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Bob Dylan 990917 in Houston, Texas
1999: January - February - March - April - May - June - July September -

Tour

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Path: Norway.EU.net!uninett.no!news.maxwell.syr.edu!newsswitch.lcs.mit.edu!remar Q-easT!supernews.com!remarQ.com!news.mindspring.net!firehose.mindspring.co m!not-for-mail Subject: Woodlands Review From: David Vest Date: Sat, 18 Sep 1999 16:14:12 GMT Organization: MindSpring Enterprises X-Newsreader: Forte Free Agent 1.1/32.230 A fabulous night for Bobās first show in Houston since 1995, with pretty much a full house at the Woodlands Pavilion (they didn't sell the obstructed view seats).. After a fine, fine set on the side stage by Alison Fisher and the Stella Verdes, Paul Simon took the stage at 7:40 with his usual songlist. I hope his sound mix has been better at other venues, because it was all one big raw blare for the first few numbers tonight. (I was sitting by the soundboard.) Why does Paul Simon need to be louder than The Who? Keyboards and flute were excruciating! It did get better as the night wore on. Boy in the Bubble got a big hand from the locals, and Slip Sliding Away was moving. Did anyone else notice Simonās pitch problems? Paul had the whole place on their feet for You Can Call Me Al. Body language doesnāt lie: Dylan is OVER these embarrassing duets with Simon. I hasten to add that I canāt agree with those who say Dylan canāt sing harmony: his part on The Boxer was beautifully worked out and professionally sung, although feedback problems (twice) seemed to bother him. Simonās bandās handling of Knocking on Heavenās Door was like watching Bob take a beating, or show his wounds like Coriolanus. Bob participated gamely, but the minute it was over he turned his back to Simon and headed like a bird dog for the wings. Dylan wore the black suit for the duets and changed to the white Beatle suit (as in Austin) for his set. Now, Bob made a few vocal/lyric flubs here and there, but I didnāt buy a ticket to go count mistakes. Who cares, anyway? It was a great show -- "Arena Bob" at his best, showing he can still get Īem up and get it done. He brought his dancing feet tonight too, from that patented jingle-jangle step of his to that other old-bluesman pick-one-foot-waaay-up-and-then-the-other thing he does lately. Serious duckwalking. I Am the Man Thomas may be Bobās greatest set opener in a long while. It had that old time Friday Night Opry high lonesome hear-them-hound-dogs-keening sound. Bill Monroe would have grabbed that Gibson mandolin and joined right in. Bob is not a bluegrass tourist -- he can really do this stuff. Bob played a little harp on Tambourine Man. The song had the effect of reminding the huge crowd just who he is. The Voice was strong tonight, and Bobās singing was consistently imaginative and even daring in its phrasing. He has an unbelievable ability to find interesting new seams in the melodies of these deathless songs. Bob clearly seemed to enjoy singing tonight. It's Alright, Ma (I'm Only Bleeding) This new arrangement brings out some aspects of the song that really hadnāt hit me before. Itās no longer the virtuoso show-stopper of bygone days. Less brilliance and more depth this time around, Iād say. It had a cool bluegrass feel, too. People would stand and raise their hands on lines like "it ain't he or she or them or it that you belong to." Love Minus Zero/No Limit was tonightās one "surprise," though not much of a surprise. It's not as though he pulled out "I'm Not There." Needless to say it was lovely, far finer than the Unplugged version. Although Iāve seen Bob six times now, this was my first Tangled Up In Blue. After hearing so many boots of TUIB over the past three years, Iād have to say tonightās version was (surprisingly, to me) more about presenting the song than jamming. All Along The Watchtower seemed almost perfunctory. A number of people (a couple of hundred maybe -- did they come mainly to see Simon?) left right after TUIB. None of them, as far as I could tell, hollered "Judas!" when he strapped on the electric. At every Bob show Iāve seen heās done Just Like A Woman. Tonightās version was my favorite, because Bob really found a groove on the guitar. It was like he was playing JLAW as though it were Love Sick on the grammies. Throughout the night Bob played some of his best guitar while he was singing, in between phrases. Stuck Inside Of Mobile With The Memphis Blues Again rocked, but I forgot all about it the moment Bob started Not Dark Yet. The crowd really dug this song, even those who probably hadnāt heard it before. Bob actually made an effort to sing Highway 61 Revisited tonight -- not the tossed off vocals of some previous versions. The volume reached world-shattering proportions on this song. I worried about damage to the hearing of a very young infant I saw someone holding down near the stage. If we adults want to deafen ourselves, thatās our biz, but people should know by now that little kid ears canāt take much high volume up close without permanent hearing loss. Like A Rolling Stone was adored by this greatest hits crowd. Everybody was on their feet, all the way back up the hill. Don't Think Twice, It's All Right contained perhaps the strangest solo Iāve heard Bob do on harp. Sexton looked over as if he thought Bob might have picked up the wrong harmonica. I liked Not Fade Away better when it sounded more like Buddy Holly and less like that other band, and better when Bob did all the singing. But the crowd loved this version, and Iām glad heās playing it in Texas. Iāve heard people who don't like the song criticize Blowin' In The Wind lately, and itās true Iād like the harmony better if they sang it softly rather than screaming it. But folks, this is one of the worldās great songs by one of the worldās great poets. When I first heard it, I was living in Birmingham, and they were blowing up churches while the law looked the other way. Bob sang it right to my heart tonight, and Iām so grateful. It made me think of James Byrd, Jr., and Mathew Shepard, and all the other hate crimes and school shootings -- and like we used to say back home, it gave me the healing. How many ears must one man have? I didnāt go to the show hoping to hear Rainy Day Women #12 & 35, but I can tell you right now I am DAMN glad Austin didnāt get more songs than we did.