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Review by Kevin Yenerall
A report on the road from Dayton, Ohio... Let me start off by saying BLIND
WILLIE McTELL! OK, now let me get my bearings, here... This was my 19th
Dylan concert (my first show was the True Confessions Tour of 1986), and it
was easily in the top 5 or so. Campbell, Garnier, Baxter, and Kemper's (and
Dylan's) playing was definitely near perfect. Awesome, in fact. Reckless
abandon bluegrass hoedown during TANGLED UP IN BLUE; rocking,
call-and-response gospel blues during the opening GOTTA SERVE SOMEBODY;
spooky, melancholy in LOVE SICK; rollicking rockabilly in the show closer,
Buddy Holly's NOT FADE AWAY; and more, more, and more... the 4,000 or so
who showed up at the Nutter Center last evening were treated to a
tremendous concert.
In short, Dylan's performance was impassioned and energetic; powerful
singing and phrasing, and classic Dylan vocal inflection on many of the
songs.(Dylan devotees and fanatics out there, you'll know what I mean.)
Alongside Pittsburgh 1994, Pittsburgh 1989, Louisville 1996, Dayton 1997
and New York City 1998, this Dayton show is surely one of my most memorable
Dylan concert experiences.
For me, highlights from last evening's show were BLIND WILLIE McTELL, SERVE
SOMEBODY, FRIEND OF THE DEVIL, LOVE SICK, MILLION MILES, TANGLED, SILVIO,
and just about everything else. Those out there in Illinois, Iowa,
Michigan, Ohio, Pennsylvania, New York, and Maine who have the chance to
catch this current tour (w/ either Brian Setzer or Natalie Merchant): turn
off Trent Lott, the impeachment hearings, MSNBC, CNBC, and even NBC's
over-hyped miniseries, and hurry out to the arenas and theatres to catch
Bob Dylan in all his raging glory.
Review by Bryon Jordan
Tuesday night was the 4th time in a calendar year that I've caught
the mysterious Bob Dylan. I use the word mysterious because you
never know which Bob Dylan will show. Bob Dylan can be like a
box of chocolates.
Dayton was a good show overall. My first thoughts of attending
a general admission show were, "I hope it doesn't get too rough
with pushing and shoving." I noticed immediately after walking
onto the floor there was no protective barrier from the stage.
The lights went down and the introduction of Bob was
immediately followed with them launching into "Gotta Serve
Somebody." Surprisingly, I though it was a good version. I
dislike the song, always have, but Bob's vocals were clear
though not strong. I wonder if it's just a matter of getting
warmed up like most shows I've seen him do. We were
about 20 feet from the stage, dead center last night and
could see all the facial expressions and smiles Bob was
making.
"Million Miles" followed and was OK. A fight nearly broke out
next to us (hard to believe it would happen in Dayton
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