Review

Why not make it a trifecta? Bob's last of three shows at the Wiltern was
the tightest. I had read many postings over the years of his voice wearing
out after two consecutive shows, but it was in amazing form tonight,
easily the strongest of the three shows. Basically, Bob hit the phrasings
on all the songs well, the snarls were amazing in the songs that call for
them, and the band was as tight , rocking and loud as hell.

So ignore the posts and go see for yourself. Based on what I had read over
the years, i assumed Bob would fade tonight and I would just enjoy the
band. Far from it, it was like nights 1 & 2 were warmups for the real
event tonight. Especially on Its Allright Ma, and Tambourine Man, he
precisely delivered the goods. The opening was strong and his harp on Baby
Tonight was awesome (but last night's Moonlight harmonica was the most
magic thing ever).

I heard a rumor that Bob was playing the keyboards because of arthritis.
It would make sense, he mainly plays simple chords. This would also
explain the going back and forth between guitar and keyboard songs, but
the way he played during Watchtower was not like a guy with sore hands at
the end of the workday.

Not a lot of celebrity sightings  over this series of shows. The guy from
the Black Crowes is dating Goldie Hawn's daughter (someone told me), Danny
DeVito & Rhea Perlman stayed for eleven songs. Whoopie Goldberg arrived
three songs in but stayed the whole show, the guy from Penn and Teller
(the big one who talks) was there, the reason his hair is slicked back is
because it tied into a bun and he hardly looks like himself when he is out
in public with it down and long. For L.A., that was a low celebrity
quotient, but the Wiltern is pretty easy to get in and out of quickly, so
I may have missed a few.

Oh and what do the guys do before a show? Forty minutes before curtain, as
the line moved down western Avenue (Wilshire Blvd. Plus Western Ave.
Equals WILTERN theater), we pass the two tour busses, a large screen
television is visible through one window. My guess is The Simpsons...

Mat Gleason 
(coagula@hotmail.com)