blue (acoustic) was there as well. Changes evvery single night these days, kinda like ³Watchtowerã used to don in the mid 90âs. Weird phrasing, too or was it just the fact that it was too fast for Bob? He looked very frail and some of the long pauses inbetween lines didnât really seem to be there on purpose as he had trouble catching up during the next lines then. You were almost hoping that he did it on purpose nevertheless and didnât do it cause he had trouble remembering the words. Interestingly enough, the ³italian poetã verse was featured for the first time in ages (not only today, but on this summer tour, or so Iâm told). All Along The Watchtower Charlie on acoustic for am, f and g and the rest of the band electric. Sounded like a cross between the recent versions with Bucky and the famous Hendrix arrangement and suffered from the fact that Bob ended the song when Larry was just about to start what sounded like a very very promising solo. It was pretty short too. Just Like A Woman must have been great on some of the last nights according to various reviews, but tonight it kinda suffered from Bobâs somewhat rusty voice. Larry on pedal steel. Silvio Very good version actually, as it included all the original lyrics and the backing vocals courtesy of Larry and Charlie sounded a lot better, too. I guess it makes a difference that Charlie is a singer in his own right as well. Not Dark Yet Sounded a bit rushed at first and Bobâs singing was way to loud as well, but he rreally nailed the last couple of verses and it was clearly one of the highlights of the night. Band intros followed... ³some of the best players in the countryã... a joke about David and some cartoons on TV that I didnât get... Highway 61 Revistited Amazing! Larry on slide guitar and he ROCKED the house. I thought I would never enjoy hearing this song again but they proved me wrong. It was - for me at least - the highlight of the set. Then they were gone (encore) Like A Rolling Stone when he returned, Bob was wearing his huge cowboy hat. ³Rolling Stoneã was a bit too slow for my liking, but hey, weâll have to get used to that. Very good vocal delivery though, way above average compared to the rest of the evening. Crowd: nuts Blowinâ In The Wind (acoustic) Failed to make any impact on me. The Bob stepped up to the mircophone for his little speech: ³And now itâs time to welcome to the stage somebody who really needs no introduction. One of the finest musicians of our time, Paaaaaul Simon!ã (or words very close to that). Sound Of Silence Very, very enjoyable version. One of the best duets I ever heard from Bob, much better in fact as I had expected it to be. Very slow version, too which made perfect sense with thse two Îoldiesâ. Larry on pedal steel and Bob on harp for a short solo at the end. Another highlight! I Walk The Line / Blue Moon Of Kentucky Well, it was forgettable, which of course is a nice way of saying that it sucked. At least you could hear Bob singing which is very rare on any of his ³duetsã of course and Larry played his fiddle again which was a very welcome change as well. Knockinâ On Heavenâs Door Larry, Charlie and Simon supplied the ³oooo-ooooã intro and it was a lovely sing-a-long with the ³... and I canât come inã lyrics at the end. Fun song to watch, probably not as hot on tape.... 90 minutes, including the duets and that was it. All in all it was a very professional show that obviously included too many overplayed old songs for the real fans but was still quite enjoybale de to the fact that the new band is really sensational. Charlie is not doing much (yet) but he gives Larry the space to play new and improved solos. They also had some extra lights and the light show was very nice indeed. If the show was worth the $100 some people paid for the best seats is not up for discussion really. It was a very good show, but not necessarily a good concert, if you know what I mean. Entertainment was more important than artistic innovation... Wonder what heâll pull out for Tramps? Thanks for reading and keeping up with my far from perfect english.... so long! carsten wohlfeld -- ³the light at the end of the tunnel is a trainã (unwound)
