Bob Dylan 990703 in Duluth

Subject: Duluth Set List
From: Janetreid 
Date: 04 Jul 1999 05:16:14 GMT

Oh Babe it Aint no lie
Don't think twice  (with harp)
Masters of War
Its All Over Now Baby Blue
Tangled Up in Blue
All Along the Watch Tower
Trying to Get to Heaven
Stuck Inside of Mobile with the Memphis Blues Again
Make You Feel My Love
Highway 61'
Like a Rolling Stone
Blowing In the Wind
Not Fade Away

Dylan was really on tonight..  Joke about his girl friend that
was so conceited he called her MimI...

and about having been born just up over "that: hill...  Glad it
was still there...



Subject: Review of Minneapolis and Duluth
From:  kara50@my-deja.com
Date: Mon, 05 Jul 1999 16:50:26 GMT

Bob's big tour blew into Minnesota on Friday at Canterbury Downs
in Minneapolis and to Bayfront Park in Duluth on Saturday and
gave us a lot for our money.  The Bodeans are a really good group
and got the crowd going, Paul Simon the performer did a very good
job with fine musicians, but Bob the prophet came on and blew
them all away.  I wonder if it drives Bob's co-headliners nuts to
hear the reactions that he gets from the crowds. One of my
daughter's friends who emphasized that she came because of Paul
enjoyed him very much of course, but when Bob came on she said
"I'm going to cry", and proceeded during his set to continually
try to edge into my space.  I understood. I gave her as much room
as I could.

I always come away from Bob's concerts with a renewed affection
for the human race, because he sings directly about our real
struggles and somehow dignifies them and makes one feel empathy
for the human condition in general. I especially appreciated "Not
Dark Yet".  It seemed that no one in the audience moved a muscle
when he sang it the first night.  Bob's vocals were so clear that
I'm sure anyone who didn't already know the lyrics could hear
every word.  What an incredible existential statement if is of
someone older, no illusions left, facing his mortality, without
grace.  If that doesn't make you think, nothing will.

The second night he sang "Masters of War".  I always see the last
verse of that song as a good old-fashioned curse, which he seems
to renew every time he sings it.  I noticed that the audience
sang parts of the song here and there, but sang the whole last
verse with him - the curse magnified.  Hope it helps.

I love the way they do "Blowing in the Wind" - when all three
step up to the mikes and sing the refrain.  It gives the song
intensity and makes "the answer is blowin in the wind" sound like
a statement, rather than a dismissive comment.

"Highway 61" rocked and rolled, and I always like to hear "LARS"
- it reminds me of the bad old days. They did a great job with
"Not Fade Away", a song Bob certainly heard Buddy Holly do that
night at the Armory, which Bob possibly could have seen last
night from where he stood on stage if 1) it were still there, and
2) fog hadn't socked in Duluth.

Dealing with the weather took a lot of thinking in Duluth because
we were at the bayfront from 11am to 11:30pm.  Duluth oscillated
constantly between sunny and 80 and foggy and cool and some rain
and a cold wind off the lake all day long.  The bands were facing
the NE wind from Lake Superior when they played, which can't be
good for you.  If we're going to get quality bands here, the
Bayfront folks have to plan events there better and not crowd the
place with piles of dirt and carnivals and to learn never to face
the stage towards the lake.  Hello!!  Duluth isn't used to people
of Bob's caliber coming here, so maybe Bob could just come here
more often so that we can learn to get it right.

The other two songs from Time that Bob sang were "Tryin to Get to
Heaven" which was more spoken than sung, and "To Make You Feel My
Love", which he sings very gently.  I like it that the album is
getting lots of performances.  I think in concert I've heard all
the songs except "Highlands" and "Standing in the Doorway".

Everyone got a kick out of Bob's comments.  In Minneapolis he
said he had to 'get a hammer and hit the sack'.  This is the
quote from the newspaper about his Duluth comment.  "I was born
on the hill over there.  Glad to see it's still there.  My first
girlfriend came from here.  She was so conceited I used to call
her Mimi." I think, tho, he added, "She still lives in those
hills." I'm not sure about the last because we were laughing over
Mimi.

Thanks Bob for two great concerts.  Come back very soon.  We'll
miss you until then.

Anne



Subject: TOUR REPORT: July 3, 1999 Duluth, Minnesota
From: "Morris Z." MorrisZ@OPERAMAIL.COM
Date: 5 Aug 1999 22:53:59 -0700

July 3, 1999 Duluth, Minnesota
Tour Report
By Morris Z.

(Important: This and my other tour reports focus more on the whole
experience of attending the July 99 Dylan/Simon concerts, and less on
the music itself. You have been warned! :-)


The tour had already begun to take its toll on us, but we still
managed to wake up at a reasonable hour in order to make the 3
hour drive from Shakopee to Duluth. Another general admission
show, so we didn't have the luxury of arriving 10 minutes before
showtime.

We followed the directions given on the Ticketmaster web page, and
found the DECC parking lot without much trouble at all.  The show
was held in Bayside Park (next door to DECC), and when we arrived
there were about 25 people already lined up outside the entrance
gate. The line ran alongside the edge of a carnival, of all things--
and lucky for us because it meant that there were several nearby
porta-potties.  We've been to general admission shows in the past
where the closest toilet was only accessible by car, and so
difficult to get to when one's supposed to be waiting in line!

The line-up was very pleasant--some people brought lawn chairs,
coolers, and guitars--we spread out a blanket and read from Tim
Allen's *Don't Stand Too Close To A Naked Man*. It had rained in
the early morning, but by the time we got in line the rain had ceased,
leaving only the odd puddle, and there was a cool breeze in the air.

Everything was quite relaxed--there was ample space to allow people
to walk freely amongst all the little camps, and everybody had left a
strip--a yard or so wide--on one side of the line so that people could
walk to the porta-potties or return to their cars for food and other
supplies.

But some people took advantage of this spacious set-up.  A group of
three people who had just arrived spotted a 'free' space in line a few
camps in front of ours, and proceeded to claim this area for their
own.  The trio were challenged by the camp they had most directly
annoyed. The wrongdoers offered no defense, except that they knew
what they were doing was wrong and, with a shrug of their
shoulders, they said they didn't care. So this camp behind them stood
up and vociferously announced that the whole line should move up a
few feet to fill in all remaining gaps.

As more and more people cut in line, and the fruitless chants of "The
line's at the back!" died down, the more cramped our situation
became. It got to the point when even though everyone knew it was
*two* hours until the gates opened, we all stood up and scrunched
forward--it was either that or have yet more people push in front.

At 5:30 the gates opened, and there was a mad rush for the stage.
Maggie Z. and I lost each other in all the commotion, but were lucky
enough to find each other inside. There she told me what happened to
her:

   I'm at the turnstile, I hand over my ticket to be ripped, and
   start sprinting across the grounds, heading directly toward the
   stage.  The ground is soggy and muddy but I have my boots on and
   run straight through. I head for center stage where I find four
   people leaning with their backs against the guard rail, arms
   fully outstretched, standing a single armswidth apart (enough
   for one extra person in each of the three gaps).

   So I try to take one of the empty spaces. The two women on either
   side of that space tell me they're saving it for someone who is
   coming. So I stand back and try the next space over, but the two
   people on either side of that space tell me it's saved as well.
   I try the third space over and am told the same thing. Obviously
   this annoys me, seeing as it's center stage -- I'd lined up all
   day and people who hadn't even arrived yet were going to get my
   hard-earned front center position.

   This is ridiculous, I thought. So I return to the first space but
   now they start getting physical, pushing me away. There are four
   people ganging up on me, three women and a man. Ejected from
   this first space I try again for the second. But they are
   persistent, continuing to push me away. "These places are taken,"
   they yell loudly. They point to one side of the stage and shout
   to go over there. "Just give up and stay in the second row,"
   yelled the man. I tried one last time for the third space and
   then figured it was pointless and found a place by the far side
   of the stage.

It was at this spot that I was reunited with Maggie. The show was
absolutely fabulous, and we were ecstatic to hear our first live
"Tryin' To Get To Heaven."

After that song, Dylan looked up at the foggy hills to our left and
said,

   "You know I was born right up on that hill there. I was so happy
   to see that it's still there. All right. My first girlfriend came
   from here."

I thought to myself, "Good ol' nostalgic Bob, getting all emotional
about his hometown." But it turned out to have been a convenient
lead-in to a corny joke...

   "Yeah. She was so conceited, I used to call her Mimi. She still
   lives up there, too."

About half-way through "Stuck Inside Of Mobile," Bob began playing
a funny, climbing 6-note guitar lick before each line, with a
corresponding climb down lick afterwards.

During "Knockin' On Heaven's Door," Dylan and Simon continued to
play around with the new "You keep a-knockin' but you can't come in"
line, inserting it into the song at unpredictable points. Near the
end, Simon teased, "I hear you knockin', Bob!"  Then came the reply,
"I hear you knockin', too!"  They really looked like they were
having fun with the song!

I hung around after the show while Maggie tried in vain to get the
cue sheet. Comments about the concert from other attendees ranged
from "probably the best I ever heard!" to my own luke-warm reception.
In spite of all the pre-concert commotion, Maggie thought the show
was excellent.

As people began to leave, we heard a snap, crackle, and pop in the
distance. We looked up, and there were some beautiful and very
colorful fireworks! We watched them for a while, then made our way
to the merchandise stand to buy the highly desirable Duluth concert
poster.

Morris Z.