November 9, 2010
Comments by Toby Thompson
Bob was hot, the Penn State audience tepid, Bob standing solo at the mike
through several songs, gesturing like Sinatra, leading like Ellington, a master
showman at the far reach of his career. The black tour buses inched toward the
night.
Toby
Review by Don Ely
Monday was an off-day, so I could take my sweet time driving up to State
College, only about 140 miles from Pittsburgh. First stop was the town of Donora
on the banks of the Monongahela River. Like many towns scattered across the
industrial east, Donora was a chemical town, and in 1948 a tempurature inversion
created a toxic cloud of fluorides that killed twenty people and injured scores
more. The resultant cover-up by the responsible corporations aided by agencies
of the US Government left injured parties without compensation, but the silver
lining is that the Donora Fog led to the passage of the Clean Air Act in 1955.
On a lighter note I wanted to visit the Latrobe Brewing Company, purveyors of
Rolling Rock, America's greatest pilsener made in Latrobe, PA. I've been
enjoying the stuff now and again for thirty years, and was anticipating taking a
tour if offered, or at least getting a couple photos of the brewery. To my
disappointment I found the company had been sold in 2006 to a major corporate
brewer, who make several brands at the facility of which Rolling Rock is not
among them. It's now made in ( gasp ) Newark, New Jersey! But life rolls on as
the story goes, as did I, rolling into Johnstown, PA as my final diversion
before calling it a day. Back in 1889 captains of Pittsburgh industry owned a
sportsmen's club that doubled as a summer retreat for their families. It sat on
Lake Conemaugh, a man-made body of water held in place by an earthen dam at one
end. Over the years the dam was not maintained, safeguards were removed to
prevent the best fish from leaving the lake, and a recipe for disaster was
heating up. On May 31 of that year all hell indeed broke loose, and millions of
gallons of water roared fourteen miles into the valley below, laying waste to a
few small settlements along the way and crushing the city of Johnstown with a
fury of Biblical scope. Telegraph lines were down, so residents had little
warning of the deluge to come. In ten minutes time homes and businesses were
tossed about like toys in the playpen of a tantrum-throwing child, and 2200
souls, mostly women and children, were lost on that day. It is the indomitable
human spirit to spit in the face of tragedy, however, and within weeks the
survivors buried their sorrows and began to rebuild their dreams. Testament to
their fortitude exists in the Johnstown of 2010, a charming community nestled in
the bosom of the mountains.
Monday night was spent in Altoona, so I arrived in State College early tuesday
afternoon with, you guessed it, plenty of time to kill. My hotel was set in the
heart of the Penn State campus, so I spent the day exploring what the town had
to offer. I was staying less than two miles from the Bryce Jordan Center in
University Park, so come showtime I decided to walk from the hotel, a cool and
refreshing experience in either direction. Another stellar performance was
presented by Bob Dylan and His Band, every bit as good as the previous one in
Pittsburgh. If only more folks could have seen it...all three of the venues this
week are some of the larger halls on the tour, and were nowhere near capacity.
The stage was moved up considerably, and at the Jordan Center attendees were
seated in a slight wedge formation all the way to the top. This was wonderful
for those of us who were there, however, transforming your average basketball
arena into an intimate theater. My ticket read " side stage " and I wondered
about this beforehand, but instead of being off beyond the wings I was located
in a group of extra folding chairs to the right of the center floor section, end
of the aisle, with plenty of room to groove. I made the acquaintence of a nice
local lady who had lived for a time in Lincoln Park, Michigan. The almighty MC5
had their origins in Lincoln Park. I told her a favorite line from one of my
favorite Bob Seger songs ( " Back In '72 " ) was " Lincoln Park, imagine.... "
Tonight's Bob Dylan Show included " This Wheel's On Fire ", which would likely
be in the setlist if Bob played a show just for me. I caught the reinvented "
Tweedle Dee And Tweedle Dum " for the first time, led by the jungle drums of
George Recile, and instead of groans and grimaces this song put a smile on my
face. " Cold Irons Bound " in what I think was a new arrangement, was assertive
as always. Contrastingly " Visions Of Johanna " was delicate like Louise and
meshed well with the acoustic bass with bow and fiddle of " Forgetful Heart "
performed two songs later. " Can't Wait ", also driven by the bass guitar of Mr.
Tony Garnier, was probably my favorite number of the evening; I loved the
arrangement and the Time Out Of Mind selections are among the most interesting
on the tour. The Pennsylvania shows, the second and third in my Bob Dylan
concert career, were worth every penny, and, I might add, priced reasonably
considering they're from a Hall-of-Famer.
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