Bob Dylan 981105 in College Park, Maryland

Subject: Re: November 5, 1998 - College Park, Maryland - Setlist
From: LoAndEd (loanded@aol.com)
Date: 6 Nov 1998 05:57:29 GMT

There were some mighty fine things about tonight's show.  Can't Wait,
Tambourine Man, and Every Grain, for starters, none of which is
typically among my favorites.  And the absence of RDW -- prayers
answered!  On the other hand, absolutely the worst TUIB I've ever seen
-- ragged, out of tune, listless, lurching among several different
rhythms, perfunctory, with an excrutiating "harp" solo at the end. 
And Bob sang, I'd say, oh, about 15% of the lyrics to BWMcT -- he
obviously forgot them almost entirely, and just cut the song short.
(Be interested to see the Cue Sheet for the post-acoustic, pre-encore
slots. Was EGoS a substitute for BWMcT?)

What's more -- and I know this has been discussed already -- it's
somewhat shocking how Dylan's desire to take the leads on virtually
every song has relegated Larry Campbell to an uninspired and
uninteresting  rhythm player. When I saw the band in DC a year ago
(9:30 Club), Campbell was obviously just starting to find his place,
but he seized the moment whenever there was an opportunity -- and
there were a lot more opportunities.

There were some great individual performances tonight; but I agree
with many of the recent posters that the band is getting a bit cliched
and hackneyed.  They must be exhausted; and the tedium showed from
time to time.  Perhaps it's a good thing that Saturday is the last
show for a while.

Marty L.     



Subject: Re: November 5, 1998 - College Park, Maryland - Setlist
From: Tagans (tagans@aol.com)
Date: 6 Nov 1998 13:30:40 GMT

It seemed that Dylan got thrown off on Blind Willie when Campbell's
instrument wasn't  functioning.  Dylan was expecting the riff after
the first two lines, it wasn't there, he looked over and the song went
to hell after that.



Subject: November 5, 1998 - College Park, Maryland
From: Peter Stone Brown (peterb@erols.com)
Date: Fri, 06 Nov 1998 13:42:31 -0500

Dylan's show at College Park was for the most part a high energy
affair with occasional, fleetling glimpses of the bone-chilling
intensity he is capable of.  Dylan is clearly having a lot of fun on
stage these days, and why not?  He certainly doesn't have to prove
anything at this point.  If anything he's trying to disprove those who
would say he just stands there and sings.  Constantly-in-motion, his
stage moves are an almost comic combination rock star guitar slinging
swagger and once again Charlie Chaplin, perhaps with a bit of Harpo
Marx and WC Fields thrown in for good measure.  After all this time,
his sheer presence is magnetic and riveting.  You don't want to take
your eyes off him.


Musically, thing were a bit speedy.  "Serve Somebody" roared to live
with Dylan singing in a shockingly strong voice.  The song rocked and
rocked hard, considering Dylan -- judging by his curious hair style --
looked like he just woke up.

A fairly speedy "I'll Remember You" followed making it even clearer
that he was in good vocal form, getting into his low scary voice on
the "Didn't I try to love you?" bridge.

Fairly typical renditions of "Memphis Blues Again" and "To Make You
Feel My Love" came next.  On all these songs, Dylan took every single
guitar solo which is unfortunate. Sometimes his solos are fun,
sometimes the three-note repetition serves to take the energy level up
a few notches, but too often they are just meaningless.  He has a
superb lead guitarist in Larry Campbell -- easily his best live lead
player since Robbie Robertson -- and he ought to let him step out
instead of hogging every solo.

The standout musician of this particular night was easily Tony Garnier
who was playing amazing, driving and intricate runs throughout the
night whether on "I'll Remember You" or one of the evening's true
standouts, "I Can't Wait."

The acoustic set began with an okay "Stone Walls and Steel Bars." 
This was followed by yet another re-arrangement of "Mr. Tambourine
Man."  It began at a moderately slow pace, and slowly built up to a
rousing peak on the last verse.  Having reduced the melody to two
notes, as only he can, he phrased those two notes to build and build
to a stunning climax.  However, this is a song that never needed to be
rearranged period.  The melody is one of the most beautiful Dylan ever
came up with the the original tempo perfect.  It would be nice to see
him return to it.

A brisk intense "Tangled" followed with Dylan really leaning into the
lyrics in a close to intense clipped fashion.  An epic song by any
standard it was made even more epic by two Dylan guitar leads and
finally a harp solo that started off very slowly and tenuously and
just kept building and building till he hit whatever it was he was
looking for and once he found it, he didn't let go.

"Don't Think Twice" started with Campbell finger-picking the original
"Freewheelin'" guitar part.  Sounded pretty cool until Bob led it back
to three-note-solo land, destroying the original mood, making what
could've been a really gorgeous version a typical one.

Then in a surprise move the intro to "Blind Willie McTell."  And it
was strong, and it was powerful and it was fine through the first
stanza and then Dylan forgot the words, and no he didn't get thrown
off by the guitar.  He just forgot the next line and it's too bad Tony
or someone couldn't have said to him "East Texas" and it would've come
back.  Then he went into the fourth verse or something couldn't
remember that did the part of the last verse twice and thankfully
ended it.  And it was too bad because he was actually singing the
chorus the way he originally wrote it "And I know no one can sing the
blues like Blind Willie McTell" instead of the Band's version "I know
one thing, no one can sing......"

What really made it a shame was the next song was "Every Grain of
Sand" which would have been an incredible one, two punch.  But the
McTell gaff clearly rattled Dylan and kind of let the air out, and for
a second we almost thought he'd forgotten the words to this as well,
but he pulled it out.  The momentum was gone however, and "Highway 61"
whether it was scheduled next or not was definitely the right move to
get the energy back.

"Lovesick" had kind of a strange beginning, but they pulled it out
with Campbell finally stepping forward to take a solo.  However, this
is one of the songs where Bob's solo like the one he took on the
Grammys really works.  Oh well it's one of the joys of being a Dylan
fan.  The one time you want him to take a guitar solo, he doesn't.

Bob still had some surprises up his sleeve as everyone was expecting
the inevitable "Rainy Day Women" and instead he pulled out "Leopard
Skin Pill Box Hat" in a way to make everyone think it was going to be
"RDW."

A moving "Blowin' In The Wind" came next with strong harmony from
Larry and Bucky following Bob's phrasing stretching wind.

Then it was back to the electrics for "Till I Fell In Love" and as it
was getting pretty late and close to midnight and we weren't sure
whether they were coming back or not, Larry seemed to think the show
was over -- but come back they did for a gentle "Forever Young."

It was a show more entertaining and fun than moving, but it was fun
I'll take anytime.
-- 
"I can't even remember what it was I came
here to get away from."  --Bob Dylan
Peter Stone Brown 
e-mail: peterb@erols.com   
http://www.tangible-music.com/peterstonebrown/



Subject: Review: College Park, MD 11/5/98
From: John (jcmart@maila.wm.edu)
Date: 6 Nov 1998 12:04:24 -0800

What a show!  After a 4 hour drive, we arrived just as Dave Alvin was
finishing. Since he wasn't advertised or listed on the Boblinks page, I
didn't know he was coming this far south with the tour, and figured that
we'd missed Joni Mitchell (based on recent reveiws, we figured no great loss).

some words about Cole Field House.  It's an old basketball arena with narrow
seats and no legroom.  I'm 6'2", and my legs were in agony the entire time I
was sitting down.  To my right there was a full-figured lady who couldn't
fit in her seat all at once, so her "extra cheek" wound up hanging over into
where my right leg should have been, and I wound up perrched precariously on
the edge of my chair with my shoulders pulled in and my legs pinned
together.  Not the way to enjoy a concert, so despite my views on standing,
i wound up standing thru Bob's first 4 songs simply because I knew sitting
thru the upcoming acoustic set would be hell and i didn't want to prolong it
unnecessarily.  The people behind me were standing and dancing/ gyrating, so
i didn't feel bad.  Thank god the people to our left cut out during
Tabourine Man, and our whole section could finally spread out, exhale, and
enjoy the show properly.

A bit after 8 the guy asks everyone to take their seats and get ready to
welcome Joni Mitchell.  So we do.  For almost an hour.  Grrr.  By this time,
I'm looking for things to hurl at Joni when she finally deigns to come out
on stage.  But eventually she does.  She opens with Big Yellow Taxi, the
only song I knew in her whole set.  Weird arrangement--just Joni and her
electric guitar.  Very odd, but sort of compelling.  She did another song
solo, then apologized to the audience saying she was sick and wasn't going
to be able to sing very well.  She did several songs with the band, which
were pretty nice.  The trumpet player was god-awful until the very end.  I'm
not into trumpets much anyway (don't ask me what you can do with your Miles
Davis records), but this was unbearable.  His tentative squeaks between
vocal lines were incredibly lame, but he semed to think he was being
particularly profound and avant-garde.  Oh well.  She did the cigarette
thing again, which prompted one of the balding boomers behind me to comment
"she's got a cold, and now she's smoking a cigaretted on stage.  And she's
surprised she's not singing well?"  My sentiments exactly.  Joni did one
encore, a solo electric "Woodstock," which was one of her better numbers of
the evening.  Very nicely sung, considering.

and then the main event...

   1.Gotta Serve Somebody

okay.  Not as good as I was expecting.  None of the wild verses either.  In
fact, he sang the first verse again to finish the song.  sound was a bit
distorted on this one (at least where I was, in sec Q row 2) but improved
rapidly.

   2.I'll Remember You

an unexpected treat, though not too unexpected since i recognized it within
the first 5 seconds of start-up noodling.  A far superior arrangement to the
more recent ones (and infintely better than the ghastly racket from 1991).
Beautiful singing and delicate phrasing.

   3.Stuck Inside Of Mobile With The Memphis Blues Again

nice!  Bob's vocal mic cut out during the last verse, so we didn't get to
hear about what falls on Grand Street or who likes to climb there.  it
kicked back in within a few lines and he finished the verse as best he
could.  From where I was i couldn't tell if he stopped singing when he
realized he wasn't being picked up or if he just carried on as best he could.

   4.Make You Feel My Love

I thought this was going to be Simple Twist until he started singing.  A
beautiful and tender performance.  No comments about Joel or Brooks,
tonight.  he did say "thanks everybody" after the first few songs, though.

5.Can't Wait

FUCK YEAH!  Much improved from the album version or the one he played at
Fairfax in february.

   6.Stone Walls And Steel Bars (acoustic)

Nice.  First time i'd seen this one in the flesh.  a neat little song.
When he was done, Bob said "That was a song by one of my favorite groups,
the Stanley Brothers" or something along those lines.

   7.Mr. Tambourine Man (acoustic)

very fine performance.  Huge crowd response.  Tony was playing acoustic
guitar instead of stand-up bass--is that standard now?

   8.Tangled Up In Blue (acoustic) (with harp)

Not a very coherent version of Tanlged, but the harp solo, though it started
off rather tentatively, really wound up being damned good.  Bob was getting
some juicy sounds out of that marine band.  To add the the posing he did
throught the show, Bob gave us the one-legged harping stance a couple of
times during this one, which made at least a few people crack up.  he really
looks like a goofball when he does that sort of thing.

   9.Don't Think Twice, It's All Right (acoustic)

very nice--good phrasing (like MTV Unplugged) but he wasn't getting to the
bottom of the slide at "all right" the way he used to.  I was hoping for
something more esoteric, of course, but this was still nice the hear.

  10.Blind Willie McTell

wretched.  Something went wrong early on, and it threw Bob off completely.
he sang the "Arrow on the doorpost" verse, "Woman by the river," and then
the last verse--"Gazing out the window," and none of them particulalry well.
Better playing than at Fairfax, but Bob really looked and sounded flustered.
I'd love to know the story on this one.

  11.Every Grain Of Sand

Sweet Jesus, I never thought I'd get hear this one live.  Very, very good.
Delicate vocals, sympathetic playing.  as they were noodling around at the
beginning waiting for the melody to take shape, i thought it was going to be
"I Still Miss Someone."  Much as I want to hear Bob sing that one, Every
Grain was probably better.

  12.Highway 61 Revisited

smokin'!

the stage rush finally started (a middle aged woman a few seats down told
her husband "look at all the children" referring to the horde of people my
age descending to the floor at the back of the hall.

At the end of H61, someone at the foot of the stage gave Bob a big bouquet
of flowers, which he caried off with him to the back.  as we were waiting
for Bob to come back out and start the encores, a whole lot of people
started waving their lighters, and if the hall was a little darker it would
have been like the cover of Before the Flood.

     (encore)
  13.Love Sick

Very nice.  The arrangement seems to be shifting a little bit.  More bouncy
than the 1997/ early 1998 versions.  Still my favorite TOOM song.

  14.Leopard-Skin Pill-Box Hat

unexpected.  Trina and i left our seats as this one started so we could hear
the remaingin encores from a point near the door (so we could sprint ot the
car and escape.  my car doesn't like being stuck in traffic in frigin weather)

  15.Blowin' In The Wind (acoustic)

good.  I got sick of the song a long time ago, but it's a nice arrangement
and Bob seems to sing it very well.

  16.'Til I Fell In Love With You

Ahhhhhhh.  Another great TOOM song.  that's the 4th of the evening.

  17.Forever Young (acoustic)

we ran out before this one started.  I love the song, but I love light
traffic more.  The current encore structure seems calculated to keep people
like me from escaping early like we could when shows reliably ended with RDW.

On the way south on the beltway and later I-95, we passed (and then were
passed by) one of the busses.  Not sure if it was Bob's or one of the other
performers', but it was one of the ones we'd seen at the venue.  Just in
case Bob was somewhere inside, Trina rolled down the window and blew kisses
at the it, probably much to the amusement of the driver.


wish you were there,
Dino
who'd love an excellent tape of this one, and suggests you check his tape
list (at the address below) and see if there's anything that interests you.

  "And though the situation still hurts me to the bone
   She's better off with someone else, and I'm better off alone"
           -Bob Dylan "If You See Her, Say Hello" (1978 rewrite)

  Bob Dylan, Janis Joplin, and Sippie Wallace at:
  http://www.geocities.com/SunsetStrip/Palms/3948/



Subject: College Park mini-review
From: Magee (owlnwolf@email.msn.com)
Date: Fri, 6 Nov 1998 15:08:59 -0500

Of the 7 times I've seen Dylan (1981, 1988, 1989, 1989, 1992, 1997, 1998)
this was the best I've seen- both performance quality and quantity. Dylan
usually takes 2 songs to warm-up, but he was on from the start with "Gotta
Serve Somebody." "I'll remember You" was a new one for me in concert, and it
was delightful. "Stuck Inside..." isn't one of my favorites, but it was
well-done and very lively. The next two were Toom tracks- Make You Feel My
Love and Can't Wait had more groove and bite than the album versions.
I was glad to hear "Steel Walls" live- I saw Dylan's second Wolftrap show
last August ("Steel Walls" was the night before- that night it was "Roving
Gambler"). "Mr. Tambourine Man was a tour de force presentation. "Tangled Up
was ragged but good. The harmonica solo (no rack-Dylan just holding the
harmonica and a mike ) were equally ragged but quite enjoyable. "Don't Think
Twice" was its usual delightful self.
     The harmonica seemed to take something out of Dylan afterward (maybe he
was light-headed?) He flubbed his way through "Blind Willie ( a great song I
hated to hear butchered) and seemed to start slow on "Every Grain of Sand"
 it seemed like he forgot the opening lines and the band had to keep playing
until he came up with something. Once he got it going, though, he got back
into the groove. Highway 61 was rockin' hard!
    The encores were Love Sick, Leopard Skin Pill-Box Hat", "Blowin in the
Wind" (this one has a new life and he sang it with passion), "Til I fell in
love with you" and "Forever Young."
     All in all a remarkable performance! Like last August at Wolftrap,
Dylan danced, smiled, and sang up a storm. What a great contrast to the
stand there and sing (sometimes just shout) I'd experienced in pre-1997
shows. When did Dylan decide to become an entertainer? It's so much more
rewarding to see his show (flubbed lines and all) when he puts so much
effort into what he is doing and he seems to be having so much fun.

             darkvandyls@yahoo.com



Subject: Reflections on College Park
From: Lovinmj23 (lovinmj23@aol.com)
Date: 8 Nov 1998 03:12:46 GMT

Stasia  wrote:

>Let me begin by saying that words don't nearly describe everything
>that went down tonight.  This show was simply better than any other
>one I've seen (this being the sixth, fifth in a yr and 1/2).  A review
>will be coming shortly, to go into detail.  There was no Silvio, but
>hey, it was alright.

>And NO RDW!  Oh my god, you can not believe my surprise when after the
>opening notes (which sounded close to RDW , LEOPARD SKIN starts up.  I
>mean, that just did it for me. The highlights included an enormously
>long harp solo on TUIB, oh, but the absolute best part of the show was
>Every Grain of Sand.

The harp solo on Tangled seemed like an exorcism. At the Grammys Bob
said, "The stuff we got will bust your brains out," well, he looked
like he was going to bust HIS OWN brains out during this "renegade"
harp run. He was working it so hard that he had slits for eyes, a
fully flushed face and Dizzy Gillespie had nothing on his puffed out
cheeks.....and boy, was it loud!!!

While the C.Park setlist may seem a bit "ordinary," it was one of
those shows that you had to be there to appreciate.  Dylan was so
upbeat and happy and appeared to be getting so much joy out of
playing. He certainly  "left nothing" on stage (much like watching
Jordan play hoops or Connors play tennis in the old days, for a sports
analogy) and I, for one, felt like he gave a terrific performance. 
His vocals were extremely loud and passionate and he sang with a
certain swagger that was enjoyable. While he may not have wielded the
masterful phrasing as much as some of us would have liked, he more
than made up for it with his unbridled energy and enthusiasm.

He ran into some difficulty during Memphis Blues when he started to
repeat an already sung verse. and he omitted 2 verses of Blind Willie,
but hey, 'dems 'da breaks. The performance of "Every Grain Of Sand"
was pretty incredible.  The 2 minute (seemed like it anyway) intro was
simply beautiful, and when I recognized the melody about a  minute in,
well,  I got "that feeling" you hope to get at least once when you go
to a Bob  show. I trained the binocs on  him from the 18th row (BDTS
seat) for the whole song and you want to talk about intensity and
focus, he had it in spades. . He was "alone" up there, so deeply
entrenched in the song and nailing it from start to finish with ZERO
hesitation. The "dying voice within" him was so alive, what a
rendition. After every line, he'd cock his head up and to the right a
bit, which I thought looked  way cool (probably had to see it to know
what I mean).

Anyway, the other "major" highlight was "Forever Young," which
featured another terrific instrumental intro (mainly Bucky on steel).
The old "warhorses" 'Blowin' and "Don't Think 2X" sounded as fresh and
relevant as ever. The H61 "getdown" was off the wall and frenetic.
What a romp!!!! Lotsa high school/college kids just gettin' off on it
in front of us and dancing like crazy (no, we didn't mind). It's 
worth mentioning that Bob's first words when introducing the band
were, "I'd like to introduce my band now - the best one yet......"   
Oh, another thing - check out those nice little guitar figures Bob
pulled off during "Can't Wait" and "Lovesick." I don't pretend to know
anything about guitar playing but his leads seems to be on the upswing
at times. Any guitar aficiaonados care to comment on that aspect of
his performances, please do........

lastly, for those disillusioned about the setlists lately, consider
this: College Park probably had about 12-13,000 people  in attendance.
How many of those 12-13,000 do you think knew what he played at the
previous show, much less were familiar with what he has been playing
at recent shows?  300? 400? 1000? It's unrealistic to think that Bob
or Tony makes up the setlist to please the  miniscule percentage of
folks who are "fanatics" like us. Sure seemed to me that the folks in
attendance were more than happy to hear Blowin/Dont Think 2X/H61. Yes,
it would be nice to get Born In Time, Tom Thumb, Desolation Row, Baby
Blue, Queen Jane, She Belongs To Me, etc etc more
frequently.........but I think we should simply be grateful that he
plays his ass off no matter what the tunes are and keeps headin' to
another joint.

Moe



Subject: Re: Reflections on College Park
From: Peter Stone Brown (peterb@erols.com)
Date: Sat, 07 Nov 1998 23:32:27 -0500

Lovinmj23 wrote:
> . and he omitted 2 verses of Blind Willie, but hey, 'dems 'da breaks. 

2 verses?  C'mon Moe, and I know that sometimes ANYONE can blank out on lyrics.
But the song has five verses of two stanzas each.  Bob never even did a complete verse.
This is what he sang:


Seen the arrow on the doorpost
Saying, "This land is condemned
All the way from New Orleans
To Jerusalem."

There's a woman by the river
With some fine young handsome man
He's dressed up like a squire
Bootlegged whiskey in his hand

I'm gazing out the window
Of the St. James Hotel
And I know no one can sing the blues
Like Blind Willie McTell




Subject: Toronto thru College Park
From: jo (johanna2@HOME.COM)
Date: 8 Nov 1998 20:55:42 -0800

Started out in Toronto with my 16 year old son and his best bud. 
Great show, Bob was relaxed, making lots of contact with the crowd and
full of energy.  Larry in what looks like black suede boots, Bob with
those white reptile skin loafers.  All I can think is that they must
be extremely comfortable.  Crowd loves Just Like Tom Thumb's Blues and
really goes wild on Tangled Up In Blue, is it just me or is this tune
getting speedier and speedier?   Nice to have the changes in the play
list, Every Grain Of Sand...lovely to hear live, I'm Not Supposed To
Care...nice surprise and we are in Lightfoot land here.  Great show
and then off to Ottawa.  Son and his bud say it's the best concert
they've ever seen.

Security dooms the Ottawa show.  By the end of "Hattie Carroll" Bob
appears to have lost interest, actually he looked totally fed up.
Security is threatening to kick people out, constantly pushing and
moving people.  "Watchtower" is back in its fave 3 spot. At the front
of the aisle I'm standing in there's a girl of maybe 18 and weighing
all of 100 pounds moaning "If you people rush the stage I'll lose my
job". Trust us Canadians to just stand there in the aisle.  Crowd
loves the old faves but it was still the quietest crowd of the shows I
see.  Quite a few big Joni fans, who leave after her set, nice to see
them out for her.  Am travelling with 2 friends, one of whom is seeing
only this show and I feel like apologizing for the venue.  Manage to
get a cue sheet which was difficult with the security trying to clear
the place immediately after the lights come on.  We head out and get
to the border hoping things will get better.  We hear that Bob had
crossed sometime in the wee hours and actually got off the bus and
signed some autographs.

Madison Square Gardens, and Bob appears to be more uptight than
tonight. Paul Simon with wife Edie Brickell and Jimmy Buffet, Whoopie
Goldberg and I'm sure a whole lot more.  Crowd loves Bob and MSG and
Bob is positively chatty and playing to us.  Joey gets a huge audience
response.  Gets really quiet on "The Times We've Known" 'till we
figure out it's a one off and try to figure it out.  All in all a
great show, security is better and we make it up a side aisle, seemed
a little short but then it's a union hall.

Syracuse, we get there early to pick up our tickets and hang around
and listen to some of the rehearsal in the afternoon.  Four buses are
outside, one purple and I get some snaps of them en masse and
individually.  Cops are having some poor guys car towed in front of
the lead bus and won't let him have it back unless he pays on the
spot.  We pass on the pre-show dinner but snag some menus and later
hear that only about 25 to 30 people attended.  This was a great show,
Bob was relaxed and really seemed to be having fun with the crowd. 
Surprised at the crowd, fairly reserved, couldn't get the sides of the
hall on their feet until the encore. (maybe Ottawa would be a good
relocation site for some of these folks) Lots of grinning, duck-walk,
knee bends from Bob.  For me Mama, You've Been On My Mind and Born In
Time are highlights.  I get fed up with the lacklustre crowd around me
and spend the last half of the show standing near the front.

Rochester, this ties with College Park as my faves.  Band has blue
water cups tonight, hmmmm, I only have red and get Larry's to add to
my collection after the show.  Tonight I realize that the white stripe
on Bob's pants is really silver hearts, diamonds, clubs and spades
running down the seam.  Must be his Roving Gambler pants I think.  Man
In The Long Black Coat is wonderful, doesn't have the same eeriness as
the studio version but I consider this Bob's greatest atmospheric
song.  And finally I get to hear Stone Walls and Steel Bars live,
great treat and I loved it.  It's All Over Now Baby Blue is lovely,
people around us are swaying and one couple smooches through it.  Lots
of audience contact and at one point Bobby is making his deep
concentration scowl and I mirror it back and he cracks up laughing. 
My girlfriend and I grin at each other. :)  At the end Bob high fives
a guy with a much longer arm reach than I have and we just about get
munched into the security rail. Great show and off into a rain mixed
with snow, ugggh!

College Park, another great show.  Before the show we walk around the
back to see the buses and it's freezing, one of the purple buses has
hot air pumping out the side and we crouch there for a bit and warm
up. One of the windows is open and we trying jumping up for a look see
but alas, nothing.  Course there's another purple bus behind a wire
fence with guys around it, hmmmm, I wonder. Crowd is young and very
much into Bobby, security is so lax during Dave Alvin and Joni,
there's gotta be twice as many people in the front row as there are
seats.  Joni is about 45 minutes late, turns out she'd been off to
Washington to see Billy Clinton (Now I figure Joni could hold her own
there :) and got stuck in the traffic.  Hey, the subway worked just
great for my friend and I! Crowd gets antsy, but not angry.  We decide
to take a loo break and get mistaken by security as being with the
show. After Joni we line up at the stage and ignore the attempts to
move us (One of the roadies says "Oh don't do that again tonight - but
of course they do) Security is ignored until they call in the big guy
who starts threatening to throw people out.  But the crowd breaks
through behind him and he gives up. Larry definitely had guitar
problems, it was cutting out and later something wasn't working with
Bob's harp or maybe the mike because he kept looking back to one of
the roadies during TUIB.  During the encores, lights were down pretty
low and Larry, waving to the crowd, walks off and bumps right into Bob
who's getting his guitar on at the back of the stage.  Same thing
happens after he next encore.  Bit of chuckling from the boys on
those.  Overall a great show, just load of audience eye contact,
duck-walking and knee bends.  Terrific crowd and the only show of the
six we were at where the posters actually sold out and people were
left wanting.  I manage to get Bob's cup, a red one tonight.  We
debate Rochester or College Park as the fave.

Sorry if this is disjointed, full of typos, or too long, but after
3600 K's of driving I'm wiped.  A big hi to Ken, Paul, Federica,
Peggy, Barb, Beth, Janena, Josh, Ben, and Andy.  Special hi and a big
thanks to Peter and Pete.

Anyone with tapes?  I've got lots to trade

The Redhead at the Rail,

Jo