Review

After seeing what I rank as one of the best shows in a long time in KC the
night before, we arrived in Lincoln with high expectations.
Arrived at  5.30pm for the 6.30 start with presale tickets and it was a
breeze to get in at a separate entrance with no line. But Jeez it was hot
!.. Over 100f in front of the stage.
So we sat it out in the shade of the bleachers for the opening acts
drinking beer.
Opening set by the Dough Rollers who struggled through the heat wearing
suits dressed like two insurance salesmen. Good, but not as good as their
previous night in KC. The sun was still up and in their faces...and so a
creditable performance under the circumstances.
Mellencamp next. I'm not a huge fan but a good all round warm up act for
the main man. Vomit inducing cheesy moment when he brought his reluctant
girlfriend on stage to dance midway through his set. A crowd singalong of
Na...nana..na...na marked the end of his slot.
We made our way to the front and just stage left .
Around 9pm the poet laureate introduction and we are off..Watching the
River Flow.
The looks exchanged by Charlie with the rest of the band said it all. It
had to be 110f up there with the lights and Bob perspired profusely during
the whole set, flicking his hair at the end of every song.
Perspiration dripping onto his keyboard.
I'm not into song by song reviews but I felt it took a while to warm up
despite the heat until #5 Rolling and Tumblin but Cold Irons Bound was my
surprise. Never my favourite but it was delivered with such power. Charlie
was on top form....a showstopper.
From there on in it just got better. Ballad of a Thin Man was as powerful
and as moving as KC  and as good as I have ever seen in the 40 something
years of following Bob.
No band line up at the break. Bob almost ran for the exit stage right. Who
can blame him, the heat was unbelievable and I was wondering how much the
heat had affected the instrument tunings. More than once Bob picked a harp
and with the first note exchanged a look with Charlie that said like
WTF.
Shorter encore than KC with Jolene dropped  and we  listened to it  back
in the bleachers where the sound was still excellent. Full marks to the
mixing desk.
Just a note that even for Lincoln, the bobcats were out in force from
Switzerland, Italy, Sweden Denmark .. and so the verbal shite that we had
to listen to from the Nebraska rednecks in the front of stage crowd was as
funny as it was sad. If they only knew what total knobheads they made of
themselves they would be embarrassed. Special mention for the odious jerk
in the orange baseball cap and plaid shirt who was an expert on all things
Bobby even if it is unlikely he will read this. My partner who is American
apologized to a Swiss couple for her fellow countrymen.