Review provided by Jay Meehan Paul opened, therefore I'll kick it off with the duet portion. I must admit I was a bit nervous for my Bob and his ability to pull off the duet section. Not to worry! Paul brought him out and neither appeared the least bit uncomfortable, and, from the first tentatively struck guitar notes it was "chicken skin" time. Bob was in a very understated black shitkicker suit and doing that "leg waggle" and I immediately understood all the Hank Williams references I had been reading. "Sounds of Silence", in that it brings back that '60s milieu of Dylan and Simon, is a perfect duet choice. The performance was beautiful! Living room pickin' at its best. There they were, Bob and Paul, sidled up close together, swapping verses, crooning imperfect yet super soulful harmonies, and, most importantly, demonstrating utmost respect for the material. And when Dylan grabbed a harp ("I found my harmonica, Albert") for a solo, it was, figuratively, electric. I'd been awfully anxious, make that impatiently excited, oh, let's just say I couldn't wait for the roots medley of "I Walk the Line" and "Blue Moon of Kentucky". Whew! I was enthralled. These boys flat out like their work and, seemingly, enjoy each other's company. Dylan's wistful "Knockin' On Heaven's Door" rounded out the duets. I didn't even have to close my eyes for Katy Jurado and Slim Pickens to reappear on that haunting landscape of Peckinpaugh's "Pat Garrett and Billy the Kid." The duet segment is indeed too short. IMNSHO they should expand it by at least a couple of songs. They are magnificent together. The teardown/setup of the stage went rather efficiently. It's, no doubt, quicker to disassemble Simon's and erect Dylan's than the other way around. The lights once again dimmed and, through a thunderous welcome, Bob and the boys banged out the intro to "Friend of the Devil." I figured we'd get it. We in the hills of Utah usually do, with the reference to that cave and all. Lyle Lovett gave us his version on the day Jerry died, and, even though I knew that Bob had left out "Stuck Inside" at Memphis, I expected FOTD. Dylan is such an endearing and idiosyncratic presence. He just exudes Bobness. And what a great band. Tony I remembered from a few stops "Asleep at the Wheel" made in these parts way back when, but the rest of the band were rank strangers to me. David Kemper worked out at a modest trap set from underneath a 10-gallon lid that, in the old days, would have put the beaver on the endangered species list. Larry Campbell, a long drink of water, sported a duster somewhat shorter than those cowboy raincoats you see around, and is one clean picker. Tony had that "slouching toward Hibbing" body language going as he draped himself over the 'doghouse.' he's one comfortable looking dude. And that brings us to Charlie Sexton, a subject of much discussion of late. His fans are all bummed because he won't be reuniting with his old mates in Austin and the rmders are all in a tizz over Bucky Baxter splitting and Sexton's perceived inalbility to fill them shoes. It appeared to me, however, that Charlie had absolutely no interest in Bucky's shoes and, in fact, stole off to Miami where he ripped off a pair from Pat Riley. It looked like he grabbed one of Pat's Armani suits while he was at it. Let me just say, even if they didn't play a lick, this might be the coolest band I've ever seen in my life. And that includes Miles Davis' group from the early '60s. Actually, Charlie looked very comfortable with what appears to be a role of rhythm guitar, sporadic harmony vocals, and the occasional lead break on the electric stuff. No doubt about it, he's already in a groove. "Tambourine Man" came off rather nice, I thought. Bob certainly didn't shove the vocal down our throats, but, with a new to me synchopated arrangement, gave it a great ride, including a quintessential harp break. There was a ton of stuff going on in "Masters of War." First, the picking was extremely clean, maybe even overly so for effect, and performed to a rhythm resembling march-time. The band even appeared to be marching, militarily, in counterpoint to the chaos of the subjectmatter. There was a macrocosm and microcosm going on that I'm sure wasn't lost on the Bobcats. "Hattie Carroll" moved into the #4 slot as Dylan drug ol' Zantzinger deservedly through the coals once again. He did it alone. The rest of the band didn't have much to do at all at that Baltimore hotel. Did I mention that Bob was in good voice. Extremely good voice, for Bob. It's like when Kristofferson once told Willie Nelson that he had lost his voice and Willie replied: "How can you tell?" Bob really did sound wonderful, and he gave great reading to his songs. Things started to get rockin' a bit with "Tangled." Tony may have gone electric here. Bob indeed took the lead break and included that "two note" thing. His harp solo once again embellished the whole. It's a style so personal and singular, and, like a Van Gogh brush stroke, immediately recognizable. Charlie, in his limited role, is still very much involved and digging it. Then, with minimal fanfare, the skeleton key is once again in the rain, sliding down the kite string, attracting lightning. Acoustic machines are now being swapped for those with more horsepower, at least for Larry and Bob. Sexton remains on flat-top. There is this sense that two riders are approaching with the wind about to howl. "Watchtower": Never has so much drama been created with so few words. Larry moves to steel and Charlie finally straps on something with potential. It's "Just Like a Woman" and this somehow seems very Dylan to me, having Charlie on acoustic for Watchtower and electric for JLAW. These guys are reminding me more and more of the Drifting Cowboys, Hank's old band. I'm sure it was more so with Bucky on steel and Larry on fiddle. Now you get one or the other. Larry can be very articulate and understated one moment, and, during bottleneck work, come on raw, brash and loud. He appears, at times, to be the very net over which the rest of the band performs. Charlie gets juxtaposed once again for "Stuck Inside of Mobile" (acoustic) and "Not Dark yet" (electric). I think he is a perfect fit for the band as a whole and Larry in particular. One can only hope a larger role evolves. I knew that "Highway 61" would be a showpiece and end the pre-encore part of the show, but I was ill prepared for the blistering trade-offs between Larry's bottleneck and Charlie's flamethrower. I mean it harkened back to Duane Allman and Dickey Betts. They were spitting out pure stuff. There would be no prisoners working the highway this time. Now take them two and throw in Bob, Tony, and David stoking the fire and, indeed, something is happening here. The boys flat bowled us over. The encore segment had "Blowing in the Wind" in the acoustic slot. Tony played one of those huge, cutaway, guitaron-looking, jumbo dreadnought bass guitars and the full-on acoustic effect was chilling. In as much as you never get the studio version at a Dylan show, "Love Sick" was pretty darn close. But as Utah Phillips used to say: "Good though!" "Like a Rolling Stone" was, well, like a rolling stone. Those around me, however, could probably have done with a little less vocal on my part. We got Buddy Holly and "Not Fade Away" to wind it up. From Hibbing to Lubbock. Once again Dylan brings it all back home. What can i say? He is THE MAN! I found this to be an evening of pure delight. Simon and Dylan were both better than I thought they would be. thank you Jay Meehan
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