Bob Dylan 970822 in > Virginia Beach, Virginia - GTE Amphitheater
Subject: VA BEACH
From: "William C. Parr" (wparr@UTK.EDU)
Date: Thu, 28 Aug 1997 11:04:10 -0400
TIMHRK wrote:
>
>CONCERNING THIS SET LIST
> August 22, 1997
> Virginia Beach, Virginia
> GTE Amphitheater
>
> 1. Absolutely Sweet Marie
> 2. I Want You
> 3. Just Like Tom Thumb's Blues
> 4. You Ain't Goin' Nowhere
> 5. Silvio
> 6. Friend Of The Devil (acoustic) (Larry on fiddle)
> 7. Tangled Up In Blue (acoustic)
> 8. Cocaine Blues (acoustic)
> 9. Tough Mama
> 10. .She Belongs To Me
> 11. Leopard-Skin Pill-Box Hat
>
> (encore)
> 12. Don't Think Twice It's All Right (acoustic)
> 13. Highway 61 Revisited
>
>****************************************************
>
>THIS IS VERY INTERESTING.
>
>Not only is the order not typical, but he only played 13 numbers, not the 14
>he's been doing. I guess Rainy Day is just implied or what?
>
No, this is the ENTIRE setlist. They came back for what we all thought
would be the "standard" third encore. Kemper moved near the drums, the
other four to the center mike. And bowed and waved.
Tony Garnier pointed at his watch.
Locals reported that the 11:00 curfew is very strictly enforced.
Bill Parr
Subject: Review of August 22, 1997 - Virginia Beach
From: "William C. Parr"
Date: Mon, 25 Aug 1997 17:11:43 -0400
Okay, her it is. Drove from Knoxville, Tennessee to Virginia Beach for the
8/22/97 show, and continuing for the two Wolf Trap shows.
Here's my review for Virginia Beach. Contains excerpts from a newspaper
article previewing the show, my review, and a full newspaper article
reviewing the show. Enjoy.
August 22, 1997
Virginia Beach, Virginia
GTE Amphitheater
Driving into town the day of the show, I picked up a copy of the Daily
Press, Newport News-Hampton Virginia (My eye was caught by the small
picture of Dylan on page 1, section A - with headline I-Dyl-lic).
Nothing that impressive about the article. Usual rehearsal of the career,
except:
Headline for the article was "Now it goes like this." With the lead
paragraph being an explanation of the citation. One quote "It's hard to
overestimate how singularly important Dylan was to a generation caught in
the political, cultural and social upheavals of the 1960s. DUring that
decade and well into the 1970s, it can be argued no one other than the
Beatles was as responsible for transforming popular music as Dylan.
One amusing quote "His popularity faded after his Rolling Thunder Revue
tour-de-force in 1977." (Gee, guess I missed the last 1976 and 1977 legs of
the RTR. Anybody got any tapes? Don't these people check facts?)
Then further quoting from the article by one Mark Sommer (Albany Times
Union), "He entered a rigid, born-again Christian period. His music lost
its spark and vitality. Dylan eventually moved on from that phase, too."
(Wonder if this guy ever LISTENED TO Slow Train? Or When You Gonna Wake Up?
Or Pressing On? Groom's Still Waiting at the Altar? In the Garden? Every
Grain of Sand? To say nothing of some of Need a Woman, Caribbean Wind, . .
.)
Attractive venue. Walked up at about 7:20 p.m. (scheduled 7:30 start for
BR5-49) and BR5-49 was already playing!
Reasonable set by BR5-49. About 15 minutes for stage changeover, then on
came Ani.
My impressions of Ani? Strong and unusual player and singer. Unusual in the
way she played guitar (very rhythmic) as well as in the way she sang (part
"singing", part speaking, often inbetween).
I don't know her catalog very well. Played Shameless, didn't play
Untouchable Face. A lot of what she performed is on Living in Clip. Very
energetic performer. Introduced her band, then said "and I'm Bob Dylan."
Her fans were extremely well-behaved (IMHO). I talked with a few before the
show. Ani seems to have a great significance for them as a symbol of
strength, of independence (founding her own record company and all of
that...).
Well, after Ani finished, on came Bob. . . .
"Columbia Recording Artist Bob Dylan!"
1. Absolutely Sweet Marie
This was my first show after the histoplasmosis scare. So I was looking
closely - he moved around well, lost a little weight I think, and, as it
turns out, in strong voice (though more about the sound system later).
Absolutely Sweet Marie was well performed. At the end, a "Thanks everybody."
2. I Want You
Nice, ably performed, not really distinguishable from other I Want Yous
I've heard. Dylan's voice is strong, though it is ragged.
At the end, another "Thanks everyone."
3. Just Like Tom Thumb's Blues
Now, there's a GREAT song for the #3 slot. I don't miss Watchtower (and
given the depth of Dylan's catalog, he can continue to find new things for
this slow for a long time!). Temporarily disappointed at no Tough Mama, but
just wait!
4. You Ain't Goin' Nowhere
Dylan said that he was going to "Do this as a request." Either he didn't
say for whom, or I didn't catch it.
Nice. The usual acapella (spelling wrong!) at the end. Dylan playing a sort
of "punchy" lead guitar on this one.
5. Silvio
Everyone (well, lots of us) up and moving around, largely in place. The
venue and security didn't every permit any substantial rush tonight. The
guitar work on Silvio continues to evolve. And Larry C.'s contributions
continue to increase and improve. My worries from last spring when he
basically played rhythm and watched Dylan, with a few momentary exceptions,
have gone away.
6. Friend Of The Devil (acoustic) (Larry on fiddle)
Larry on fiddle indeed! And playing well. This song is splendidly arranged.
Band intros at the end of this song by Dylan. He seems to be quite talkative.
7. Tangled Up In Blue (acoustic)
Strong performance, nothing outstanding noticed in lyric variations (usual
deletion of the odd word or two) or in the arrangement.
Another "Thanks everybody" from Dylan.
8. Cocaine Blues (acoustic)
Didn't recognize this one at first. Now I've heard it, enjoyed it, and hope
it gives way for something else. Not my favorite. Good vocals by Dylan.
At the end of this, Dylan started talking, and I'll quote roughly from my
notes taken that night (not listening to the tape right now):
"Thanks for coming out. I know you have a lot of other things to do."
Then, he went into something about Bucky (I think it was Bucky, could have
been Tony) recently wanting to quit and "get a real job."
9. Tough Mama
Ahhhh, we got Tough Mama. Strong. Dylan tearing through the lyrics (and the
lead from time to time) This is a great vocal performance. The way he said
"prison walls" - worth the price of admission. Got to go back and listen to
this one again.
10. .She Belongs To Me
She Belongs to Me was performed splendidly. Great, strong enthusiastic
Dylan who seems to be enjoying the experience.
At the end of this song, Dylan solicits a round of applause for Ani
DiFranco, and one for BR5-49.
11. Leopard-Skin Pill-Box Hat
In terms of energy level, this one is up there with Tough Mama.
(encore)
12. Don't Think Twice It's All Right (acoustic)
Good, but absolutely no surprises.
13. Highway 61 Revisited
Good second encore, and as it turned out, closer. After this one, they left
the stage, came back in response to applause, walked up to the front
(except Kemper who, I believe, got up to his drumset) and took a bow. Tony
pointed at his watch. I asked, and locals reported that the curfew is
strictly enforced.
Still no harmonica.
Well - I say it was a good concert, not in any great category among Dylan
performances. Well worth driving 9 hours for.
A short article in the Virginia-Pilot Saturday morning was headlined "Don't
think twice; The Fickle Dylan was all right."
"Shocking surprise: only 6,000 people turned out to see the legendary Bob
Dylan.
The big pre-show question on everyone's mind was which Bob Dylan was to
perform Friday at the GTE Virginia Beach Ampitheater.
Would it be the brilliant lyricist in great form? Or the mumbling,
incoherent star of years past?
As for the question posed, it was somewhere in between.
Other than the late, great John Lennon, no one was more of a spokesman for
the protesting social revolutionary generation of the 1960s than Bob Dylan.
The crowd got only a small taste of that attitude.
Dylan was clearly in a country mood. Slide steel guitar, twang and nasal,
droning vocals dominated the initial portion of the set. It seemed as if he
was performing at the Grande Ole Opry.
For a guy who has many classic hits as The Rolling Stones and the Beatles,
the dark-suited Dylan sure made the concert-goers wait for the great stuff.
The crowd erupted in approval as he sang the words, 'A friend of the devil
is a friend of mine.' 'Tangled up in Blue' was anything but, as jubilant
fans jumped to their feet in euphoric celebration.
For an encore, Dylan played 'Don't Think Twice, It's All Right.'"
I have no comments about this stupid review which are not pretty obvious to
all of us, I think.
Bill Parr
William C. Parr Phone: 423-974-1631, Fax: 423-974-2490
Email: wparr@utk.edu
mailto:wparr@utk.edu
World Wide Web: http://funnelweb.utcc.utk.edu/~wparr/
"Backseat drivers don't know the feel of the wheel,
But they sure know how to make a fuss." --Bob Dylan
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