October 23, 2019
Review by John C.
On October 23, I attended my 16th Bob Dylan show. This show i believe was
the best musically that I have seen. At one time I looked at the set
lists and probably had seen 100 or so different songs, Wednesdays setlist
included several songs I hadn't seen before. This also seemed like a well
conceived setlist. From the very beginning I could tell this was going to
be special with Bob on the guitar for the first two songs. Highway 61 was
clear of voice. One of my favorites was Simple Twist of fate that nearly
had me in tears, beautiful. I don't want to go through every song but
there was top notch harp playing and piano playing and poignant vocals
throughout. Trying to get to heaven, lenny bruce, girl of the north
country, and not dark yet all were special. The encore was attention
grabbing for its variety from previous encores, excellent renditions of
these two songs. Only a few shows into this tour but this band is tight
and are blending well. On a side note I took my 95 year old mom to this
show and she loved it, even “dancing” to ballad of a thin man. The
only other show she saw was 2001 in Sioux city Iowa, (check out the
reviews of that show, nobody believed me of Bob running along front of
stage slapping High fives).
Review by Marty Traynor
There are some benefits to seeing two Dylan shows in four days. One of
them is to observe how different the shows are. Different highlights arise
from different shows even when the set list is identical. For example, the
Lincoln show started strong from the moment the band stepped on stage,
whereas it seemed to take until Simple Twist of Fate, the fourth song, for
the magic to set in. But once it did, the aim show was full of highlights.
First and foremost, Dylan's harp playing is as good as it's ever been, and that
was showcased on Simple Twist. Then Can't Wait was performed in such a
way that it conveyed a sense of urgent anticipation, taking the song to
another level. Then Dylan's vocal and harp playing on When I Paint My
Masterpiece absolutely made you feel that he had already accomplished that
feat. I never thought I'd say Make You Feel My Love would be a highlight in
a Dylan show, but it certainly was in Ames. The strong performances
continued throughout, especially on Girl from the North Country and Not
Dark Yet.
As in Lincoln, the band benefited from having two exceptional guitar players
and Donnie Herron's violin playing made a great addition to the overall
sound. After the Lincoln show I was convinced that it was a top level
Dylan/band performance, one of the best I've witnessed. The Ames show
wasn't quite at that level but it certainly was a solid set, with some
outstanding highlights.
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