Review provided by Sean McGuinness. "Paul Simon opened and his set was technically solid and flawless, just what I expected. Dylan came out for the standard set ("Sounds of Silence". "I Walk The Line/Blue Moon of Kentucky" and "Knockin' On Heaven's Door). The duets were very tenatative, but it looked like Paul and Bob were having fun with it at least. Bob started with the gospel/bluegrass number, which really kicked things off well. Bob was wearing a black suit and tie (throughout the show he kept having to rebuckle his white belt as it kept coming unfastened). I enjoyed the phrasing in "Mr. Tambourine Man", although the local paper called the performance of this song "weird." "Masters of War" was when Bob captured the audience's attention. "Don't Think Twice" was very well received, as was "Tangled Up In Blue." On the harmonica break at the end of "Tangled", Bob started playing a nursery rhyme (he did the same thing at the end of "Like a Rolling Stone" later). As they switched to the electric instruments, you could hear the first few chords of "Highlands," but then they quickly blazed into "All Along the Watchtower" instead. This was the best version of "Watchtower" I had heard for years. Next was "Just Like a Woman", which Dylan said he wrote for his wife. Then he said something either about him or her being conceited at the time. Very solid performance. A little later, a group of people were escorted to one of the first few rows by an usher and Bob said something like "you had to go get another beer"???? "Stuck Inside of Mobile" was next. I always enjoy that song, but otherwise a very standard rendition. "Not Dark Yet" had the audience's rapt attention, something you don't see everyday. "Highway 61" was great. Charlie Sexton played some lead guitar on that one. The encore consisted of "Like a Rolling Stone" (complete with nursey rhyme ending), a magnificent "It Ain't Me Babe" and then "Not Fade Away." Bob was fairly animated and smiled a lot. He was noticably more comfortable with his band and set up. I like the acoustic set first as I think it helps the pacing of the show. I've seen 40+ shows and this one ranks right up there with the best ones. The setlist was a little in the "Greatest Hits" garden variety, but I expected that with the Simon pairing. I found the entire concert experience a bit bizarre-- sort of like going to two concerts. It was a bit of a shock to go from the technical staged performance of Paul Simon to Bob Dylan's "you can watch me and my band as we play" spontaneous approach. I prefer the latter as the performance is more alive. Much of Simon's set, while brilliantly executed, sounded just like what you would hear on the radio (which is probably just what Paul wanted to convey). Most of the people in the audience where I was sitting were Simon fans and some of them left before Dylan's performance."
Return to Current Tour Guide page
Return to Bob Links
Go to the Set Lists (by city) page
Go to the Set Lists (by date) page
1999 Tour,
1998 Tour,
1997 Tour,
1996 Tour ,
1995 Tour,
Pre 1995 Tours
Go to the Cue Sheet page