Bob Dylan 980522 in Los Angeles, California
UCLA
Pauley Pavilion
Capacity: 12,700
Ticket prices: $86
Ticketmaster phone number: 213-480-3232
Triple bill with Joni Mitchell & Van Morrison
Subject: May 22 Set List/Review
From: spjohnny@earthlink.net
Date: 23 May 1998 05:01:17 GMT
1. Maggie's Farm
2. If You See Her, Say Hello
3. Cold Irons Bound
4. Simple Twist of Fate
5. Silvio
6. Rank Strangers To Me
7. Tangled Up in Blue
8. This Wheel's On Fire
9. Highway 61 Revisited
10. It Ain't Me Babe
11. Love Sick
12. Rainy Day Women
The show was about 70 minutes long, and the set list is from memory --
sorry for any inaccuracies. In any case, the whole thing was competently
dull. Nothing much of interest, though I did find a lyric variation in "If
You See Her" somewhat puzzling (assuming I heard it right): "Tell her she
can look me up if she thinks I've got the time." "This Wheel's On Fire" was
probably the highpoint, but it wasn't great by any means. After "It Ain't
Me, Babe," Bob introduced the band and said, more or less, "I guess we've
still got some time. Gotta make it fast." He seemed like his mind was
elsewhere.
They played "Hard Times" at the sound check (Bob wasn't singing).
We skipped Joni and Van, so Dylan may have come back out later in the
evening (even as I type this, perhaps).
Subject: Re: May 22 Set List/Review
From: Daniel Erickson (danielmiles@earthlink.net)
Date: Sat, 23 May 1998 01:02:37 -0700
This was the first show I've seen since the El Rey. It was a let down.
Maybe that means I should go tomorrow too so I can see Bob switch back
to the closer spot!
Subject: Re: May 22 Set List/Review
From: Steve Lenier (lenier@hsc.usc.edu)
Date: Sat, 23 May 1998 10:14:27 -0700
A let down? In what way? I was at this one, and thought Bob performed a
VERY solid set...as did the other two prople with me, and all those around
me...and Joni and Van were great too...
and one thing I loved was how much fun Bob was having. I've been reading
in here and elsewhere that he's smiling a lot these days, and he really
was last night. I was fortunate enough to be in the front row, and could
see every smirk and grin, and he seemed to really be enjoying himself.
Steve
http://www-hsc.usc.edu/~lenier/
From: MLutz77697@aol.com
Date: Fri, 22 May 1998 22:36:03 EDT
To: karlerik@monet.no
Subject: UCLA electric
I was sitting on the wall near the bruin last night before the
concert when this lady who looked like a man with a wig walked to me
with a sign around her (his) neck saying "105 year old Jewish man to
be here tonight" and instead of asking me for money gave me these long
thin candles and recited what was written on the sign...
Bobs' concert last night was the best of the 3 I've been to.
Souls were recalled. "Masters of War" was great to hear, and his Cold
Irons Bound sounded to me reminiscent of the free form jamming Jimi
did. Make you feel my Love was tender like Elvis. Rainy Day Women
struck me as spiritually relevent to Judeo- Christian struggles at the
Temple Mount today and his tribute to the Voice was elegant. Truly a
lifetime memorable experience. Again...
I hope Bob lives a long life like the Voice. He is the logical
extension...
Clay Kordahl, L.A.
Subject: Re: May 22, 1998 - Los Angeles, California - Set List
From: Absinthe (jrbDOLT@pacificnet.net)
Date: Sat, 23 May 1998 09:15:06 -0800
Great show... Bob played first again! And he played with happy feet!
His feet were everywhere and it looked as though he was having a good
time, striking more and more poses as the evening went on...
Highlights:
If You See Her, Say Hello, Simple Twist Of Fate, Rank Strangers To Me
(acoustic), This Wheel's On Fire and It Ain't Me, Babe (acoustic)...
This is LA... Diane Keaton was in the audience near me in section 203
And I never saw it mentioned before, but at the 12/18/97 El Rey show, Joni
Mitchell was front row center in the balconey, rocking the entire time...
you couldn't miss seeing her have a great time! Joni did a great set
herself, last night Ñ - very impressive... had the feeling of a special a
rare musical interlude... and the sound was surprisingly good!
Van seemed perfunctory, but then, I was tired... Looking forward to tonight!
By the way, I've not been to a show with such lack security in years...
I'm not a taper, but it must have been a taper's dream! Hint hint...
Anybody get my drift? ;-)
jrb@pacificnet.net
--
Remove DOLT from my email address before sending!
Subject: Re: May 22, 1998 - Los Angeles, California - Set List
From: JB (jball@ucla.edu)
Date: Sat, 23 May 1998 09:59:32 -0700
I was disappointed that Bob came on first. He played a great set, but it
seemed alittle short and lacked the anticipation of waiting for him
through the opening act. It felt alittle unnerving sitting down and
having him come on at 7:40.
As for Joni, she was okay, but her songs all sound alike and took away
from the up mood set by Bob. And her new songs..."Happiness is the Best
Facelift"? That one sucked! And she played WAY too long...I think she had
the longest set of the three (or at least it felt like the longest)
I thought Van Morrison was also great. He stayed away from the annoying
showbizy introductions last night, and he still has GREAT chops. Made me
wish that the concert had just been Van Morrison and Bob, with both
playing longer sets.
JB
From: Anna Lukey (s&alukey@xtra.co.nz)
Date: Thu, 09 Jul 1998 20:10:08 -0700
Has anyone heard Bob play recently? What are the songs? Are they
his recent ones or the older classics?
Subject: Re: Dylans latest concerts
From: Lloyd Fonvielle (navigare@compuserve.com)
Date: Thu, 09 Jul 1998 16:43:14 -0700
DYLAN WITHOUT TEARS
I'm glad you asked. I saw Dylan May 22 at the Pauley Pavilion in Los
Angeles (with Joni Mitchell & Van Morrison) and I've been thinking about
it a lot ever since. It was awesome and profound, and welcome. I saw
two of the shows from the Before the Flood Tour, and rank them among the
greatest artistic experiences of my life, but two sightings after that
-- from the Hard Rain Tour (interesting but messy) and the Tom Petty
Tour (a phone-in) had left a bad taste.
The recent show jolted me back to 1974 and just as quickly out of
it again -- Dylan commenting on the past, that period in particular,
reworking it, using it, leaving it.
I saw the show with my sister, and a few songs in she turned to me
and said, "Does he know what he's doing? I mean, does he KNOW?" I
said, "He knows exactly what he's doing." It's hard to translate
exactly what we were talking about (she's my sister, and we've known
each other a long time) but afterwards we summed it up this way:
In their sets, Mitchell and Morrison seemed to be saying to the
audience: this is my work, this is who I am, this is how I feel about it
(each of them mocked an old signature piece they felt compelled to do.)
In his set, Dylan seemed to be saying to the audience: who are you?
It was spooky.
He stared the set with "Maggie's Farm", exactly as he had started
the sets I saw in 1974. Then it was fierce, angry denial. This time it
was a shout of joy, of liberation. The whole tone of the '74
performances was fierce and angry, and no song was more bitter than "It
Ain't Me, Babe." This time it was a sweet, almost rollicking rockabilly
farewell: it ain't me babe, but it's o. k., nothing to worry about.
He did "If You See Her, Say Hello" -- the sadness was lovely,
something to treasure, and he changed a line at the end (perhaps he's
done this before): "Tell her she can look me up -- if she THINKS I'VE
GOT THE TIME".
He was dancing with ghosts, and seemed to be saying: I know these
are your ghosts, too, but look, they aren't so scary. So when he did
"This Wheel's On Fire" and came to the line "you knew that we would meet
again, if your memory serves you well" I felt he was looking right at me
(I mean, at his audience) and telling us to pay attention to what he was
doing. . . and when he changed a line in that song, too, to "just notify
YOUR next of kin" I knew he knew exactly what he was doing.
What's happened to Bob since the unremitting darkness of "Time Out
of Mind"? (He did "Make You Feel My Love" from that album. The
recording is hopeless in mood, almost pathetic -- live at Pauley it was
painfully optimistic and tender. [A cut from the night before at Pauley
is now posted on the official Dylan web site -- listen for yourself.]}
Was it the Grammy? Respect? Some sudden joy at realizing that
he's survived? God knows, but I hope the mood lasts -- if it does
you're in for a treat, a sweet dose of salvation. I've never seen an
artist play more powerfully and more eloquently with the secret bonds
between performer and audience . . . each dancing up to, and sometimes
across, a line that only the other can see.
