I was 10 years old when I discovered Anton Fig, who was the drummer for
Kiss guitarist Ace Frehley on his 1978 solo album, well before his steady
gig with Paul Shaffer. Forty-seven years later this 56-year old saw Anton
Fig drum for Bob Dylan on April 4, 2025 in Mankato, Minnesota at the Mayo
Clinic Health System Event Center. The highlight of the show for me was
the drum and piano exchanges between Bob and Anton during Desolation Row.
And what a version of Desolation Row! It was reminiscent of the original
recording, allowing the audience to immediately recognize the tune. 
However, Bob's piano and Anton's rhythm gave the audience a brand new
take on the classic, highlighted by Bob's incredible piano runs trading
off with Mr. Fig's drums.  The show began with I'll Be Your Baby
Tonight.  Bob played piano, but once the opener finished Bob picked up a
guitar, remained on the piano bench and turned towards his bandmates. 
From my vantage point, I was able to get a glimpse of Bob holding the
guitar, but I doubt any paying ticket holder would have been able to see
Bob's fingers plucking the strings because he was obstructed by the baby
grand piano.  I scanned guitarists Bob Britt and Doug Lancio to see if
they were playing lead and determined that Bob was playing lead!  Bob
played a long opening solo and then began singing It Ain't Me Babe. 
Then, it was Rough and Rowdy Ways' time with I Contain Multitudes and
False Prophet.  Bob continued his tradition of playing When I Paint My
Masterpiece to the melody of Istanbul (Not Constantinople) or is it Puttin
on the Ritz? My Own Version of You is mysterious. It's part love story,
part Frankenstein monster, with haunting standup bass from Tony Garnier.  
I didn't immediately recognize To Be Alone With You which was followed
by Desolation Row and contained the aforementioned interplay of drums and
piano between Bob and Anton.  Bob had many piano solos throughout the show
and added hard hitting blues chords during many numbers as well.  Bob's
voice was strong, as was evident when he sang "Sherman, Montgomery and
Scott,... who cleared the path for Presley to sing, who carved the path
for Martin Luther King" loud and clear throughout the concert hall
during Mother of Muses. Bob's 2025 voice was perfect for the calming
Every Grain of Sand that ended the show.   Desolation Row, It's All Over
Now Baby Blue, and It Ain't Me Babe, were immediately recognizable and
one could almost say they were somewhat loyal to the studio version. 
Well, maybe not, but similar enough that a first time Dylan attendee would
recognize them. The 60's tunes were scattered throughout the set with
the Rough and Rowdy Ways' numbers, blending old and new.   The no-phone
policy really allows you to be present and focus on every note and word. 
On to Eau Claire.

David Connor

This is the first time in 40 shows that I didn't see Bob. At least not
until the very end when he stood for a minute or so and looked out at the
audience. He was hidden by a baby grand piano throughout the concert and
he played it on every song. One thing I've never seen him do before was
tap his chest/heart to acknowledge the roaring crowd who gave him a
standing ovation. The sound system was loud with the vocals prominently in
the front. I put in earplugs as it was too loud for me. But about halfway
through I was able to take them out as the sound engineers seemed to find
the right balance. I kept thinking how can an 83 and 11/12 year old man
bellow the blues like that? My mental image was of a bull at the rodeo
taking off out of the pen. And the piano playing was leading the way,
rhythmic, jazzy and uptempo. A highlight for me was Goodbye Jimmy Reed
and the interchange with drummer Anton Fig on Every Grain of Sand 
which was creative and a beautiful way to close. There were other nice
moments but those two really stood out for me.

Gene Senger
St. Paul, MN

Bob Dylan and his Band were tight and played with great passion...
They were all in top form...  Tony G and Anton Fig sound like they've been
playing together forever... The audience was full of  Mankato drunks
talking and drinking The whole show... The sound was excellent EXCEPT for
a very distracting echo through the whole show... The sound was bouncing
off the hockey scoreboard suspended from the ceiling in the back of the
arena... UNBELIEVABLE... Fortunately, The Band seemed unaware of the sound
issue... It was at the very least as distracting as the drunk audience...
J Evans

If you are a fan of Rough and Rowdy Ways -- and I'm not so enamored of it -- 
it was great! Many songs from that album, with Bob at piano all night. 
Almost everything in the set was heavily rearranged to the point where it 
took the audience and me a few lines into each tune to figure out what the 
song was. Nothing new there but he really has mega-overhauled things like 
"Masterpiece," done last night like a Cuban tango! The stage lighting was 
so muted that it was hard to see the guys on stage, esp/ with Bob sitting 
down on piano most of the night. It kinda looked like an old '50s movie or 
ballroom rock n' roll set. We had pretty good seats on the floor near the 
soundboard --  free from a friend of ours who couldn't go at the last 
minute! So we gave out paid seats on the first level to 2 of our friends 
who brought us dinner in return. Dick and Val Cohn were there, lotsa 
people from the cities.