Bob Dylan 990219 in Binghamton, New Yor

Date: 04 Mar 1999 13:45:00 +0100
From: happyjaq@confetti.ruhr.de (Carsten Wohlfeld)
Subject: February 19, 1999 - Binghamton, New York - a review

        Bob Dylan & Natalie Merchant
        Binghamton, NY, Broome County Arena
        February 19, 1999
        A review by Carsten Wohlfeld

Binghamton is a much nicer city than Bethlehem and Allentwon are. At least  
the part I got to see. Lots of old churches and new tall buildings, much  
cleaner than Bethlehem, too. While there my motel, the venue and the bus  
terminal were like 10 miles apart, in Binghamton bus, venue and the hotel  
Josh found for us (thanks!) were only three blocks from each other. The  
arena, like the one in Bethlehem was pretty small and so sold out, that  
they actually seated some folks behind the stage as well! Natalie kicked  
off proceedings at 8pm sharp and did the exact same set that she played  
the night before, which was okay, cause I loved it. This time, everything  
sounded even better and the audience definitely got more into it. Natalie  
really had a great time, talked to the audience a lot (during her songs  
even!) and did her funny dance again, a bit of Janis Joplin, a bit Ballet  
dancer, a bit of a pixie, a bit of a freak... quite a sight actually.  
During "Kind And Generous" there was a big stage invasion with about 30 to  
50 people, Natalie was so impressed, she did her dance again, this time on  
top of the grand piano! This time her set even lasted for 75 minutes and  
ended with the encore "These Are The Days".

It was 9.35pm again when Bob and crew took to the stage, who started once  
more this a very powerful, bluesy rendition of

        Gotta Serve Somebody

it was followed by

        Million Miles

which wasn't as good and playful as the night before, but still  
surprisingly good for the fact that I don't really like the song.

        Watching The River Flow

was pretty much excellent too and that's something that usually wouldn't  
come across my lips. I remember quite cleraly what a drag it was to see  
and hear this song in 1995/1996, but this new arrangement, rather similar  
to 'Maggie's Farm', really works and there were some hot, countryfied  
guitar parts courtesy of Larry 'n' Bob as well. The long slow ending made  
for a very nice contrast to the ridiculously fast rest too.

        Make You Feel My Love

was "Make You Feel My Love". As good as a Grammy nominated song gets.  
Haha.

        Stuck Inside Of Mobile With The Memphis Blues Again

had an extra nice Larry riff and went down very well with the audience as  
usual. Good way to end the electric set too. Even better than "Silvio"  
even though I doubt that we'll get "Memphis" for three years straight now.  
Wouldn't that be nice? I#m sure not only Josh would agree.

        Masters Of War (acoustic)

same ole song again with the spotlight on Bob, which made for a very nice,  
spooky effect. I noticed that this song gets a much more immediate  
reaction to the lyrics in the US, which alone makes it worth hearing.

        One Too Many Mornings (acoustic)

What can I say? There are very few songs Bob and crew always get perfectly  
right and this is one of them. Beautifully done, much loved by the  
audience, long intro, built up for the first verse. Nice!

        Tangled Up In Blue (acoustic)

the 'mind was slipping away' version that got even the last few people up  
and dancing. Two people tried to climb onto the stage, but security  
wouldn't let them.

        Friend Of The Devil (acoustic)


This is just a nice song when played in Europe or the Pacific region, but  
in the US it means a whole lot more of course. The Deadheads were close to  
tears.

        'Til I Fell In Love With You

Rougher, rocked harder, very loud and pretty convincing is how I remember  
this one. Sounded very different if compared to the summer '98 versions.

        Every Grain Of Sand

Yes! Josh and I had talked about the song earlier in the day and it was  
great to hear it again. Unfortunately, hardly anybody in the house seemed  
to recognize it though. And yes, he did get the words right as well. Josh  
thought it sounded better than usual, I wasn't too impressed with Bob's  
rusty vocal delivery, but still I won't complain when he plays "Grain"!  
Band intros were long, mumbled and supposedly funny. "We also would liketo  
thank the people in the back [turns to peopel behind the stage], they  
payed to see you [points at people in front of the stage]."

        Highway 61 Revisited

was "Highway", which is to say that it was cooking and a fun version if  
you haven't heard it a gazillion times already.

        (encore)
        Love Sick

One of my favorite Bob songs of all time, I just wish it would change more  
so it would be more fun to hear *every* single night.

        Everything Is Broken

Clearly the highlight tonight, along with "Masters". Killer groove, very  
loud, Larry and Tony renamed themselves Boogie Down Productions after the  
song had ended.

        Blowin' in The Wind (acoustic)

nice phrasing on the last verse...

        Not Fade Away

crowd: nuts, band: having fun. What a great way to end the show. It lasted  
100 minutes and there's no doubt on my mind that every single soul left  
very happy indeed. The Bethlehem show was *very* good, this one was even a  
little bit better. Maybe. Next stop: Lake Placid. Thanks for reading!

carsten wohlfeld