June 24, 2016
Review by Dave Moyer
On a beautiful evening for a show, an unbelievable band backed a legend, who
came out in very strong voice and delivered a solid and steady, if not spectacular
show.
"She Belongs to Me," the second number of the night, and a terrific "Tangled
Up in Blue," the final song before intermission, were by far the highlights, with
"Duquesne Whistle" and "High Water (for Charlie Patton)" not too far behind.
In what has become a standard set list, original Dylan tunes came from the
years 2000, 1965, 2009, 2012, 2012, 1975, 2001, 2012, 2006, 2012, 2012
1963, and 1997, meaning that seven of the 13 were from the last decade and
five were from his latest album of original songs, Tempest. Only three songs
from the "classic" catalogue, "She Belongs to Me," "Tangled Up in Blue," and
"Blowin' in the Wind" are a part of the current festivities.
This isn't a necessarily bad thing. The "Sinatra" covers, for lack of a better
word, really sounded nice. Better than some might have presumed going in.
But, the question is, when the band is this good, and Dylan is in such good
form, is it really necessary for a guy with over 500 original songs, some of
them among the best ever written (and performed live), to include seven
covers? This equates to 35% of the set list. A few less would have sufficed,
with less redundancy and more variety the result.
Bob has always done exactly what he wants, which is why he is Bob.
Certainly, he will continue to do so. However, when a stellar "Tangled"
arrived on the scene, concert-goers rushed the amphitheater from their
grass seats, singing and skipping with arms flailing, to catch glimpse of the
man, as he offered up a religious experience, revised lyrics and all.
(Note: at Ravinia, most people with lawn seats do not have a view of the
stage.) People continued to dance (you can dance to Dylan!) as the song
re-challenged our imagination with scene, after scene, as it has done for
41 years.
Then, Bob actually spoke announcing a rather extended intermission.
When he came back out, the second half of the concert resumed with
"High Water," but things began to fizzle. A Muddy Waters sounding "Early
Roman Kings" was decent, and "Spirit on the Water" is a fine song that was
delivered well. But with three covers and an unnecessary "Scarlet Town"
mixed in, people began leaving Ravinia in droves. By the time "Long and
Wasted Years," a great song from Tempest came around, roughly half of the
crowd had left. Anybody who was a first-timer who grew weary would have
been out the door without having heard Bob Dylan sing "Blowin' in the Wind"
as his first encore. Their own fault, perhaps, but also unnecessary.
Based on this experience, I will make a 38th trip to hear and see this man and
his band, but not if this is the set list for the next tour. Time to mix it up.
Additional notes: Mavis Staples was fabulous! George Recile might be the
most underrated drummer in the land. And, with no disrespect to Tony, Stu,
or Donnie, I can't get enough of Charlie Sexton's guitar playing.
Dave Moyer
lifeandlifeonly22@gmail.com
Review by Laurette Maillet
Chicago 24th of June 2016.
I arrived at 9 a.m. with AMTRACK, the american train company.
From Pittsburgh PA , it took 9 hours overnight. The train is a lot more
comfortable to sleep in than any bus. My AirBandB had been cancelled. The
plan B is to find a Youth Hostel. I found one, right downtown, walking
distance from train station and bus stops. The Ravinia Park is far away
out of town. Thanks to the development of Chicago on their train
transportation, there is a little train going there and ... back. I have
4 hours to spend before checking in. I take a chance to see Chicago by
feet. And I am surprised. Happily surprised! I have been in Chicago before
but I never truly liked the City. Maybe because of my state of mind at the
times. Today I am on my own and free, free as a bird. I discover a city of
high scrapers of all kind of structures and forms : stones or glasses. The
river is covered with red iron bridges of complicated conceptions. The
bright lights of the sun sparkles all ; stones, iron and glass. People are
thronging in the streets going to work or to leasure, dressed in summer
clothes, drinking cold to refresh. Chicago might be harsh in winter, but
in summer it is a pleasant city. At 5 p.m. I decide to move on to the
Ravinia Park. I know there is a Metra train going there but I don’t know
where to take it. I have different informations from different 'helpful'
persons but it get me more confused. At 5.45 p.m. I am still running from
one station to the other when a man (coming from Paradise I believe) take
me all the way to the station, help me to buy a ticket and put me in the
right train at 6 p.m. Thank you sweet Angel. Shortly before 7 p.m. I reach
the Park. And I can't believe my eyes. Hundreds of people are slowly
entering the Park loaded with lawn chairs, blankets, coolers, pillows! A
Picnic? Again? This is not my cup of tea as a Picnic is distracting the
attention from what is happening on stage. The show is just a background
attraction. I guess it is what it is for most of the Fans now a days. I
have no problem finding a lawn ticket. The pit is covered with numbered
chairs, for the privileged. Few hundreds protected by security and
surrounded by rails. I find myself a spot on the rail, on the right, but
the stage is far and the piano invisible. The rest of the crowd is on the
lawn , picnicking. Chatting about their lives and eventually remembering
Bob Dylan and his Band are on stage! Mavis is on. Delivering exactly the
same speech, night after night. I am so happy Bobby doesn’t play that
game. It could be seriously annoying! Nonetheless she puts on an inspiring
short show. Mavis is projected on 2 big screens, each side of the stage. I
doubt Bob will agree with his face on a screen. But what do I know? The
night is getting dark and Stu's guitar can be heard. To my big surprise,
the 2 screens are on, and a camera crew is shooting and projecting the
stage. Oh my! Bobby is on screen. But his face is shadowed by his hat. He
is wearing again black. Those dark pants with the white stripes. His
assistant forgot his beautiful embroidered suits? Is he in his dark mood?
"Things have changed" . The sound is muffled, and metalic. It will get
better with "Duquesne whistle " and on. "Duquesne whistle " is my
favourite tonight. The folks around me don’t recognize most of the songs
and start chatting on the Sinatra ones. A large part of the public will
move away after "Scarlet town" , the pit included. Again , I could do
without "Tangled up in blue", unfortunately the only one bringing reaction
from the audience. And "I could have told you" the least successfully
interpreted by Bob. No surprise tonight. This audience doesn’t deserve
it. Moving out I hear ; "we want the old songs" from people rolling out
the lawn chairs, the coolers, the blankets, the pillows, the trash plastic
bags and their... drunkeness. Why oh why, do they want to hear "a hard
rain’s a-gonna fall" or "the Masters of war". What consciousness? What
feelings? As for "like a rolling stone" ?? I seem to be the only Stone
rolling back to my Youth Hostel tonight. Thank you Bobby. I hope YOU had a
great time in Chicago. I did.
Review by Don Ely
And the air was thick with the aroma of potato salad.....
The June 24, 2016 event at Ravinia Festival was one of the more unusual
Dylan experiences I've had. Reaching my hotel after a tedious crawl
through Chicagoland along I-94, I drove the ten miles down U.S. 41 to
Ravinia Park. Their website stated there was parking for only 1800
vehicles, and as tonight was a sellout advised attendees to get there
early. Well, by the time of my arrival that ship had sailed the Great
Lakes. Ravinia Park is an older facility tucked neatly into a residential
area and nearby botanic gardens, so they supply overflow parking two miles
away in downtown Highland Park. Patrons are then loaded onto shuttle buses
and dropped off at the festival. Hailing from the Motor City and not the
Windy City, " This is not good ", I thought, to be at the mercy of public
transportation. But this being the Windy City and not the Motor City,
Chicago has it down to an art form. From the north gate the walkway opened
up to reveal a vast sea of picnickers. Every available inch of grass was
filled with lawn chairs and blankets, beer coolers and wine glasses,
portable grills and styrofoam plates, and of course food to be eaten and
the folks to consume it. They came in all ages, sizes, and ethnicities,
even more than at a " regular " Dylan gig, because this was a summer
dinner party! There were also places where food could be purchased,
ranging from the upscale to the usual dogs 'n' sausages, and an
establishment where frozen treats could be had to cool down on this warm
Friday night. Other buildings including a small theater were set
throughout the grounds, making for an interesting walking experience. The
stage was located within a small pavilion, and outside it's parameters
people stood several deep, so sightlines were not ideal except for video
screens mounted on either side of the stage. But that doesn't count, does
it? In fact the majority of attendees probably never even caught sight of
hometown girl Mavis Staples or Bob Dylan and His Band! The music was
excellent, however, as it was piped throughout the festival and served as
a soundtrack to folks' culinary activities. Bob's set was conducive to the
setting, and I'm sure the elders in the house appreciated the Shadows In
The Night/Fallen Angels selections, of which there six new additions since
I visited Bob last. A fine evening, I left a little bit early to grab the
shuttle and get outta Dodge, which worked out just fine. Gotta stay a step
ahead of Picnic Army!
Click Here to return to the Main Page |
page by Bill Pagel
billp61@execpc.com
Current Tour Guide |
Older Tour Guides |
Bob Links Page |
Songs Performed |
Set Lists by Date |
Set Lists by Location |
Cue Sheets |