Reviews

The second night at Telluride was good.  It was a glorious surrounding,
outside in the Rockies with thunder clouds rolling over the ridge in the
west and some lightening, but no rain.  Rumors were flying that Clapton
and Dave Matthews were in town so folks were hoping they would be invited
on stage.  But not so.

Dylan looked relaxed, arriving on stage just ten minutes after seven in a
light tan suit with white shirt and string tie.   All the band were
dressed up nearly that much.

There was an opening acoustic set with a little harmonica on “Tambourine
 Man” which, as usual, got the crowd going.  He played it blues style,
straight into a mike rather than the way we are so used to seeing him with
holder around the neck.  Since this is such a crowd pleaser, it’s hard to
see why he doesn’t use it more.  After all, he closes with “Blowing in the
Wind.”

He opened the second set, an electric set, with “Country Pie,”
transforming it from the laid back version we know so well on Nashville
Skyline.  But then all the songs were transformed except for the one from
his last album, “Love Sick.”

As in several of the shows, the followed “Knockin’ on Heaven’s Door” with
“All Along the Watchtower.”  I doubt this sequence is by chance, since
AAWT portrays Christ on the cross talking to the thief.

The show lasted only two hours.  I was hoping for three.   I’ve seen him
do that, but then he  turned 60 this year.  He also did much less singing
and much more instrumental than in previous tours.   He did all the lead
guitar work on the first set and then started letting the other two guitar
players do some solo work after that.  He's still a little uptight about
his guitar licks I guess.  Dylan played a Gibson sunburst on the acoustic
sets, picking with confidence but not with any great style.

Not a word except for introductions of the band before a short break.  
And after all, he used to claim he started his career in music playing in
Colorado!

The crowd ranged from three to some over 60.  A good mix.  The usual
smells in the air, the usual good will and free spirit.  Somehow I can’t
help thinking that Dylan helps us all in ways that we  can never describe.

Stay forever young,
Bill King

    Wow! We have another show here tonight and are not rushing off to
some other city yet. What a concept. 
   My friend and I went walking around town after putting another friend
in charge of the line wait. We decided to walk to the gondola, and the band 
a crew busses were parked outside. (not Bobs). That made sense because we
knew the band was staying at a hotel down the street. Still, we thought it
would be a likley spot to see Bob wandering around, and joked about that.
It turns out we were totally correct, but a couple of hours early.
   After we did the gondola up the mountain and walked down, a little
later I went to hear  the soundcheck. I was watching and listening from the back
fence of the venue, almost 100 yards from the stage, with 2 other people.
A couple in their late 20's walked up and gave me this report:
   They had just met Bob by the gondola, right were we thought he would be.
He was walking with 4 bodyguards and no one else. There were a lot of people
around, but people were not rushing up to him, probably because of all the
stories that go around about him often rebuffing folks.Well, the people
who took the chance were rewarded, not rebuked. This couple each got an
autograph and talked to him for a second. Bob made a comment along the
lines of, "I hope it doesn't rain during the show tonight". He also signed
a guitar for a guy, writing very slowly and carefully so it would be a
good, clear signature. They walked on for a couple of blocks, stopping
here and there to sign and chat. The woman said he really seemed to be
looking for people to talk to. This was a walk around town to meet the
people, not to duck and run away. How refreshing to hear!
    We got a spot in the front row, right between Charlie and Bob. For me,
the perfect spot in any venue, and here we were in Telluride. I have been
in the front and center of many Dylan shows, but this seemed even more
special than normal.
  They came out at about 7:10; Bob in an off-white suit that looked very
clean and well-pressed, as apposed to his usual somewhat rumpled look. 
Hmmm.
   Roving Gambler was a great start, especially in an old-west town. Mr.
Tambourine man had a good little harp solo, and the show started to heat
up. 
   Around this time I noticed a photographer come out onstage. Not a
normal thing at any Dylan concert, to see a guy with at least 6 cameras who 
had access to the whole stage. He took a ton of photos of  Bob and the band
and some of the crowd. Bob was very aware of the guy and was mugging for
the camera here and there. At one point he went over to Charlie and told
him to move closer because he wanted him in the photo. It really was like
watching a photo or video shoot, it had that feeling. He took pictures
until about halfway into the show.
   Charlie was in a better mood today; at one point he was next to Bob,
smirking in his face until Bob cracked up. Good fun.
  I loved this show mainly for one reason: Shelter From The Storm. It was
so perfect it was unreal. After seeing a ton of shows and waiting years to
hear it, and always missing it, it here it was. Could it have been better?
No way. He nailed every line and sounded perfect. Never to be forgotten. 
    And then the rest of the show was just as good, in my opinion. Baby
Blue was great, and Drifters Escape was raging as usual, with Bob knee-bending
down to the stage during the harp solo at the end. Awesome.
   The only problem I remember was during Heaven's Door, when Bob's mike
went dead and you could only hear him from the stage monitors. (another good
reason to be close!) I had an instant bad flashback to last fall at the
Tropicana in Atlantic City, when his mike was dead for a song and a half,
and he kept right on singing. Luckally this time the crew was able to get
it fixed right at the end of the song, so the rest of the encores weren't
ruined. 
   All and all an amazing two days in Telluride, musically and otherwise.
Thanks to the local radio station that really made it happen, KOTO. Way to
go. 
   OK, enough....I've got to get to Vegas!

 
The town of Telluride looked magnificent as I awoke from my van parked
up the hill at an old abandoned silver mine. The mountains glistened and
the air was already crisp with the fall of Colorado in the air. My ever
faithful dog Candy, was already exploring the trees and the wonder of it
all. Dew was sprinkled over the delicate fragile wild flowers and the
rocks glanced a cold grey to the glorious sun. It was time to meander
down the mountain and grab some more Espresso and those wonderful
showers in the Town Park restrooms.... It was a rare treat to have a day
without driving to another town and another city to catch Bob Dylan and
his band. What better place on God's Earth than this town. It all seems
so unreal. The campground next door was filled to the brim with
makeshift camps to large RV's. It seemed a bit like something out of the
Merry Pranksters days and I half expected Ken himself to pop out from
one of the crannies. Everyone was having a great time, some were fishing
and some just shaking off the doldrums of the night before. I had stayed
up a little later than normal and enjoyed a few new tunes with my new
found friend Jeremy. Candy was ecstatic, just like a Brittnay always is,
by the friendly people abounding all over and some already at the
entrance for Tonight's show. The bridge area was beaming with people,
chatting and some playing guitars, and some, well, you get the
idea.........
I had an access pass to get inside today and spent alot of time just
walking around and meeting the local chefs and artisans who had tents set
up in the back. I had to get ready for the show and tend to my dog, so I 
caught the  soundcheck from the Van and waited, hoping the clouds
overhead would not turn to rain. Around 4 or so, I headed to the bridge
and the entrance area and waited until the gates opened. I have to
mention the young man I met today who was actually picking up trash and
the little wristbands people had discarded from the night before. He was
doing this for the radio station and a free pass to the show. The vigors
of youth, I was totally impressed. This is the kind of thing that Bob
misses and sometimes I feel sorry for him for that. It has to be tough
being a gypsy legend.........
Bob and the boys came on a few minutes later than announced, which is kind
of unusual these days. "Roving Gambler" seemed over before it started, but
"Tambourine Man" made up for that. A photographer was all over the place
onstage, snapping pictures of the Band, the crowd and of course, Dylan. I
was wondering if he worked for the production company that Penny Parker of
the Rocky Mountain News had reported in her column "On the town" about the
documentary being made about Bob by a company partially owned by his son,
Jesse. "Desolation row" was done to perfection and then a very well
phrased "This world can't stand long". They ripped through a very upbeat
"Country Pie" and then moved on to the highlight of the show(maybe the
tour itself) with "Shelter from the Storm". Absent from this version were
the rough and rapsy "Come in" lines that I had heard a few times before
this show. I found instead, a gentle and moving piece, a voice, and it was
perfect. The mountains seemed to smile back at Bob and the sun seemed to
take a small bow.
Then, just as quickly, they shift gears into "Maggies Farm", followed by
"Masters of War", and then back to a very genteel "Mama, You been". The
group was very together tonight, and the show was almost as good as the
night before. "It's all over Now" resonated over the canyons and all
seemed right in the world for a moment. "To be alone with You" was kind
of a set up for the next song in the bag which was "Tears of Rage". I was
happy to hear that one again as it was Boulder of last year when he
popped that one out. Then, just as he was beginning the second stanza, a
loud peel of thunder rang from the mountains and seemed to crackle
"awesome Bob",wow, another Dylan moment captured live and in person.
I was really hoping it would not rain, but not to worry. The show moved
along with a nice "Drifter's Escape" and then the first set finale
"Leopard Skin Pill Box hat" and all. The encore seems to be kind of
written in stone and they proceed to render a great "Love sick", then
"Lars", and again "All along the Watchtower" which seems to be the focal
point for guitar work of late.  "Blowing in the Wind" kind of wafts down
the stage and the darkness has far overtaken the day. Bob and the Band say
goodbye without saying a thing, and alas, the show is over. No one seems
in too big a hurry to get out of here tonight. The crew is already tearing
down the stage, and the long drive back to Denver doesn't seem quite as
long at the moment. It smells good up here. We sat beside bridges and
walked beside fountains. There ain't like nothing better in these here
mountains, and yes, there is gold in them there hills, the gold of Bob
touching the hearts and strumming the heads of the interested. Telluride,
thank you for everything, and God Bless..................................