Bob Dylan 961109 in Milwaukee, WI
Subject: Milwaukee Song by Song From: Victor Edmonds (vedmonds@ix.netcom.com) Date: Sat, 09 Nov 1996 13:40:33 -0600 Organization: Netcom X-Mailer: Mozilla 2.01E (Macintosh; U; 68K) Milwaukee Song by Song 11/9/96 Eagles Auditorium No dust on the man in the wide brimmed hat Milwaukee -- a tough working class town. I hear the people bowl overhand. Eagles Auditorium has seen better times, but who has not. Designed as an oval with stage on the side. You could buy a seat a couple days after tickets went on sale and not see Dylan from your seat. So you dont stay in your seat. Only non-beer decoration an amateurish shrine to Buddy Holly. Warm up Kenny Wayne Shepherd set a new standard for how fast the guitar could be played. Some bluesman once said that the real music is the silence between notes. Little of that here. Down in the Flood. I hadn't realized how well this works as an opener. It immediately brought people to their feet but still left some emotional room to adjust to the scene. Bob wearing a western style center crease white hat, black suit with silver piping, and blousy tie. JJ with bright red Gibson up front in the mix with confident long melodic lines. Last year in Rockford Bucky reminded me of the Captain in Captain and Tennille -- sailor hat, big presence on the stage, lots of lead work. Tonight he reminded me of Garth Hudson -- bearded, hunkered down in the back, providing the foundation and the color. Tonight I'll Be Staying Here With You. Complete with sound effects on "whistle blowing." The new drummer begins to assert himself with a new feel to the rhythm. To allay any RMD fears Bob and JJ stand together like Pips for the second break with Bob's lead answering JJ's lead. Watchtower. Full tilt rockin. Crowd went wild. I doubt if this will seem like a great performance on tape. Though I thought I was immune to this song, I never enjoyed it more (well, outside of JWH). Lots of clean JJ guitar. Bob's noodling style is not great to me, but JJ and Bucky punctuated it to make it really work. Simple Twist of Fate. Great strutting rhythm. JJ up front with chunky rhythm stuff and fine leads. Bucky gets a smooth slide solo. Another JJ/Bob twin solo, Bob leaning his back into JJ. I realize I am listening to Simple Twist and not focusing on the vocal. It Takes a Lot to Laugh. Where Winston would snap on the beat, this guy makes you wait for it, makes you want it before it comes. Winston is a vertical drummer. This guy drums like JJ plays guitar, in long horizontal lines. Slow, full of hesitation, when the beat finally hits you can not sit still. No one does. Milwaukee's first flurries were falling outside. A crisp delivery of "the wintertime is coming, the windows are filled with frost." Silvio. JJ, Bucky, Bob singing trio on the choruses, most instruments stopped. Rhythm based rocking adventure, a great one-two punch with the previous song to make anybody dance. Rhythmic variety throughout. You would think this band played with this drummer for years. (Except they all look at him a lot. He looks like the many high school English teachers in the audience). Tangled Up In Blue. A screen opens behind the band, projecting a pattern suggestive of flowers. The three guitar players change to acoustic. Bob sings the first verse with his guitar. The drums come crashing in with the second verse transforming the song into a strutting rocker. Make that a strutting rocker anthem, with the crown yelling out each "Tangled Up In Blue." The Lonesome Death of Hattie Carroll. A bouncy 12/8 waltz feel. A visual of dramatic faces on the screen. This may have been the emotional high point for me if I could hear it. The jelly faced women behind me were talking like Kenny Wayne Shepherd plays guitar. Jeez I can't find my knees. One sees me taking notes and screams into my ear "Are you writing down the words he's saying?" To Bob they scream "Everybody Must Get Stoned!" Bob quiets down, trying to get the audience in control. I expect to hear mumbling and "... if only you wouldn't clap so hard." They never get under control. One Too Many Mornings. Kaleidoscope on the screen. Beautiful descending guitar figure, bouncy drumming that somehow adds to the sad, touching feel of the vocal. I couldn't help but feel this was a sadder wiser Dylan thinking about Sara. I thought of some of the loves I have left behind. The high point of the evening for me. Bob takes a bow at the end. God Knows. Change to electric guitars, background screen closes. First verse Bob and JJ only. Stage rush starts. Drums come in for long guitar solo before second verse. The smell of grass hits the air. Security guards try to stop the stage rush and then start checking everyone's tickets. A drunk biker starts screaming and tells the university looking people next to him to get out. They do. I pretty much miss this and the next song because of all the commotion around me. I and I. What little of this I could see and hear was great. I think it was emotional and had an unusual rhythm. Lots of people leave. Maybe they were just leaving the area I was in (middle left center). A bunch of teenagers arrive and apparently have tickets for seats that have been taken. The security guards rearrange the seating in the middle of the center section so the teenagers can sit in their proper seats. Highway 61. Bob pulls out a crowd pleaser to try to get the show back under control. Your basic bottom line Highway 61. Bob slaps some hands at the end, seems to be having a great time. Lets us clap and stomp a long long long time before coming back for: Like a Rolling Stone. On tape this may not be an extraordinary LARS. In the context it was magnificent. Sitting next to me was every young RMDers dream -- a family of Dylan fans. Long time Dylan fan Dad, beautiful Dylan fan Mom, four good looking Dylan fan teenagers, two of them musicians themselves. The family -- and the whole crowd -- sang along, punching the sky with How does it Feel? The overall crowd sound was like the Joan Baez exaggerated wheeze Dylan imitation. Very funny. Dylan was having a great time, smiling, getting kissed by teenage girls. The long ending vamp was just background for the stage show, dancing girls, more kissing, guards tackling any males that tried to get up on stage. What fun. Girl From the North Country. Bouncy acoustic with drums in 2/4 time. The whole audience bouncing. In the aisle a young teenage girl dancing to it like hip hop. Audience and Dylan having an incredibly good time. And amid it all a most touching vocal. Dylan with lots of acoustic lead, catches a great riff and drives it home mugging at the audience. Rainy Day Women. Big drum intro. Crowd wild. Not really a song but a fun soundtrack to the party that takes place. Dancing and yelling from the floor. The stage crowding up with girls with their hands and lips on Bob. One tries to take his hat. Security guards at a loss. The one by me starts checking tickets again. The ones on the stage are letting most people on and once in a while tackling someone. There seems to be no rhyme or reason to what they are doing. Bob's guys in black come out and stand near to him just in case. But Bob is clearly having a great time, even noodling at some lead as the teenage girls swarm him. Just before it gets boring Bob ends it, slaps some hands, talks to fans, leaves the stage to thunderous applause. As the crowd thins out I talk with the Dylan family. The dad, breathless with enthusiasm, compares tonight to 1974 in Chicago. The mom talks of the rhythms; one song reminded her of Mozambique. She also made a comparison to a Neil Diamond concert. I was reminded of Dylan in 78 seeing Neil Diamond and wanting to do such a crowd pleasing tour. This was a crowd pleaser. As we pressed to the narrow exit people were talking to strangers like best friends, telling each other how terrific Bob is. A young woman kept repeating A Legend! One guy told me how Dylan and that guitar player were so tight together. I made it to the men's room for: The Urinal Review. The guy at the urinal next to me volunteered that it was a great show -- as good or better than the last time he saw Dylan -- 1974 in Chicago. This band, he said, is as good as the Band, but less acoustic, more rockin. Twenty two years, he said, and this guy has not lost a thing, maybe even better. Out on Wisconsin Avenue I wondered, did Bob check into that beat up hotel across the street? Did he throw that wide brimmed hat on the bed? Victor Edmonds vedmond@luc.edu
Date: Sun, 10 Nov 1996 17:19:08 -0800 From: "Richard H. Berns" (reedswtc@execpc.com) To: karlerik@online.no Subject: Concert Review. Milwaukee, WI Nov. 9th, 1996 While sporting a fever of 100.2 degrees fahrenheit, I was bound and determined not to let any illness, anything or anyone stand in my way to seeing Dylan for only the 3rd time in my 34 years of life. My wife Debbie and I coaxed her mother into taking our 6 month old daughter overnight (YES!) and we were on our way. Arrived at the Eagles Ballroom at 7:30 p.m. only to have to turn around and walk back to the car 2 blocks away in 28 degree windy weather for having forgotten the binoculars in our car. A few minutes later we were back in line waiting to enter the Eagles Venue when we were asked to remove our coats and be searched (It's a good thing I didn't bring a taperecorder with to make that bootleg I was planning on). When we arrived at our seats, my wife and I along with the couple who had joined us ended up having nearly come to blows with 4 people who had taken our seats. But after some persuasion from us & 2 huge security guards we were finally in our seats. The day tickets went on sale I could only come up with 1st row Center Balcony seats. Very good seats I must add if I couldn't be close on the floor. Kenny Wyne Shephard came on stage about 2 minutes after sitting down. I must say that if my eyes would have been closed, I could have sworn I were at a Stevie Ray Vaughan show. This incredibly gifted guitarist is certainly following in the footsteps of Stevie. He performed for about 45 minutes and closed his performance with a killer rendition of Voodoo Child. Kenny has a vocalist who is similar in many ways to Eddie Vedder in his style. This is a must see & hear musician. During the break between shows the 4 of us were informed by security that we had to move down 4 chairs because we were in the seats. The balconey area is not clearly marked, so we moved. This was to our advantage since our new seats were dead-center in the balconey. With the binoculars we had, our seats were great. After about a 1/2 hour break between shows, the lights were dimmed down too being barely visable, and then a voice suddenly spoke "Ladies and Gentleman, please welcome Columbia recording artist Bob Dylan". Bob came out on stage dressed in what appeared to be a satin black suit and tie with silver trimmed-seams. He was also sporting a white cowboy hat. He was also looking quite healthy for his 55 years. As healthy or healthier than he has looked in years I thought. Bob opened with "Crash on the Levee" and I could tell right away that he was on stage because he wanted to be, not because he had a commitment to be. Right from the start he was singing the words like he had meant what he was saying on stage, not mumbling through the lyrics like some critics are saying of this tour. Now I don't know if having had the previous night off had anything to do with his interest and appearance, but he was certainly into this show and crowd. The next track was "Tonight I'll be staying here with you". Bob displayed a certain tenderness with his vocals in this track. His vocals were clearer than I have witnessed in years I felt. Again, he sang the words as though there was a message he was trying to get accross and that they really meant something. Bob then went on to play "All Along the Watchtower" and let his new line-up prove to the crowd that they would not take a back seat to his previous band. This was a real smoker and crowd pleaser. Every bit the energy that his previous band had. The 4th song he performed was the only track I had a problem making out, which was "A Simple Twist of Fate". Once again, Bob re-invented this track like he does most tracks for live performances. This track had very little likeness to the Blood version, but still had some nice moments with the use of the slide guitar. The 5th track Bob performed was "It Takes a Lot to Laugh it Takes a Train to Cry". This was quite a pleasant piece, and very bluesy. And still, Bob was performing this piece as though it were his first time doing so. He carefully pronounced each syllable and vowel as though he were in the studio recording it. "Silvio" was the next track to follow. This is one of the only two post 1988 releases that performed during the show. This was a real crowd pleaser. Quite the smoker to get the crowd on their feet dancing. The next three tracks he performed were all acoustic. "Tangled up in Blue", "The Lonesome Death of Hattie Carroll" and "One too Many Mornings" were entirely acoustic with 2 acoustic guitars, 1 stand up bass, 1 slide guitar and drums. The drums added to the acoustic sets are an especially nice feature. "Tangled" had an album like quality about it and was very upbeat with the addition of drums. "Hattie Carroll" and "Too Many Mornings" were much more delicate and tender renditions, even with the drums being included. Again, Dylan and Co. were enjoying themselves as much as the crowd during the performances. Dylan definately wasn't just going through the motions, he was as happy as he could be being on that stage performing and reciting every lyric as though it were the last time he were going to do so. The 10th track Bob played was another real smoker, "God Knows". From the first few chords Bob strummed on his electric guitar for this track, security seemed to step aside and allow people to storm the perimmeter of the stage. At least 200 to 300 people seemed to get up out of their seats and practically run for the stage during this track. If I were one of the people in the first few rows, I would have been pissed off. Thank God I was in the first row of the balcony. Bob and Co. mixed it up pretty well on this track. Everyone on the floor was standing and dancing to this piece. Another real crowd pleaser and excellent live. Very Bluesy. "I and I" followed and seemed to switch gears a bit. This was a very dark and somber version of this piece. Seemed to slow things down a bit. But still a nice performance and excellent live. "Highway 61" was the 12th track Bob performed, and again another big crowd pleaser. Very, very upbeat with the new drummer and slide guitar. Everyone in the house was dancing by this time. Bob and his cowboy hat couldn't have been in better company at this point. The overall sound was similar to country rock with this track I felt. And Bob's hat fit the bill. After this track, Bob and Co. left the stage. Bob and Co. returned for what I felt was one of the two highlight performances of the evening. When Bob laid down the 1st chord of "Like a Rolling Stone" I thought the house was going to come down. Bob had the crowd sing the chorus "How does it Feel?" and the crowd just went nuts. I actually thought that our balcony was going to give out during this performance because everyone in the hall was dancing and jumping up and down and singing. I could actually feel our balcony moving up and down. During this track Bob and security allowed a lady to get up on stage and dance with and around him. She didn't pass up the opportunity to kiss him several times while on stage. I'm sure she slept well that night. Another real crowd pleaser and excellent vocals by Bob. Bob and Co. left the stage again after this track. Bob and Co. returned for their 2nd encore and opened with what felt was the 2nd highlight of the evening, "Girl from the North Country". This was the 4th and last all acoustic piece of the evening. The only difference was that the man playing slide guitar was now sporting a mandolin. I personally enjoyed this track more than any other piece of the evening. Bob sang the lyrics with more emotion and meaning than any other piece for the entire evening. The arrangement of the instruments added to the emotional and delicate quality that this track took on. Bob displayed some intricate guitar picking during this performance that really added to the delicate mood of this piece. I gave this track two enthusiastic thumbs-up for the performance that stole the show. Quite a magical experience and a must see for every Dylan fan. Bob and Co. left the stage after this track. Bob and Co. retuned for their 3rd and final encore with "Rainy Day Women #12 & 35". Again, another real crowd pleaser. Especially since one of the translations of this piece can be about drugs. Lots of wacky tabacco filled the air that night, and even more so when this song was perfomed. This song had a very straight forward, bluesy style about it and a nice way to end a fabulous performance. Again, during this song there were 10-15 women on stage dancing and mauling Bob while he was trying to perform. Security seemed to allow only women on stage but a few guys found their way also. He was swapping a lot of spit by this point. Security basically threw a few guys off the stage about his time, no riots though. I have absolutely no complaints about Bob's performance or his choice of material. His new line up is excellent. Though his new guitarist doesn't seem to have as sharp of an edge as his previous one. His new drummer isn't as aggressive as his previous drummer. Though they are a very tight band. Bob did not play the harmonica at all the entire show. In fact, I didn't see it anywhere on the entire stage. Not sure of the reason. Hop it doesn't have anything to do with his health or breathing. Overall, Bob's appearance was well. His complexion looked very good and he does in fact look quite healthy. And his vocals are as good or better than I have noticed in years. I thank Bob for another magical opportunity to see his greatness. Regards.... - Richard H. Berns reedswtc@execpc.com
Subject: Milwaukee From: gerald spanbauer (spang25@uwosh.edu) Date: Mon, 11 Nov 1996 10:39:39 -0800 Organization: University of Wisconsin, Madison X-Mailer: Mozilla 2.02 (Win16; I) After hearing many negative reports about the venue, the Eagles Ballroom, and the quality (or lack thereof) of the sound there, my friends and I were pleasantly suprised with the arrangement and the sound. I attended the show with my friend Tim (this was our eleventh Dylan show, the first being in 1986), my girlfriend Karri and three other friends. Four or us had reserved seats in the 25th row, dead center in front of the soundboard. The other two bought general admission seats a few hours before showtime. Apparently they bought them in the nick of time because by 8 p.m. there was a "sold out" sign on the box office window. We were happy that the 3500 ballroom would be full. We caught part of the Kenny Wayne Shepard opening and, while an entertaining enough and an appropriate opener, I think KWS will be learning a thing or two from "the old man" about the blues. The set was full of great blues rifts but lacked feeling and emotion. The crowd was responsive to Kenny Wayne, but it was obvious to us that most of the crowd was on hand for the main act. The band and Bob all entered the stage together and we could immediately see "the white hat" that we have all heard about. The crowd responded with the appropriate standing ovation that his mere presence deserves. I wasn't sure how well "Down In The Flood" would work for me as an opener, but we were all pleased with it and it set a positive tone for what was going to go down. We noticed immediately that he was in terrific voice. I was a little concerned after reading a few months ago (after the Atlanta "House of Blues" shows) that his voice needed a long rest. I would go out on a limb and say it was the best his voice has sounded and the best singing he has done at any show I have attended. Wonderful J.J. leads to add to the excitement. There was no sign of any of the tension between Bob and J.J. I have read about. There were several of the side by side instrumental sections were Bob, J.J., and Bucky achieved the awesome three-part guitar harmony I have come to relish. Although my friends and I attended several Winston shows and were big fans of his sound in the band, it did not take us long to connect with David Kemper. His style and sound certainly offer a different dynamic to the overall sound and feel of the band. He reminded us of a player in the Ringo Starr, Levon Helm fashion of song playing drummers. Very appropriate use of the high-hat and tom-toms. We fell in love with his playing early! Personal highlights were "It Takes A Lot To Laugh." Tough, tight but loose at the same time. It was the first time we saw "Silvo" with the revamped arrangement and we approved strongly. There was a hint of "I and I" in the jam of the song which wetted our appitite to see it. "Tangled Up In Blue" was very similar to the BOTT version minus the harmonica and with perfect, extended acoustic leads by Bob. No sour notes here, crowd is coming to life in a big way. It's too bad some of the crowd couldn't shut up during "Lonesome Death of Hattie Carroll" because they missed a brilliant performance. It took us by pleasant suprise. "God Knows" is always a show stopper for me. The crowd did converge but we stayed put because it seemed like our view would be better where it was. Bob did allow us to witness the "I and I" we longed for and it was fantastic! From "God Knows" forward the crowd finally picked up on the enthusiasm Bob himself seemed to be feeling the whole night. If he wasn't having fun up there he should take up acting full time. He wanted to please the crowd and wasn't discouraged by the early innhabitions of the audience. The lighting and sound were much more "audience friendly" than any other Dylan show we've been at. I ducked out 10 minutes into "Rainy Day Woman" in hopes of personal contact with Bob and Band leaving the auditorium. There were about 30 other fans with the same idea, so I knew my chances would not be good. I saw all of the band members file out and onto the bus and they all waved and Tony gave a "thumbs up" sign. He must have been still excited about the kiss a girl layed on him during the show. Last but not least, Bob exited, towel over head, and the security tightened immediately. I walked along side the bus and gave Bob a "thumbs up" which he had to see, although I could not see into the tinted windows. When I re-entered to find my friends, I only saw smiles and heard positive comments. The was none of the anxiety that can sometimes go along with seeing a Bob show present, even among the casual fans. We also have 4th row center tickets for the Madison show on Wednesday. If the performance is anything like this one we will be asking Bob "When Did You Leave Heaven?" My girlfriend Karri is determined to get on stage and kiss Bob. I will strongly encourage her to do so! If anyone has a tape of this show please email me! Peace, Jerry
Subject: My Milwaukee Review From: (jknorek@msen.com) Date: 12 Nov 1996 23:06:44 GMT Victor Edmonds wrote such a great review of this show that I am hesitant to add to it, he seems to have a background in music and pays as much attention to the show as I did, but I still have my two cents. Okay, here we go... Kish and I took the train from Ann Arbor to Milwaukee. We were weary of being on the road after camping out in the Tennessee mountains for the Chattanooga show (which was really fun in it's own right), and decided to take the romantic, slow, relaxed, easy way. I recommend to everybody out there to take a train to see Dylan at least once. Pad the schedule in case the train is late, they usually are, and give yourself enough time to check into the hotel and wind down, maybe take a nap. Take enough cash for cab rides and restaurants and you'll be amazed how relaxed you'll be by showtime. The first Milwaukee Dylan fans that I encountered were among the most gracious people I have ever met. I walked through the door at Miss Katy's and was there not more than 2 seconds when a gentleman at the nearest table reached out his hand and said "You must be Jeff". He was going on the description I provided in my attempt to unload all the extra tickets that I got stuck with, and I do wish I could remember his name and the names of the people seated with him because they were all _so_ friendly and were genuinely out to have a good time and spread around good cheer. I am horrible with remembering names, and the last thing I do when I am meeting people for the first time is pull out my Daytimer and write them down like a cop would... Anyways, this fellow had some killer seats, and being a local music scene insider, he also had comps waiting for him at the box office. He kindly offered me his comps, which just blew away the seats that I had acquired through Ticket Bastard over the phone. I gave away my tickets to two young hippie boys who couldn't believe that I wasn't taking money for them (a note on the seats I had...the Ticket Bastard lady told me they were in the balcony. This was false. They were way over on the left side and out of sight of the stage. I felt bad about selling a pair to RMD'er Chris over at VOSTRANS@aol.com, but he had the good sense to bail on them and go where he could see the show. Chris met us at Chicago Union Station and had beers and cheeseburgers with us at the Billy Goat Tavern, and after the show he and his girlfriend hung out with us in our room...great fun was had by all). They were psyched nevertheless. And the seats that this stranger gave to me were third row over on the right side, about 12 feet from the right-side stacks, directly in front of them. I cannot report on the acoustics of the hall for this reason. It was blisteringly loud, and while we had to suffer through Kenny Wayne Shepherd with Kleenex stuffed in our ears, the tissue came out when Bob hit the stage. It was very, VERY loud. And we were lovin' it! The crowd around us were a mix of people, most of them drunk or stoned, all of them happy except for the poor soul in front of us. She wouldn't know a good time if it jumped up and bit her in the ass. People in front of her were dancing, and this was unacceptable (this during the opener, yet). I was dancing behind her, and this, too, was unacceptable. I have to wonder if this girl has sex with her eyes closed or something, she was _real_ uptight. Oh well, I had fun in spite of her. Her friend was bumming out at her bumming out at everything. At the end of the show her friend was dancing, much to her chagrin. Now I really need to rag on Eagles Ballroom. What a hole. Sure, it was probably really great in it's day, and the ceiling is really beautiful in spite of all the neglect, but with no visible fire exits it is a tragedy waiting to happen. Also, the lighting in the stairwells and the women's bathroom (this according to Kish) were woefully inadequate. I have problems seeing at night, and this was a real problem for me. I was surprised to see that they allowed smoking. This is not an issue with me, I can deal with second hand smoke, but it is a real problem for Kish, and so it winds up being a problem of mine. One advantage to a hall that allows smoking is that I can burn a joint and not arouse any suspicions of the local constabulary. But besides all of that, the show was GREAT!! Best versions of _Watchtower_ and _Silvio_ that I have ever seen. David Kemper has really come into his own since I saw him last week, he now has a feel for the rockers, and I noticed that the acoustic numbers are now played at a faster tempo than when I saw them last. I forget which song it was, but Dylan cued Tony for a change, who in turn cued Kemper. Kemper just NAILED that change, and without turning to share it with him, I noticed Bob smile a huge smile. At this point I am going to quickly run through the set list. I will paraphrase Victor's observations where it is appropriate. His remarks are indicated by quotation marks. Crash At The Levee (Down in the Flood) "I hadn't realized how well this works as an opener". And How! They came out and just cranked this with confidence. Kemper hit his groove early and kept it. >>> "Last year in Rockford Bucky reminded me of the Captain in Captain and Tennille -- sailor hat, big presence on the stage, lots of lead work. Tonight he reminded me of Garth Hudson -- bearded, hunkered down in the back, providing the foundation and the color". Last tour Bucky was clean shaven and dyed his hair blond. In Ann Arbor, Bob introduced him as "The man in the Red Coat". I didn't recognize him this time, but I recognized his playing. He's great. Tonight I'll Be Staying Here With You "Complete with sound effects on whistle blowing". The whistle-blowing part is new to my ears. Like all the slow ones, it was played with a faster tempo tonight. It still had that Country feel to it, though. All Along The Watchtower "Full tilt rockin. Crowd went wild. I doubt if this will seem like a great performance on tape. Though I thought I was immune to this song, I never enjoyed it more" I agree. I was about to get bored with this song, third one in the set and all, and they just sent this one onto the ionoshpere. Simple Twist of Fate This one deserves to be played slower. It is such a tear jerker. It Takes a Lot to Laugh, It Takes A Train To Cry "Where Winston would snap on the beat, this guy (David Kemper) makes you wait for it, makes you want it before it comes. Winston is a vertical drummer. This guy drums like JJ plays guitar, in long horizontal lines. Slow, full of hesitation, when the beat finally hits you can not sit still. No one does" That's bullshit (grin). Everyone around us was sitting down. I don't fucking get it...how can anyone just _sit_ there and intellectually absorb Bob Dylan? Anyways, Victor, you should have seen Kemper with Jerry Garcia Band. He is a great drummer for Bob Dylan. I cannot say this enough. As for the song itself, I told Kish and Chris that we'd hear this one 'cause we came in on the train (and 'cause I'm such a Train Nerd). Silvio "Rhythm based rocking adventure, a great one-two punch with the previous song to make anybody dance". You should have been in my section behind this girl who couldn't stand the thought of anybody dancing behind her. Silvio just about killed her. >>> "Rhythmic variety throughout. You would think this band played with this drummer for years. (Except they all look at him a lot..." That's because they, mostly Tony and Bob, are cueing him. It's fun to watch the dynamics onstage. Tangled Up In Blue The Classic Rock Radio Rockers finally had a song they recognized, seemed to losen up the crowd a bit. Bob likes to ham it up on this one, with those horrible Willie Nelson-style licks. The Lonesome Death of Hattie Carroll "A bouncy 12/8 waltz feel". Yeah, I remember thinking that it sounded sweet, not a feeling I normally associate with this song. >>> "The jelly faced women behind me were talking like Kenny Wayne Shepherd plays guitar. Jeez I can't find my knees. One sees me taking notes and screams into my ear "Are you writing down the words he's saying?" To Bob they scream "Everybody Must Get Stoned!" Bob quiets down, trying to get the audience in control. I expect to hear mumbling and "... if only you wouldn't clap so hard." They never get under control." And these assholes are the ones who complain the most about people dancing. They should just confine themselves to Bruce Springsteen shows... One Too Many Mornings This was one of the better songs of the evening, played real nice-like, although as usual by the time the acoustic set is ending, I am chomping at the bit to dance again, and get closer to the stage so as to not bother anybody by dancing. God Knows This song has become one of my favorite songs of the tour, in my favorite slot of the show (electric songs after the acoustic set). It really gets the crowd up and in a rockin' mood. Again, Kemper proved he can hang in there on the rockerin' tunes. I and I Bob really belts out the "I and I" part. Not my favorite song off Infidels (I'd rather have_ Jokerman_ or _Girl Like You_ or _License to Kill_), but I never think that when I hear it. I very much enjoyed hearing this one. Highway 61 "Bob pulls out a crowd pleaser to try to get the show back under control." Well, every show gets out of control then, 'cause he's been playing it at every one I've seen since May. Last song of the set. Down where I was, now about 18 inches from the right side stacks (getting really grilled by the volume, blowing my hair back), all the young girls who weren't allowed to dance at their seats were streaming down front to do so with all the other frustrated dancers. Way cool fun. A woman was screaming at all of us to go back to our seats so she could sit down. Actually, she continued to sit down while everybody around her was up and dancing and having fun. I just don't get it... Like a Rolling Stone More foaming from Classic Rock Radio Rockers. I really don't like this song, and am rather dissapointed that it is a regular feature in the encore(s), but tonight it was right on the money. The Grateful Dead would do that, too, ...play all the songs I didn't want to hear, but play them so well that I couldn't help but like it. Girl From the North Country "Bouncy acoustic with drums in 2/4 time. The whole audience bouncing. In the aisle a young teenage girl dancing to it like hip hop." Yet another sped-up acoustic number. For me, it totally blew the feel of the song. Clearly one of his most touching lyrics ever (same complaint about Simple Twist Of Fate earlier), and he makes a track and field event out of it. That said, it was fun. But I am curious why he came off with such a bouncy interpretation. Rainy Day Women "Big drum intro. Crowd wild. Not really a song but a fun soundtrack to the party that takes place." And it's getting to be like that everywhere. But then Dylan isn't crafting set lists for people who travel from show to show to see him. The band and the crowd seem to be having a real good time whenever they play this, so on that level I can't complain. But I'd much rather hear _Please Mrs. Henry_. 'Kay, that's my two cents. Thanks again to the kind gentleman who laid his comps on me. It really made the evening. You know who you are. Hope you had as much fun as I did. Jeff Knorek jknorek@msen.com