Reviews

Do you think Bob Dylan purposely plays the Chicago area every Halloween
for the last 10 years or so or is it just a scary coincidence? No matter,
it's good to have him here whether contrived or not.

I guess you'd have to say I'm a veteran Dylan follower. First turned on in
1972 at the age of 15 after listening to his classic show stopper set
immortalized on the Concert for Bangladesh album. I knew his songs from
the classics of the sixties, "Blowin'', "Rolling", "Tamborine" etc. but
became aware of his incomparable song writing / delivery during "Religion"
class at my Catholic Grammar School. A rotund, hippie-like priest with an
long black beard played his protests songs to a class of smart-ass prep
boys. I remember that "Hard Rain" hit me somewhere deeper than what I
recognized as normal everyday observation and feelings. Lyrics that make
you feel.

Anyway, saw him  first live with the Band on the second night of the '74
tour. Unfortunately, Rolling Thunder didn't come anywhere near my mid-west
universe. Missed his "Vegas" Street Legal stop at the old Chicago Stadium
in 1978 'cause I was in Rome supposedly studying. After that, I saw him at
Poplar Creek in '81....just coming off his Religious detour (Thank God.
God Know.) Saw pretty much all the shows after. Some very good, some
sucked but after all it was My Man Bob. Undoubtedly the low point was in
the late 80's at the Holiday Star Theater when he stumbled around and
mumbled his way through the first three numbers- undoubtedly ripped on
Brandy- until he picked up an acoustic guitar and did, I think, "Girl of
the North Country". Then the magic took over. It left abruptly several
numbers later when he did a "fisherman's blow" out of his nostril right on
the stage (honest!). (As an aside, I met up with a guy who claims he
smoked a "J" with Bob backstage but who knows....)

What we all do know is that Mr. D has re-committed himself to respecting
his own work and legacy since about the time Ol' G.E. Smith started mugged
around with him. (Don't miss G.E. though).


The best show I saw was at the Club Metro about seven years ago. This was
about a year after he appeared at The Riviera . First time Dylan played in
small clubs in probably thirty seven years. My teenage dream of being
thisclose to my hero actually realized.

But enough about that. As far as this show in the College Basketball arena
at Dekalb goes I'd rate it about a six.

Lot's of College kids. Some real young teenagers. A fair representation of
30ish couples, the usual gang of latter-day Dylan freaks communicating
with each other via cell-phones (PS- lose the frickin' phones will you.
It's a concert, not a conference call). These folks are almost "Grateful
Dead" non-evolving druggie/hippie types. What's up with that? Some older
grey and no-haired folks. Me, I'm kid of like them but I look a lot
younger and my wife won't go with me anymore and my sister-in-law (my
former Dylan Pal) is PO'd at me because not all is that great at the
homestead anymore...I know, who cares.

Show starts at 8:20 with "Down Along the Cove". Bob's decked out in black
with a black Cowboy Hat. On keyboards. Dylan's playing won't make anyone
forget Billy Preston and frankly, his eccentric timing and odd emphasis
kept the band from clicking together on more than one occasion. But the
vocals were clear and loud and that's a good thing. OK start.

"God Knows" was quite good. It even inspired me to dig out "Under the Red
Sky" for the first time in about three years. There's about three good
songs on that album and no, "Handy Dandy", "Talking TV" and "10,000 Men"
are not among them.

"Positively 4th Street" was positively excellent. Best song of the night.
Dylan delivered the lyrics in a monotone, understated way but that just
made the rendition even more emotionally powerful.

"Things Have Changed" was alright. A pretty good later work treated with
respect and better than "Dignity".

The re-worked "Forever Young" was weak compared to the original. I'm
partial to the Band version.

 "Lonesome Day Blues" rocked. The band finally cut loose with driving
rhythm and soaring, ringing guitar work. A real head nodder.

"Stuck Inside" was a little weak. The band played a great arrangement but
Dylan didn't put much into it vocally or phrase-wise. A little more
commitment to this arrangement would have made it a highlight.

"Blind Willie McTell" was a real treat. The best song Dylan never released
on an original album. Dylan's phrasing "but I know one thing / No One can
sing / The blues like / Blind Willie MacTell." was jolting. The only
trouble is that the original feel and delivery of the studio version will
never be matched but it's still a great song and a pleasure to experience.

Second best song of the night followed. "Highway 61" absolutely was a
powerhouse and the band really electrified the crowd. Johnny Winter would
have been proud of this rocker.

"Not Dark Yet" was, unfortunately a let-down. I think this is one of
Dylan's best songs in a long time. The keyboards don't give this song
justice and like "Blind Willie" it's tough to match the original.

"High Water" was a rhythmic jumble. Next time Bob, just unplug the piano.
Mr. D tried to conduct the band to get the timing right. Maybe they should
work on this one. It's too good a song to butcher with Bob's funky chord
changes. On this one it seemed that the band was playing in a different
time structure than the maestro himself.

"Honest with me" was fine. Not as good as the Grammy rendition of several
years ago but effective enough. No classic performance though.

"It Ain't me, Babe" was a real disappointment. Bob- next time just play in
on guitar, harmonica and maybe bass. If the rumored arthritis is too much,
pop a couple of Advil and tough out  a few classics on guitar. I hate to
see this great song tossed away. No power in this version of a true
masterpiece.

"Summer Days", like last March's show was a swinger. The band played
extended riffs and got the crowd into it. Very enjoyable but, again, not a
classic Dylan song.

The Encores were fine. "Like a Rolling Stone" got a countrified steel
guitar treatment. I liked this rendition. Dylan treats his best loved song
with a new arrangement on every tour. But after ten billion performances
who would get sick of playing it. "Watchtower" was, predictably,
re-worked. Not Hendrick's guitar tour de force and not  the "John Wesley
Harding" muted / haunting rendition but a solid rock number with a strong
vocal finish.

The crowd left satisfied if not dumbstruck. At least that's how I felt in
this passable performance.

But as long as he's still working I'll be there to check it out. Dylan for
life.

The DeKalb show on Halloween was my 11th show of the year and my first
since seeing Bob and Willie twice over the summer. I didn't bother writing
reviews for those last two shows partially because, although I enjoyed
them, I didn't really feel compelled to. I know that some fans rated the
Bob/Willie tour as an improvement over the previous few tours but that
isn't a view that I can go along with. To me, it seemed like Bob was
marking time over the summer rather than challenging himself or attempting
to make any advancements in his art. Sure, he looked like he was having
fun but the ballpark setting was fitting; it was live music to drink beer
and eat a hot dog to. I much preferred the spring tour.

Having said all that, I went to DeKalb not really knowing what to expect.
I left thinking it was the second best concert I saw this year after the
show at the Vic theater in Chicago on March 7th. (I hope everyone has that
boot - it's fantastic.)

Dylan and the band took to the stage about ten minutes late as people were
still filing into the Convocation center. Dylan was carrying his cowboy
hat in his hands but put it on before getting behind the piano. The hat
stayed on for the whole show. Dylan was wearing a black suit, a cream
colored shirt with gold emroidery on the collar and what looked to me like
a gold scarf tied around his neck.

The first song was Down Along the Cove, always a treat. Dylan looked a
little stiff but he was in good voice and the guitarists had fun playing
the song's now-familiar Dead-esque riff.

Next up was God Knows, the opening chords of which seemed to have an
electrifying effect on the crowd. Dylan's singing was passionate in the
extreme and he drew out some of the lines impressively. Dylan looked
deadly serious, intense and focused. This is one of those songs that is so
dynamic live that it will undoubtedly impress even those who aren't
familiar with it.

The pace of the show slowed down a bit for Positively Fourth Street, which
made something of a surprise appearance in the third slot. This was a new
arrangement for me; Larry was strumming rhythm on acoustic and Stu was
fingerpicking a lovely guitar figure on electric. Dylan sang this in
short, clipped phrases, not even attempting to belt out the line endings
like he's frequently done over the past few years. For me, this was a
success and I'm really curious to hear it again.

Things Have Changed followed and was a solid version. During the third
verse, Dylan briefly got experimental with the phrasing. At first he
started rapping out the lyrics, which got a big response from the crowd in
the first few rows and then he immediately switched course and started
crooning. It was a definite magic moment although it was kind of a letdown
when he ended up talking his way through the final verse.

Forever Young was next and was a beautiful rendition indeed. This featured
some nice harmonica playing and some very good singing. It also featured
the only lyrical flub of the night. On the first line of the first chorus,
instead of singing "Forever young," Dylan sang "May you stay" and then cut
himself off abruptly. The rest of it was dynamite though with Dylan even
throwing in an enthusiastic "Yeah!" into one of the other choruses.

The familiar opening of Lonesome Day Blues followed and the song turned
out to be an unexpected highlight of the evening. The singing on this was
surprisingly elastic and melodic in places with Dylan holding some of the
notes for a long time. The line "I wish my mother was still alive," which
had become "I've never felt so alive" earlier in the year, has now become
"I keep telling myself I can't believe I'm still alive!" Awesome.

The band then tore into Stuck Inside of Mobile which kept things rocking
but it was the low point of the night for me. The casual fans seem to love
it. They love the chord changes and the way he sings the chorus but this
was just a routine version to me, indistinguishable from so many other
versions.

When Larry straps on the cittern, I always get a good feeling and this was
the case when the band launched into Blind Willie McTell. Stu's rhythm
guitar playing was very impressive on this but I'm less sure about his
solos. As someone at the Dylan pool recently pointed out, he sounds almost
like he's the guitarist of a heavy metal band. His solo during the first
instrumental break was a little slick and polished for my taste but I
loved the short, sharp chrunch provided by his rhythm playing during the
verses. Fortunately, Larry got a solo too and he played one of those
beautiful, mandolin-like solos, srumming very fast while sliding his
fingers up and down the neck of the cittern. For some reason, Bob sang the
opening line as "Seen the arrow on the doorSTEP." During the final verse
he would sing a line then dramatically bang out a single chord on the
piano, sing another line and then bang it out again. Dylan looked deadly
serious throughout this performance.

Highway 61 was next and didn't disappoint. This is one of the warhorse
rockers that always manages to whip the crowd into a frenzy. There's
something of a new part in this one though where George's drumming creates
a Bam-Bam-Bam effect in conjuncion with the guitars; it sounds similar to
Summer Days.

Not Dark Yet made its first and very welcome appearance on the tour next.
The lighting on the backdrop completely changed for this so that it was
illuminated by vertical streaks of light. It was a very successful
atmospheric touch, not unlike the mirrorball lighting effect they used to
do on Make You Feel My Love. Dylan's vocals sounded haunted, mournful,
beautiful, yearning and everything you could ask for on this masterpiece
of a song. The performance was only slightly marred by a tentative
harmonica solo where Dylan never seemed to find what he was searching for.
Come to think of it, the only memorable harmonica playing of the whole
night was on Forever Young.

A rollicking High Water followed, which saw Dylan at his most animated.
This was where he really began bobbing and weaving, getting his whole body
into the piano playing. Great solos from Stu and Larry on this as well.

Honest with Me inevitably reared its head next. I must confess I always
enjoy this song even if it is rare for any one version to rise above the
pack of all the others. During the instrumental break Tony moved over to
the side of George's drum kit obviously anticipating Bob to walk out from
behind the keys. Instead Dylan merely lifted his hands in Tony's general
direction, which caused Tony to raise his bass over his head. Hilarious.

I can't believe there are people out there who don't love the new It Ain't
Me, Babe. It's my favorite arrangement of this song since Rolling Thunder
and it would suit me fine to hear it at every show. In DeKalb, the
contrast between Dylan's singing on the verse and chorus could not have
been more drastic. He talked his way through the verses but in a dramatic
fashion and with expert timing. And he talked in such low, low tones! My
girlfriend was laughing because it looked and sounded as if he was
literally singing out of the side of his mouth, as if all the lyrics were
being delivered as "asides" in a stage play. Then, when they came to the
chorus, Dylan really belted out the words in a clear, high register. He
ended this by singing a final "babe" after the last "It ain't me you're
looking for," something I've noticed he only tends to do when he's really
into the song. The only thing that let me down about this It Ain't Me Babe
was Stu's solo. This dark, weird version of this song begs for someone
like Freddy Koella to step out and play something completely illogical.

Summer Days closed out the main set as per usual and struck me as being an
above average version. Of course, the instrumental jam will never be what
it was with Charlie, which means the success of recent performances comes
down to Dylan's singing. I think this must be a hard song to sing. So many
syllables to spit out! Dylan navigated his way through it very well. At
the end of this song, a bunch of fans in the front couple of rows began
throwing candy on the stage. Dylan looked surprised then bemused, kind of
like when he won the Golden Globe a few years back.

They returned for the standard encores. Like a Rolling Stone got the big
reaction it always does but it sruck me as being a subpar version. Along
with Mobile, it was the only other humdrum moment of the evening for me.
Again, the problem I have is Dylan talking his way through the verses and
only concentrating on singing the chorus, which he seems to know is the
big moment everyone is waiting for. It works on It Ain't Me, Babe. Not so,
here. Then came the band intros and the killer joke. The crowd, at least
down front, was very enthusiastic all night and I do think Dylan
appreciated it. He seemed to acknowledge the candy on stage by saying
something like "Look at all this stuff." Then when he got to Larry, he did
his best Henny Youngman: "Larry wanted to go trick or treating tonight. He
dressed up as a skeleton but then he decided not to go. He couldn't find
no BODY to go with him." I should add that I laughed hard at this. I
thought his delivery was really effective - the pregnant pause, the
timing. Well, maybe you had to be there.

Watchtower closed out the show and was appropriately fierce, if not quite
apocalyptic. This new arrangement of Watchtower (debuted over the summer)
strikes me as the best in years. I love the spareness of the music while
Dylan is singing - there's so much space between the instruments and
Larry's pedal steel adds so much color and texture. And when the musicians
are let loose on the instrumental breaks, it's doubly effective. No doubt
there are all manner of "stratagems and codes" in place making this
happen.  ;)

All in all, a great night. I didn't talk to anyone who didn't have a blast
at this show and the Halloween atmosphere, including quite a few costumes,
surely helped. I think this would have been an especially great show to
take a newbie to as Bob was very committed all night, in strong voice and
there were virtually no lyric errors. Next up for me: W. Lafayette
tomorrow night . . .

THe first thing I have to say is WOW. I Have never had a better time at a
concert, then last night, so in other words it was better than the
Monkees, Beach Boys, and Ringo Starr, and that thank you for that
wonderful experience goes to the man himself Bob Dylan. I'm only 17 so I
really missed out on Dylan's Rolling Thunder Review of 75 and 76, his born
again Christian period in the 80's, and no I've never bought a vinyl of
his. I have seen him once before when he came to downtown Chicago at the
Rivera on March 5, 2004. Needless to say it's not something I like talking
about, and was about to give up my Bob Dylan faze and was about to stop
annoying my family and friends with useless information (with which I'm
sure they would have been proud of). But I had a very big feeling his last
concert of the year in Chicago was something special I couldn't miss, and
I was right. My mom was reluctant to go after the March 5 fiasco, so I
bought a ticket for my self and she drove an hour to take me to DeKalb's 
Northern Illinois University Convocation Center. I Didn't stand
in the cold for too long before they let us in. And found out
that I was able to stand very close to the stage which was another
big treat for me. Then 20 minutes after he was suppose to come
out, he opended with a rocking "Down Along THe Cove" and I believe he
added some new lyrics to it. Then slowed it down for "God Knows" which I
had never heard before great anyway, then slipped into "Positivley 4th
Street" which is a song I've wanted to hear, he did his grammy winning
"Things Have Changed" song, which was ok, then a song I never thought I
would hear was "Forever Young" he changed it a lot I Didn't know what
song it was until he sang "May God Bless and Keep you always" by then
the tears were endless. I was very happy to hear a song I like a lot
"Blind Willie McTell" nice arrangment. "High Water" another good one off
"Love and THeft" of course. And "It Ain't Me, Babe" a version I don't
think my other hero Johnny Cash could have done it the same way. He did
his usual "Summer Days" closer and looked at the audience stood there with
his band and walked off, everyone in the center got out of there seats and
for 5 minutes applauded and applauded screaming "Bobby, Bobby" He walked
back to the stage and piano and sang "Like A Rolling Stone" (I could
listen to that song all day) he then walked from behind his piano, and
introduced the members of the band, made a funny joke how one the the
guitarist wanted to go Trick or Treating after the concert, and did a 10
star version of "All Along THe Watchtower". And then it was over. Thourgh
the whole concert I kept my eyes on Dylan and he danced a little bit,
smiled a little at the band and audience. And everyone just seemed to be
having a wonderful time. Now for my money I'm marking that concert the best 
since his October 31, 1964 concert in New York, and his MTV Unplugged 
concerts in 1994, i knew I'm gonna get a lot of angry letters from people 
saying that they could dispute that. But really it was just absolutley 
wonderful a experience i hope I never, ever, ever forget. Thanks Bob. 

Just drove back from DeKalb.  What a difference a day makes.  Last night I
think some people didn't know what to make of Bob's style.  Last night,
some kid yelled Bob Dylan sucks after the concert, tonight everyone was
chanting "More Bob Dylan, More Bob Dylan" after Summer Days.  I don't
think a single person left there tonight without all their expectations
met, and then some.  This was simply smoking.  Not to say there weren't
some slow songs, like Not Dark Yet, which was fantastic, and Positively
Fourth Street.   But this was one of those Halloween rocking nights.  Bob
for the most part played songs in somewhat of a more traditional style,
and the crowd was definitely pleased.  Bob was focused, his voice was
again very good with no yelling or growling, Stu and Larry were definitely
on, and George and Tony were simply awe inspiring.  The whole band was
totally attentive to Bob the entire evening, and Bob gave them the
six-shooter signs with both hands a couple times when they really nailed a
song.  (They actually nailed every song tonight.)  Bob talked a little
before the introductions, and I couldn't make it all out even though I was
in about the third row center.  There was some stuff I couldn't make out
at all, and then something something about a real show here tonight,
"spooks and all."  One time in Chicago a couple years ago, Bob said that
he didn't like people saying that he mumbled and that if we heard someone
say that we should beat them up or something to that effect, because he
didn't mumble, but Bob this was as close to mumbling as you can get and
still not be mumbling.  But then he straightened up the diction and we got
a joke when he introduced Larry.  Bob said we should talk to Larry after
the show because Larry wanted to go out Trick or Treating, and he was
dressed up as a skeleton.  Turned out he couldn't go out though, because
he didn't have any body to go with.  And thank you Bob, after waiting for
many years, I finally heard Blind Willie McTell in concert, and a smoking
version at that.  Lets see what Oshkosh brings.

What a show. I got there with plenty of time to get to my seats and just
take in the atmosphere. The arena was maybe 2/3 full, considering the
Bears game and it was Halloween. Bob came on at about 8:20, blasting
through Down Along the Cove, God Knows, Positively 4th Street, and Things
Have Changed. The crowd was fairly dead up to here. As soon as he hit the
first chords of Forever Young, it was rockin for the rest of the night.
Lonesome Day Blues was good, but not as good as I thought it could have
been. Stuck Inside of Memphis followed, and the guitar work really smoked.
I had never realized how good Stu was before. Then came Blind Willie
McTell, which was damn good. Up to this point, the band had been playing
in front of a background of the faded eye logo. The band absolutely plowed
up the best Highway 61 Revisited I have ever heard, with the background
flying open to reveal a silver backdrop as the song started. Not Dark Yet,
High Water, and Honest with Me followed, and were all really great. It 
Ain't Me came next and had everyone singing (after we recognized the 
reworked music).  The regular set closed with Summer Days, but you could 
tell that they weren't done yet. The encore was (of course) Like A Rolling 
Stone and Watchtower. Rolling Stone wasn't as good as I had hoped, but was 
still great, and Watchtower was incredible (2nd best song of the show after 
HWY 61). What a show, despite the 2 hour length!

Baraboo,Wisconsin lies just a few miles north of Madison,and is where Ringling 
Brothers Circus used to spend their winter off-seasons earlier in the 20th 
century. Visions danced through my head of elephants, dwarves,and bearded ladies 
frolicking in northwoods snow as I drove through town, but it was a circus of a 
less mobile sort I was tracking down. South of town on Highway 12 there is a 
salvage yard, the kind which you can find in almost any rural area of the 
country. As you get closer, something begins to look a little different. Lining 
the highway out front are whimsical sentries made of scrap metal parts, some 
designed as large birds, others taking more humanoid form. A giant heart-shaped 
radar scans the skies for other apparent remnants of a 1950's science fiction 
film set. And then you follow the signs along the driveway into the back......
you enter Dr. Evermor's garden of mechanical delights and cannot control the 
slack-jawed expression of joy on your face. Over the course of three decades
Dr.Evermor has assembled what's been billed as the "world's largest sculpture" 
behind Delaney's Surplus. Entire regiments of scrap metal birds, serpents, and
insect men converge around the perimeter. Turreted gunships left over from a 
lost intergalactic battle have come to rest. Metallic storks transformed into 
guitars rival the trees in height. Ordinary vehicles have become instruments of 
science fantasy at the hands of Dr. Evermor. At the center of this 
extra-terrestrial carousel sits the FOREVERTRON, a sprawling, 300-ton 
teleportational device "built in a timeframe of around 1890" as the legend goes.
Dr. Evermor was inspired to consruct the machine to "perpetuate himself through 
the heavens on a magnetic lightning force beam inside a glass ball inside a 
copper egg". The mass of pipes and rayguns and telescopes puts you in mind of 
the device Jodie Foster climbed into to travel through the wormhole in the film
"Contact". At the top of it all, closest to the heavens, you can see the glass 
ball inside the copper egg that Dr. Evermor would climb into yo achieve
celestial liberation. I walked around the compound snapping photo after photo 
of the incredible scene before me. It was getting late in the afternoon, and 
light was fast disappearing from already dreary skies. I was about to get on my 
way to De Kalb, Illinois for the evening's Bob Dylan show (yes,this is still a 
Boblinks review), when a lady on the premises asked me if I wanted to meet the 
artist. I had intended to speak with Dr.Evermor during my visit, and I ventured 
into the salvage superstore looking for him when I first arrived. So,yes, though 
time was running short, I did want to speak with the artist. Inside a very 
terrestrial bus that transported people to Robot World, I found the good doctor 
in the back wrapped in blankets and warmed by a space heater on this chilly day.
He was a gracious host and eager to meet visitors from around the globe. I signed 
the guestbook which revealed the distances folks had traveled to see his most 
unique exhibition. The music and life of Sun Ra came to mind immediately as 
someone with which Dr. Evermor would share a creative and philosophical kinship
I'm finally, after six years, reading John Szwed's fine biography, "Space Is The 
Place", and parallels exist between the two visionaries. We chatted for fifteen 
minutes before I'd used Every Grain Of Sand in the hourglass and had to get back 
on the road. I'd wished that I'd had more time; a fascinating individual like 
Dr. Evermor (common name Tom Every) deserves to be heard. Any words that I may 
write cannot adequately describe the wonder of this man's work. I drove miles out 
of my way to see the fabulous Forevertron, and it was worth every click of the 
odometer. Don't just take my word for it; go to www.roadsideamerica.com, find the
national map, locate Wisconsin, and find out more. Then drive out of your way, if
necessary, to see it. You won't be disappointed.

I made it to De Kalb with little time to spare before the show commenced. Tonight's 
host on the College Tour of Knowledge was Northern Illinois University. Approaching
from the west the Convocation Center rises from a vast plain like a citadel on a
Martian moon. I was utilizing a Mapquest printout and the building appeared sooner 
than expected. Traffic was a clue I was at the right place, as was the sign with 
BOB DYLAN up in flashing lights. Unlike last night at Carthage College, this place 
had plenty of parking available in their lot. Inside was a proper arena with seating 
all the way around, so main floor general admission meant standing up front. Hurray!
The seats in the arena bowl were dark blue, which added to intimacy in the lowered 
light. This being halloween, a few in the house were decked out in costume,or at 
least parts thereof. One tall attractive blonde sported devil horns, while a couple 
NIU girls wore costumes of the homemade variety: t-shirts with hand-w! ritten lyrics
to "Mr. Tambourine Man". It wasn't long before the game was on. Tonight's set was,
I hate to say, the worst of the four I attended on this roadtrip. Not bad, just a 
little too mediocre. A few too many glitches from the band, a few too many klinks
& klunks out of Bob's piano. The sound was uneven, even though I was positioned in 
front of the suspended amps; Larry was too low in the mix. It was one of those 
nights where some songs turned out a cacophonous mess. "Lonesome Day Blues" needs 
to grind more to be effective. "Not Dark Yet" has lost some of it's deep emotional 
impact as conveyed in renderings of five or so years ago. Standouts were a decisive
"Stuck Inside Of Mobile With The Memphis Blues Again", and the best "Blind Willie 
McTell" I've seen since Clarkston Pine Knob 8/10/97. "Highway 61" again ripped, and
any set that includes "God Knows" CAN'T be all bad. This number, though released on
"Under The Red Sky", actually originates from the "Oh Mercy" New Orlean! s sessions
of '89, a fertile period in Bob's writing life.

Still,any Bob Dylan show is a great way to end the day, and this day was one in 
which I saw some pretty incredible sights. I'll always remember the older gals in
Racine waving campaign signs for John Kerry on the sidewalk as cars honked in 
support. As Election Day 2004 draws near, I'm reminded of how wonderful this 
country truly is, as the Chimes Of Freedom ring loud and clear throughout this 
land. There would be no concert tomorrow, so I would fill an off-day with 
generous spoonfuls of blues history before heading north to Oshkosh.

Don Ely 
Rochester,MI
kingsnake78@hotmail.com