Reviews

I arrive in early afternoon by Flixbus and check in HI Boston. I decided to 
stay at this downtown youth hostel, right next to the venue. 
Boston is freezing cold. Always remember Boston being freezing cold.
China town is in the corner so I go for a ramen soup. It reminds me Japan 
which I miss. I had booked all travels and accomodations for the Japan 
tour 2020 but... I love the Asian restaurants. The waiters are efficient 
and respectful but not over polite. I'm always disturbed but a waiter 
asking me ever five minutes if everything is alright and if I need more 
coffee. I believe they just care for their tip. Leave me alone eating my 
meal in Peace and quiet! :)

Some rest in my warm room and by 5pm I check the backstage of the 
Wang theater. The musiciens are dropped for the sound check but the 
BD bus will arrive half an hour later. so no sound check for Bob, and he did 
none for what I know.

The driver will squize the bus between a wall and a big truck, right by the
stage door. Bob will be in his Golden cage until show time.
I go rest and get warm. I still need a ticket but I don't worry so much.
By 6.30pm I wrapped myself with all the clothes I have with me and walk 
the block away from the theater.

I put my sign out.
A poor man is asking for help and some bucks in total indifference. The 
fans had bought tickets for hundreds of dollars!!
I observe the public: 100 %  whites?
So when a man offers me a ticket , I look at him carefully for he looks 
Metis. Elvis is Native American and flew from Saint Clemente  California to 
see the Bob Dylan show in Boston. Remarkable! We chat about painting. 
He is a fan of Monet. Remarkable. We sympathize and I promise to make 
him a painting. He invites me in Cali for the next Bob Dylan tour???

Our seat is all the way up. Under the sky!! The row is CC. But on the 
balcony the orders are reversed from the floor. CC is nowhere close to 
the stage. This is the worst view;  Bob will be totally in the dark. At some 
point I lost his figure, trying to focus on where his voice was coming from. 
Terrible expérience if it is your only show or even first BD show.
I know. So I look at the beautiful ceiling and listen to the music. I can't 
complain, I didn't pay for any Tix.

Elvis stands up in the back. Two seats next to me are now empty as well 
as two in the front. I remain seated but with space to dance and karaoke.
I enjoy myself to be thankful for my chance to be here tonight. Many of 
my friends/fans are not so lucky. The show is good. Public responding well.

Bob center for "Melancholy mood" and steps here and there. I hear him 
mentioning Boston. So he knows where he is !!:)

The high light tonight " You've gotta serve somebody". I sometimes 
called " Save somebody" ,!!!:). 

I walk slowly out to see the bus pulling away.
Bye bye Bobby. See you in Philadelphia.

This was a magnificent concert. My wife & I couldn't have been more
pleased by the overall experience. We were seated in the second row center
of the mezzanine (first balcony). The theater was gorgeous & the crowd was
energized, respectful, & totally engaged throughout the entirety of the
show. Felt like all in attendence were true fans of the here & now Dylan
without any just showing up outta reverence for his long past works.

Best performance for us was Mother Of Muses with Every Grain Of Sand being
a close second. ... The last word sung on Every Grain was especially
breathtaking. What a fitting parting gift for an absolutely outstanding
night of music. ... It even left the majority of the crowd still standing
& clapping for a short while after the houselights were turned on.

Outta the harder rocking songs False Prophet was tops although that nod
could've easily gone to Gotta Serve Somebody.

Show actually started off with some mic troubles. First with the opening
words having very low volume & lastly a reverberation blast when Bob
switched from crooning mic to piano mic during an otherwise fantastically
played, Multitudes.

Couple other standouts from a performance with many was I've Made Up My
Mind, Key West & My Own Version Of You. All of which were beautifully
performed with Bob pouring out some truly awe-inspiring vocals.

I've Made Up My Mind featured Mr. Bob passionately drawing out certain
words much in the same fashion of the opening Milwaukee show. .. Whole
song was mesmerizing & heartfelt with Dylan quickly switching from piano
on over to his stage-stance & eventually returning back to piano.

Key West was certainly unique. ... Hard to articulate. Best I got is it
felt like a dream or something. .. Almost as if it was a completely
separate deal from the rest of the show. A mystical interlude of sorts. ..
Twas an experience all on its own.

My Own Version Of You was special as well. Bob & band appeared to be
particularly focused & zeroed in on it. Was the only song another guitar
player walked over to where Donnie was stationed, so they could chat a
little & watch eachother play. ... That occurred at least a couple verses
in as the arrangement started to change up along with Bob's vocal
intensity. Everything was clicking & reached peek levels by the last verse
leaving me completely blown away.

Biggest surprise to these ears was, Early Roman Kings. Must admit I wasn't
a big fan of the 2021 versions that I had heard beforehand. Felt like a
regression from the hard hitting 2019 renditions, so my expectations were
low for it walking in. .. LoL, even told my wife it was the go-to bathroom
break song. .. Anyways, it started off much the same as I had heard on
previous field recordings. .. Which was just as well considering I was
still reeling from the song before it (My Own Version). .. At some point
early in things opened up & allotted some space for the various players to
showcase their given talents. Some awesome grooves found. ... Along with
Jimmy Reed it turned out to be a highlight concerning the musicianship of
this new 2021 touring band.


All-in-all, one of the absolute best concerts I've ever seen from Mr. Bob.
.. My better half said it was #1 with all factors combined & we've been to
over 20 Dylan shows together along with her catching that spectacular '99
Amherst show a couple months before we first met. I stated it was probably
top 3 status for myself & have attended a handful more than she has
starting from Summer of '97. .. Nevertheless, bottom line is that Bob
Dylan is truly a force of nature & Boston 2021 was yet another prime
example of his unfathomable greatness.

Kevin MacConnell
(AKA: OldHenryLee)