Reviews

Well, you know the answer, my friend

I arrived at the Shrine to see a group congregated at the stage entrance
thinking that Bob was still in his tour bus parked outside.  More and more
 people gathered there.  There were two girls hoping to get albums (his
first, and also the Slow Train Coming) autographed.  Next to me wa s a guy
with a blue beard and  mustache wanting to get Blonde on Blonde (the
original pressing) and another guy wanting to get Chronicles signed.  I am
thinking they are like  Bernie supporters thinking he could be president. 
About 8 oclock a bunch of guys dressed in black congregated around the bus
door and a little man with  a charcoal gray hoodie walked out to the stage
door.  It was over in a matter of seconds.  At the show I came to the
conclusion that Bob was wearing an oversized jacket...not as big as David
Byrne wore when he was with the Talkiing Heads but still large enough. 
The show was great....some points....Bob's phrasing and bending  of notes
recalled Billie Holiday -  indeed, I'm a Fool is a woman's song but he did
it justice. His band now is like the great musicians who backed her up.

I was amazed at the mostly young audience who loved the oldies,, including
the men. Maybe the lyrics are what they wish they could say to their loved
ones.  About the setlist.....the sound on Beyond Here of the piano and
guitars is like nothing you have heard....the albums are like drawings or
sketches with the full artwork realized live.Tha thunderclap drums will
wake anyone up in case you were sleeping during What'll I Do.  But the
blue bubbles ( maybe they are polka dots and moonbeams) should make any
old Dylan fan happy. On Fool, the audience for two shows super reacted
before Bob's last chorus "Time and Time Again" but that is because his
singing voice is so great these days.  Just because I am a nostalgia buff
I believe his lyrics on Early Roman Kings are the funniest since
Leopardskin Pillbox Hat so loved that one.  His bell still rings. And I
Told You pays tribute to Roy Orbison. But, as an old protester, the
highest point for me is Bob's new version of Blowin' in the Wind with
Donnie's electric violin and the wild crazy chorus.

At the Shrine Auditorium, a Shriners Masonic temple, of Moorish

Revival design, opened in 1926 and now a national register landmark, I
noticed that the eye logo was nowhere in sight and that it was also
not around at Santa Barbara. This night, Bob had three of those
sculpted busts arranged at the audience-end of the piano, so that his
face was obscured from the audience when he was seated.The crowd was
more receptive towards the Sinatra-era songs than the Santa Barbara
folks.I'm a Fool to Want You is my favorite from these latest albums,
and it's a really dramatic delivery.All or Nothing at All has such
tender phrases, with a nostalgic quaintness to them.I never tire of
hearing Spirit on the Water and Beyond Here Lies Nothing.Duquesne
Whistle is always fun and seems to have a Dixieland feel to it
now.Tangled, Blowin' and Love Sick seemed to get the best ovations.The
Billboard review of this concert really sums it up well.Regards,

Carmen F.