October 2, 2007
Review by The Little Neighbor Boy
The bard visited our fair city, infamously dubbed “the utility closet
of New England,” last night, with two stellar acts in tow.
Amos Lee was a stealth surprise, with his rock, country and
soul-influenced performance far exceeding expectations. “Skipping
Stone,” with its ethereal keyboards, channeled Ray Charles. The
blistering energy of “Raised by the Wolves” highlighted Lee's
mesmerizing presence, while he shape-shifted into a female soprano on the
prayer-like “Jails and Bonds.”
Elvis Costello exhibited extraordinary pluck and aplomb in his solo
acoustic set, at times approaching the bard in his lyric-poetic
intensity. Although I am not an acolyte of Declan McManus, I beg to
differ with my soulmate's plaint alleging a sameness of delivery.
Furthermore, he regaled with his anecdotes, including one about a chance
encounter with Arnold Schwarznegger, in which he imagined telling the
rugged governor 'tis a pity he could not be elected president, while
Elvis' American-born offspring could. As an aside, it was strangely
absurd to witness the “Shut the f--- up,'' exchange among overwrought
“fans” alongside me as Mr. Costello concluded “What's So Funny About
Peace, Love and Understanding?”
To wit, lady and I descended to the near-empty rear of the floor where we
could dance, shout, fart and make love to our hearts' content without
interruption. Well, almost ...
So the sage of the ages takes the stage with his band of
almost-over-the-hill hired guns. He's got a broad-brimmed riverboat
gambler's hat on and a black coat with a military look to it, with two
red stripes toward the end of the sleeves. Opener “Leopard Skin Pillbox
Hat” comes off as muddy, and from there the show flows up peaks and
down valleys, with Bob's almost-spoken vocal-style being a constant. The
set list was a sterling mix of the venerable, the obscure and the cheesy.
“Don't Think Twice,'' and “Watchin' the River Flow” represented the
best of Dylan's country and blues stylings.
“John Brown” was orchestral performance art at its zenith, melded
with a potent portrait of war's insanity. “You Go Your Way,'' was
rollicking, and replete with Dylan's harp trills.
The bouncy “Spirit on the Water'' is a crowd-pleaser, but arguably a
throwaway piece of irrelevance. As to whether Dylan's over-the-hill?
Let's be glad he's out there on the road, but to mi amore, he looked
gaunt and moved sparingly. And is his phrasing between instrumental
peaks the result of diminished vocal power?
That said, “Highway 61'' was a gloriously crashing display of guitar
interlock. “Ain't Talkin'” was an eerily symphonic, fiddle-enhanced
masterpiece. “Watchtower” featured Hendrixesque explosiveness
interspersed with tribal tom-tom beat drums.
Review by Cary Krosinsky
Well, I just don't know where to begin.
There are apparently times when music reaches a very spiritual place,
and this was one of those nights.
When you are surrounded by a great crowd, and ghosts are in the air -
have you ever seen a ghost? YES - they were very present at the end of
the magnificent version of Ain't Talkin this evening. Was it ourselves
coming back in time to rewitness what we had seen?
Because we didn't believe it the first time.
I certainly am not and was not capable of absorbing this show fully and
properly.
It's scary how good Bob is right now, but actually it's quite wonderful.
Do I try to do a blow by blow? Doesn't seem appropriate, really.
Suffice it to say that Bob got into a groove and a trance that I've
never seen before in about 50 Bob shows and by the end everyone was
glowing, few were applauding as they were stunned and awe struck,
skeptics became believers - walking out, you felt your mortality
returning. Does life go on as before?
From the great Beyond the Horizon, through the very last note, this show
reached a level, truthfully, of the rightly legendary Temples in Flames
tour. I know you won't believe that if you weren't there. But for
god's sake, get yourself to one of these shows, especially if your a
skeptic - saw them transformed before my very eyes - go to Albany - go
soon.
Denny was amazing. The band has become this amorphous thing - the
sounds are evolving in a very special way, creating a platform for Bob,
and he is clearly very excited about it right now, as his commitment and
focus was uncanny.
Watching the River Flow swayed with incredible energy.
John Brown was a perfect, silent requiem.
High Water was bizarre, twisted inside out - weird.
Most Likely was great.
but it all came together in Beyond The Horizon
Spirit on the Water never was better
Highway 61 high octane and very different than Bridgeport.
I'm reading the setlist, and I'm typing this, and I realize that
words aren't doing this show justice, so I'll stop now
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