Review by Bill Burns
Fireworks in Kansas City
I was anticipating an interesting show on the 4th of July in KC, especially
after hearing that there were significant changes to the lineup only about
a week prior. With the sudden, mid-tour departure of both of his longtime
guitarists, both of whom had been with him for the duration of the Rough &
Rowdy Ways Worldwide Tour's 2021-2026 run, I figured there'd be some sort
of fireworks in the offing.
These days, you pays yer money an' y'get sixteen songs. Here's hoping
they're good ones.
Starlight Theatre is a longstanding Kansas City gem. The acoustics are
really pretty good, and the vibe of the place has always been nice. I've
been coming to Starlight since I was born. Broadway shows, Prairie Home
Companion, and many, many concerts over the years, including my first
Grateful Dead show (9-3-85). There really isn't a bad seat in the place.
Views of the stage are unobstructed from every angle. It's situated in
KC's turn-of-the-century Swope Park, right next to the Kansas City Zoo.
So, it being Independence Day, and America's Semiquincentennial, there
were a lot of fireworks all around the place.
The show got started right on time (actually seemed like a couple minutes
early, but I wasn't complaining). John Doe and his Folk Trio kicked
things off with a mostly innocuous ~30 minutes of mid-tempo material. I
was a huge fan of his punk band, X, but I've never really gotten into his
solo/non-X projects. The best number, in my opinion, was the one written
by his ex-wife and bandmate from that band, Excene Cervenka. The 'trio'
had actually borrowed the bass player from Lucinda William's band to fill
in. Not sure what happened there. But he stuck around for the next act
once John & his timekeeper shuffled off the stage.
Lucinda Williams, 73, was led out to her mic stand where she sorta hung
on for dear life for the entirety of the show. Both Doe and Williams are
the same age, but apparently Lucinda had a stroke in late 2020 and while
she's still putting on a decent performance, it's clear, she's been
affected by it. She opened with her big title hit, "Car Wheels on a
Gravel Road.
Both Doe and Williams are almost the antithesis of Dylan as performers.
They chat a lot in between each song and do their best to engage the
crowd with banter from the stage. I think these relative spring chickens
would be better off taking their lead from the old man. But that's just
my opinion, man. They dutifully entertained the crowd as the sun began
to set. The breezes blew a bit more and though it had been stiflingly
hot the few days preceding the show, today we lucked out with scattered
thunderstorms earlier in the day and generally overcast skies that
helped to keep the temps uncharacteristically cooler for Bob's show. The
sun even peeked under the clouds right about showtime.
After a short break, the lights dimmed, the jumbotrons went dark, and
Bob and the band took the stage, beginning with a nice version of "To Be
Alone with You." The fireworks intensified. Let me tell you, this is
gonna be a theme.
I had a friend with me who'd never seen Bob before, having grown up in a
household that pretty much stuck to classical music and that viewed Dylan
as too "hippie" for their tastes. But my friend is a reader and a lover
of poetry, even hosting semi-quarterly poetry nights in his home. I'd
shared a couple of Dylan lyrics over the past year or so ('Gates of Eden'
and 'I Contain Multitudes') and I'd pointed him to the great podcast
'A Bob Dylan Primer.' Then back in February or something, he rang me up
and said "Dylan's coming to Starlight in July. Wanna go?" How could I say
no?
"Man in the Long Black Coat" followed. I think this may be the only time
I've ever heard this song performed. I've lost count how many times I've
seen Bob. It's got to be about 30 times, now, since 1986 in Minneapolis.
I really love how well this song meshes with Bob's current material. The
dark themes really resonate. I can't help drawing comparison's of MITLBC
with "Black Jack Davey," from "Good As I Been to You." Both are songs
that treat the same sorts of themes.
My friend and I figured this might be the time for Bob to pull out some
big surprise...for the holiday, y'know...and perform a rendition of "Man
Gave Names to All the Animals." Heh...no such fireworks would be in
order. But the loud, blasting bombs were certainly bursting in air all
around the theatre. A few times, there were some fireworks that crackled
loudly and long, making hearing the song Bob is performing live sound
like we were listing to a live Victrola, with a scratchy record on the
platter.
Bob and the band were moving right along...He'd start the next tune
almost seamlessly as the prior one was wrapping up. People cheered as
they recognized the "No no no" in 'It Ain't Me Babe.' 'Tryin' to Get to
Heaven' was next in line. Bob's voice sounded clear and he seemed to be
in fine form. Our eyes finally adjusted to the dim light on the stage
allowing us to just make out Bob was wearing his white hoodie tonight.
From where we were (way in the back to the side), you couldn't really
see anything. I'd already prepared my friend that it wouldn't matter
where you sat in Starlight, unless you spent the big bucks. And even
then, Bob's gonna be at the rear of the stage, in the dark. We could
just make out a partial silhouette of Anton Fig and his crash cymbal.
You couldn't see Tony or the new guy, Paterson at all, really. Maybe
a flash of light on Tony's fretboard or pick guard from time to time.
You just had to listen.
I wasn't excited about the cover tunes, really, but you can definitely
tell, Bob loves to play "I Can Tell," Bo Diddley's Chess Records hit
from 1955. I was glad to have looked up the original to get a feel for
it before coming out to the show. It was a highlight, as you could
really hear Bob let Joel stretch out on this tune. Paterson seems like
a very good fit with Bob and the boys. His tone is beautiful and his
choices are tasteful and reserved enough to gel well with the whole
approach.
'Black Rider' was next, and...man, on some of these softer songs, it
was almost comical how the fireworks blasted away like World War III,
really competing for the attention of the crowd. The guys seemed
unfazed, but even with in-ear monitors, they had to hear some of the
noise going on all around them. They surely had to have a good view of
some of the fireworks going off in the parking lots behind the main
entrances. Sometimes the proscenium would flash from the explosions.
Sometimes a drum kick would be preceded just slightly by the concussive
boom of a bomb going off outside. The band just played on like nothing
was out of the ordinary.
I wasn't so familiar with 'Share Your Love With Me,' but Bob sang it so
well, you didn't need to be. Still, the cacophony outside was competing...
more crackling fireworks, producing the Victrola effect. I just had to
laugh to myself. It was so crazy at times, and it really never let up
except for brief moments...time to reload.
The crowd audibly responded knowingly to the beginnings of "Istanbul,
Not Constantinople" ('When I Paint My Masterpiece'). I must confess, I'm
not so crazy about the 'Puttin' on the Ritz' treatment... Maybe it's just
that the tune is forever associated with Peter Boyle's top hat & tails
dance number in Mel Brooks' comedy masterpiece, 'Young Frankenstein.' I
can't help but laugh when I think about it. It does make you wonder how
Bob figured out he could marry the lyrics of his song to this tune,
though. What was he thinking that triggered it? I'm kinda ready for a
new arrangement, though. It's such a great song.
"I'll Make it All Up to You" was sorta lost on me. Mostly because I
couldn't make it out due to my own unfamiliarity with it, and...y'know...
noises outside.
'Crossing the Rubicon' was another one that's done very quietly these
days, and during this song in particular, it seemed like Caesar himself
was at the gates with his elephants. So crazy...bangs and flashing bombs
and crackling and roman candles flaring over the theatre. I got lost
again and pretty much missed "Soon After Midnight." If I'm honest, I
know there are fans of 'Tempest,' but it's one of the later records
that's never entirely won me over. I'm sure many of you reading this
will say as much about... "Under the Red Sky," which I found to be one
of the highlights of the performance this evening. I'm sure that's the
way Bobby intended it. It was the first of only two songs where he broke
out the harp, and the crowd sounded its approval. Even the folks who were
just there tagging along with their Dylan-crazed bobcat family members
immediately responded to hearing that so familiar sound, the one voice
that Dylan has never lost. Personally, I really like UTRS as a whole. I
think the entire record is very underrated (yes, even the opening track).
I get it; it's a weird one. I still like it. Sue me.
Dylan's de facto love letter to his hearers was beautifully done. Again
with the fireworks, though. It's like they listened for the quiet songs
and broke out their most ferocious ammo. I just sat back and thought to
myself, 'let's see what these bootleggers can do with THIS show!' (and
immediately, 'neverendingbobfan' and others start magically releasing
songs on YouTube where you can't hear a pop. Go figure).
Again, maybe I was up stretching or something, but I kinda missed
'Goodbye Jimmy Reed.' It's not one of my faves off RARW, though. I'll
have to listen to one o' those bootleggers, if they can clean it up and
let you know later.
I have to say, I was a bit bummed that I didn't get to hear "Watching
the River Flow" to open. I used to be a bit bummed with it a few years
back when it was sort of a warm up for so many of his shows. Since then,
I've really come to appreciate it. And then I fell in love with the
'Shadow Kingdom' version of 'To Be Alone with You,' so hearing the
current live version is a bit of a letdown (for me; I still love the
song). And while I have heard some incredible versions of "Every Grain
of Sand," especially a 2019 version at the Midland Theatre in downtown
KCMO, and I recognize its greatness, I really was happy he closed the
show here with 'I Shall Be Released.' What a beautiful coda to a really
crazy show. And we got a beautiful harp solo to close it out. Bob came
to the center of the stage and basked in the adoration for a few moments
and clapped for us, and he was gone.
And World War III just raged on...the venue full of black powder smoke and
fog starting to roll in on top of it all. It doesn't get much more USA
than Bob freekin' DYLAN in the Heartland on America's 250th. God bless
you, Bobby Dylan, wherever you are! You always bring the fireworks.
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