Bob Dylan 971220 at the El Rey Theater, Los Angeles, CA
Subject: El Rey thoughts
From: Patrick Mead (pmead@PACBELL.NET)
Date: Sun, 21 Dec 1997 02:40:30 -0800
X-Mailer: Windows Eudora Pro Version 3.0.1 (32)
Hello everyone:
I've just returned from the last Bob show of 1997 at the El Rey in LA. I
was lucky enough to see the last three of the five shows.
For the record the opening acts were:
Beck (Tues)
Jewell (Wed)
Sheryl Crowe (Thurs & Fri)
Willie Nelson (Sat)
Willie brought harmonica player Mickey Raphael and was accompanied by Larry
Campbell and Tony Garnier. He did not join Bob; no "Pancho & Lefty" duets
tonight. Sheryl Crowe did join Bob Friday for Highway 61 (where she sang a
verse and played guitar) and Knockin On Heaven's Door (where she sangs the
ooh ooh's with Larry and played the concertina).
The El Rey is a strange and wonderful room, impossibly small. The LA
celebrity factor was huge, almost ridiculous with Jack Nicholson, Gregory
Peck, Eric Clapton, Ringo Starr, and many other VIP Bob-gawkers crowding
into the tiny balcony and trying to run in and out after and before the
regular paying public down below. The room has been full of Dylan-student
royalty too: Paul Williams, Bill Pagel, Lambchop....
The set lists are of course already public to Bob-cats. Some surprising
curveballs like Joey on Friday and I And I Saturday. Nothing quite so
curvy as Not Dark Yet, unfortunately. The 97 Dylan band rocks and just
about tears down the walls at times. Kemper and Campbell have really taken
things to a whole different level this year.
Of the TOOM songs. Love Sick was great every night. The others to me don't
work as well as on record. But I must say Saturday's performances of all
TOOM numbers were pretty special.
Oracle@delphi's posts about the these shows don't resonate with me too much
except those sentences about Bob's mannerisms as a penguin among guests at
a cocktail party. Perfect description, and Bob's looking like a very happy
penguin. Dylan is very animated and very confident on stage now. Those
of who venerate him and occasionally worry about him have reason to be
happy. At the end of a very important year he went out on a triumphant
note. Now to the long awaited Van Morrison pairing...
/Pat
mailto:pmead@pacbell.net
Tape trading pages:
Subject: Dylan - El Rey - 12/20/97 - Review
From: (alistaire@earthlink.net)
Date: Thu, 01 Jan 1998 14:11:07 -0600
BOB DYLAN @ The El Rey Theatre in LA - Friday, 12/19/97
The El Rey Theatre with it's audience capacity of 900 is a wonderfully
intimate venue. Again, I'm stage left, on the riser by the speakers,
and 18' from center stage.
"My name's Sheryl. I'll be opening for Bob". And with that Sheryl Crow
is into her 45 minute set including, "Heaven's Gate"; "Sweet Rosalin";
Hard To Understand"; "I Can Sing My Song Again"; Everyday Is A Winding
Road"; "All I Wanna Do". A remarkably versatile band. As is she.
Harmonica. Accordian. She does her job and the audience is clearly
primmed for Bob Dylan.
Bob hits the stage about fifteen minutes late.
The legendary 1) "Maggie's Farm", that started off the very first
Dylan electric set at the Newport Folk Festival years ago, opens
again. Is tis symbolic?
2) "Man In A Long Black Coat" is a first for this week in LA. He is
clearly into it. By this time Dylan has started a dueling guitar and
eye contact with the audience. He even does 'The Dylan Rush', at one
point, to the very front of the stage. The energy is up.
3) "Cold Irons Bound" and he is doing 'The Dylan Stomp'.
4) "Just Like A Woman" ... another LA first. Classic timing.
5) "Can't Wait" The audience is ready for a 'new' song.
6) Silvio
7) "O Babe It Ain't No Lie" (acoustic by Elizabeth Cotten).
8) "Love Minus Zero/No Limit" (acoustic)
9) "Tangled Up In Blue"
10) When I Paint My Masterpiece"
11) "Joey"
12) "'Til I Fell In Love With You" (encore)
13) "Highway 61 Revisited (Sheryl Crow joins in on guitar and vocals)
14) "Knockin' On Heaven's Door" (this is acoustic ...and again
with Sheryl Crow with accordian and vocals)
15) "Love Sick"
16) "Rainy Day Women #12 & 35"nned
December Setlists
