Bob Dylan 970808 at the Darien Center, New York
Subject: Another 8-aug-97 review From: Pinedogs (pinedogs@aol.com) Date: 9 Aug 1997 06:46:18 GMT Darien Lake In general, a typical show with some pleasant surprises. Sweet Marie, as expected was a fine warmup, but If Not For You set the show rolling. Passionate and flowing. It Takes A Lot To Laugh was unusual in its placement (it's tough filling Watchtower's shoes) but it didn't seem particularly inspired. The much anticipated Tough Mama, was a thrill having never heard it live, but I get this feeling it will gain strength with age as the boys get their arms around it. Silvio was Silvio. Hopefully it will follow All Along the Watchtower en route to rest and recovery. It's All Over Now, Baby Blue was the highlight of the acoustic set, great guitar licks and melody lines. Rest & recovery has really payed off for Bob with some very lucid moments throughout the night. Masters of War and Roving Gambler held together, but didn't set any seats on fire. God Knows suffered with the guitar overpowering the first part of the song, perhaps the acoustic electric transition caught the sound man napping. By song's end, things were back in shape. Another cookie was You're A Big Girl Now, very smooth delivery. For me it lost nothing with full band and slightly up tempo. And no night would be complete without Highway 61. Somebody hit the siren in the intro lick and it got me on my toes. Masterpieces are such because they always shed new light and LARS lit up the joint. What a silly question: How does it feel? Like 10,000 of your best friends are singing your favorite tune. Could be the fact that the guy next to me talked through the entire song, but I only recall 3 verses being sung. The night was complete when Bob pulled The Lonesome Death of Hattie Carrol from his bag. Try as I was told to hold back, my binoculars filled with tears as the bard spun this tale. The kids in front of us were perplexed and intrigued when I told them that this was true story. It brought it all back home for me. It's what we came for - a great show and a great story. Oh right, and everybody must get stoned. You can't go home without it.
Subject: August 8 Reveiw From: Bob Meyer (dyln61@ix.netcom.com) Date: Sat, 09 Aug 1997 01:55:05 -0500 Bob Dylan, Darien Lake 8/8/97 , 9:13 pm to 10:46pm. Let me start by saying that I have seen Dylan many, many times in the past 20 years or so. This is by FAR the greatest he has ever been. If you get a chnce to see him, DO IT !! I'll try to put into words what I have just seen. BTW, I dragged my lovely wife with me to the show. The last time she saw Dylan with me was in 1991 (Bob's mumbling period). First, the important stuff. Bob is looking fit and strong and singing better than I have heard in a long while. He was wearing a black coat (buttoned almost to the top) Black pants with some kind of braid thing up the side. He played lead guitar (Les Paul) on EVERY song except "Silvio" and Highway 61 Revisited." No Harmonica :-( Here We Go: ABSOLUTELY SWEET MARIE, Expected, but never imagined this to be such a rockin opening number. Sound is poor, but the crowd is going wild. (I know right away this is going to be a special night). IF NOT FOR YOU, This I didn't expect. The sound was adjusted and Bob's voice was as clear as I have ever heard. (crowd is going wild and Dylan smiles and predictable says "Thanks Every body). People are already dancing in the aisle's !!! IT TAKE ALOT TO LAUGH, IT TAKES ATRAIN TO CRY, Wow!!! To try to put how great this version of this song was into words would be impossible. Dylan is playing gutiar solos I did not think he was capable of doing. (our hero now looks like he is starting to have some real fun). TOUGH MAMA, I was looking forward to hearing this song. Sorry to say, this was the low point of the show.Something was amiss. Dylan singing either too slow or too fast for the band. To bad, it's one of my favorites. I don't remember it mentioned, but it seems the first two verse's of this song are different from the original. (couldn't make out what they were, but they were not the same). SILVIO, Crowd loved it, so did I, missed most of it, I had to go to the bathroom ;-) (Great solo by Larry). Very Grateful Dead sounding. IIT'S ALL OVER NOW, BABY BLUE, This started off sounding like it usually does, but much to my surprise Dylan once again plays an amazing guitar solo. I mean it, people are going crazy !!! (personally I am shocked, Dylan is really playing some serious guitar). My wife (non-Dylan spouse), is really starting to enjoy herself ;-) MASTERS OF WAR (NEW ARRANGMENT), This could be the highlight of all the Dylan shows I've seen. An amazing gut wrenching blues version that has people dancing in the aisle's again. (dancing to "Masters Of War ?? believe it!!) ROVING GAMBLER, Never heard this song before, but by the second verse me and my wife are singing along !! A great, great song. GOD KNOWS, This was a pleasant surprise. A flawless rendetion with yet another great Dylan gutiar solo. A real gem. (Bob is really enjoying himself). YOU'RE A BIG GIRL NOW, Again I'm surprised. A real nice straight forward Rock & Roll version. And yes, once again our hero is bringing down the house with his guitar work. (At this point, I'm starting to hope this night will never end !!) (Bob introduces the band) HIGHWAY 61 REVISITED, Okay, now I know things are winding down. I have to go to the bathroom again (these $4.25 beers are killin' me alive). But while I'm gone, my wife is laughing out loud saying I've just missed a great Chuck Berry duck walk move by our hero. (Damn it !!!) LIKE A ROLLING STONE, Very enjoyable. A little different phrasing and some real nice singing (Lots of smiles from Bob). LONESOME DEATH OF HATTIE CARROLL, I have never heard a crowd (maybe 15-20,000 people) get so quiet to listen to a song. I swear, I almost cried. A great Bob Dylan concert moment I will not soon forget. RAINY DAY WOMEN #12 & 35, usual arangment. I spent this time looking at the crowd (house lights went on). Young people, old people, middle aged people, black people, white people long haired people, short haired people, bald people, tall people, short people, and thought to myself, this is why I love Bob Dylan's music. Everyone had a smile on their face !!! Good night, Bob Meyer www.netcom.com/~dyln61/
