June 5, 2008
Review by Jim Nolan
Having said our goodbyes to Lizz, Ken and Mike in Tallinn, 'Cardiff' Dave
and I flew from Tallinn to Vilnius with Estonian Air on a 33 seater plane
which I could not stand up in. Everything was fine apart from the landing
which rattled every tooth in my head!
Vilnius is a lot more developed than Tallinn and quite a bit larger.But
very pretty all the same. After we arrived Dave sent me a text saying
he saw Donnie Herron in reception at his hotel and thought the band
were present also.I ventured up to Dave's hotel with a Tallinn Poster
I acquired in a Ticket Shop in Tallinn. ( nope I did not steal it,I asked for it).
When I arrived George Recile was sitting outside, I said hello and ended
up having a great 10 minute chat with him. When Donnie Herron came out
George introduced me to him. George is a nice guy and a true gent. Anyway
they all signed my poster for me except Tony who came out last and was
running late. The Band sans Bob then left. Next Bob himself came out in
wholley hat and shades looking as cool as a cucumber!I reckon he would
have stopped but his minder ushered him into a waiting car. It was great
to see them all though,an unexpected pleasure. I noticed in Tallinn that
Bob had a box of mansized tissues close to hand and feared he might
struggle a bit tonight,however we were wrong and Bob played a blinder.
We arrived into the venue and found our seats in the middle of the
second row in line with Bobs keyboard. There were no tissues on view
tonight. Once again we were treated to the old blues masters
Sonhouse, Robert Johnson, Willie Dixon etc. Excellent sounds, I wonder did
Bob have a hand in making up the mixtape? Sure it does not matter
really. Back to the show.
Well when the the lights went down and the intro started not one person
jumped out of their seats. Myself and Dave were like coiled springs
waiting to jump up. Dave looked at me in a will we? wont we? way. We
decided to stay put which is not easy when Bob and Band rock out. Once
again I wont dwell on each tune,but I will mention a few.
Lay Lady Lay.Great to hear this again which I thought was even better
than Helsinki. More powerful. Lonsome Day Blues rocked along nicely. Just
Like a Woman. Apart fom Cardiff Dave's caterwauling during the chorus I
did not hear anyone at all sing along with Bob. Crowd clapped and cheered
at start of tune but that was it. An extremely well behaved bunch of folk.
HardRain was excellent. Bob and band were well up for this one. Levee's
Gonna Break was top notch as usual. I defy anyone who hears this on the
tour not to dance. Damn near impossible! High Water. This was a revelation
tonight. The band were all over it. Tangled Up In Blue sounded mighty
fine. Although St Petersburg's rendition was the best. (in my humble
opinion). Its alright Ma chugged along nicely with George and Tony
pounding away in the engine room. Lovesick sounded fantastic. A bunch
of fans in the tiered seats in Bobs eyeline started to wave their mobile
phones about during this song. The way we used to with cigerette lighters
at slow tunes in times go by. Ah halcyon days. Anyway Bob looked very
amused and nailed the song. Aint Talkin was as good as I have heard it.
Bob closed the main set with 'Watchtower'which rocked. Then one of Bobs
security guys came out at the break and said 'Its okay to stand at the
barrier' and started to make 'shooing' gestures to the front row. I can
only presume that Bob had a word when he left the stage. As we did not
need to hear it twice, Dave and myself bounded into a prime position. The
gig finished up with a 'thunderous' Thunder On The Mountain and Rolling
Stone. It was a great end to a great day. The band were cooking up a storm
tonight and Bob looked as if he was having a ball. The Best Band in the
Land? for tonight a big yessir! I would go as far to say that George is
one of the best drummers I have seen play along with Charlie Watts and
Glenn Kotche (the drummer from Wilco). There were not many T shirts on
view tonight but I think everyone left with a smile on their face. I know we
did. Hello to the guy beside me whose name I did not get and Nick from the
UK and Thomas from Germany. Apols to Pietro for spelling your name wrong
in my St Petersburg review but you know who you are. And big thanks to
Bob and Band. Hope they pay Ireland a visit soon as its been awhile.
Keep on Rockin!
Jim Nolan
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