Bob Dylan 980116 in New York, New York - Madison Square Garden - The Theater
Address: 7th Ave. & 32nd St.
Capacity 5610
Double bill with Van Morrison
Ticket prices: $75.00 and $45.00
Subject: Re: Just got home from MSG.
From: Michael Salfino (salfino@carroll.com)
Date: Sat, 17 Jan 1998 07:35:11 GMT
I was really shocked by how good Dylan was last night. I was hoping for
moments, but instead got a rock & roll show for the ages (not one note of a
harmonica). Not only was he in good voice (for him) but he expertly toed
the fine line between rehashing oldies and bastardizing them. They were
lovingly reinterpreted. When I saw him last with Tom Petty many years ago,
he seemed to be almost mocking himself and his songs. But the artist in him
as a performer and the genius that still shines through in all the great
songs (old and new) in his set really shined through. If you're holding on
to a ticket for an upcoming show, consider yourself very, very lucky. Plus,
his band kicked ass.
The only disappointment was that Van and Dylan did not play together. Van's
set was also strong, relying heavily on his new album but incorporating
great versions of Tupulo Honey and Cypress Avenue. During the latter he had
the line of the night, "I heard this described in the paper today as pop
music. If this is pop music, what the f*ck are we doing here?" He then
slammed down his attached mic and finished the call and response "Too late
to stop now" at the stand with his band.
Subject: Re: bi-partisan thoughts on van/bob 0n 1/16
From: Dylan Orlando (Orlando@AESOP.RUTGERS.EDU)
Date: Sat, 17 Jan 1998 12:47:11 -0500
before i give a BRIEF (i tried but i guess alot happened)review on
friday's show the best version of tangled up in blue was when it meant
something not now as crowd pleaser(more on that later)
ok i heard on the way to the show junior wells died and really
couldn't stop thinking about it. not to make excuses but my mind was
really on that all night.( i happen to completely revere buddy guy and
of course was wondering about a tribute show and who would go).
I got in during the beginning of van's set and it really sounded good.
great mix loud vocals. i could do with out his singer who has been
with him the last few year(a night in san fran+how long has this been
going on). anyway if you have the cd how long has this been going on
than put it in and turn it loud cause that's EXACTLY what he sounded
like. the horns were really great a couple of times i thought miles
davis was in there if i wasn't looking. some great muting of the horns
during the slow jazz numbers. I like jazz but only from the 30-60's.
don't like fusion or even jazz singers. i like melodic instrumentals
and of course the mayhem of coltrane or coleman. but van's an
exception he really can belt out the numbers. mostly new stuff until
SOMEONE PLEASE HELP ME WITH THIS QUOTE i was walking out to the hall
when i heard"this is a tribute to the good father of soul not some
fat, slippery, heavy metal fuck" as he started "it's a man's world" i
recognized this a reference to leslie west horrible version of this
song from a year or so ago. did he really say that? I AGREE BUT DID HE
REALLY SAY THAT? anyway he did a lifeless domino(can you blame him).
the crowd ate it alive, it's disgusting. then four encore all a medley
have i told you lately-moondance-tupelo-why must i always
explain(there might have been something else thrown in (i stopped
listening) he was well received.
so van was good but as usual the crowd claps for the weakest
preformances(i.e. the encores where as some of those jazz tunes were
really hot and got only minor applause.sad)
now bob sweet marie was sweet marie the first song is usally a throw
away an i didn't think this was an exception. i checked the cue sheet
to see what we were in for i hate to be surprised. NOT DARK YET
followed and it was well weak. It sounded as if it was the third
preformance of this song. i felt like the tempo was uncertain and so
was bob. the crowd recognized it after the 1st line and welcomed it
with a roar. THIS SONG WILL BE INCREDIBLE AFTER SOMEMORE PRACTICE AND
A MOVE TO THE BALLAD SPOT AT THE END OF THE SHOW. it suffered as the
second song. all in all i was not impressed.(if i stayed home and saw
this on paper i would have been really bummed out but it wasn't that
good so you peolpe in calif and over seas don't fret it'll be alot
better when he gets to you.)
cold irons was rushed and out of the 6 that i've heard this was the
worst, that's only because he really smoked on the previous five that
i saw. The sound was fantastic he was louder than all the fools
around me talking about what they had to do on sat and what they did
today. As i have stated in the past i've seen a lot of dylan show at
alot of different venues and i've NEVER heard his voice so loud in the
mix and such a loud clear mix. the sound really was extraordinary!!!
simple twist was it's usaul self(i think i went to get a soda so i'd
be back for can't wait)he went right to silvio after simple twist and
you all know how that goes.
the acoustic segment was one too many mornings and this was
spectacular as expected but it always is. i haven't heard it as part
of the acoustic set since 95 it's always an encore for me.
john brown was o.k but i really don't like the new arrangement i saw
this arrangement in northhamton in the spring a was mixed about it
then(iwas in the 5th row it's hard not to like your first john brown
from the 5th row)but upon second listen i didn't care for it. it's
mostly acapella with fills at the end of each line and some of the
fills were quite sloppy(maybe five more preformances of this and
everyone will gel nicer)
then of course the most annoying song of the night tangled up in blue
the crowd really liked this. after all crowds love to sing and they
knew the words so they let it rip.
at this point quite few people split. not my kind of people(people in
gowns and suits, furs, people with bags of shopping, most muttering
that they didn't know the songs. real quick this is why i hate tangled
up in blue there was the budwieser drinking couple early twenties and
drunk, she was high maintenence squirming and complaining that the
show sucked because he didn't play any radio songs that she knew. they
were yelling at each other until tangled up in blue and then proceeded
to sing every word they knew loud as hell. if bob does this song for
the fur coat people and the frat boys with there dates that know radio
songs he should stop these are the people he shouldn't care about they
didn't even buy toom. or do it at the end so i can leave.
THE BEST PART OF THE SHOW WAS MILLION MILES i don't love it on the
record but boy is it great live. the solos at the end are worth
admission by themselves. not much else to say just like a woman
followed( a funny place for it, again the crowd was happy with the
choice, i wasn't tears of rage, what good am i was on the sheet in
it's place) then a really crystal clear hwy61 especially bucky he was
real loud all night and this he was especially loud what a great sound
he got on that slide unlike the sound in the past. one thing hear my
wife was grabbed by a man who proceeded to scream at her for not
applauding saying"how dare you, how dare you not clap he's smoking out
there what the matter with you clap dammit"(she doesn't clap out of
habit there are enough peoiple clapping and if i ever get a disk of
the show i would hate to be the family that ruins the disk by
applauding right under someones mike)just thought that was funny
then the encore of which i paid no attention to except for my back
pages always a favorite of mine. i left at the last line of lovesick
so i don't know if he did rdw12&35 or anything with van but i'll be
back and there are four more days to hear a collaboration i suspect
they will do it on the last night in nyc and boston.ALL IN ALL THIS
WAS A DECENT SHOW ON PAPER A SOLID A CREATIVE LIST BUT A BIT RUSHED
I'M SURE IT WILL ONLY GET BETTER AND BY THE TIME BOB DUMPS VAN THESE
SOLOS GIGS THROUGHOUT NEW YORK AND JERSY WILL BE EXCEPTIONAL IF I HAD
TO GRADE IT I'D GIVE IT A B OR B+-dylan
Subject: Re: bi-partisan thoughts on van/bob 0n 1/16
From: Michael Salfino (salfino@carroll.com)
Date: Sat, 17 Jan 1998 18:25:15 GMT
I totally disagree with the substance and tone of your "been there, done
that" review. As for Van, I certainly hope that you're not relegating
"Cypress Avenue" to crowd-pleasing, encore status. Most in attendance
didn't recognize it, but I thought it was a very strong finale. The crowd
did respond to the new material, which was the core of his set. What
Jazz-standards are you talking about? He did nine of the 10 songs on his
new album plus Moondance (OK), Domino (alright, it was kind of mailed in),
Tupolo Honey into Why must I always Explain (great), Cypress Avenue,
Vanclose Stairway, Have I Told You Lately ("Blah, Blah, Blah," as Van
himself said during the song), the great take on "It's a Man's World" a Ray
Charles song, the name of which escapes me and that about it.
The mix was all wrong for the first half of Absolutely Sweet Marie but then
Not Dark Yet sounded great to me, as did Cold Irons Bound, and I thought
his take on Tangled Up in Blue was exceptional. He seemed very much into
the old and new material, which was all reworked just enough, but not too
much, to suit the guitar-oriented sound. How can you talk about this show
and not mention that he did not play the Harmonica once? And he was very
much into his entire set.
If you missed the show, you should be very disappointed. I'm sure the
reviews, if and when they appear, will bear me out.
Subject: New York City, January 16, 98--revi
From: Thad Williamson (thwilliamson@igc.apc.org)
Date: Fri, 16 Jan 1998 22:03:05 -0800 (PST)
January 16, 1998.
Madison Square Garden--The Theater, New York, NY.
1. Absolutely Sweet Marie
2. Not Dark Yet
3. Cold Irons Bound
4. Simple Twist of Fate
5. Silvio
6. One Too Many Mornings
7. John Brown
8. Tangled Up in Blue
9. Million Miles
10. Just Like a Woman
11. Highway 61
12. Like a Rolling Stone
13. My Back Pages
14. Love Sick
15. Rainy Day Women #12 and 35
Very fine opening show for Bob, following a splendid opening
performance by Van Morrison. (I leave the aficianados to comment more
on that, but Van was in a good mood and avoided the goldie oldies until
the last 5 songs or so. His band, including very talented backup
singers, is tight. Very enjoyable set.)
I don't think Bob's voice was as good as it can be by any stretch, but
he still put a lot of energy into this. For those who haven't heard him
since the summer, the TooM songs will stand out by far. Not Dark Yet,
Million Miles, Love Sick especially strong tonight on the vocals. Of
the others, Simple Twist was particularly nice and tasteful, and I like
what Bob did with the first half of Just Like A Woman, keeping the
vocals under control in the low range. Bob introduced this song saying
"Here's one that will be more familiar, don't want to scare you off" or
something like that. Comment probably had as much to do with reaction
to J Brown as TooM.
John Brown was absolutely fabulous--whole new arrangement, far superior
to the Unplugged version and other recent iterations of this. Bob's
vocals, enunciation very good on this and if he does it again when his
voice is coming through super clear it will be incredible. One Too Many
Mornings also had slighlty different texture and arrangement too and
was quite nice, though in my judgement the harmonica is missed.
Love Sick, to say it again, was awesome. Love the instruments on Cold
Irons Bound too and the grand opening the song gets, as the song
emerges from waist deep in the mist. Bob's vocal tonight inferior to
album though on this.
I think though that based on quality of performance, quality of the
song, and the novelty factor, Not Dark Yet has to be the song of the night.
During the concert I often flashed back to the end of '95 when I had
seen a lot of shows and was just wondering how Bob could take it to
another level--my conclusion then was new songs. Well, he's got 'em now
and it's a real treat to enjoy, a totally different feel than even 6
months ago. Don't miss it. Remaking the band w/Larry Campbell too also
has paid off wonders. And Bob seems to have mostly left the dissonance
thing on his guitar playing in the dust, though it still pops up now
and then.
Finally, Dylan seemed to be really having a good time up there tonight.
I'm jealous of who will go the rest of the shows in this set. Really
special to see Bob in NYC, and the Morrison set makes the ticket price
worth it. (Hell, it's a much better deal than your average Broadway
show.) For what it's worth, there was absolutely no security check for
articles brought into the theater tonight. You know, in case you wanted
to sneak in a typewriter or something.
Thad
P.S. Actor William DaFoe was spotted in the audience tonight.
