Reviews

After having attended five Dylan shows within the past two weeks (2 in
scotland, 3 in germany) I feel compelled to voice my half Euro´s worth of
opinion and would like to do so by commenting on tonights concert,
probably one of the best shows I attended all year (right up there with
the birthday gig).

The performance was as `on´ as it gets from start to end.  From the get-go
there was this feeling that this could turn out to be another magic
Muenster show just like in `96.  One felt immediately that one wasn´t
going to have to wait 8 songs until things would finally "klick" like in
Hamburg a few days earlier but that rather things would pick up where they
had been left off in Frankfurt, where Bob, in buyoant mood had heaped such
praise on us, his german fans.

A solid Duncan and Brady got things rolling immediately and then yet
another `new´ song got premiered on this tour, John Brown, in a new and
different arrangement.  Then came a splendid Visions Of Johanna, a song I
was witnessing live for the first time, just like the number that
followed, One Too Many Mornings; both songs were performed perfectly from
beginning to finish!  TUIB and Searching...closed out a powerful and
passionate acoustic set.

The electric set opened with a raunchy rendition of Country Pie and then
someone yelled out for Highlands.  I don´t want to rub it in on this
fellow nor anyone else dying to hear this one done live but wasn´t it kind
of obvious where that epic was going to be played if showcased at all on
this tour?  Needless to say, that punters plea was ignored and instead we
got an intense Standing In The Doorway followed by a really rocking
version of All Along The Watchtower, followed by yet another tremendous
rendition of Dignity.  I was fortunate enough to have experienced this gem
of a song quite a few times this year and whenever I heard it, it took me
back to the Brixton Academy show in ´95 when Bob said: "I´m gonna play a
new number now; actually it´s ten years old!"  Where has that song been
the past couple of years?  It´s just too good to be left unplayed!!

Things slowed down for a heartfelt rendition of Just Like A Woman but
picked up once again for smoking versions of Drifters Escape and Leopard
Skin Pill Box Hat.  The frenzy carried over into a spectacular set of
encores with stellar performances of Love Sick, and Like A Rolling Stone. 
But when Bob launched into If Dogs Are Free you knew this evening was
gonna go down in history!!  Things Have Changed, I Shall Be Released and a
killer Highway 61 with extended jammin´ had the crowd going into hysterics
before Blowin´In The Wind calmed everyone down and sent us on our way.

Let me conclude by stating that you folks in Brussels, Paris and London
are indeed going to be in for some wild shows, I can almost guarantee it. 
So enjoy and hopefully we´ll all be out on the road doing it again next
year!!!


Tschuess everyone!

Werner Kehl

So there it was most definitely my last Dylan show for this year, maybe
even for longer, as I finally have come to the conclusion that finishing
school and getting a degree at long last may make more sense that wasting
time & efforts on Bob. In the long run at least (it's about time, I hear
my Dad sigh, but that's a different story). So what can I say? Münster was
a blast!!! Frankfurt two nights ago was an  outstanding show simply
because Bob was having more fun than ever before (well, I for one never
have seen him having so much fun on stage anyways), but of course there
was a little room for improvement as far as the setlist was concerned.
"Frankie Lee" maybe or "Tell Me That It Isn't True" is what Gunter and I
were hoping for. Then again, what do you really want if you travel to
faraway places to see Bob? Here's my idea what I'd want to get from a good
tour of say seven or eight shows. 1. Perfect renditions of old warhorses,
2. Some surprising songs from Bob's "once a year" rotation (maybe "I&I",
"Masterpiece", "Lenny Bruce" or "John Brown"), 3. See "Tangled getting
dropped or at least a new verse for it, 4. A live debut, 5. "extra songs"
6. "Vision Of Johanna". Well, that's what I would've wanted to see and
hear in the space of seven or eight shows. Münster had all that within two
hours and even more. But let's begin at the beginning. The show started at
8.05, all four guys dressed in black (a first time on this tour!) with Bob
wearing a new jacket that kinda looked like a navy uniform. 

 Duncan & Brady (acoustic)

Was first and what a great rendition it was! The sound was great, even
though were were in front of the "iron curtain" in what was maybe the
fifth row. Bob's singing was very strong right at the start, even though
this voice itself was a bit rusty - no wonder at the end of the tour! It
was funny to hear how he waited with his "...too long" until Larry &
Charlie had finished their part. Unlike other songs and versions where
he's clearly singing against the two guys and not WITH them, this was
still fitting in very nicely with the song. To everybody's surprise Larry
then reached for the bouzouki. What song would be next? "Fourth Time
Around" maybe? Certainly they wouldn't do "John Brown"!? Why? Well, to the
best of my knowledge he has played the song only twice in Europe over the
last ten years, one in the very same venue in Münster in 1996 and then
again in Bremen, only about 100 miles away from Münster. So playing it
again here would either mean that he strongly connects the song with this
part of Germany for some unknown reason or that it would be a very, very
unlikely coincidence. Well, he did start

 John Brown (acoustic)

Which made everybody who knew of the above mentioned fact smile. Pretty
good version too, even though I believe he skipped a whole verse (the
"letter ceased to come..." part). I might be wrong, but it definitely
seemed shorter than usual too, despite a pretty good solo courtesy of
Larry on the bouzouki, who was playing exceptionally well throughout the
whole show. Last time I'd heard "John Brown" in a  by far inferior version
was in New York City at Tramps last summer and at that show he followed it
up with "Visions". I have to admit that I was hoping that he wouldn't do
it again, because, hey, if you've travelled to Portland, Maine in a
fucking snowstorm to see Bob do this song and then hear him do it at an
800 capacity show, you kinda hope he won't do it when everybody and their
dog is in attendence. My hopes rapidly vanished though when Tony told
David that "Visions" would be next. Sometime I hate it when you can read
his lips...

 Visions Of Johanna (acoustic)

It was a sublime rendition though. I guess it has been featured quite a
bit over the last two years, but this must have been by far and away the
best version he has done in ages. Larry's rhythm guitar part was beautiful
too, very laid back, yet perfectly suiting Bob's singing. A real
showstopper, just like you except it to be. It obviously couldn't get any
better from this point onwards, but Bob still tried hard, giving us

 One Too Many Mornings (acoustic)

Which opened with a gorgeous and pretty long pedal steel solo by Larry.
Bob's singing was much better than on the pretty bad version in England a
couple of weeks ago. He ended the song with a funny riff on the guitar (I
guess it was supposed to be a full-blown solo, but it really was just a
little riff he played over and over again). He then even reached for the
harmonica and repeated the same riff a few times on the harp again.
Nothing terribly exciting, but a lot of fun to hear nevertheless.

 Tangled Up In Blue (acoustic)

Followed a long discussion between Bob and Tony, but if they even talked
about dropping this song, they clearly weren't ready yet. It was a nice
version though, especially since Bob changed a few lines again. He sang
something about "being self employed" and changed the next few lines too,
but I didn't catch it. The guys in the taper section will let you know
soon, I'm sure.

 Searching For A Soldier's Grave (acoustic)

With Larry on mandolin was the usual version with all three of them
singing. A nice song, though you tend to get tired of it after a handful
of renditions. Well, I do anyways. To make it a little more exciting for
people like me, they played a new a-capella endimg, similar to the "This
World Can't Stand Long", which was nice.

 Country Pie

Same old song, same old routine with Larry and Charlie trading solos. Not
much change there.

 Standing In The Doorway

Not a million miles away from previous renditions either, except for the
fact, that Bob seemed to have gotten all the lyrics right this time,
instead of repeating certain lines like in Hamburg. I know quite a few
people had hoped to get to hear the new lounge version of "Trying To Get
To Heaven" in this slot, but we were in for a very loungy surprise of an
alltogether different kind later on. This could've been my first tour
without "All Along The Watchtower", my alltime favourite song, since early
1998. Well, it could have.

 All Along The Watchtower

It RAWKED, man! Larry messed up the intro, because his arm got stuck in
his jacket (that's what it looked like from my point of view at least),
but as soon as David came in, it just ROCKED, ROCKED, ROCKED. Did I
mention it RWAKED already? Well, it did! The last time I hear them tear
this song to pieces like this was in in May 1996. And that was only on
tape. I person I don't think I even heard the JJ/Winston line up rock
harder. Bob's phrasing was very weird too, almost like the slow 1998
versions.  Larry was going absolutely MAD on lap steel and just when you
expected David to slow down after the last verse for the "quiet" solo part
(you know what I mean), they just kept racing through the song without
ever slowing down. It was fast and - it RAWKED!!!

 Dignity

Was sort of an anti-climax and the only song all night that we'd heard in
a better version the days before. The intro was kinda messed up and it
just didn't flow as nicely as it did the previous nights.

 Just Like A Woman

With Larry on pedal steel was a welcome surprise. Not because I
desperately wanted to hear the song, but because it was very well done
indeed. Bob put a lot into the vocals and seemed very concentrated. After
the "happy" Frankfurt show he seemed to be much more into his playing and
singing than into smiling and having fun tonight.

 Drifter's Escape

Was a semi-surprise, as this meant we would be getting a 13-song mainset
tonight. Rocked even harder than usual, even though it was the "regular"
driving "We remember Jimi Hendrix" arrangement with Bob on blues harp at
the end. Band intros followed... "some of the best players all over the
place..."

 Leopard Skin Pillbox Hat

Was the last song before the stood in line to greet the raptous
reactions from the audience stone-faced as usaul. "Pillbox" gave Charlie
to show off a bit at long last, even though Larry still took the better
and longer solo. This song as well rocked harder and had longer jam/solo
parts as usual. A perfect end to an extremely high-energy show.

 (encore)
 Love Sick

But of course they returned and gave us another semi-surprise by
replacing "Things Have Changed" with "Love Sick". A rather slow version,
but Bob's singing was strong and clear and Larry's solo even better than
usual. Bob did the improved "ploughed under" version, even though you
could see that he had to think hard to remember the lyrics, now that he's
not on auto-pilot anymore not doing the song every single night.

 Like A Rolling Stone

Huge cheer from the crowd behind the "iron curtain", a crowdpleaser for
the first-timers and tourists. Sounded a bit tired, maybe it was just a
regular version after the previous ones that I'd heard actually were above
average. But it was what was next that completely made the night. And I
say that knowing that we had heard  "Visions Of Johanna" earlier in the
set already. I had to laugh out loud at Dylan shows before, usually at
stupid mistakes or crap jokes Bob made. Tonight for the first I was
laughing about the song choice and the arrangement of a song. In fact, I
was laughing so hard, I completely missed the first verse of the song and
tears were almost rolling down my cheeks. Picture this: Big discussion
before the change to the acoustic instruments. Then they finally decide on
a song. Everybody on stage is smiling already! Bob, Tony and Charlie go
for the acoustic guitars and bass guitars respectively. Larry however goes
for his electric white Telecaster. I am thinking: Larry must be
daydreaming again. It's not yet time for "Highway 61". Larry plugs the
guitar in. Looks over to Tony and Charlie. Now he must notice his mistake,
I think. He doesn't. Instead: More smiles. Bob's only an arm length away
from Larry. Surely he must tell him that he better gets his acoustic
guitar fast??? No, Bob doesn't say a thing. What are they gonna do? Play
"Fourth Time Around" backwards? The only other song with a mixed
lectric/acoustic arrangement part from "Fourth Time Around" is
"Highlands"!!! The song finally starts. It's jazzy bar music, with Larry
playing a funky lead riff. If the new "Trying To Get To Heaven" is Frank
Sinatra, this is Dean Martin done badly. Hilarious though! Las Vegas hear
we come! They play a looooong intro. Bob looks over to Tony and laughs out
loud - people in the first rows are looking very surprised.... what the
FUCK is this????? Then Bob finally moves closer to the microphone....and
sings the first line: "If dogs run free, then why not we". 

 If Dogs Run Free (acoustic)

I wish I could tell you what happened next, but I was basically lying on
the floor laughing. It was fucking amazing, it was awesome, beautiful and
ridicolous all at the same time. After every verse Bob stepped back a bit
and laughed out loud!!! He was LAUGHING at himself, probably thinking: Am
I really doing this? Playing an acoustic live debut of one a song that was
released thirty years ago?  It was good to see that they obviously weren't
taking themselves or the song too seriously. At the end Larry played a
great jazzy solo on electric guitar which topped it all off. Bob was
laughing again. A great, great moment!!!

 Things Have Changed   

 Followed and brought back things to an earthy level. This rendition
seemed to be a bit faster than usual (EVERYTHING seemed to be faster
than usual tonight) and the funniest moment was when Bob stepped back a
bit when he came to the "far from myself as I can" line.

 I Shall Be Released (acoustic)

Every bit as good as the nights before, again Bob sang the lovely chorus
WITH Larry and Charlie rather than AGAINST them like so many times before.

 Highway 61 Revistited

Came as no surprise and gave Charlie his first (and last) chance on the
german dates to really show what he's able to do on the electric guitar.
He Bob and Larry were trading solos longer than usual, rocking harder than
any other night. Smoking version, even though David kinda lost control
once and Tony had to help him back into the right rhythm. It was fun to
see how he was looking at David, nodding his head and rolling his eyes as
a way of telling Kemper how to get back into the song. 

 Blowin' In The Wind (acoustic)

Was the 20th and last song. Bob seemed to be singing louder than usual,
but unlike the previous versions, this one didn't seem to have started off
with a guitar solo. Maybe I just missed it. A nice song to make the
tourists happy once more and to close a show that lasted a bit over two
hours, meaning that it was more than 15 minutes longer than Frankfurt.
Having seen as many shows as I did, it probably would look a bit silly if
I'd say now that this was the best Dylan show I've ever been to, but with
the possible exception of Dortmund 1995 and the first Miami Beach show in
1998 it probably was. As I mentioned before, it had everything you could
possibly hope for and more. It was a great night and even though I'm sure
Bob won't be able to top this - if anybody is willing to offer me a ride
back to Essen or the western parts of Germany directly after the Brussels
show, please get in touch: office@carstenwohlfeld.de Thanks a lot for
reading, you really had to be there to fully appreciate it, I assume, but
this really was Bob at his very, very best. Many thanks to Gunter for the
ride and the great time! Goodnight.

Carsten Wohlfeld

--
http://carstenwohlfeld.de
"i look like robert de niro, i drive a mitsubishi zero" (billy bragg)

Some thoughts of mine about yesterdays' show in Munster. First of all it
rained heavily on my way to 'Halle Munsterland'. But Bob didn't seem to be
affected by that at all. It was a fun show to say the least. The songs
which really struck me were many: John Brown (last time I heard this one
in Bremen 98) and the song I waited for, since he'd done it a few times
this year: Standing In The Doorway!! Nice & suitable lead fills throughout
the song. Dignity was also great, but the lyrics got not so passionately
across like in Frankfurt. In the encore section, after Like A Rolling
Stone' The Band changed to acoustic gear - leaving only Larry with an
elecctric guitar. What's that gonna be??!. Some jazzy chords were played -
no one had an idea. All that changed immideately when Bob sang the firts
line. Great rounds of applause followed: IF DOGS RUN FREE!!!! Played in a
jazzy arrangement. UNlike any other song in the set to date. Get the
tape!! (Bob was loose & security was not. Very tight checkings at the
entrance gates body&bagwise.Didn't affect the concert though. You just
have to ignore these guys.Again the ridiciculous barrier ewas set up bout
5 mtrs in front of the actual stage.)    

Frank Reinel
garrettpat@gmx.de