Bob Dylan 2000.03.12 in Bakersfield, CA
Subject: Re: March 12, 2000 - Bakersfield, California - Setlist From: spjohnny@earthlink.net Date: Mon, 13 Mar 2000 11:28:07 -0800 Bakersfield is a city surrounded by towns like Pumpkin Center and Weed Patch, so I think the Dylan concert was more of an "event" than it would have been in a less out-of-the-way place. In any case, the crowd covered a lot more demographic ground than the mostly middle-aged, upper middle-class folks in Anaheim a few days ago. The Centennial Garden is a standard small sports arena, but it has an interesting exhibit inside, featuring the boots and red-white-and-blue acoustic guitar of Buck Owens (when he was just 3 years old, little Alvis Owens renamed himself after the family's mule); some tiny embroidered slippers for the bound feet of a 19th Century Chinese immigrant girl; and a photo of Chief Justice Earl Warren. For me, stumbling across this exhibit was more surprising than anything in the show itself, as you might guess from the setlist. As for the performance, I thought it was consistently pleasant but probably not worth the nearly 300-mile round-trip from LA. "Mr. Tambourine Man" was musically lush and melodious and also featured some inventive singing -- the "oh no not again" twinge I felt at the start turned out to be unwarranted. In contrast, I welcomed the familiar tuneful opening of "Love Minus Zero," but the singing itself seemed a bit bland. The playing was again first-rate, though. Unlike the Anaheim show, Bob kept his guitar on for "This World Can't Stand Long," but he removed it for the harmonica solo and final chorus of "Blowin' in the Wind." "Dignity" once again featured a number of lyrical fumbles. But there was one seemingly intentional change from the official release. In the Prince Philip verse, Bob sang, "He wanted money up front before he'd give me any news about dignity." "Country Pie" didn't have anything near the wildness of the Anaheim show's, and Bob seemed fixated on geese -- he sang the goose verse twice and I think he even included "gooseberry" among the list of pies (though I wouldn't swear to it). "Stuck Inside of Mobile" was probably the highlight of the show -- well-sung and featuring some powerful lead guitar from Bob. It seems like he is amplifying his guitar differently lately so that it has a thick, fuzzy hard-rock feel with a little chiming overtone. To my ear it sounds a lot better than in the past, when it often struck me as thin and flat. "Just Like A Woman" featured a lot of purposely half-repeated lines and phrases, suggesting perhaps that 4 shows in three days was inclining Dylan away from really belting it out. "Not Dark Yet" was subdued, too, but it still worked very well. It seems like this song is the closest thing to a sure winner at Dylan shows these days. Finally, "Rainy Day Women" was different from what I remember of past performances. It seems to me he used to always sing just one or two verses then turn the rest of the song into a catchy repetitive instrumental. Last night, the song started similarly with two quick verses and a long instrumental section, but then there was an instrumental "bridge" of sorts -- the band changed from a loping "oom-pah" feel to a charging double-speed thrash-fest. Then after a bit, they reverted to the original tune and Bob stepped back up to the mic to sing one more verse. I also think this last verse may have been a bit different than I've heard in the past, though I found it hard to decipher the vocals. Maybe something like, "They'll stone you till you begin to cry/They'll stone you and then leave you wondering why... (That could be 100% wrong.)