Reviews

Jillsy and i went to see Dylan at the Petersen Center on the campus  of
the University of Pittsburgh on Sunday, November 7th. We took along our 
friend, John. It was his first show. 

We arrived about an hour before the show started and had time to chat for
a few minutes with sugaree and ramblin' gamblin'.

The show started around 8:15 PM with

1. Rainy Day Women #12 & 35-It has been a pretty long time since i last 
heard this and it was a good jump start to the show. It had a decent 
harmonica solo.

2. Forever Young-i thought it was a odd place for it so early in the set 
but it was well played and Dylans vocals were loud and clear. He ended the
 tune with a good harmonica solo.

3. God Knows-i was expecting this and was glad to see it. It was not a 
great version, though. The band seemed a little sluggush during it and it
never  really took off the way i expected it to. Dylan played a harmonica
solo that  started well but didn't go anywhere new.

4. Bye and Bye-Not one of my favorite songs but it was nicely played and 
Dylan gave a good vocal performance. He gave us another harmonica solo and
it  was pretty nice.

5. It's Alright, Ma (I'm Only Bleeding)-i really like this song and it was
 a powerhouse version. Dylan roared the vocals and Larry gave a short but
nice  solo on the Bouzouki. The line "But even the president of the United
 States sometimes must have to stand naked" got a big cheer, as usual.

6. Lay Lady Lay-Dylan gave a excellent vocal delivery and Larry played
some  nice pedal steel guitar licks. i missed a harmonica solo, though.

7. High Water-This was more powerful than most recent versions. The music 
didn't subside during the verses as it usually does. It just stayed
rocking with 
 Dylans vocals barely being able to be heard over the music.

8. Positively 4th Street- i didn't recognize the song until the vocals 
started but it turned out to be a highlight. Tony and Larry were on 
acoutic baass and guitar, respectively. Dylan really nailed the vocals. He
 capped the song off with a sweet harmonica solo.

9. Watchin' the River Flow- i am not a fan of this song but this was
almost  good enough to totally change my mind about it. It built up quite
a bit of steam  and Stu played one fiery riff after another. Dylan put a
lot of emotion into the  vocals and ended the song with a blistering
harmonica solo. Possibly the best  song of the night. i never thought i'd
say that about this song.

10. Can't Wait-MMMM. One of my favorite songs and Dylan really gave it a 
heartfelt reading. He flubbed a line or two but when he is singing so
well, it  doesn't matter. This song made the night for me.

11. Don't Think Twice, It's All Right-This featured Larry on acoustic 
guitar and Tony on stand up bass. It was pretty well played and a bit
faster  than usual. Dylan did a bit of upsinging on the first verse but
reverted to  normal phrasing for the remainder of the tune. A sweet
harmonica solo ended the  tune.

12. Honest With Me-Larrys slide guitar was not as prominent as usual 
tonight but the song still rocked pretty hard and Dylan gave the vocals a
lot of  emotion. i really enjoy the jam segment of this song.

13. Sugar Baby-i think the acoustic arrangement is very good. Dylan 
delivered it nicely and the band was totally in the groove. George and
Tony were  sharing a lot of smiles during the song. It was quite a treat
to hear.

14. Summer Days-It will never reach the heights of the Charlie Sexton era 
but it is always a lot of fun and it gave Stu and Larry a chance to trade
licks  back and forth which they did really well. (encores) 15, Like A
Rolling  Stone- Maybe, i've just heard it too often but it doesn't do much
for me  anymore. This was a pretty lousy version, too. Dylans singing was
devoid of  emotion and Larry played a couple of sour notes on the pedal
steel. Stus guitar  solo was pretty good but couldn't save the song.
Intros followed and when  introducing George, Dylan joked "George went to
the Steeler game today.(lots of  cheering) Someone stepped on his foot and
he had to call a tow(toe) truck."  While he did this, Tony took his hat
off and looked like he was going to toss it  into the crowd. He is really
bald. 16. All Along The Watchtower-The perrenial  show closer. It was
pretty rocking and there was a good transition between the  vocal parts
with the instruments laying back and the instrumental parts which  were
powerful and intense. It didn't have the echo effects like it did during 
the summer tour. Notes. A. The band sounded really good. Stu is so much 
better than Freddie ever was. George really drove a lot of songs and was
full of  smiles. Tony was pretty subdued for most of the show. Larry was
as cool as  usual, which is quite cool. B. Dylans keyboard seemed to be
turned up louder  than usual. His vocals were pretty good for the most
part. His harmonica playing  was uniformly excellent. C. The setlist
didn't have any surprises and the  song selections were pretty standard.
The absence of "Tweedle Dee & Tweedle  Dum"was appreciated, though. D. i
don't understand people paying good money  to go to a show and then
talking during every song. The couple in front of me  semed annoyed that
the music was interfering with their  conversations. Overall, it was a
good show. It was not the best show i've  seen but i had a great time and
left feeling satisfied and happy. If anyone has  a copy... Any feedback or
corrections are welcome. Of course, these are just one  fans opinions.

In Bob we trust
Carsten Molt
carstenbmolt@aol.com

A blindingly fluorescent glow emanated from the new Peterson Events Center
facility upon our arrival.  After dropping in elevation about 500 feet
down what appeared to be freshly concreted stairs from the parking area,
we entered the arena.  The facility was spacious and the HVAC was
powerful...once the stage smoke started it was quickly pulled several feet
above the stage.  Only a few minutes after the planned start time the
lights went out and the show was underway.  Bob look to be in great
spirits tonight.  Opening with Rainy Day Woman... the band seemed to be
ready to rock...as if they were playing the 10th song in a 20 song set. 
Bob played the harp on the first 4 songs in a row (and others), each time
more enthusiastically than the last.  His microphone, effectually
positioned lower than it needed to be, seemed to be tuned in just right as
it picked up every crisp whisper of Dylan's newest of voices.  The
acoustics were good in this facility.  After attending a show in Columbus
on November 4th, where Bob orchestrated a little more than usual, it was
refreshing to see that tonight the band required little if any direction
from the legendary performer.  As the show went on, I was rewarded with an
excellent performance of both Positively 4th Street and Watching the River
Flow.  The band members all seemed to smile and chuckle at times and Dylan
seemed quite jovial at times.  His voice sounded good and he had more
range tonight than in the previous show I attended Thursday night.  Don't
Think Twice was a treat as well.  Upon the finish of the first encore
song, Bob thanked the fans and upon announcing the drummer, George Recile,
Bob mentioned that George attended the Steelers game, and remarked that
"someone stepped on his toe so they had to call a tow (toe) truck".   It
was great to see Bob even say anything to the fans, something he has not
done often in the past few years on a regular basis.  Stu Kimball is a
great addition to the band and offers a noticeably different flavor to the
group.  His solos seem thicker and brighter than Freddy's, though I still
miss Charlie.  Larry, as usual, was amazing and displayed his diversity by
playing everything from the dobro to the slide guitar.  Overall it was a
great experience, and one of the best shows I have attended.

Bill Huggins

The peterson events is a beautiful faculity in the heart
of the university of pittsburgh. this show was very good, even
though in my oponion it lacked some of the energy of his last college
tour. this is to take nothing away from the performance, bob and 
his band were greatly appreciated by me,  my cousin and two friends
(40s and 50s crowd) along with the college kids. it was neat to see the 
young crowd appreciate a legend. any time you can witness dlyan 
performing classics like its alright ma, lay lady lay, like a rolling 
stone, all along the watchtower, forever young, positively fourth 
street, dont think twice, its worth more than the price of admission!

Keep touring bob and I will keep showing up. 

Rick Papurello