Bob Dylan - Bob Links - Review - 07/11/99

Reviews

Cincinnati, Ohio

July 11, 1999

Bogart's


[Joe Hollon], [Max Brzezinski], [Mark Rothfuss]

Review by Joe Hollon



I was lucky enough to attend the 7/11/99 Dylan show in Cincinnati.  Bogart's 
in Cincinnati was a very cool place to see an act as big as Dylan.  The 1400 
people capacity was packed in tight, and seemed to all be REAL Dylan fans.  
The coversations I heard around me were all Dylan related and the crowd 
cheered loudly and seemed to know (nearly) every song.  It's all general 
admission and my brother and I managed to be about 20 feet from the stage and 
a bit off to the right (from my view).  There was no opening act, so we got 
right to it when Bob came on stage at 7:50 PM.

Somebody Touched Me (acoustic) - this is the old gospel song he's been doing 
that I personally have never heard before.  The sound on this song was great 
and Bob's vocals were as good as I've ever heard.  I was humming this one 
well after the show ended.

My Back Pages (acoustic) (Larry on fiddle - Bob on harp) - this song was my 
favorite of the show.  Again the vocals were excellent.  The crowd cheered 
lowdly everytime Bob sang "...I'm younger than that now." This was also the 
first time I ever got to hear Bob play the harp in concert!  Memorable to say 
the least.

Desolation Row (acoustic) - I can't say enough how great Bob's vocals were 
especially on these first 5 songs.  Bob seemed to be enjoying the small crowd 
and really using facial expressions a lot on the songs.  "When you asked me 
how i was doing...(surprised look, one eyebrow up one down) was that some 
kinda joke?" Great version of a great song.

To Ramona (acoustic) - this was a great surprise! I love this song.  It 
sounded very different than any other version I've heard and took me awhile 
to recognize it.

Tangled Up In Blue (acoustic) - The crowd pleaser as always!  Everyone seemed 
to sing along.  The band did great on this one.  By far the best version I've 
heard.

Girl Of The North Country (acoustic) - Another first time live for me song.  
This song ended the best acoustic set I've witnessed.

Seeing The Real You At Last - Here was another surprise.  I'm not very 
familiar with this song but it sounded good and all that.

Lay, Lady, Lay - Bob wasn't short on surprises tonight! Nice song.  Again the 
facial expressions were key.  This was better than any live version I've 
heard, much closer to the album version.

Most Likely You Go Your Way (And I'll Go Mine) - Gee, what do you know?  
Another surprise!  Very faithful to the album version.

You Ain't Goin' Nowhere - ANOTHER surprise and a pleasant one at that!  I've 
always been a fan of this tune and was very pleased to get to hear it live.

Not Dark yet - Very glad to hear this one.  It's my brother's favorite Time 
Out of Mind song and has been rising on my list as well.  Very good, much 
like the album version.

Highway 61 Revisited - as always Bob uses this song to rock out on.  Very 
loud.

(encore) 

Love Sick - no pedal steel.  Instead Charlie used his guitar to make the 
effect, it worked but probably not as well.  Still this was a great song and 
I put it up there with any of the Dylan classics.

Like A Rolling Stone - I was very glad to hear this one.  I heard it at my 
first show back in August 1997 but the sound where I was sitting was very 
bad.  He did a great job.  Reminded me of the Unplugged version.

It Ain't Me, Babe (acoustic) - He played this one very slow and dragged it 
out for quite awhile.  Vocals were stil very good, as always with this show.

Not Fade Away - The only song Bob likes to rock out more than Highway 61 
Revisited is Not Fade Away!  The crowd loved this one and everyone sang and 
danced and played air guitar!

Blowin' In The Wind (acoustic) - Here's another one I've been hoping to get a 
live performance of.  Very nice version.  The crowd loved it and sang along.

The lights stayed off for several minutes making us hopeful of a 6th encore 
but we weren't THAT lucky!  Great show.  This was my favorite show I've 
attended with the February show at the Nutter Center coming in a close 
second.  Anyone seeing Bob soon is in for a treat!  -Joe Hollon

[TOP]

Review by Max Brzezinski



Bogart's in Cincinnati is a great place for a Dylan show: a small club with a
capacity of about 1,300. Needless to say, everyone felt very lucky to see bob
in such an intimate venue. This was my 5th Dylan show, and the first in a
such a small setting.

Show time was listed as 7:30, but Bob and the band actually came out exactly
at 8 PM, with  a strobe light providing very spooky effects. Dylan looked a
little fatigued, but very slick in his black outfit and blue undershirt.


"Somebody Touched Me" was pleasant enough, but "My Back Pages" got the show
started properly, and roused the crowd unfamiliar with the opener. Larry
played some very nice fiddle and Dylan played a nice harp solo, with was to
be sadly his only harmonica playing of the ni
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Bogart's in Cincinnati is a great place for a Dylan show: a small club with a
capacity of about 1,300. Needless to say, everyone felt very lucky to see bob
in such an intimate venue. This was my 5th Dylan show, and the first in a
such a small setting.

Show time was listed as 7:30, but Bob and the band actually came out exactly
at 8 PM, with  a strobe light providing very spooky effects. Dylan looked a
little fatigued, but very slick in his black outfit and blue undershirt.


"Somebody Touched Me" was pleasant enough, but "My Back Pages" got the show
started properly, and roused the crowd unfamiliar with the opener. Larry
played some very nice fiddle and Dylan played a nice harp solo, which was
sadly his only harmonica of the night.


"Desolation Row" was probably my favorite performance of the night: it has a
great groove, and Bob's singing was very tenderly phrased.

Other highlights were a sweet "Girl from the N. Country", a rollicking "You  
Ain't Goin' Nowhere," the always well sung as of late "Not Dark Yet" and a
truly rocking "Not Fade Away."

In "Love Sick", he sang the "feels like I have been ploughed under" lyric.

During the band intro, he introduced Charlie Sexton by saying: "Charlie
visited his cousin at the Hamilton County (in Cincinnati) jail today...
brought him a cellular phone! He almost made it to the show!"

"Blowin' in the Wind" was very well sung, with Cahrlie and Larry both singing
also on the chorus (as they did on "You Ain't Goin' Nowhere) and was a fine
finish. As he left, Bob picked up his white cowboy hat which he hadn't worn
all show from behind the speaker, parted the curtain, and was gone.     

Max Brzezinski
brzezins@ac.grin.edu

[TOP]

Review by Mark Rothfuss



        Last night's show at the ultra-intimate Bogart's club could best be
summed up as "The Night of The Eye Brows"....Bob's that is! However, before
I get into a review I would like to say hello to all of the other diehards
who arrived early in the a.m. to get a good spot in line. They know who they
are, and I want to thank them for basically being so cool! My brother and I
had a blast shooting the breeze with all of you. Just in case anyone is as
bad with names as I am, I was wearing the tie-dye with the "Concert for
Bangladesh" era picture of Bob. 
        So after a long day of waiting they finally let us in the door at
about quarter til seven. I for one bolted towards the stage and reserved my
first row, right/center position. Bob and band appeared on stage, after what
seemed like an eternity, at around eight. With the strobe lights on
overdrive I could make out Bob's legendary figure perfectly and he looked
great! Black suit, black cowboy boots, white belt, and a satin blue shirt
which seemed to have some sort of nautical pattern on it. His hair was big
and his over all appearance was as youthful and vital as it has ever been.
Ive been first row several times, but this stage was so tiny that he was
literally standing in front of me. I could see the intense blue of his eyes
clearly and dramatically. He opened with the sublime new cover "Somebody
Touched Me." It was by no means a soundcheck song, they were on top of it
from the get go. Already Bob was hamming it up, his facial expression would
turn from "I just woke up and im pissed" to "I just had some Ginseng with my
50th cup of coffee excited," in a matter of words. Next he pulled out "My
Back Pages!" Can I have an AMEN??! Wow, he was wrapping his mouth around
every single syllable in the way that only Bob can....and then of course, we
got a lovely and piping harmonica break. From this song on, whenever Bob
sung an acoustic song he would raise his eyebrows and squint his eyes. I am
certain that he can do more with the slightest facial twitch than any one
else could do with a full scale movement parade (a la Mick Jagger). In any
event, I still got chills. For our next suprise, a very deliberate and
direct runthrough of Desolation Row....good job on the lyrics and good job
on the singing. But excellent job on guitar! It was nice to see again, but
To Ramona really took me by surprise. Really nice guitar work here on the
part of Mr. Dylan. Lots of little country two steps and marching too. I
think Larry played mandolin on this tune. Now we move into the easily
recongnized intro of TUIB. As with most fans I think this song has lost
something in its arrangement with the new band...but it still rocks! Now,
whats this? He keeps his acoustic guitar strapped on??? As if we were not
lucky enough, Bob gives us "Girl of the North Country" to ensure we will
never forget tonight. Sung delicately and perfectly, it was another among
many high points. 

        Next, Bob plugs in his fender. Ok, I hear a riff...but no, it cant
be! Can it? Yup, Bob pulled out a rock, rock, rock, ROCKIN' rendition of
"Seeing the Real You at Last." He was splitting his feet and bending at the
knees and singing like a hell cat! The look on his and band's face looked as
though they were just as surprised to be playing it as we were to hear it.
In this tiny little bar I thought that I was seeing the real Bob at last. By
the way, now would be a good time to mention that Bob and the band
interacted a lot tonight. An unusual degree of in between song joking,
talking and even hugging (Bob hugged Charlie). Then we got a rough and
somewhat harsh Lay Lady Lay...but it worked well in this intimate venue. It
became a different song...very little tenderness...more silliness and irony.
Oh, the faces he made! Moving on....we were treated to a radically reworked
and beautifully chaotic "Most Likely You go your way" of which its greatness
resided in the near formless nature of the arrangement. It also ROCKED OUT!
The next 3 songs were all great and pretty similar to most other recent
recordings Ive heard. Nice back up singing on "You Aint Goin Nowhere," made
it fairly memorable..plus some new words??? "Love Sick" was the first
encore, I think, and it sounds better than ever. I love the new guitar
arrangement. It is so menacing and overwhelming! Bob really nailed the
"spooky" voice. Next we got a nice, at times unfocused, but very loud
version of "LARS." I wasnt in to it much until the last chorus, then Bob
broke it open and wailed out the "Howwww Duz it FEEEEEEEL! 
        After the lovingly loud cheers died down Bob reemerged with his
gibson acoustic and played a near perfect, but ordinary, "It Aint Me Babe."
By ordinary I simply mean, same arrangement as usual. I thought we were
done, but Bob just switched guitars again and ripped into a VERY SOLID "Not
Fade Away!" I like it better with Charlie on guitar. Vocals sucked as
always, (high and nasal) but isnt that what makes this song great, live?
After nearly 2 hours of chaotic, rough, formless, spontaneous, brilliant,
touching, inspired, unrehearsed, perfect history making live performance Bob
closed with a very sweet "Blowin in the Wind!" Nobody wanted to leave, but
nobody went home unsatisfied. Of the 21 Dylan shows ive been to in the last
3-4 years this was by far and away the best. And that is saying something
considering I have loved every one. What a surreal experience! I am born a
new, I know with certainty that Mr. Dylan is the most important human being
who ever lived, or ever will! 

Yours in Bob,
Mark Rothfuss

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