Review

San Luis Obispo, California

March 11, 2000

Cal Poly University
Rec Center



Review provided by James Coffey.
 

hello everyone. this is my first post on any of bobs shows, and id
like to thank all of you who have posted there feelings on past bob
performances, ive enjoyed them very much. i havent seen a whole lot of
shows over the years compared to some ,but ive seen some good ones, i
think last night was a good one.. i didnt go to the open act, i went up to
check things out at 7 pm and the crowd was making its way toward the rec
center. i went back home and went for my evening walk back up to the
campus and on my way back i stopped at the corner by the 101, and just
then bobs bus pulled off the exit ramp and headed past me up grand ave.
toward the campus. it was about 8 pm and i figured ok showtime is probably
about 9 or 9:15.  i  arrived at the venue at about 9 and waited outside
for about 15 minutes then the houselights dimmed and a quick security
search and ticket take and i stood in the back of the hall. the rec center
is a basketball gym, bleachers on the sides standing on the floor,
sefinitely not intamate but itll do. bob came out dressed in a white
shirt, black coat and tie and black pants with white piping up the sides. 
He opened with "i am the man thomas" and  he was on from the first note,
the band was tight and this was a very heartfelt and passionate delivery
of the song, very inspirational and what a way to open the show, the show 
could have ended right then and that would have been enough, some people
could spend  a a career touring and never bring a song home like that.
then it was into 'song for woody" and 40 years melted away, sung with a
lot of feeling.and after two openers like that, i couldnt ask for much
more, i almost wanted to turn around and walk out into the night, leave it
at that, let it go, but i talked myself out of it and i stayed, if anyone
could top bob, it would be bob, i didnt know what incarnation might take
fold in the next few minutes.    "its allright ma" was next and his
stretching and phrasing was at its best. on "tangled" he didnt miss a
verse and the words were very clear, he started to move around a bit and
he  and larry had some good back and forth guitar work, larry led this one
off in a high octave and they took it from there , they were having fun
here, and so was i. next came 'this world cant stand long' and bob sang
this one in the vain of the song itself somberlike and straightforward..
"dignity" started the electric set and it was uptempo guitar work from
start to finish. quick thank yous between songs. then onto"country pie"
and this was a fast charlie daniels like country rock, grab your partner
lets dance version, just plain fun. and a big cheer from the appreciative
crowd, and bob made his only comment of the night after when he said"we
got a lot of hungry people out there" with a thank you and a smile. of the
next four songs not dark yet was the standout hwy 61 was i guess typical
for hwy 61, very loud, i put the ear plugs in hear. on to the encores and
we were ready for more,at least i know i was.by the way i felt nothing but
positve feedback from this group tonight, everyone was enjoying themselves
very much and the band was too. im going to continue to move a little
quickly here as i change gears love sick and lars were well done he slowed
down lars a bit, gave it a little more of a regretfull tone.  It aint me
babe was special ,back to acoustic and it had a mystical feel to it , he
unraveled it like a snake charmer, with beauty, grace, warmth and mystery,
this time he sang it as the lover who almost mourned that it woulnt be
him, his voice dropped to what almost seemed like a whisper, its moments
like that when you lose site of the artist and the stage, you just hear
this picture being painted and you get lost in the music.and the love just
comes through. then its time to strap the electric guitars back on and
bring out the spirit of buddy holly, and its a dance party in 1959, big
smiles on the band during this one, you cant help but feel good with this
song, and i wish i cpuld have seen him play it last winter on some of
those cold nights in the midwest and back east, that connection with bob
and buddy holly is undeniablely strong. then its time to close it out with
the acoustics and a beautiful rendition of timeless song, niice harmonys
,nice tempo, the song almost sings itself ,its his and its ours, and im
going to add that a lot of  people might have called it quits right there,
to write a song like that when your twenty or twenty one years old, but of
course bob dylan is not a lot people.    and that was it, a very enjoyable
night indeed. and as i made my way out of the gym and up the stairs to the
walkway back toward the sreet, of to left i saw bobs bus again heading off
through the campus and into the night toward bakersfield, i couldnt help
but smile , keep movin, keep at it, its been quite a few years since my
first show it was in the 70's when i first saw bob,and hopefiully thell be
quite a few more, yeah keep at it bob, on through the hills of mystery and
into the foggy web of destiny. .   well everyone thats it for now, see you
down the road, god bless.  james.


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