Reviews

Let me start my review by getting the bad things out of the way . The show
was a little short ( 18 songs ) and no harp . But that was it .
Everythings else was spectaculer .          I arrived at the "Joint" at
6:30 for my 15th Bob concert. They opened the doors at 7 sharp. It only
took a few minutes to get everyone inside . It was crowded but not too bad
. For those of you who have never been to the joint , its standing only,
except those who paid $ 150 to sit in the balcony . Theres 3 tiered levels
on the main floor , so you can get a good view of the stage from anywhere
. The sound was ok, not great . They have 2 large bars at the very back of
the room so you can get a cocktail and not miss any of the show . A
definite plus ! It was the usual age range from teens to baby boomers .
There was one lady who came in a wheelchair. She had to be 85-90 years old
. God bless her .          Bob and the boys came out around 8:10 . This
was my first time seeing Bob standing behind the piano . I did see him
back in 1989 in Chicago sitting behind the piano for " Disease of conceit
", but this was much different . The highlights of the show for me were
the songs Ive never heard him perform, 8 in all , so I'll touch on them . 
1)  Solid rock ( show opener ) Excellant rocker , we'll worth the wait .
2) When I paint my masterpiece . Well sung , my second biggest highlight .
3) Tombstone blues . Always wanted to hear this one live . Bob did'nt
dissapoint . 4) Accidentally like a martyer . First time Ive ever heard
this song . Ive got to get a copy of the original . The most moving song
of the night .  5) Brown sugar . Really got the crowd jumping . Lets Larry
and Charlie get more involved . 6) Blind Willie McTell . The absolute
highlight of the night for me . I only wish he had played piano on this
one . 7)  Never gonna be the same again . Some great solo guitar picking
by Bob .  8) Old man . Just like Brown sugar , brought down the house .   
   Another great concert experience from Bob . Now its back to Chicago for
the November 1st show . Last year at the United Center Bob played 23 songs
.  I can't wait .             Jim Doran . ran .                           
         

I went to the show last night and was looking for a review but couldn't
find any.

Was great to participate in the sincere feelings of human spirit via the
song poem prayer with Dylan, instead of looking at him I was experiencing
the song with him as if he were the pastor delivering the word of song and 
not himself the focus of attention. It was by far the most intimate and 
particularly mystical concert of his I have seen. During the song preceding 
Rainy Day there was a pronounced amount of pot smoking close up front center 
where I was and I felt that Dylan purposely played "Women" because of this.
 
It was the tightest best possible rendition of that song imaginable.

C.Andrews

Another wonderful experience at a Bob Dylan concert.  My 9th since 1978,
my sons 4th since 1998.  Timothy Dylan, 12 years old, has been a big fan
of Dylan since he was 7 years old.  He listens to all of my old records
and tapes.  Tim is also a musician, primarily playing the violin at school
but also has picked up on other instruments on his own.

He has said to me for the last 5 years "someday I have to meet Bob Dylan".
 His dream came true last night at the Hard Rock Hotel.  We got in line
about 6:30 a.m. so that he could be in the front row next to the stage. 
We had a good time talking to other people but mostly just hanging out.

At about 4:00 I was offered a choice of either the general admission
tickets or the balcony.  Since we had been in the front row last year we
decided to go for the seats in the balcony.  It was really tough to give
up our place in line to be in the front row but we opted for the seats. 
So we got out of line and walked around the back were the tour busses are
and Tim got Tony's autograph.  We then went into the casino hoping to see
if Bob would be walking around.  As luck would have it we walked right
into him.  He was very nice to my son and signed an autograph for him.  He
asked Tim a couple of questions and Tim told him this was his fourth
concert and he really enjoys his music.  I have to say that he was very
nice to my son.  If we had opted for the general admission we would never
have had the chance of running into him as we would have been standing in
line.  The stocking cap pulled down low really doesn't hide who he is.

The show itself was very good but the highlight of the evening were oddly
enough Brown Sugar and Old Man.  Incredible versions.  I would never have
thought that  non-Bob Dylan songs would be the highlight of his shows. 
But last night they were.  The opening number, Solid Rock, was also one of
the highlights along with Honest With Me.  I am getting a little tired of
Rainy Day Women #12 & 35 and All Along the Watchtower.  It's Allright Ma
was actually a nice version, completely different from other times I have
seen him play it.  Tombstone Blues was also reworked and was very good.
Cold Irons bound was a nice extended version (or seemed like it) and
rocked like no other song.  I wasn't really impressed with some of the
song selections and was extremely disappointed that he didn't play Summer
Days and Bye and Bye.  Oh well.  

The show lasted about 2 hours and 15 minutes which was surprising since he
cut down the number of songs.

As much as Bob doesn't like autograph seekers he has no idea of how much
of an impact he has been on my son's life and how Tim will never forget
this show and the day he ran into Bob Dylan.  As a father nothing could
make me happier than having one of my son's dream come true.  

Bob Coleman
RDCARAMARK@aol.com 

"Stuck Inside of Vegas with Zimmy Blues Again.."

The Zimmaster returns to Sin City, his fourth such visit in just over three 
years. So, naturally, he opens with his born again bravado "Solid Rock." A
fine version, true to the original (what a concept!) and a reminder that there
were indeed some gems among the dross of his BAP (born again period).

Masterpiece and Tombstone Blues were both fine--really more notable for
the remarkable musical skills of Larry and Charlie than for Mr D. "Mobile" is
growing a tad tiresome--"oh mama, can THIS really be the end.." of this
song live, at least for a while.

But then...
Hold on to your hats boys. Bob does Mick. How come he sounds so good...when he 
is covering someone else? And Larry and Charlie made it sound like Keith and 
Ron were behind the curtain..a remarkable moment, worth the price of admission.

But, as they say on the infomercials, "wait, theres more!"

Was it? YES it was. Blind Willie McTell. One of his most magnificent pieces of 
work in the last quarter century, there for all to enjoy.

Another triumvirate of so-so songs--including an odd, almost unrecognizable 
version (really, from bob? how odd..) of Never Gonna Be The Same Again from 
the Empire Burlesque LP. Followed by a lovely version of Love Minus Zero..a 
timeless joy...

Then a smoking version of Neil Young's Old Man--somewhere in Marin County,
ole' Neil's ears were a-burnin...

A rocking Honest With Me...followed by an acoustic Mama You Been on My 
Mind..the misty blues of High Water and a perennial crowd pleaser (hey IT
IS Vegas...) Rainy Day Women..

The icing on the bob cake was provided in the form of Knockin' ("just like
so many times beforrrrrre...") and a house rocking Watchtower.

Then the final glare at the crowd amid the din of wild applause, and back
on the road heading to another joint..

There may be somebody out there somewhere who currently MATTERS more to
popular music than our boy Bobby...but there is NO ONE who WILL matter more 
50 or 100 years from now when folks look back on the strange voiced man and 
his magnificent obsession.

hello ,my name is scott. i attended the concert at vegas. my wife and i 
traveled from s.fla and wanted to let every one know that as i was
standing by the sound board with 10 min. to go before the show,i notice a 
7 foot man standing in front of me.low and behold i say to the guy please 
dont stand in front of me and he turns around and says sorry and its 
bill walton.!!!!  bill enjoys bob as much as is beloved dead shows. keep 
on trukin.......

  This was only the second Dylan show I have gone to without a ticket, (the
other being Princeton in 2000), and may have been a risky bet in Vegas,
but I knew it wouldn't be a problem.  So what if it's the second-smallest
show on the whole tour, at 1,400 people? This was my fourth year in a row
to see Dylan in a small place in Las Vegas, and I was not going to miss
it.  Sure enough, the first person I saw that I knew had a $50.00 ticket for
me (face value: $88.00). So I was already feeling lucky.
  When Bob and the Band came out and went into Solid Rock, I was feeling 
way luckier, because I had not seen this yet and really wanted to. It was
rockin!! "Well I'm hanging on!" You sure are man.
  Masterpiece was indeed, his singing was very focused on this. When he did 
the line "Sailin round the world in a dirty gondola, Oh to be back in the
land of Coca-Cola," he added, "For a while, anyway."   Verrrrry
interesting.
  I must say that this show featured Serious Bob...I saw only a couple of
smiles, especially compaired to the night before in San Diego; his stage
demenor was like night and day. Very intense and serious here, even while
wearing a cream-colored suit coat that glittered with many little stones,
just like Liberace! Perfect Las Vegas get-up--I can't believe he did it.
  Blind Willie McTell--I could hear this every night and not get tired of it, 
but since  it is pretty rare it seems even more special when he does it.
This version was almost perfect.
  Never Gonna Be The Same Again--Another song I had never seen live...this
show is starting to seem very important to me. Bob's guitar playing on
this was very impressive, because he actually was taking the leads and
playing them well! Holy Shit! This guy CAN play acoustic when he wants to!
I was blown away, as were many in the crowd who realized this is not the
Bob we usually see playing the acoustic...You need to hear this on a tape.
  (By the way, a taper got busted right next to me during Tombstone 
Blues...If you are taping in the 5th row, don't wear sunglasses. That is
what got this guy nailed and kicked out. "I just have the World Series
game on the radio", he says. Guard: "OK, what's the score?"  The guy
mumbles some score. "Wrong answer, we're watching it backstage. Come with
me.") Not fun to watch.
   A rocking Cold Irons Bound, then Love Minus Zero, a favorite of mine.
So great to be able to hear him do so many different songs, not the same list
each night. Yes there are many repeats, but I saw seven shows on this tour
and saw 57 different songs, which is almost three whole different shows. I
really doubt there is anyone on the road now who does this. The last band
to pull it off was the Grateful Dead, and they did almost the same thing
as Bob--many repeats, but so many gems along the way...but in my opinion
Bob takes more chances.
  The rest of the show was just as great, and to have Rainy Day Women end it 
seemed like a good break from Summer Days.
  I went to the back of the room for Watchtower, just to get a different
angle on things, and was amazed that they had the doors to the casino wide
open, and Watchtower was blasting out onto the casino floor. Curious
gamblers crowded around the doors to hear and try to see, which was not
possible from there.
  All and all another great Vegas adventure, which I really hope will happen 
again next year.