Reviews

Los Angeles, California

Hollywood Bowl

October 26, 2012


[Scott Eisner], [Snufkin Rin], [Andy Carroll]

Review by Scott Eisner



Just when you think that perhaps Bob is mailing it in you get a show like
The Hollywood Bowl and you realize that The Never Ending Tour has great
purpose.  Although I had better seats in Santa Barbara the show at the
Hollywood Bowl was mesmerizing in many ways.  The opener, You Ain't Goin
Nowhere set the tone for what was a great evening of music from the
Master.

To Ramona was done with renewed purpose and challenged the audience as
usual to figure out The Voice of a Generation.  An amazing and haunting
Desolation Row in the 8 spot kept the audience guessing as to how this
creative genius can continue to reinvent himself night after night.  Love
Sick was haunting and chilling and Ballad of A Thin Man continues to grow
with power each and every performance.

Although many people on the bus back to Chatsworth after the concert did
not get Bob and his style, those of us who cherish the gift that Bob gives
us so many times night after night continue to appreciate and respect Bob
Dylan in this version of the Never Ending Tour.  Long live Bob!  Down the
road when I am close to the end I just want to be surrounded by one of
Bob's many versions of Desolation Row!

[TOP]

Review by Snufkin Rin



I went to the box office @ 6PM and found one Garden ticket was available.
It's a very nice seat but asking for $195. Wow, I had to think twice and
should I spend that kind of money or not.  Outside the box office, I found
a guy who's trying to get rid of his $55 plus the ticket bastard free
worth extra ticket and selling for $30 so I took it.

The show was.... nice.... well,  I liked the setlist(I know it's typical
Friday set for this tour.) even he did not play any new songs. You Ain't
Goin' Nowhere was kinda unexpected opener. Stu? started playing the
acoustic guitar solo and at the beginning, I could not tell what song was
it. Things Have Changed - I know everyone's praising the new arrangement
but I did not like it at all.  Loved Make You Feel My Love & Love Sick,
TOOM is STILL my fav of Bob Dylan album from 90s to the present time. His
voice was so clear on Desolation Row and it was one of the highlights of
the night for me. There's a guy sitting behind me saying his voice sucks
but he wrote such a great music.

At he bowl, they don't really check for the camera at the gate. I saw a
lof of people taking pictures but they didn't say anything or they
couldn't do anything about it. My seat was way far from the stage. it was
row 1 on T1 section, so it wasn't so bad at all. The sound system was
better than the one I went to the SF show. The stage light was so dark and
you could not see anything from the back. While he's playing All Along The
Watchtower, I snaked into the Terrace Box seat section and found four
empty seats!  It was pretty cool to see Bob on Blowin' In The Wind up
close.... well.. sort of.

I can't answer that the show was worth paying for $195 but it was worth
what I paid for.

Snuffy Rin

[TOP]

Review by Andy Carroll



Something happened at the Hollywood Bowl that doesn't usually happen at
Bob Dylan concerts and deserves mentioning. I don't know if it's been
mentioned on other reviews or message boards because I haven't had time to
check it out. But for the record, I'll give my eyewitness account, right
here, right now. Bob and band are just lining up right after "Blowin' In
The Wind," Bob's pulling on his curls a little bit like he does. Before
you know it, some crazy chick is up on stage running straight for Bob. I
mean she was quick. I was in the front row, at the rail, and she just
heaved herself over the front of the stage got on her feet and continued
toward Bob. He had a stunned look on his face. Bob's bodyguard, Baron,
grabbed her and carried her to the front of the stage where Hollywood Bowl
security shuffled her out right in front of me. Disappointed, someone
shouted, "that's the best part of the show." It was over in an instant,
and Bob was gone. I don't know how Baron grabbed her so fast. My friend,
Becky was in the third row and said the girl was running up the aisle
toward the stage, and the venue security went towards her but then just
let her go. It's possible that Baron saw her coming. I saw him after the
show as he was getting on the bus among a throng of people in the parking
lot outside the backstage area. I got close enough to tell him, "good job,
Baron," and he said, "thanks."

But let not this incident deter from an otherwise great show. This is the
third time I've seen Dylan at the Hollywood Bowl:  in '93 with Santana and
'99 with Paul Simon. I'll never forget the Paul Simon show. The celebs
were ubiquitous that night, mostly in the Garden Boxes. First one I saw
was Eric Clapton, whom I acknowledged, and he acknowledged me. A few days
later, Bob would appear with Eric on his Antigua drug benefit show. Jack
Nicholson was sitting with Warren Beatty. Woody Harrelson was drinking a
bottle out of a paper bag. And Dustin Hoffman, famously of "The Graduate"
with Paul Simon's "Mrs. Robinson," was dancing next to me in the aisles.
Rob Reiner had a better seat in the back row of the Pool Circle.

So on this night in 2012, Bob opens with "You Ain't Goin' Nowhere," and
whereas in San Diego he kept repeating the same lines, tonight he
remembered to include more words like my favorite, "Genghis Khan he could
not keep all his kings supplied with sleep." The second slot was filled
with the brilliant, "To Ramona." The center stage theatrics of "Things
Have Changed," and "Tangled Up In Blue" have become Bob's showcase songs
and the funnest part of the shows for me. Back on the baby grand for "The
Levee's Gonna Break," "Make You Feel My Love," and "Cry Awhile." Bob seems
to favor the modern songs, and they did not disappoint. Bob treated us
next with the fan favorite, "Desolation Row." I always feel lucky to get a
live rendition, and this was the highlight of the show for me. After
"Highway 61," Bob ever the mystic clairvoyant predicted the upcoming
"Soybomb" moment with "Lovesick." I never tired of that song even when Bob
played it nightly and am glad to get it now that it is a rarety. I was
glad too that the front rows were standing for the standard closers. I
stood for most of the show anyway, but there's always more energy when
people are up moving around, dancing, and this was the case during the
closing set. Besides, the steel, folding chairs are really hard in the
Pool Circle. A good, animated, "Ballad Of A Thin Man" deserves mentioning.
Bob has really developed it into an enjoyable show piece for himself and
his audience. Song and Dance Man indeed. The Vegas show was next on my
agenda. So a "Delia" review is forthcoming. Thanks, Bill Pagel, for giving
us Bobfans this forum!

[TOP]

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