Bob Dylan 990500 in xxxxxxx
Date: 03 May 1999 16:29:00 +0100 From: happyjaq@confetti.ruhr.de (Carsten Wohlfeld) To: karlerik@monet.no Subject: may 2, 1999 - münchen, germany - a review Bob Dylan München, Germany May 2, 1999 Olympiahalle A Review by Carsten Wohlfeld Well, it was not only the last show of a month-long european tour, it was also the sixth show in as many days and that might explain why tonight was less than special. It was a very professional 115-minute show with a few highlights and about 8,000 happ y people in the audience, who didn't know that Dylan was way better at almost every show in Europe. It was apparent from the start that Dylan was tired and somehwhat bored and so it came as no surprise, that this was the sole show without any harmonica playing. The stage rush happened as soon as the lights went down and Bob and crew opened with: Friend Of The Devil (acoustic) which kicked off the show at 9.15pm and the best thing about it was Tony Garnier's outfit: He looked as if he had to attend his mother's birthday party and / or a job interview later: He wore his best black suit and a gray vest underneath - he als was s weating like a pig, cause this was definitely not an ideal stage outfit. Mr Tambourine Man (acoustic) Bob usually starting smiling and hopping around during the second song on this tour - not tonight. "Tambourine" was only average, maybe not even that. Bob didn't forget the words as he did in Ljubljana, but he mumbled half of them... Masters Of War (acoustic) was "Masters". Mama You Been On My Mind (acoustic) followed a long discussion between Tony and Bob and was give the usual treatment. Boring song, nicely done. Tangled Up In Blue (acoustic) Neil Young once said: "It's better to burn out, than to fade away". "Tangled" is doing the latter recently. It's All Over Now Baby Blue (acoustic) Gets slower and slower again every time they play it, which is very nice. Bob forgot some lines of the last verse and what he actually sang didn't rhyme. Not a very exciting rendition, despite some nice phrasings, I'm afraid. Bob also stared at the cues heet for about 15 seconds before the song and afterwards we found out why. They cut out one acoustic song and started the elctric set early with: Maggies Farm which was a litlle better than in Graz but still nowhere near as fun as the renditions on the US spring tour. Larry tried to do the "Girl Can't Help It" solo again, but it didn't sound as good as a few days before. Tryin' To Get To Heaven was a treat even though Bob played a baaaad lead guitar. Funnily enough he always leaves out the "sugartown" verse, the one that gets quoted on the stickers they sell. That's so typical for Bob! Stuck Inside Of Mobile With The Memphis Blues Again Lyrics less than perfect, nice phrasing on some of the later verses and the first smiles from Bob all night. I Don't Believe You (She Acts Like We Never Have Met) I don't like the song all that much, but tonight I enjoyed this performance, which must mean that is was *really* good, probably even the set's highlight. Bob put a lot into the vocal and actually dlivered a nice guitar solo, too. Not Dark Yet Has seen better days on this tour but still sounds way better than any of the '98 versions. Band intros followed. Highway 61 Revisited was another highlight tonight as Bob and Larry trade more and more licks each time they play with tune. Then they left... (encore) Love Sick Returned to the set and was played very slow tonight. Another highlight, probably one of the best versions ever. The hardly ever get the balance between the vocals and the music rigt, but tonight everything fell into place. Great! Rainy Day Women # 12 & 35 One of Bob's worst songs, played very, very badly. Do I have to say more? Blowin' In The Wind (acoustic) Was as nice as it gets, but it probably only sounded so good cause "Rainy Day" was so horrid. One of the few solid acoustic songs of the night, after a generally disappointing opening acoustic set. Not Fade Away was "Not Fade Away". Like A Rolling Stone Was a tad too slow tonight, but the phrasing on the first verse made up for it. Nice one without being sensational. So there you go, Bob's first euro tour this year is over, the shows all have been very high standard, even though it was funny to see that he never really managed to deliver both a great acoustic set and an equally nice electric set on the same night. O f the seven shows I've seen Ischgl was by far the most fun (and the weirdest, too), Graz had the best acoustic set you could hope for and Vienna was the overall best show cause it was solid throughout with a few real highlights like "Boots" and "Heaven ". Thanks to Gunter for all the driving and you for keeping up with my insufficent english. See y'all in Hartford this summer! Cheers & goodnight! -- carsten wohlfeld (happyjaq@confetti.ruhr.de) "i wish i was special - i'm just like you" (the cardigans)
