Path: online.no!nntp-oslo.UNINETT.no!nntp-trd.UNINETT.no!oslonett.no!sn.no!Norwa y.EU.net!EU.net!newsfeed.internetmci.com!newsxfer2.itd.umich.edu!agate!new sgate.duke.edu!zombie.ncsc.mil!paladin.american.edu!auvm!LSG.PP.SE!gson Subject: A (bit more than a) Handful of Thoughts on the Swedish Concerts ... From: Lars & Andreas Gustavsson Date: Sun, 28 Jul 1996 21:36:59 +0200 X-Mailer: Mozilla 2.01 (Win95; U) A (bit more than a) Handful of Thoughts on the Swedish Concerts ... - Part 1 / "Bob Dylan for President!" (audience-member in Malmo) Finally Bob Dylan came to Sweden again (last time he was here was in the summer of 1992). Two concerts we had to look forward to: one in the city of Malmo in southern Sweden, and one at the Lollipop festival in Lida, a couple of miles outside of Stockholm. SLOTTSMOLLAN, MALMO - THURSDAY (July 25) The venue for this concert was Slottsmollan, a grass field in front of an old windmill in downtown Malmo. The stage was set up right in front of the windmill -- those standing in the back of the field could still see parts of the mill reaching over the top of the stage, an interesting view ... The event started at 18:30 (6.00 pm) with Nationalteatern, a Swedish band, on the main stage (there were two stages set up). Following their set was Hoola Bandoola Band, another Swedish band with their roots back in the 70s (as far as I know), they have reunited this year for a summer tour in Sweden. One of the members of this band is Mikael Wiehe, who recorded his own album with Dylan-tunes (translated to Swedish) some years ago. This band had their own stage located in the back of the field so we that were awaiting Bob's set (and wanted to keep or spots in the front row) were stuck there and could only listen to their show from the distance ... seemed like an alright show but, as a Swedish reporter put it: "How can you yell for encores with Hoola Bandoola, when Bob is expected on the stage in a couple of minutes?" Bob was scheduled to take the stage at 21:15 (9.15 pm) and sure enough, there he was, right on time. Bob really seemed to be in good shape. He was wearing a pair of dark red pants with some sort of decoration on the sides, a white shirt tucked loosely into a belt. Certainly makes him look like a Russian import of some kind ... (BTW, the stage was too high for us in front row to see what kind of shoes he was wearing, as if that would matter?!) The show took off with "To Be Alone =================================== with You," and to be honest, I did not | Setlist (Malmo) | like it! Of all the show openers he ----------------------------------- has tried over the past few years I | To Be Alone with You | think few work as well as "Jokerman" | If Not for You | and "Crash on the Levee (Down in the | All Along the Watchtower | Flood)." The other ones just don't seem | Just Like a Woman | to have that fire and energy that is so | Watching the River Flow | much needed to get the show going. | Silvio | | | Following that came "If Not for | @ Ballad of Hollis Brown | You." I totally missed out on this one | @ Tangled Up in Blue | because of a drunk person behind me who | @ Don't Think Twice, | had great difficulties with the simple | It's All Right | task of standing up. After a brief | | confrontation he (read: me and the | Stuck Inside of Mobile with | other audience members he bothered) | the Memphis Blues Again | decided that maybe he'd be better off | I Shall Be Released | somewhere else. So off he went ... | Like a Rolling Stone | | | Third song, same one as always, | @ The Times They Are A-Changin' | though it was a good performance there | Rainy Day Women # 12 & 35 | is not much to say about it ... =================================== We were then treated to a marvellous version of "Just Like a Woman." A truly great performance from Bob. Vocals, guitar, and harmonica, everything clicked on this one ... especially the harmonica solo stood out as being a true masterpiece. That was followed by "Watching the River Flow," which was the same as always, and then "Silvio" with the same arr. as was used during the Spring Tour, good performances of both songs ... The first surprise of the evening came with the first song of the acoustic set: "Ballad of Hollis Brown." A nice surprise, never heard this one live before. It was given a slow and gentle treatment, with John Jackson on banjo. Very good ... "Tangled Up in Blue" came next. Was not too thrilled with the choice of this one until Bob started to sing. The song had definately been given a new phrasing by Bob. It's hard to describe it (read: get the tape!), but he certainly blew some fresh air into this one. The acoustic set came to an end with "Don't Think Twice, It's All Right." Although definatley an over played song in the acoustic set quite a treat. Excellent guitar playing from Bob ... We were then taken back into the electric set with "Stuck Inside of Mobile with the Memphi Blues Again" followed by "I Shall Be Released." The first one was alright, but the second one was definately a highlight! It was performed a bit slower than what I am used to hearing it and Bob's singing was truly great! The main set of the concert closed with an electrifying "Like a Rolling Stone." A crowd-pleaser, but nevertheless a great version ... BTW, before this song there was a brief band introduction from Bob: "Give a hand for my band." No invividual presentations ... Bob then took some bows, looked out over the audience, and left the stage only to come back a few minutes later for the first encore "The Times They Are A-Changin'." Great performance again, with extended solos from Bob both on guitar and harmonica. Then came the closing song for the night: "Rainy Day Women # 12 & 35." This is one of the songs that you can enjoy tremendously when you are at the concerts, but always skip when you're playing the CD-bootleg at home ... For some reason the appreciation of this song (at least for me) heavily depends on the circumstances under which you hear it. Sure, it is a great way to end a rock'n'roll concert, but definately nothing worth playing when you're relaxing on a Friday evening after a week of hard work ... All in all, another great evening with Bob, who seemed to be in a very good mood throughout the whole evening, with lots of interaction with the audience and the other band members. The concert lasted for 110-115 minutes, and there were approximately 7,000 in attendence. The crowd featured people of all ages and social classes ... - Part 2 / I got shoved down 'n' pushed around ... The Stockholm concert was a strange affair. The relatively calm crowd at the Malmo concert was replaced by a bunch of rowdy teenagers ... Let me put it this way: I was STANDING in front row and got kicked in the head by a shoe ... try figuring that one out?! LOLLIPOP, LIDA, (ouside of) STOCKHOLM - SATURDAY (July 27) Oh well, all in all this was a good one too, with some great monents. I will make the review of this concert a bit shorter since my memory fails me (way too much time had to be spent fighting for your place). Some things still linger in the back of my head though ... The first song of the evening, "To =================================== Be Alone with You," sounded a lot | Setlist (Stockholm) | better this night. Much better singing ----------------------------------- from Bob, or was it just the sound | To Be Alone with You | system that was set up differently? | Shake Sugaree | Hard to tell ... (but the tapes will) | All Along the Watchtower | | Tears of Rage | "Shake Sugaree" was pleasant. Had | It Takes a Lot to Laugh, | been hoping for him to play this one at | It Takes a Train to Cry | one of the two concerts at least ... | Silvio | | | "All Along the Watchtower" was the | @ Mr. Tambourine Man | same as always, again ... | @ Tangled Up in Blue | | @ A Hard Rain's A-Gonna Fall | The fourth song, "Tears of Rage," | | was another pleasant surprise. Great | Tombstone Blues | singing ... great harmonica ... | I'll Remember You | | Maggie's Farm | "It Takes a Lot to Laugh, It Takes a | | Train to Cry" and "Silvio" passed | @ It Ain't Me, Babe | almost without me noticing, the crowd | Rainy Day Women # 12 & 35 | was now so rowdy that it was very ----------------------------------- difficult to remain focused on what Bob was doing ... The acoustic set opened with "Mr. Tambourine Man," which was all right, but could use a rest now ... Then came "Tangled Up in Blue" which was as great as the night before ... An excellent version of "A Hard Rain's A-Gonna Fall" closed the acoustic set. The crowd had now calmed down somewhat ... "Tombstone Blues" opened the second electric set. Great version ... "I'll Remeber You" and "Maggie's Farm" were both good performances. Before "Maggie's Farm" Bob did the band intro again: "Give a hand for my band." Tony turns to Bob and says: "YOUR band?," and they both crack up. It is nice to see that this band now is so tight with Bob that they can joke around with him like that ... they always seem to have such a great time up there, all of them ... well, most of the time anyway ... The encores for this evening were "It Ain't Me, Babe" and "Rainy Day Women # 12 & 35." Both where good versions, especially "It Ain't Me, Babe" had some great moments. Bob went off the stage before "Rainy Day Women" and the pressure in front row was so intense that one almost wished that he would not come back out for that last song ... In the end, a good concert, which probably would have been great had it not been for the rowdy crowd. Bob did not seem to enjoy this concert as much as he did the one in Malmo. Not at all as much audience interaction, he either looked straight down or straight out over the audience. Nor did he move around on the stage that much this night. Some small moves here and there during the guitar and harmonica solos, but not much. I would think that the rowdy crowd was not really his favourite audience, the man is, after all, 55 years old ... In conclusion: the Malmo concert was more of an experience than the Stockholm one, due to Bob's better mood that night. The Stockholm concert, however, will probably sound better on tape since it probably was a better concert, performance wise. BTW, a cool think happend in Malmo. My girlfriend, who is from the U.S. and is currently spending the summer here in Sweden, just happend to be wearing a jacket with the letters U S A on the back. Well, we decided to hold it up during the harmonica solo during "The Times They Are A-Changin'" and sure enough, Bob saw it ... did one of those squeezing things with his eyes (hard to explain) and then gave up a surprised expression. He also gave her one of those pointing fingers he gives the audience after he bows. Sure made her day! Oh, well, since this is turning into a family affair anyway I guess I'd better mention that my Dad, who had been giving Bob the thumb up throughout the evening, recieved a thumb back at the close of the concert ... OK, that's it. Hope it was pleasant reading, otherwise, sorry! - Andreas Gustafsson BTW: Will probably have photos to trade if anyone got a tape to offer ... ============================================================================ Lars & Andreas Gustavsson [E-mail: gson@lsg.pp.se] Web-Page: "Grains of Sand" [http://www.arosnet.se/users/ag/index.htm] ============================================================================