Bob Dylan 970826 in Cuyahoga Falls, Ohio
Subject: Blossom review/thoughts on modern day BOB From: (usbe@usbe.com) Date: 29 Aug 1997 23:50:29 GMT Blossom review Disclaimer ->this is all opinion. I went to the Blossom concert after abstaining from reading ANY posts from rec.music.dylan and from checking out any setlists for 2.5 weeks. I was getting a bit jaded so I figured I'd stay away for a while so that the experience would be a bit fresher. When we arrived in the lot (me & 4 friends) we popped on a show from Glasgow 95 and swilled some good cold beer. After some time passed, a fellow rmd'er approached to say hello after we spotted his flower. We made small talk about the Glasgow tape and then he asked if I'd ever heard TOOM, to which I said "No way!, it's not out yet." He pulled a tape from his front pocket & we put it on. We were all stunned, shocked, blown away, in awe. The new album is downright spooky. Very dark, very intense, apocalyptic at times (no surprise there), and to top it off, the arrangements are beautiful and the instruments are very PURE sounding. No overproduction. VERY BLUE. IMHO, the overall feeling throughout most of the songs we heard (we only listened to the 1st 45 minutes) was desolation and sadness. Even regret at times. VERY heavy. After hearing this tape I was deeply moved and very much looking forward to the show. When Bob came on, he looked pretty healthy. Les Paul, new look. Larry Campbell looked pretty nervous and uncomfortable. Bucky seemed to be the featured soloist (that may have been due to the stereo mix->we were on his side of the stage 5th row -> tons of pedal steel!). Kemper & Tony were their normal solid selves. There were occasional screw ups on endings of tunes, but no big deal. This band is VERY country-western sounding right now. JJ was such a driving rock n roll force in the band that without him they now sound almost TOO polished and bland. Like a house band at a country bar. (I miss the days of 91 & 92 when JJ would be tearing it up & Bob would be giving him those sidelong glances, JJ smiling all the time just kept flying. time passes quickly!). Generally the band was dynamically static. They rarely brought it way up or down low in a song. Very few climaxes. Perhaps I'm being too harsh on them? Maybe they still need more time to come together as a unit. I don't know. Tangled Up was definitely the high point of the show. The band finally picked up some steam & were playing together as one. All night, Bob's voice was a little worn. You could almost hear fluid deep down in his lungs, but that could've been my imagination. He was in a very good mood throughout the show & thanked the crowd often. By the end of the night there were about 12 girls on stage and a couple of dopey boys. I think that had no guys jumped on stage, they would've played another 10 minutes on HWY 61 just to keep the girls dancin. Bob was flirtatious and happy throughout the jam. Plenty of hugs and goo-goo eyes to him and from him. Then the show ended. The strange thing to me is the dichotomy between the deep dark songs that he just recorded and the greatest hits party type atmosphere that goes down at the shows. (I know Man in Me, Wheels on Fire, etc aren't necessarily 'greatest hits' but the bulk of the show was comprised of his more popular material). He seems to avoid the heavier lyrical songs like Idiot Wind or ANYTHING from the gospel years and beyond. (I don't think he's touched I & I on this tour, but I could be wrong). Apparently when it comes to live shows, he doesn't feel like playing those types of songs right now. Overall the song choice is a little dated. Most pieces were pre 1972. Kind of sad considering he was playing 5-8 post 1978 songs in concerts in 1989-91. Hopefully he'll do small halls and feature the new album songs on the next tour? A big plus for me was that he did NOT close w/ RDW. Thanks Bob! Synopsis: Great new album, not a very dynamic band, Bob's in seemingly OK health, too few 1978-present songs, many girls on stage at end. Peace, Tom
Subject: FWD: Bob From: Glenn Cooper (gwcooper@MPX.COM.AU) Date: Sat, 30 Aug 1997 10:11:50 +1000 From the Neil Young list ... >I just saw Dylan on Tuesday night in Cleveland and all I've got to say is >go see the man. This was my sixth Dylan show in the last year and his >voice was dead on. I took some peole who were very uninformed in the ways >of Bob and one girl actually cried listening to Tangled Up In Blue. She'd >never heard the song before (she went because she's a Wallflowers fan) but >understood every lyric and fell in love with Bob. Just thought I'd share >one of the better concert experiences I've ever had. To all who read this, >have a beautiful day. > Mir Ali >
