Bob Dylan 960701 at Muenster, Germany
Subject: Muenster From: Zabold (sn062za@E45-HRZE.UNI-DUISBURG.DE) Date: Wed, 3 Jul 1996 15:45:35 +0200 Hello everybody! After a long time of lurking in this digest I want to share my thoughts concerning Bob Dylan's concert in Muenster, Germany, on July, 1st. So here is the set list: 1. Drifter's Escape 2. Sugar Ree 3. All Along The Watchtower 4. Simple Twist Of Fate 5. It Takes A Lot To Laugh, It Takes A Train To Cry 6. Silvio 7. Boots Of Spanish Leather (acoustic) 8. John Brown (acoustic) 9. Mama, You Been On My Mind (acoustic) 10. Maggie's Farm 11. Ballad Of A Thin Man 12. Obviously 5 Believers 13. Alabama Getaway 14. It Ain't Me Babe (acoustic) 15. Rainy Day Women # 12 & 35 First of all I have to say that the Dave Matthew's Band was a great opening act. They musically fit to what was to come and they played a really inspired set. After listening to their album a while ago, I can really recommend it. Then Bob Dylan and his great band took the stage. Although I have seen him several times in the last five years (I am only 23 years old), I was once again impressed by his aura and stage presence. "Drifter's Escape" is a great opener, in my opinion far better than "Crash On The Levee (Down In The Flood)". But for me it will always be a little bit strange to see Bob walking round the stage just singing and without guitar. I think this year's version of "Drifter's Escape" is more balanced than last year's and the singing is better, too. Second song of the night was "Sugar Ree". I had not heard it before, but because of the discussion in this forum I recognised it before the first verse, nevertheless. I think it adds a country-like sound to the show that fits very well. And it offers the first possibilities for great guitar playing by J. J. Jackson and Bob. There is not too much to say about "All Along The Watchtower". Bob did a great solo at the end, using some interesting echo effects. But of course, this one got the house rocking for the first time. (By the way, the show was sold out.) "Simple Twist Of Fate" was I little surprising for me, because it had not been played in Europe this year before. Bob sang it in a voice so that the song sounded very bitter. "It Takes A Lot To Laugh, It Takes A Train To Cry" left the guitars smoking. There was a lot of talking between Bob and J. J. and this song clearly showed the great musical harmony and understanding in this band. The new arrangement of "Silvio" was really impressing. The harmony vocals by J. J. and Bucky Baxter add so much to this song, that I cannot understand why the studio version was done in such a relatively poor way. (By the way: The position of this song - directly before the acoustic set - is absolutely perfect.) Bob must think that "Boots of Spanish Leather" is my favourite song because he played it almost every time I saw him. I should tell him that he is wrong and that "Sad Eyed Lady Of The Lowlands" or "Desolation Row" would be even better. :-) But nevertheless, it was a great version with some brilliant harmonica playing at the end. "John Brown", one of my all time favourites, was the highlight of the evening for me. It sounded harder and more accusing than the version on the "Unplugged" album, which fits great to the content. "Mama, You Been On My Mind" was a very good closing number for the acoustic set. The second electric set - consisting of "Maggie's Farm", "Ballad Of A Thin Man" and "Obviously 5 Believers" - continued with the brilliant guitar work by Bob and J. J. (To all you fans of Bucky, Winston Watson and Tony Garnier: I know they are great musicians, too, but for me J. J. Jackson and, of course, Bob are the heart and soul of this band.) As an encore, they played a great version of "Alabama Getaway" (did you see Jerry Garcia's ghost smiling and playing guitar up there on stage right next to Bob?) and "It Ain't Me Babe", where Bob did once again some great harmonica playing. I hoped for something different as acoustic encore, but after this great show I will not be complaining. As usual, "Rainy Day Women # 12 & 35" closed the show. (Before this last song a woman in front of me wanted to leave. I told her that there was still another song to come. She asked "How can you know?". I just smiled and said "Everybody must get stoned...".) I hope my throughout positive comments were not too boring and, as you may have noticed, English is not my first language, so I hope I could make my points clear. One last point: I think this band (J. J., Tony, Winston, Bucky) is really brilliant, so they deserve a name, don't you think so? Suggestions are welcome, so let your brain work. (e-mails to: sn062za@e45-hrze.uni-duisburg.de) Thanks to Maureen for keeping this digest rolling. Best to all of you! Joerg Zabold University of Duisburg, Germany "He not busy being born is busy dying."