Bob Dylan 2001.06.29 in Göteborg, Sweden

Newsgroups: rec.music.dylan
Subject: Gothenburg review
From: Edward Nash  edward.nash@ntlworld.com 
Date: Tue, 3 Jul 2001 01:08:41 -0700

A two-concert jaunt in Sweden with my good friend and fellow RMD'er Matt
began in Gothenburg, and what a way to start.

The trip was all going so well, considering our limited funds and the rather
haphazard way in which we'd formed this plan, that I couldn't help feeling
that it was going to be a good night.  (But then, I probably would have
enjoyed 20 instrumental versions of Like A Rolling Stone I was in such a
good mood).  We spent much of the afternoon watching the roadies set up the
stage - I guess when you find this stuff fasctinating you know you're too
far gone - before we were ushered out to the line.  The just-audible
soundcheck further heigthened my anticipation and excitement.
Instrumental versions of most of my list of Songs I Most Want To Hear Live,
and then some.  Seeing the Real You At Last sounded great with Charlie (I
guess) playing some cool, loud solos.  One song I didn't recognise was later
identified for me as I Threw It All Away, interesting given its Helsinborg
appearance.  Anyway, all of this build up seemed like it might outdo the
actual event.  Not a bit of it.

I suppose that a lot of fans who, like me, manage to see about 2-3 shows a
year, spend most of the buid-up hoping fervently that something will appear
tonight that will be talked about for eons to come.  I don't know if
Gothenburg quite managed that, but to hear Hollis Brown was a surprise and a
delight.  A great rendition of a great song that hadn't even entered my mind
as a possibility - amazing how often that happens with Dylan setlists.

A gorgeous Boots of Spanish Leather (Bob's vocals, high in the mix and
crystal clear throughout the show, were in my opinion particularly sparkling
here) had the audience in quiet, reflective mood.  This is where the 3
acoustic, 3 electric format comes into its own, and the show got an extra
kick-start from Gotta Serve Somebody, which featured a drawn out chorus that
really helped drive it into another gear.  A fast, playful I Want You
carried the energy on, as well as providing yet another setlist highlight
(I'm trying to distinguish here between the stuff that to me sounded
brilliant on the night, and the stuff that maybe people at home were looking
at on the setlist and smiling about).

I've heard people complain that these reviews can be too uncrticial, so here
I go with a bit of actual criticism - on Love Minus Zero, Bob did one of
those Bob type things that he does.  He picked up on a certain way of
phrasing a line and he carried it through a verse, then the next, and then
virtually the whole song.  Think of recent versions of Tambourine Man.
Well, here it removed a good deal of the prettiness and tenderness of the
melody.  But, to return to all out positive mode, he pulled out a wonderful
harp solo to make the song another great moment.

This was all getting a bit overwhelming for me by now, but it kept on
coming.  I can't say how good the first half of Tom Thumb's Blues was - I
was still getting over hearing the distinctive opening, chords.  The second
half sounded great though.  More cool pharsing from Bob.  He was having a
ball all night and the acoustics and mixing were picking up everything
perfectly.

I have to say that boring as it might seem looking at near-identical sets of
encores night after night, I couldn't have coped with any more surprises
that night.  I needed time to just enjoy being at a Dylan gig, not thinking
about what he might play next.  With that in mind I found that I enjoyed
these songs more than I expected.  Where I was, about eight rows back, there
were a lot of people, who had enjoyed the show up to then, but really did go
wild when Like A Rolling Stone started up.  It is my opinion that this
structure - surprises in the main set, standard greatest hits in the
encores - gives the best balance to the show.  Forever Young bought many a
casual fan to tears here, and it was lovely to see.

Matt and I sat on the banks of the river for a long while afterwards trying
to absorb it all.  I still can't really believe I was there.  I hope that
this show is talked about for a long time to come.  It deserves to be.

Ed



Newsgroups: rec.music.dylan
Subject: Bob Dylan in Sweden 2001 (part one of three)
From: Tobias Levander  tobiaslevander@hotmail.com 
Date: Sun, 08 Jul 2001 19:07:46 -0700

Here is my review of the Gothenburg concert (June 29). Reviews of the
Helsingborg and Borgholm concerts will soon be posted.

Gothenburg June 29

I was pretty tired when I finally came to Gothenburg late in the
afternoon of June 29, only a few hours before the concert was scheduled
to begin. The first thing I did in Gothenburg was to locate the venue
and, together with my friend Fredrik, listen to the soundcheck. The band
played polished instrumental versions of "I Threw It All Away" and "I'll
Be Your Baby Tonight".  We couldn't stay there for very long, because we
had promised to meet our friend Peter at a nearby pub. We went there,
had a couple of beers, speculated about the setlist and talked about the
kind of things that only Bobcats and Dylandogs can understand. We were
having a great time, but we soon had to leave for the concert.

Tradgardsforeningen is a beautiful park in central Gothenburg, kind of
the Central Park of Gothenburg. A great place to have an outdoors
concert, at least if the weather is fine.  And the weather was fine. We
saw hundreds of people who had picnics outside the park, who were going
to listen to the concert without having to pay for a ticket.

Inside the park, there was a lot of anticipation in the air, but most
people seemed to be calm and friendly, and the kind of rude drunkeness
that often characterizes Friday night crowds was almost totally absent.
We had no no problem finding good spots just in front of the stage.
Anyway, we watched how the roadies made everything ready. A few minutes
before 8 o'clock, the cue sheets were handed out and some loud classical
music (Dvorak?) was coming out of the speakers.

Just after 8, the familiar faces of the members in Bob's band could be
seen on the stage and in a few seconds Bob himself appeared. After the
usual introduction and some familiar guitar strums, Bob approached the
microphone and sang the opening line "twinkle, twinkle little star".
Yes, my favorite opening number, "Duncan And Brady"! I was kind of
hoping for "Humming Bird" (that he played in Langesund the night
before), but since "Duncan..." is so good, I was more than happy. I saw
him perform it twice in London last October, and it was just as good
this time.  Bob seemed to be in a good mood. I knew right away that this
was going to be a great concert.
After "Duncan...", Tony started playing stand-up bass with a bow, and
the band played an introduction that convinced me that I was finally
going to witness a performance of "John Brown", but it was not to be.
Instead Bob started singing about John's relative Hollis, and the
version Bob and his band performed was quite intense. "Ballad Of Hollis
Brown" was the first real surprise of the evening and a highlight.
"Boots Of Spanish Leather" followed, and it was a nice version.

As expected, an electric set followed, and it started with one of best
post-81 versions of "Gotta Serve Somebody" I have heard. Bob seemed to
be making up new lyrics on the spot, and the version rocked hard.
A country-fied "I Want You" followed, with Larry playing some nice pedal
steel, and I enjoyed it very much, but I'm not convinced it was a great
version (the tapes will tell).

When I saw that Larry took up an acoustic guitar, I knew that we were
going to hear "Stuck Inside Of Mobile". I was right, and it was a
passable version, though Bob seems to be unable to really do this song
justice in concert. For the first time in the concert I noticed that
Bob's voice seemed a little weaker than it was last fall.  His vocal
range is even more limited now, but he is often able to compensate
brilliantly, at least when he's singing ballads. On the hard-rock
numbers, his voice sounds weak and strained.

Another acoustic set followed, and an excellent performance of
"Desolation Row". This version was an exercise in phrasing.
Larry played lap steel on "Love Minus Zero" and Bob played some harp.
Nothing remarkable about this performance, but it was nice.
"It's Alright Ma" was its usual self, and that's a good thing.
"Just Like Tom Thumb's Blues" didn't really work IMO.
"Drifter's Escape" rocked hard, but I'm not too fond of the this
arrangement. Bob played harp.

"Leopard-Skin Pill-Box Hat" needs a rest now. Bob introduced the band
during this song, and I think it was the first and only time he said
something during the entire concert. Bob lets his songs (and his
idiosyncratic body language) do all the talking. BTW, Bob shouted "I
know it is!" after "I just wanna see if it's really the expensive kind".

I feel reluctant to call the songs that followed encores. It's more like
the second part of the concert. It started with a very good version of
"Things Have Changed", followed by a dull, uninspired version of "Like A
Rolling Stone", one of Dylan's best songs. It almost hurts to hear such
an indifferent performance of this great song.

It's always nice to hear "If Dogs Run Free", with the lounge jazz sound
and the nonsensical lyrics. Both Bob and his band performs this one
well, even if they play it more or less on routine.

The version of "Watchtower" they played reminded me of the '98
arrangement (played only a handful of times), that was almost a complete
deconconstruction of the song. During this performance, Bob faced
Charlie, and traded solos. Charlie's solos were, not surprisingly, far
more successful than Bob's. Bob's electric guitar playing is sometimes
dodgy beyond words, which is a shame, since he has occasionally proved
that he can play quite remarkable solos if he wants to. Tony, who for
most of the concert had been standing behind Bob, now started moving
around the stage, grinning and dancing.

"Forever Young" was really good. Bob sang it with great care, and the
harmonies with Larry and Charlie were quite successful.
"Highway 61" rocked, but I think it needs a rest. Once again, Bob faced
Charlie for most of the song, and Charlie played some great solos.
"Blowin' In The Wind" was a crowd-pleaser, and a better-than-average
version. Bob looked out in the clear blue sky for most of the song,
looking as if he had just rediscovered the meaning of the words.
The formation, and then a perfunctory "Rainy Day Women" with some new
lyrics ("they stone ya when they're ridin' in a car/ they stone ya, but
they won't get far" or something like that).

The show was over. We walked around, had a beer, and talked to a lot of
people. Most people we talked to seemed to be happy with the concert,
veterans and new fans alike. Someone who had been to the concerts in
Norway said that this was the best show on the tour so far.
I don't think I have ever seen this much expressive body language from
Bob, at least not since Malmo 1998.

We had a post-show party in an apartment in central Gothenburg,
listening to the Osaka (March 7) 2001 recording and a few other old and
new field recordings. In the morning we read the newspaper reviews of
the Gothenburg concert, and most of them were very unfavorable, with
remarks such as "Dylan is now a thing of the past" and "he sounds like a
dirty old man who's trying to tempt small girls with candy when he's
croaking out "I Want You"" and that kind of comments. This is quite
strange, since Dylan usually get good reviews when he's in Sweden.
On June 30, the day after the Gothenburg concert, Bob was going to play
Roskilde, but for me, Peter and Fredrik, it meant a day off before the
Helsingborg concert.
To be continued...