Reviews

From Sugarland to San Antonio. March 12th March 13th
My good friend Corky had to leave for family reason. So I am on the road all by 
myself. I catch the greyhound bus to San Antonio and arrive early afternoon. 
Gabriel, my couchsurfing host will pick me up at the station.
He will give me his bedroom three nights and he will sleep on the... couch. 
I don't feel comfortable but he insists. He has a meeting with his colleagues 
in the evening so I spend the night with the two little doggies.

March 13th Sunday.
Gabriel invites me for French American breakfast and we chat about education 
system. Gabriel is a teacher and a student. His goal is to change the education 
system. To give more opportunities to the poor kids. He needs to visit his 
mother so I go to the San Antonio Art museum.

That museum is surprising. It's mainly history Art and crafts from the world: 
Egypt, Rome, Greece, Oceania, Japan, South Asia, China....
I just love it and take tons of photos.
By 6.30pm Gabriel drops me at the Majestic.

I have an extra ticket for sale. I'm trying to find a poor Soul. A man offers 
me 20$. Well! It's better than wasting the seat. He is a fan and we decide 
to find two empty seats close to the stage. To J on the aisle. No one 
will claim the seats. Great! :)

8pm.
Show starts.
Bob is obviously in a good mood. The theater is splendid. The sky is topping
my head. Blue sky and stars shining.

"Watching the river flow" puts the audience up for few seconds. Good 
good vabritions! Bobby's voice is as clear and loud as it could be.
No harp on " When I paint my masterpiece".
Bob says " thank you" a couple of times and moves center stage few times, 
particularly after "Serve somebody" when the audience is all up. A special 
roar from the entire theater when he mentions San Anton.
Even "Key west" and " Mother of muses" are not boring tonight :)
The show is too short. It's already "Jimmy Reed".
Bob presents the Band rapidly and adds " if ?? Is here tonight. I say hello"
For me that was the best show so far on that tour.
Maybe because I was in a good mood :) So was Bob :)

San Antonio is a great city and Sunday night public was alive :)
I step out and sells 3 of my Art copies . Good!
Gabriel will pick me up
Many thanks to my good Samaritan Corky.
Many thanks to Gabriel.
Many thanks to all the good people!
Don't you dare miss the show tonight!

First off, this would've been my 7th show since 95'(all in TX). That being
said I've never seen a failed Dylan show, and I enjoyed this one as well
and there were some great highs. But ,there were also some head scratching
lows. Let's start with the good, Bob's voice was spot on & might have been
the best I've heard, plus his drummer and bass player are top shelf A list
players (as they should be). Now the bad. First off, Dylan's playing
behind the keys was at times atrocious. It reminded me of a child getting
his first xylophone on Xmas morning & banging on it. Yes, I know he's 80
years old, but if you can't pull it off, then maybe turn it down. Now, I
was in the balcony (great seats) so I couldn't quite put my finger on it,
but his 2 guitarists seemed to struggle at times. The Solos and Leads were
at times all over the place. At times they didn't even seem to know that
key the song was in. Honestly it felt like amateur hour at the Majestic.
Early on in the show I turned to my wife and whispered, "Charlie Sexton is
sorely missed." That's because Charlie is a conductor and he would've
never let the wheels start to go off the track the way this show did at
times. Don't get me wrong, I had a blast & felt I got my money's worth, I
just have never witnessed a Dylan show with so many highs & lows.

Dusty

My first visit to the Majestic in San Antonio, and I take my seat 30 min
before the show, in the middle of the floor, and take in the detail of the
theater. Dusk-blue skies with pinpoint stars, climbing ivy along the
ornate outer walls and details like a stuffed peacock above the balcony
watching over the theater-patrons lend to the overall feel. As Watching
the River Flow kicked in and the sound team found the levels for Bob's
mic, it was clear that Bob was here to SING tonight, and by the second
verse the crowd was already responding. A previous reviewer mentioned the
at-times-raggedness of the band and Bob's piano playing, and it is agreed
they were trying to find each other here and there throughout the early
stages of the show, especially with Most Likely You'll Go Your Way and
When I Paint My Masterpiece. Both came across solid but searching, with
near-missed opportunities for synergy to take them up a notch. The Rough
and Rowdy Ways songs, however, were pure and brilliant. Bob sang his heart
out, it was incredibly clear he cares about these songs and the tonal
shifts were felt. He was urged on by a crowd that responded at first notes
to these songs. False Prophet put us on notice, once again, that this is
the real thing. Bob was there to testify. Black Rider was imbued with a
sense of foreboding and the theater sat rapt, other than the moment of
murmured chuckle as Bob delivered the "the size of your..." line. As Bob
sang about Pacino and Brando and his creation in My Own Version of You it
was hard not to imagine the song would end with lightning from the painted
sky and a new member of the band appearing. His expressions, gestures,
subtle and partially lit brought his song about creation to life in a way
I'd have never appreciated fully otherwise. As Bob began Key West, I
wondered if he'd be able to continue to hold the attention of the theater
as he had thus far. This has never been my favorite song from the album,
and yet again, his delivery pulled me closer and I found myself leaning
forward in my seat. By the time he sang the "such is life, such is
happiness" i found my eyes welling at the beauty of the picture he was
painting. It came across as a meditation, lyric impressionism, and it
didn't hurt that I had my first trip to Key West the previous May to
supplement the painting with my own images. And then, oh lord, Gotta Serve
Somebody. A certified banger on this tour, Charley Drayton actually lost a
stick halfway across the stage as he drove the band forward and still
didn't miss a beat, just pounding. The performance gained more and more
momentum until it reached a fervor and by the time it was over the crowd
was collectively on its feet roaring approval. After a pause and lighting
shift, Bob began Made Up My Mind, and the energy left buzzing from Gotta
Serve Somebody was channeled into a few hoots and hollers as the first
chords played. The highlight of the show for me, Bob sang so beautifully,
and I got the sense that the song is a love note from Bob to his audience
(yes, a bit self-centered, that take!). As he sang, lovely, somehow both
with softness and power, my mind wandered back to the almost 30 years of
shows I've been so grateful to witness, and understood fully that he has
given so much of his life to performances in that time, allowing us to
meet him where he is musically. He knew we'd say yes, and on nights like
this it feels like the Gods are indeed going easy on us all. After these
highs, Melancholy Mood felt a bit like a throwaway on this night. Mother
of Muses, however, found Bob right back in the pocket, meditating on the
source of his gifts. As he sang about MLK and ended the verse plainly with
"i could tell these stories all day", its hard not to realize that the man
delivering the line performed at the same March on Washington where the I
Have a Dream speech was delivered, close to 60 years earlier, and still
vital, still landing, and telling the stories in the best way he knows
how. After the earlier energy of Gotta Serve Somebody, i was ready for
Jimmy Reed to bring the house back down. I didn't feel like this one came
together quite as powerfully, and it felt over almost just as it gained
steam. Band intros were straightforward, and Bob gave a quick shoutout to
San Antonio's own Augie Meyers, of Sir Douglas Quintet/Texas Tornados and
Time Out of Mind/Love and Theft recording sessions. As Bob closed with
Every Grain of Sand, the audience shed appreciation at every opportunity.
His voice as clean as any album version or recording bootleg, a perfect
finished ending to the best night of singing I'd ever experienced from
Bob. Having only purchased tickets for the Monday show originally, I found
myself thanking whatever spirit pushed me to double my chances at
brilliance by buying Sunday too, and left the theater with a smile,
thanking the sound team and excited at the prospect of another night.