July 9, 2016
Review by Mike Skliar
Bob Dylan, Mavis Staples Bethlehem PA- July 9 2016 by Mike Skliar
Not wanting to chance bad weather, I elected to go to Bethlehem, Penn.
for this indoor show (at a smaller venue, too) rather than the outdoor
Forest Hills Stadium. (and a friend had an extra great last minute ticket,
too!) The short review- spectacular show, from beginning to end, and
including Mavis Staples' opening set which was a real revelation.
Starting with that opening set, Mavis and her band were just tremendous.
She turned the age of 77 one day after this show, but sounded 20 years
younger, at least. She has an easy rapport with the audience, radiates pure
joy and had a great band with her. For me, her set kicked into high gear
with the third song, Talking Heads' "Slippery People" and didn't let up from
there. Her guitar player had that reverb-drenched rock Telecaster sound,
(reminiscent of her father, Pops Staples' playing) and the two backup
singers added a great deal. From there, it was just a joyful party for the
rest of the set, including a strong 'The Weight' sung by the entire band,
(which I hear they don't do every night) and an audience participation-filled
'I'll Take You There". Just a joy from beginning to end.
And then… Bob. Going down to the venue, I started doing the math- it had
been a year and a half (December 2014-Beacon Theater NYC) since I had
seen Dylan. A hard-to-believe 38 years since my first Dylan show in 1978,
30 years since I saw the Dylan/Petty shows that summer of 1986, and one
could go on and on. (I've averaged about once or twice a year in the last
few years). And here he is at the age of 75, more than double the age he
was when I first saw him in 1978. When I had last seen him in 2014, he
was performing one track from the soon-to-be-released "Shadows in the
Night". Tonight, those Sinatra songs were much more prominent in the set
(2 from "Shadows", 3 from "Fallen Angels" and 2 from maybe the next album
or two not released yet?) The two not-yet-released songs were in the spirit
of both "Shadows" and 'Fallen Angels' maybe Fallen Angels a bit more, as
they were more upbeat then most of "Shadows".
Those so-called "Sinatra Songs", perhaps more accurately called 'standards'
or 'jazz standards' were the latest new ingredient in what now must be, if
Bob Dylan music was software, version 15.2 or something like that. Each of
those songs was done with extreme care, subtlety and grace, and every line
he delivered felt fully 'lived in' and thought out. They were all delivered with
Bob alone at the mic, wearing a white hat, and sometimes with the
background lights configured like a vast field of stars. One could imagine the
singer, alone, in a giant Midwestern field, under a starry sky, pouring out his
heart to himself about the vagaries of love and the human condition, ruefully
revisiting both recent and distant past. During the instrumental sections, Bob
would do some interesting walking/shuffling around the stage, sometimes
taking the mic stand with him to sing. (and twice the mic stand fell over
after he moved it)
These moments were broken up by Bob performing many of his more recent
original songs in more familiar (for him) blues/country/rock stylings and
sometimes adding these chromatic runs on piano to spice things up.
Arrangements on these songs were similar to recent year's arrangements,
perhaps a bit louder than they were last time I saw them. "Early Roman Kings"
was particularly strong, as was, of all things, "Spirit on the Water" where he
played these busy chromatic runs during most of the song, syncopated with
his vocals, all quite odd and a bit off-kilter but it somehow worked. I still feel
that "Tangled" as great as it is, would benefit from having him sing the original
last lyric instead of whatever he's singing now, which, as he sits down to play
piano for that last verse, gets drowned out a bit by his somewhat busy piano
playing. (And I wish he's play six verses instead of four).
The end of the show was notable for a few things. First, he closed the main
set not with a 'big rocker' such as "All Along the Watchtower" or even
"Love Sick" or 'Long and Wasted Years" but with the quietest ballad
imaginable, 'Autumn Leaves'. It's almost like Frank Sinatra's exit in the song
"Angel Eyes"---'excuse me while I disappear'. The encores were a strong and
piano-led 'Blowin' in the Wind' and a powerful "Love Sick" that sent everyone
on their way with a good sized jolt.
And Bob's still on the road, "heading for another joint…" Stay tuned!
Mike Skliar
Review by Ryan Ferguson
The Sands was a neat place to see a show. It is small venue but had a
great crowd.
Mavis Staples was fantastic. Her encores of The Weight and I'll Take You
There brought the crowd to its feet and left everyone in the venue wanting
more. What a pleasant surprise. I am so happy Bob gave us the opportunity
to see her.
The man came out at 8:50 sharp. He looked and sounded great. Things Have
Changed, She Belongs to Me, and Beyond Here Lies Nothin' had the concert
off to a great start. Tangled Up in Blue had the crowd rocking as Bob
took us to intermission.
Bob and the band returned with High Water. I thought the band sounded
very sharp. The performance was well executed. Unfortunately, and this
is only my opinion, it was really hard getting through the next 8 songs.
It saddens me to say this being a very loyal Dylan fan. It wasn't how Bob
preformed them, or how the band sounded. It was just a long stretch of
very low energy. A few people around me actually fell asleep. The crowd
was dying to cling onto a little something, but the moment just never
seemed to come.
Blowing in the Wind and Love Sick closed the show.
There's still something special about getting out and seeing Bob each
year. However, I don't think I will be making multiple visits this tour.
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