Bob Dylan 960713 in Hamburg, Germany (Trabrennbahn Bahrenfeld)
1. Leopard Skin Pillbox Hat 2. If You See Her Say Hello 3. All Along The Watchtower 4. I'll Be Your Baby Tonight 5. Silvio 6. The Ballad Of Hollis Brown (acoustic) 7. Tangled Up In Blue (acoustic) 8. Like A Rolling Stone 9. Maggie's Farm 10. It Ain't Me Babe (acoustic) 11. Rainy Day Women
Subject: Hamburg, 13 July 1996 - comments From: Christian Zeiser (christian.zeiser@HAMBURG.NETSURF.DE) Date: Sun, 14 Jul 1996 15:18:51 +0100 Hamburg, July 13, 1996 - two legends for the price of one. Ouch! Wait, folks, before you send your dogs for me, that's actually what the promo posters for yesterday's event said. Disgusting, ain't it? Anyway, here's the report: Opening acts were a local Hamburg band called "Die Sterne" (The Stars) and the Dave Matthews Band. I really didn't care for the German band, but Dave Matthews came as a pleasant surprise. Then - Bob time. The opening song: Leopard-Skin Pill-Box Hat - Yeah! That was what I was praying for: Two openers I hadn't heard before on the two shows I attended this year. Bob doing the lounge lizard as usual, walking around sans guitar, giving us a first nice harmonica solo. If You See Her Say Hello - last years's version, obviously uncommon to a lot of people in the audience, but a fine rendition nevertheless. A cover version of a song Neil Young wrote for Booker T. & The MG's. Yeah, I know, those jokes are getting decreasingly funny. The old Watchtower got another fine treatment, nevertheless, Bob warming up. I'll Be Your Baby Tonight - A nice selection, Bob's voice at full throttle, singing the chorus line like back in the late 60's. Silvio - this was when I knew the set will be shortened: Silvio at spot five. Similar to the rendition at Magdeburg the night before, very enjoyable and an obvious crowd.pleaser. Most of the people in the audience seemed to know this song will be played, and it got an enthusiastic singing-along from us. Dylan rocking along with JJ smiling. The acoustic set: Hollis Brown - similar to the night before, but somehow even more cathing. No-one in the audience dared to breathe during the whole song. Bob's voice suits this song so absolutely well that you can fell the gooseflesh crawling up your body. Tangled Up In Blue - the version he did last year, featuring the first dance steps of the night and the first make-em-scream harmonica solo. electric guitars coming back: Like A Rolling Stone - again, but this time different from last night's rendition, not that cooking, but more concentrated. JJ on inaudible backing vocals - the audience was just louder. Maggie's Farm - okay, he plays this one often enough, but it was a fine rendition with an arrangement that was new to me - JJ singing along on the "Ain't gonna work" line. the encores: It Ain't Me, Babe - nothing can go wrong with this one, Bob obviously enjoys playing it. Again, a harmonica solo that wouldn't end - I just love it when he keeps on playing forever! The lion was in the cage again, Bob walking around blowin his lungs out (probably for more than a dollar by now), bending his knees with every louder blow, obviously enjoying himself. Rainy Day Women #12 & 35 - Like last night, the usual song, two verses and an fine eternal jam. Bob dancing around smiling, pretending to throw his harmonica to the audience. Finally, old Bob did his finger pointing again, giving us a real broad smile, and left. No shake-hands this time, for this was practcally impossible due to the stage's height. A few general notes: Though it was a great show, he could have played a few more unusual tracks imo. It was as if Bob considered himself an unknown opening act who's supposed to play his best-known songs. He didn't have to: I've seen at least as many Dylan t-shirts at the venue than Neil shirts. A lot of people have obviously been there mainly to see Bob, or both of the guys. He clearly was a second headliner and no opening act. Also, it's a pity Bob and Neil didn't play together at the show. Apparently Bob was already on the bus heading to Cottbus directly after he left the stage. I certainly would have loved seeing an acoustic duet of the two, but it wasn't to be. Anyway, seeing a show with both Bob and Neil was a great experience anyhow. For those who're interested, a review of Neil's performance will probably be posted to http://www.HyperRust.org/ tomorrow or so. Bye for now - Uncle Matilda aka Christian Zeiser christian.zeiser@hamburg.netsurf.de christian_zeiser@public.uni-hamburg.de http://www.geocities.com/Paris/3436/
Subject. Re: July 13, 1996, Hamburg, Germany, Setlist From: Carsten Wohlfeld (happyjaq@confetti.ruhr.de) Date: 14 Jul 1996 16:26:00 +0100 > Hamburg, Germany > Trabrennbahn Bahrenfeld > July 13, 1996 Okay, this is it, the show we all have been waiting for, but nothing happened. There were about 20.000 folks and the weather was just fine for an open-air gig. The show started at 4pm with german indie-popsters Die Sterne and a more than well received set from the Dave Matthews band, who I more than love now, having seen them three times with Dylan. What a great band, check them out, if you can! At 6.25pm it was time to "... welcome Columbia recording artist Bob Dylan" and the went straight into: > Leopard Skin Pillbox Hat ... which was nearly as rocking as "To Be Alone With You" the night before. Really groovy harp solo as well. When the euro tour started this was the opening song I really wanted to hear. I finally got it at my eighth and final show. Yay! That the girl next to me was wearing a big hat (though no Leopard Pill Box one...) made me smile :) > If You See Her Say Hello Another personal all-time favourite that I never heard live before. Usual arrangement, that might be a bit too rushed comapred to the beautiful laid back original. > All Along The Watchtower ROCK ME!!! Faster Pussycat Kill! Kill!! "We need to be harder rocking than Mr Feedback later on" Bob said to his band before the show and they ripped the place to pieces. Or words to that effect. > I'll Be Your Baby Tonight This song doesn't do anything for me except that it always makes me laugh when JJ tries to follow Bob on the chorus and Dylan always changes the phrasing so that Jackson gets it wrong all the time. > Silvio It was cooking beyond believe, with the possible exception of "To Be Alone With You" in Magdeburg I never heared a more rocking song at a Dylan show! Wow! > The Ballad Of Hollis Brown (acoustic) Pardon? This one - AGAIN? You know we are ungrateful people, but hearing a song two times in a row just isn't what we are after, right? Well, let's be a wonderful song as "Hollis Brown" the exception, okay? JJ on banjo again. > Tangled Up In Blue (acoustic) Pretty good version, some parts reminiscent of that awesome Poughkeepsie version from May 1st of this year. The first song (bar "Watchtower") that everybody in the audience was familiar with. So it got the biggest cheer so far. > Like A Rolling Stone The low-point of the show, much worse than the version from the night before. Slower, without dynamics and power. Jackson sang on the chorus again, but - a chnage to the night before - let Bob sing the "Like A Rolling Stone" line on his own. JJ also mixed "To be without a home" nad "like a complete unknown" one time. What a dork :) > Maggie's Farm Again there was no introduction of the band and this ong wasn't the best choice to end the main set either. Even the new rock-arrangement is on the verge to become the useless noodleing-version of 1994 again. A pity! > It Ain't Me Babe (acoustic) Nice to hear the 20.000 folks sing "No, No, No" but tht was about it. Pretty standard version. The only exception: Bob nealy didn't play a harp solo, cause he missed the bit to come in and it took him a minute or so to finally suck the ole harp. The solo was really good and different to the ones I heard so far, though. Jackson had to laugh out loud several times, cause some parts of Bob's slo sounded pretty crazy. Dylan pretended to throw the harmonica into the audience after that as well... > Rainy Day Women Nos 12 & 35 If you play at a Neil Young gid in front of 20.000 acidheads, you have to do this one. Well, they did...let's leave it to that, okay? After the terrific start of the show, I was slightly disappointed, that the second electric set and the encores were so predictalble and not even well performed. The band seemed to enjoy playing in front of a larger crowd though and all in all it was an okay-show, that lasted a good 85 minutes. Neil Young and Crazy Horse followed and played a strictly-greatest-hits set for two hours, which I thought was pretty boring. The Highlight was the solo-acoustic set. Young said "I stole this trick from Bob" while garbbing his harmonica and playing "Heart Of Gold"! He also altered the lyrics of "Pocahontas" from "Marlon Brando, Pocahontas and me" to "ob Dylan, Cleopatra and me". Pretty funny. Unfortunately, apart from that no joint performances or anything. I believe Young would've done it, Iit lookes as if it was Bob again, who didn't want to perform with Young. Anyway, for the sake of my sanity I decided not to go to Cottbus as well. So now I'm home after eight gigs in four weeks. Hope you all enjoyed my postings, see you all again next time! Carsten Wohlfeld aka HappyJaq on IRC "Whoever despises himself still respects himself as one who despises" (F.Nietzsche)