| Reviews Cincinnati, Ohio PNC Pavilion At Riverbend July 12, 2026 |
Review by Don Ely
My stats: 110 shows, 23 states, since 1981, travellin' since 2000
As I surely stated already, this was my 110th opportunity to see Bob
Dylan and his Band work their onstage magic. I don't see Bob quite as
often as I used to, and I was disappointed in myself for having skipped
the hometown Detroit stop in April. When I took notice of Friday night in
Cincinnati: Road Trip!! This was my first since Tinley Park 9/7/24 as part
of WillieFest.
The venue was PNC Pavillion on the grounds of Riverbend Music Center. I
was first here for the AmericanaRama Tour in 2013, which matched Dylan
with Wilco, My Morning Jacket and the Richard Thompson Electric Trio. Wish
I could have attended a few more of those! Walking around the complex
tonight I talked to one of the RMC personnel who informed me that
Riverbend accommodates 22,000, while PNC seats 4500. And yes, the
Riverbend lawn remains Astroturf... nothing like melting to the ground
sitting on plastic grass in the blistering heat!
This evening we faced no such challenges, though I had concern PNC
Pavillion would be an indoor concert hall. Essentially it's a summer shed
minus the lawn. Only about a week before our show I scored tickets in Row
A, the front row unless you count the fifteen or so aisles of folding
chairs unfolded in the pit. Stretch-out-and-relax leg room and great sound
set up a memorable evening of music.
First up, the John Doe Folk Trio: at the dawn of the 1980's I paid no
attention to the Los Angeles Punk scene, thumbing my nose in favor of New
York and London. But of course I've expanded my musical tastes
exponentially since then, and a few years ago we caught X at El Club in
Detroit. Great! Great! Great! Even better I would imagine than they were
in the Reagan era, 'cause they've expanded their experience too. The Folk
Trio performed an inspiring opening set, borrowing the bass player from
Lucinda's band. " Thank you John for the Wild Gift! ", I yelled out,
referring to the second X album title but meaning the songs rendered in
this moment. Three X numbers saw daylight: " Burning House Of Love " and "
See How We Are ' were played but the best of the three had to be " The New
World " with its repeated lyric " Don't forget The Motor City/ This was
supposed to be the new world "! And don't forget Flint Ford Auto! Written
during Reagan but perfect during Trumpty Dumpty. The sweetness of "
Somewhere Over The Rainbow " offered Aspirations of Hope.
Next up, Lucinda Williams: I don't believe I'd seen her since Bonnaroo
2003 or '04, whichever year it was. I know she'd had health issues
recently and taking that into account I felt she was vibrant and
energetic. I'm not familiar with her entire catalog but I have acquired
Lu's Jukebox Vols. 3 and 4, the Dylan and 1960's country covers
collections. Taking a peek at her discography she has released many more
albums than I realized, going all the way back to 1979. She and her band
tore through a fiery selection that included perhaps her best-known song "
Joy " and the title track to her latest, " World's Gone Wrong ". They
closed with a standout rendition of Neil Young's " Rockin' In The Free
World " to remind us all of what we'd been a-missin'. Might have to catch
her again soon before it's all over!
And then there's Bob... I really don't follow His Every Move in the
present as in the past, but apparently His Band is in flux... it's the
Parade of the Revolving Guitarists! This tour commenced with Bob Britt and
Doug Lancio, who'd been around since Milwaukee '21. Then Julian Lage
stepped in, sometimes they were a quartet, then they added Joel Paterson
from Chicago and now enter Jad Tariq from Memphis, who made his major
league debut this very Friday night. Add drummer Anton Fig, who, according
to his bio was in the South African band Spider, whom I remember seeing in
1980-81 with Alice Cooper and the Joe Perry Project in Detroit. So the
current line-up is Paterson, Tariq, Tony Garnier and Fig. Can't speak to
individual performances but the band was really tight, especially with a
couple guys who were almost born yesterday And the electric guitars vs
acoustic really ups the ante. Dylan wore a gray hoodie the entire show,
reminding me of when he would wear such outfits in an effort to evade the
public... maybe he still does. Ah, the Quirks of Bob! Apparel aside, he
was in the best voice I think I've heard in ages, clearly singing so songs
could be recognized almost instantly. The material always develops from
tour to tour and that's part of the fun of attending so many shows. The
five numbers from " Rough And Rowdy Ways " are leagues away from their
debuts five years ago. " Crossing The Rubicon " was the only one I had yet
to experience. The three interpretations of songs of others were new to me
as well: " I Can Tell ", recorded by Bo Diddley in 1962; " Share Your Love
With Me ", recorded by Bobby " Blue " Bland in 1963 and Aretha in 1970; "
I'll Make It All Up To You " cut to wax by Jerry Lee Lewis on Sun in 1958.
Also, I thought Dylan was playing his best keys in I don't know how long -
no klunky notes at all! Momentarily a refreshing light rain blew in from
the open air.
A quality setlist that flowed especially well, everybody onstage on their
best behavior, two excellent bands to complement the headliner... need I
say it? A superlative night of American Music! Don't you DARE miss it!
Don Ely
Rochester, MI
Review by Elizabeth Branch
Is it too much to demand?
No!
She wanted "a full house and a rock and roll band" and she got it!
Lucinda Williams didn't sing Passionate Kisses tonight but her new song
"World's Gone Wrong" (2026) was incredible. As was her closer, the
house rocker Neil Young's "Rockin' in the Free World" a sing along
with everyone she encouraged to sing along with her. What a special
performance I was privileged to witness. She thanked Bob Dylan, as did The
John Doe Trio preceding her onstage and I thank Bob Dylan, too. What a
night!
Fireflies glowing as they glided upwards "trying to get to heaven"
during the show.
A steady downpour of heavy rain didn't dampen any spirits of the crowd,
all under cover, appreciative of the promise the rain brought of cooling
us off, but it just made it very humid with the heat of the day lingering
on.
Bob Dylan and the band took the stage and I saw two new faces downstage on
guitars, when I got home I got to see their names listed here, thank you
Bill Pagel! The band was in fine form, joyous, and many smiles were
exchanged up there, even Bob was laughing and dancing and nodding
encouragement to his left and right for more guitar playing.
I was not able to purchase a show concert poster but I did get the
t-shirt! As the old posters used to say: "Don't You Dare Miss It!"
Thank you, Bob, for coming to my town and celebrating live music from real
musicians with a love of performance. I hope you felt our love for you
during the oh, so brief, bows center stage at the end of the night.
And thank you, Bill Pagel, for this magnificent archive of American music
history in the making.
Keep on keepin' on!
Review by Joe Hollon
This was my 35th Dylan concert and my wife's 6th. It was definitely a hot
summer night (as the tour shirt declared) in Cincinnati. These were the
best seats I've ever had at a Dylan show: 5th row, dead center. Lucinda
Williams and the John Doe Trio were about 20 feet in front of us when they
were performing. Both opening acts were very good and well received by
the audience. Dylan's keyboard was set back a bit further from the stage
so when he came out I'd estimate he was 30 feet in front of us. Even with
the hoodie, we were close enough to clearly see his facial expressions and
nods to his bandmates during the show. This tour has been receiving a lot
of negative chatter online for some reason (Bob Dylan doesn't play his hit
songs...he doesn't sound like he did x years ago...the same tired, lazy,
criticisms that have been around for 50 years...where have these people
been?). Anyway, everyone around us was into it and seemed to love every
minute of the show. "Black Rider" has become a crowd favorite and it was
during this song the sky opened up and a burst of rain mercifully cooled
things off. Highlights for me were "Soon After Midnight", "Under the Red
Sky", "I've Made Up My Mind to Give Myself to You", and "I Shall Be
Released".
Joe Hollon
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