Reviews

Detroit, Michigan

Fox Theatre

May 15, 2015


[Marc Schemansky], [Don Ely]

Review by Marc Schemansky



The show started as usual.  The eye logo on the back drop, the Oscar in a
prominent position, the strumming of an acoustic guitar, right on time. 
The sound was superb, every instrument could be heard clearly, including
Dylan’s baby grand and his harmonica (which he played quite frequently).
 While the general feeling of the show was dark and somber, from the
lighting to the song choices (Pay in Blood, Love Sick, Scarlet Town,
Simple Twist of Fate, Autumn Leaves, Stay with Me), the tightness of the
band and Dylan’s vocals lifted the mood dramatically.  Bob changed a lot
of the lyrics in some songs; Tangled Up in Blue, Love Sick, Simple Twist
of Fate, which I feel is a good way to keep a song fresh.  A great part of
the show was when Dylan performed Early Roman Kings and sang the line “I
was up on black Mountain the day Detroit fell”; at that point the crowd
let out a roar, and Dylan looked a little startled, perhaps forgetting
that he was in Motown… The selections he sang from his new album
“Shadows in the Night” were fantastic.  He and the band performed
Autumn Leaves and Stay with Me beautifully.  It made me want to go back
and listen again to that album.  The encore included  Blowin’ in the
Wind (totally new arrangement) and Stay with Me which was a great way to
end an enjoyable night of music.

Marc Schemansky

[TOP]

Review by Don Ely



Three compatriots, two veterans of The Song and The Dance, and one a
neophyte who has demonstrated enthusiasm for the spectacle. Together they
find themselves in the Beating Heart of the Broken City as the lifeblood
rushes to vital organs, the color returning to the face steadily, albeit
sometimes painfully slowly. Resurrection is at hand! Inside the hive the
workers are at play, abuzz with anticipation while sipping the nectar of
the gods. The Queen is nowhere to be seen. With the sharpness of a
stiletto a Nightly Ritual begins taking shape, one that ebbs and flows
through time and place, through drought and flood, with the certainty of a
spring morning after a long, deep sleep. On this occasion there's more
flow than ebb. The more Things Change, the more The Song Remains The Same.
The Hypnotist Collector is in full command of his apprentices, all the
while the beneficiaries of this wonderment raise their spirits high. In
amber tones and dulcet tones the Collector proves he is not lost to
prehistory, yea verily, he IS younger than that now! Into the darkness he
projects the mastery of his craft with ageless wisdom and, yes, LOVE to
those who have chosen to receive. And the angels smile sweetly upon him. 
The hourglass half full, the corsair sets off on a course both familiar
and recently charted. Panties are thrown overboard but the ship is not
abandoned. Instead it cuts deftly through the night as it's agile captain
weaves through pleasures and pain, islands of isolation and atolls of
shimmering paradise, until arriving ( mostly ) unscathed through roiling
seas of simmering emotion. At the end of the rainbow there is hope, after
all, and beauty is not lost to black demons bearing knives who cannot see.
And the angels will have their way with them, banishing the unholy
forevermore! Three compatriots, all veterans of The Song and The Dance,
with bellies full of fire part ways, to unite again another day.  

Don Ely
Rochester, MI

[TOP]

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