Bob Dylan 990717 in Camden

Subject: camden, july 17--- sorta review
From: tim weir  dougfoltz@YAHOO.COM 
Date: 21 Jul 1999 23:03:28 -0700
Organization: None

Alright. Im a little new to this whole "review-of
a-show-broken-down-song-by-song" thing so I just said screw it. 
The show was my ninth time seeing Bob, first time was at the
Tower in Philly in '95, back when all you could see from behind
the drums was Winston's poofy hair floppin' all over the place. 
Simply put, the Camden show was simply outstanding, not by the
setlist, but by the persona taken on by our man Bob.  When he
came out for the obligatory duet segment with the most
uncharismatic of performers, Paul Simon, my girlfriend (this
being her first Bob show) commented on how bored Bob looked.  He
was looking offstage, examining the neck of his guitar, and
looked worn-out.

With the first note of "Somebody Touched Me," I knew Bob was
simply anxious to start his own set.  I guess listening to
Simon's mixture of Bob Marley and Christopher Cross for an hour
and a half invigorated Bob and the band.  I dont remember what
everyone was wearing, but the attitude Bob had onstage is still
clear as day.  Bob simply sauntered around for the entire set,
whether it was while doing his little slide moves or walking over
to Larry to share some licks.  Bob acted like he fuckin' owned
the place, which he did.  Whenever he turned to pick up his
harmonica, his moves were deliberate and contained a perceptible
bounce.  After removing his guitar during either "It Aint Me,
Baba" or "Tangled,"  he grabbed the harmonica and then paraded
around to to Kemper's drumset, behind Larry, and waited a couple
of feet away from the mic before jumping in.

Im not sure if these stage antics are a staple on this tour or
not, but I loved every bit of it.  Hopefully, Bob is finally
realizing how important his self-described "job" really is to all
of us.  Anybody else notice this or was I just jaded from
witnessing Simon's torture of a set?