Bob Dylan 2000.03.18 Stockholm

From: Dante (dan.persson@mbox304.swipnet.se)
Subject: Stockholm 18 May review
Date: Fri, 19 May 2000 21:43:10 +0200

The show was not as "hot" as the one I saw in Gothenburg a couple of days
ago but still quite an excellent one. It's hard to complain since the
setlist includes some very exciting choices. The problem for me was that
Bob's vocal didn't come through. It was not as upfront as it should be and
he sang off mice several times. He also seemed tired and frustrated about
something, maybe irritated.

Roving Gambler (acoustic)
Not as good as in Gothenburg but still a great opener. Sadly many in the
audience still hadn't found their seats. A lot of chatting and walking
around throughout the first two songs.

Mr. Tambourine Man (acoustic)
Finally he did drop "Times"! Quite a good version with lots of soloing from
the guitars. In fact, the whole song almost sounded like an acoustic guitar
solo. I might as well mention it now that Bob's guitar work tonight was
excellent. Not only in the solos but he also ads a lot of short guitar loops
here and there in almost every song that works very well.

Masters Of War (acoustic)
Another good rendition.

Visions Of Johanna (acoustic)
I finally got to hear this one real live! I didn't know before the show if I
wanted to hear this or Gates Of Eden most but as you can see below, that
never became a problem! Maybe I miss Bucky's steel guitar on this one.  With
Bob's vocal a bit low in the mix there was too much of an acoustic rhythm
guitar song without any melody or real structure. Maybe this was a problem
only in some parts of the arena but for me it was a bit irritating. A solid
performance nevertheless.

Tangled Up In Blue (acoustic) (Bob on harp)
Was like it use to be and the harp solo wasn't very exciting, I'm afraid,
and quite weak as well.

Gates Of Eden (acoustic)
Visions Of Johanna and Gates Of Eden both in the same show! Wow! Excellently
done. Some really fine guitar work by Mr Dylan himself.

Country Pie
Was Country Pie.

Ballad Of A Thin Man
Slow and spooky with great singing by Bob. Brought down a lot of cheers from
the audience when started.

Watching The River Flow
A disastrous start that made Tony bring out his big smile. No one but Bob
seemed to know how to start this one?! After that everything actually went
quite well.

Things Have Changed
The first few chords fooled me because they sounded much like the intro to
Seven Days but of course, it wasn't that song at all. I do not complain
though because it was THC! I really wanted to hear this. A great version,
sung very similar to the recorded.

Not Dark Yet
A great performance. Bob also played some great guitar fills. This was maybe
the best vocal performance of the evening only in competition with One Too
Many Mornings later in the show.

Leopard-Skin Pill-Box Hat
Quite good but nothing special.

Love Sick
A marvellous performance again. They seem to play this one exactly the same
way every evening but it IS a great song so I guess it's hard to get tired
of it. A highlight of the evening even if it wasn't among the best I've
heard.

Like A Rolling Stone
Better than in Gothenburg. More twists in Bob's vocal made this better than
usual I think. Very distinctive guitar playing by Charlie and Larry. Bob
started to ease up a bit during this one.

It Ain't Me, Babe (acoustic) (Bob on harp)
A crowd-pleaser as always. Very well performed with an okey harp solo at the
end, again with one hand waving free!

Not Fade Away
Was NFA. A bit shorter than usual, or?

One Too Many Mornings (acoustic)
A big surprise for me in this spot. A real highlight. Very gently sung full
of emotions.

Maggie's Farm
I saw Bob say Maggie's Farm to Tony two or three times before they started.
Always nice with a change from the usual but maybe RDW is a better closing
song. Maggie's Farm could sometimes be quite boring. But this time the song
sounded more varieted than usual. More worked out with some nice descending
scales played by the guitar and bass between verses. Excellent vocal by Bob.
Eventually he seems to enjoy himself fully for the first time this evening.
Eventually he looked like he did all evening in Gothenburg. That's why I
suspected he would come back for more, and he did..

Blowin' In The Wind (acoustic)
this one again. A very good version. Suddenly Bob found inspiration again
and performed this song very, very good.

I must say that despite Visions Of Johanna, Gates Of Eden and other great
choices in the acoustic set the second half of the show was the best. Not
judged by the setlist but how Bob and the band performed the songs. It was
not until the encores Bob started to look interested. In Gothenburg he did
say "Thanks evrbody" after the first song. Here, we didn't get it until
after the 11th (If my memory serves me well). To me that says at least
something about the show and the mood Bob was in. I thoght it was a great
show after all.

/Dante

(From rec.music.dylan)





From: Johnny Borgan (Johnny.Borgan@ephorma.no)
Subject: Stockholm, 18. mai 2000.
Date: Fri, 19 May 2000 13:50:26 +0200

After two great shows (for me) in Lund and especially Gothenburg, I hoped
for the best in Stockholm. I was not disappointed!

Though Dylan appeared more introvert, fewer smiles and less dancing, the
greatest songs and singing flowed from his mouth this night too. 

As in Gothenburg, the sound and the vocal was sharp and focused from the
first note of "Roving Gambler". And then, it really got going, with a superb
"Mr. Tambourine Man". And yessssss - as the fourth song the beautiful
"Visions of Johanna". Then it was a very quiet "Gates of Eden" as number
six, Dylan harmonizing perfect with the sparrows song. 

"Things Have Changed" - and so has the song - this is how it shall be
performed - razor-edge vocal and Dylan attacking the microphone, much more
potent than in Lund a few nights ago. He's resting the guitarplaying on this
song, though - but Larry and Charlie keeps up their good work.

"Ballad of a Thin Man" was delivered with great phrasing, but also this time
"Love Sick" was one of the very highlights - that song is really growing
from year to year. For me, I got two more songs in my 2000-bouquet in the
extras, a nice "It Ain't Me, Babe", and one of the most beautiful versions
of "One Too Many Mornings" that you can imagine. He ended the night with
"Maggies Farm", and NOT "Rainy Day Women"(!!!!!). Maggie's was really
rocking, and Dylan did some knee-bending at this one. He came back for
"Blowin' in the wind" this night, too - a gesture that the sold-out audience
(11800) seemed to appreciate a lot. This was Bob Dylan's "thanks for the
Polar Price"-show - not much smiling this time either, but wow, nobody
doubts why he got the prize anymore!

Tonight the circus is in Oslo - maybe we'll get "Hard Rain" and "Highlands"?
I'll keep you posted!

Johnny