April 4, 2007
Review by Wolfgang Strehl
Well, we run about 300 km west to see bob dylan in the color line arena -
and it was finally worth it. We have tickets for berlin in may too, but
like too see bob dylan anytime he is around.
The beginning: bob in a black I guess silk suite and a white silk shirt
and I white - I would say - yet not finished hat. The same kind of hat
that tony garnier had on. The others have either another hat or no hat at
all.
Bob standing face to face with the crowd and singing cats in the well.
Well, I don't like that record that much though - but it was okay
It ain't me babe I remember as being a great version, a really good one.
Rocky. I'll be your baby tonight, not one of my favourites. But it's
allright ma for sure is, and he played it great. I like the 'new' version
with the violin by donnie herron.
When the deal goes down was followed by mosts likely you go your way and I
go mine - a highlight of that evening. The phrasing of the last verse I
remember as being superb. He barked the words out. Anything to say about
masters of war? The light dimmed in red and the version was another
highlight of that evening.
Next I remember well is a hard rains agonna fall. A version I think close
to that Japanese appearance on that world music festival or how it was
called. Pretty good and remarkable.
All the others up to the break a done well, like a rolling stone with a
long harmonica intro.
But then. Everybody who knows expected thunder on the mountain to emerge
when they came back after the break. But the sound coming up was different
- and out came ain't talking. A marvellous life version of one of my
alltime favourites. They all played it well.
Thunder on the mountain and all along the watchtower were ok.
The color line arena seemed to be pretty crowded. Not sold out, but well
enough. The mood was good. The band on stage was sometimes I think a
little bit funny: everybody was stargazing at bob Dylan, what kind of idea
he creates next. For everybody up there tries to keep up the songs. So it
was sometimes funny. He had his hints. Sometimes he missed to fall in,
waited another bar, and all the others up there have to be careful.
All in all I'd to say, it was a good concert. The acoustic in the hall was
good. It's not that normal, that you could hear all the instruments played
that clear and distinctive like yesterday evening.
And I've seen a lot of bob Dylan and other concerts.
Well, bob, like to see you again in berlin in may. If you show the same
spirit like in hamburg, that will be another good concert.
Wolfgang Strehl
Review by Harke Dohrn
Well, counted my tickets of all Dylan shows I've visited before and it turned
out, that this show will be NO.32 in my List. After reading that Bob's back
on guitar again I was very curious about the show here in Hamburg. I was a
bit worried before, playing the great Colour Line Arena but it turned out to
be a quite nice atmosphere. Sound an acoustic was quite well and it was
going to be a fantastic show with a setlist that I liked a lot. It was filled with
many personal highlights. The only song I really can't stand is ''Summer
Days''. Bob was dressed all in black with a white shirt and his white hat.
The show started with a cool cookin' ''Cats In The Well''. Bob was at good
voice from start of the show and he seems to be in good shape and mood.
Great seeing Bob back on the guitar. He played a few nice licks & that
promised, to be on a show which will bring great entertainment to all of us.
It followed 'It Ain't Me , Babe'' which was played in complete new
arrangement. The first highlight of the evening to me. Love that song so
much.
So the show went on with ''I'll Be Your Baby Tonight'', ''It's Alright, Ma'' and
''When The Deal Goes Down'' all songs played very careful by the Band and
sung very emotional by Bob.Seems to me the Band has improved their
playing together a lot since the last time I saw the boys. Then came ''Masters
Of War''. The song speaks for itself and was played in a great arrangement
too. Another highlight of the evening followed by a rockin' ''Rollin' and
Tumblin'''. After that the 2nd very big highlight for me. '' A Hard Rain's
A-gonna Fall''. It was sung very very nice and this new arrangement of the
song is close to perfect. Never heard such a great version of that song. The
stage was couloured in wonderful purple with some spots of red and green,
which came out very nice. Loved that sight with this beautiful played song.
Thank you Bob!. The show went on with ''Spirit On The Water''(great live
peformance here) ,''Highway 61''(business as usual here),''Nettie Moore''
(wonderful sung by Bob), ''Summer Days''(not a personal highlight) and
closing the first set with ''Like A Rolling Stone''. All songs played well, but
nothing special.
After a few minutes break the band came back on stage for the encore set.
I expected Thunder on the montain at first. The first tunes I really couldnt
figure out which song it was, but then it was clear. I couldnt believe it....
He gave us ''Ain't Talkin''' from MT. That was the absolut favorite of the
evening to me. It was played fantastic by the band and Bob did great singing
an phrasing.That song is new and it hits the list of my all time favorites in very
high position. ..Please play it again in Herning, Bob....
Then the show ended with ''Thunder On The Mountain'' and a great
performed '' All Along The Watchtower''.
All in all I'm very satisfied with the show and it hits my personal list in a very
high position.
Looking forward to Herning, Denmark on May 5th.
and pls Bob...Don't let the deal go down and keep on touring the road for
many years....
H.Dohrn
Review by Werner Kehl
Cloudless blue skies set the scene as Helmut Heimann and I once again
road-tripped our way to Hamburg from Berlin, this time to witness the
first german performance by Bob Dylan in 2007. It seems that every time
he plays in Hamburg, his concerts take place yet again in a different
venue. This one took place in the still somewhat new Colour Line Arena, a
huge auditorium that is used for a variety of entertainment events, mostly
though for sporting purposes (namely: handball); and now whoever booked
the place for this concert must have been totally unaware of the fact that
regardless of how well "Modern Times" did in the german charts last year,
there would never be a chance that even half of the ten thousand or so it
would take to fill up this place would be coming.
The last time I saw Bob & band was in Gelsenkirchen last year and by all
accounts it wasn't a very good concert. Standing just off to the right
and slightly back when proceedings began at 7.40 p.m. wednesday night, I
at first feared that things would continue from where they left off last
time I was around as the first two numbers sounded pretty awful; out of
synch with the others and with quite a few bum notes coming from Bob
himself, the start was anything but promising. But that changed almost
instantaneously as everyone on stage got into a stride with the last two
songs that featured Bob on guitar. I would say that every song from
thereon until the end of the set was well performed and even Bobs organ
playing was absolutely decent and spot on.
But to be perfectly honest, I felt that all in all something here was
lacking. Most tunes were void of any real intensity and I would think
that perhaps the break-out of some song unheard of in a while would liven
things up a bit as the sets have become far too standardized (in my humble
opinion). While it's certain that this ensemble with its newer guitarists
has come together to gel even tighter than in times before, this band is
far from producing the amazing sounds heard live from those in Dylans band
between let's say 1991 and 2004. As towards the end of the concert I
gazed over the crowd infront of me and onto the stage from a seat in the
back (where the sound was really good, by the way), I couldn't help but
feel that there was something essential missing in the mix. O.K. all the
songs were routinely well executed definetly, but the little twinkles were
absent, or that big spark that would carry over onto an audience that I
sensed felt anything but exuberance in the music and who were thus
anything but exuberant themselves.
I was ready to call it a day and admit to myself that the trip hadn't
really been worth it until the encores. I couldn't figure out what it
was they were beginning to play as the sound I was hearing clearly didn't
match what I was expecting to hear. When I finally realized what was
being performed, I couldn't believe my ears: " `Ain't Talkin'´?! Wow,
that's only been performed live once before!! ", I was wondering. Just
when I thought nothing unusual's gonna take place anymore, this curveball
gets thrown out and it wasn't just a casual toss either. One could tell,
this song had been rehearsed as it flowed wonderfully without any glitches
whatsoever and it was sung with such poignancy and conviction that it
easily became the highlight of the evening and the best thing I've heard
from Bob Dylan and his current band in years!!!
Needless to say, this awesome ending to an otherwise average show had
Helmut and I return back to Berlin very excited with the hope that more
surprises are held in store for us all as the 2007 European Tour
continues...
Werner Kehl
Review by Reinald Purman
...a little false start for us to meet the first concert in germany in
2007 ! Approaching the Volkspark-Area in good time we get in a real
traffic-jam at the last access-road. A crush of people everywhere,
police, no parking lot. Will this huge crowd fill the colorline-arena for
a dylan-concert ? New fans out there ? Doubts raised seeing Youngsters
with blue or black flags, yelling: St.Pauli ! - The venue ist in a 200 m
distance to the big football-stadium, were an hamburgian derby should
happen soon. All perfectly timed to the concert, both events started (and
ended) same time. So two very different crowds shoved to their
contrasting desires. We had dared to miss two songs, wich is an unheard
thing for us! Most bitterly we missed the first half of the guitar-set.
Seeing him play guitar is a real refreshing thing ! The venue is normally
used for ice-hockey, so there was a big general admission area in front
of stage and a U-formed sitting area along the walls. - Dylan in black
suit and a little, round white hat, his band in light suits & black hats
for better contrast. Standing side by side, from the left with D.
Freeman to Stu Kimbell on the right, Mr. Dylan in center at first, later
playing keyboard on the right side, next to S. Kimbell. - This music will
not lie ! The 2007 tour will become very interesting. They rehearsed a
lot of new things. In my ears maybe the only song without rework was
"Netti Moore" (a great highligt tonight nevertheless). They are trying to
ballance the songs, the band and the music in a new way. Besides of this,
Bob Dylan is in great form, relaxed, smiling, almost loose. And his voice
! Strong, changeable, exactly and more. Promising for things to come.
"It's allright Mama..." is very bluesy now and Donni Herron played a little
Muddy-Waters-like Guitar, a bit high pitched. "Most likely you go your
way..." was another highlight (new arrangement), Dylan playing with the
words in a most impressive (say dylanesque) way: "You say you're so---ry
for tellin sto---ry,...you say you got some o---ther kind of lo---ver"
and so on, very scornfully and real swinging. (Can't get this out of my
ears). Followed by an impressing MoW (new arrangement) with great harp
intro all in a sulphurous-poisonly-yellow light. Then a Bill-Hailey
styled "Rollin & Tumblin". Then the majestic (new arranged) "Blue eyed
Son" . They are constantly changing between his rocking and the more
quite songs. The absolute highlight of the night was "Netti Moore",
perfectly fitting in every nights setlist. A big new Dylan song is born !
"Highway 61"(newly arranged) gives chance to D. Freeman for great,
perfect lead guitar. Summer Days is revamped to rocking&rolling, but a
little shortened. Then the standard songs before the short break. - To
our deep conviction Dylan now realized, that we had lost 2 of his precious
songs and therefore decided to throw "Aint talkin (I'm walkin)" into the set-list.
A majestic flowing "Thunder On The Mountain" , the eye-logo appearing to
this. "All along the watchtower" was a little let down. Compared to the
last tour, when the venue-roofs were burning on this song, this time it
was a little blurred.- The accoustic in Hamburg was not as perfect as
usual, less powered, little high-pitched. Dylans keyboard little to hear,
only when neccesary. This type of venues brings a lot (too much
?)distance between crowd and stage. - But this was the evening. The band
is very perfectly now, tension-free and everything in place.(The Oscar
vanished from his amp.) Great concerts promising to come. Don't dare to
miss one single song.
R.Purmann
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