June 26, 2011
Review by Bert van der Aar
With my friend Walter I started for a six hour drive to Hamburg, going up
for my twentyfifth's Dylan show. And a great show it was. Bob was playing
with great inspiration and fun. Tony(thank you for still going on) George
Stu Charlie and Donnie were playing a brilliant set. For me some
highlights were: Don't think twice, Things have changed, Cold Irons bound,
Tangled up, Highway 61 and of course a beautiful encore with Forever
young. Bob I hope you will stay forever young so that we can enjoy your
great shows for many more years.
Bert van der Aar
Review by Brian Steedman
Jenny and I try, since our retirements, to take in a minimum of one foreign trip
to see Bob each year. We have several times made two shows, in the same or
close venues, but the idea is to see somewhere new each year (like Bob) rather
than rushing from concert to concert. We want, therefore, interesting places,
with some history, a bit out of the tourist mainstream, and small, standing venues.
We have tried, till now, to get up front, and to make the rail. This is in order to
see close-up Bob/Band interaction, and to catch the nuances of song delivery.
This means getting to the venue early and queuing, sometimes in heat (or rain)
on aging legs, and lowering our refuelling standards. It can become something of
an ordeal, but generally is enlivened by a bit of interesting conversation with fans
rom everywhere. Bob people are generally very nice people, like the Leeds father
and three sons we met in Leipzig and shared a lot of beers with, and have kept
in contact with ever since. We get messages from the front line out of the blue,
and this adds to the richness of our life. We have listened to hours of Bobsongs
played on battered equipment as we queue, and been amongst brothers and
sisters of all races and ages. We got back to London last night and, after some
solid Zs, here are my thoughts.
There are downsides too ……. At Leipzig a while back, we were treated to the
very self-centred antics of a small and determined international brigade who seem
to send one of their number in at a very early moment in the day, secure the
front of the queue and take it in turns to hold it. Theirs is a military kind of
precision and, as the hour of engagement approaches they gather in number,
as though ready to make the final assault. They are single-minded, self-obsessed,
humourless and uncommunicatively rude. In some places, there are several
queuing points, and we able to avoid these people. At Hamburg, as the gates
opened, they pushed others aside quite brutally and dangerously in order to
create the diversion necessary to take possession of the rail. We arrived in their
train, a little bruised and shaken, and decided not to even try for the front. In
any case, they were already there, with their 'beach towels' spread out to take
full possession. We moved back and eventually found a good location, close to
beer and with a good view. I remember reading somewhere that Bob never
sings to the front few rows - they are always there and are not the people Bob
is interested in; at the time I found this difficult to understand. Now I see his
reasoning clearly, and we have decided never to try for the rail again, but take
a position further back, arrive a bit later, and relax whilst enjoying the ambience;
the self-centred have won, they think, their battle, but we have regained our
sanity. Perhaps others who tend to go infrequently are unaware that it is the
same people who do this, fanatically, concert after concert.
But enough of the negatives! This was one of the most delightful of events and
locations. The theatre is a natural bowl, rising back from the stage, and a mixture
of earth and grass. The outer limits of the stadium are hedges of about three
metres in height, with toilets conveniently outside, and beer tents place all
around and inside. Bob was about ten minutes late in beginning, and there was,
surprisingly some slow handclapping for the most consistently prompt of
performers. Despite that, I want to make my claim for this as a standout show.
The first number is intended to get things rolling and to allow for sound
adjustments. As such, Leopardskin Pill Box Hat is above average and it was
interestingly slow and rolling, with good voice and some great deep notes and
control over the rasping tendency. Don't Think Twice It's All Right was more up
tempo and engaged, and built in intensity, drawing a few whoops. The organ
was higher in the mix than last year, I think. Things Have Changed was
magnificent - wonderful vamping voice and great expression and phrasing; the
harmonica interludes were very atmospherically deep and 'Yiddish-sounding'.
I Don't Believe You was a similar, superb treatment - great tender phrasing
against a simple strummed backing with long line-ending notes. Beyond Here
Lies Nothing drove along with gusto and by now we were hearing the crowd
repeatedly add little whoops of appreciation at the subtleties of the interplay
between band and voice. Bob's guitar up in the mix, Charlie was playing solid
clever fills against lovely rhythm from Stu and back-bony bass from Tony.
To Ramona was a crooners dream in waltz-time, with Bob daring his voice to let
him down …… it almost didn't!! Then, Cold Iron's Bound: the third centre-stage
song, and a rocking stop-starting one, with leaping, echoing voice and lovely
drumming from George.
Tangled Up In Blue was the second standout, but there had been no
weaknesses so far. That beautiful intro was so in keeping with the nostalgia
theme, and the harmonica built on haunting slow delivery, and lovely ensemble
playing from the three guitarists. The great moments were the voice on
iLOOOOOshuuun and in the last, staccato verse. I will let someone else commend
Summer Days because to me it's filler, however it's done, and Bob knows that in
the way he sings it. It fills a gap to enable us to regain composure before
highpoint four: Trying To Get To Heaven with a beautiful intro, a haunting
yearning voice, and a lovely, developing, repetitive theme. After THAT you
needed to up the tempo, and Highway 61 Revisited did that for sure, building
repeatedly to a series of clamorous and jazzy/bluesy crescendos.
I go from place to place dreaming unsuccessfully of a performance of Visions of
Johanna and, when it finally came this time I had been so swept along by H61
that I didn't see it coming in its uncharacteristic arrangement. I am, of course,
so grateful to hear it any way, but I felt that it was a work in progress that will
have to improve to beat 91s versions. It doesn't have the space to expand into
like earlier readings - but still is THE masterwork for me. Thunder On The
Mountain is filler two for me; and someone else can speak on it's behalf - Bob
even mumbled through the first lines in pretend-speak! What can be said for it
is that it continues the jazz/blues interplay, and is a crowd pleaser. This brings
me to Ballad of A Thin Man, which was a standout last year and is, if anything,
even better now. Bob has got the gestures off well and the nuances he has
developed in his singing and harp-playing are quite amazing; the crowd was, in
fact amazed!! LARS was the anthem singalong we all craved after that, and Bob
wittily played 'I bet you can't keep in time with me', and we couldn't. I was a
better version than last year also; I gloried in the feelings, waving my arms about,
if anything, even more than usual. Similarly, All Along The Watchtower, retired a
few years back exhausted and weary, is back, alive again and grown into a living
breathing thing. And then, Forever Young was like a wonderful, prancing-pony
parting gift - and a thank you to us for being so appreciative (who says he's
unresponsive). I'll take my Bob the way he is, with all that wonderful loving
harmonica, rather than as a charmer.
Long review/quick summary: a GREAT concert with no weaknesses other than
in my preferences; even the songs I don't like much were performed well. The
band has grown, with Stu at last seeming to me to earn his fee and register
involvement, Donnie and Charlie playing skilled, subtle, unflashy stuff, George was
resonant and Bob drove the tempo with those weird organ licks. I do feel
concerned at the extent to which Tony has seemed to retreat, because he is
my favourite band member; if it is as some say his back, I wish him better, old
road friend. He winked at us once in Vigo, and we KNOW it was us; we want
him and George back laughing at one another. The audience was the last band
member and rose to the occasion. Small and perfectly formed (apart from those
who know who they are in the front row) it was generous and involved on a
warm midsummer evening; Bob saw this, said it was good, and gave generously.
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