I think he winked at us with this show. First of all the “circus” theme?? Complete with cheesy taped intro music and a booming ringmaster announcement: “ladies and gent — tul —- men, the poet laureate of a generation, the folk icon of the 60’s, etc. etc.”. What was up with all that? The master showman was a master showman, what can you say.
Once the band started playing, it was all business though. They started at 80 miles per hour (Cat’s in the Well) and rarely let up. The show was instrumental, rocking, energetic and best of all tight……musically. Poignant ballads? Not tonight.
Willie Nelson and John Mellancamp? Nice side-shows, nice for what they do, and nice build ups to the main act — center ring. Song treatments were what you would expect……Dylan’s were not. The beauty of this kind of Dylan show, was that you could have it both ways: you could hear a song you’ve heard 400 times, and you could hear the same song for the first time. It Aint’ Me Babe was the song of the night for me and I didn’t even recognize it until several minutes in. For the old-timers Masters of War was warped into an angry rock diatribe spitting venom. Later Highway 61 Revisited got you into a looser mood and when the band kicked into Summer Days you felt like you were dancing in a juke joint somewhere in the southern midwest.
Most songs displayed an almost “jam band” type feel as powerful instrumentals shattered the damp night air. The only criticism I heard (which was true) was that you could not understand Dylan’s voice at all. Yes, you could hear it — but as usual it was unintelligible. You know what? So what? Most people knew all the words anyway.
All in all this was a summer show — threatening to rain all night but it miraculously held out —- maybe it was because he played The Levee’s Gonna Break. Who could resist a grin while the highly satisfying encore rolled out Like a Rolling Stone, Jolene (brand new), and All Along the Watchtower? If you haven’t seen a Bob Dylan show in several years, it is crystal clear to me he has developed a stadium “thing” that is innovative, skilled, and highly entertaining. Best of all, it somehow seems to magically feel fresh as opposed to nostalgic. How does he do that………again?
For another opinion on the show and a bit more detail, check the Larry Fishman review at the Bob Links site.