Expecting Rain

I went to the Rapid City show. It was excellent with Bob on the Grand. There was something unusual, though. Charlie's presence was barely felt. Not many leads. Kind of just there as a capable rhythm guitarist. Maybe he looked under-the-weather. Stu's leads are not up to the excellence, sometimes kind of painful. What's up? Off night? Has this been a pattern.

First of all, I LOVE the name whoawhoa, so good on ya!

Glad you made it to Rapid City.
Charlie is on a serious Dylan leash in my opinion.
He can sizzle and smoke the place out if Bob allows it, but for some reason he won't.
And Stu, I've taken a little crap from others on this, but I've NEVER seen him do much. I don't know if he's still doing that noodling thing as the opener, but that's about as wild as I've seen Stu get...ever. I was there in NH years ago at Mellowbrook for his debut with the band and have been disappointed with his contribution ever since. It's probably not his fault. I joke that Bob must also have him drive the tour bus as a multi-skilled reason to keep him on so long. The funny thing is that the band is ON FIRE right now regardless of all this. Thank the stars that Tony and George hold it down so well. And the "Eye".

Being on tour away from your family is not always as fun as people think...I would think every musician on tour must have some ups and downs...maybe?


Cheer up Charlie even this must pass....

I was gonna sing If not for you to Charlie with changed text but I am weigh too tired. So I am just gonna say good night instead.....tomorrow is another day.

If not for you
There would be no touring....and so on....

Happy belated birthday!! See u on facebook?

Personally I don't believe Charlie will be in the band this fall

When Stu first started in the band he played some great stuff. He and Larry were quite the pair, almost as interesting as Larry and Freddy.

Charlie hass the ability... but after Larry left the band, the guitarists have been subdued. I had great hopes with Charlie's return of things opening up again... but its been limited. He needs to walk in and tell Bob how its going to be and let it rip. Its for Bob's own good... and for the good of the NET. Many of the pieces are in place, its time to throw it all together, turn it up, turn it loose, and watch the foundations of the earth shake!

I'm not looking forward to him leaving but I've been practicing a lot lately... just in case Bob calls...

You might be onto something. Change is good though. Look at the opportunity it would present.

bob came up to Charlie at the missoula show.. and just before he blew into the harp, he put his hand on Charlies shoulder. He kept it there.. as if to say..Hey.. check out Charlie........ but Charlie didnt even blink. He just kept playing. I believe it was his birthday on thursday.
Im sure theyre tired. Theres a lotta mileage goin on those trucks and busses.. doing the long stretch. Pretty sure their *days off* are spent travelling.
I wonder if they know how much we all appreciate what they do?

When they came through Denver a couple years ago, Charlie was on fire, doing to whole genuflecting before Bob thing. He smoked the joint with his playing. Maybe he is tired. Bob did the hand on the shoulder thing to Charlie the other night, too. I agree, though, the band is sooooo tight. I took a friend who had never seen Bob before and he commented on this very thing. He was sort of amazed that this would be the case. Bob's voice was the best I've heard in the last 5 years!

Actually, Bob himself was responsible for some of the best guitar work of the night. Oh, and, where was the "eye"?

sittin with the organ

In Missoula, I noticed Charlie played fewer solos, but I also thought Stu sounded quite good, especially on that sweet Tele he has. Charlie got frustrated with not being able to hear his guitar a few times. He did do some nice work on Blowin' in the Wind and Summer Days, for what it's worth.

Listen to Early Roman Kings. Charlie must be bored out of his mind.

Why do you say that? Remind me of who Stu is again?

It's hard to pick out Stu because he doesn't really do anything.

hes doing a lot more now. Hes not hiding in the corner by the curtain anymore. He actually plays awesome right alongside Charlie. I think they make a fantastic team..and with Tony Donnie and George of course.. they make this sound extremely fresh and new every nite. You shoulda gone Barefoot!!

This discussion has happened in several places around here before, but I maintain that Stu's contributions are essential. He's the only one playing acoustic guitar these days, for one thing. His soloing has always been good, he just hasn't been called upon to do much of it. The arrangement of Watchtower they do now features Stu more than anyone else, and he nailed the solos on Tweedles and Hwy 61 the night I saw him.

Stu may have been in Bob's dog house at one time, but not anymore. The fact that it's his guitar that opens the show nowadays should tell you what Bob thinks of him.

Well, as I said in another thread I believe that Stu took the lead on many songs in Lyon but it seems to change from night to night. The piano also leave less room for the guitars to dominate than the organ did.

I just hope that Al Santos is taking it OK...

If you want to see Stu do something, watch one of his blistering solos on watchtower from last fall... like this one - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZTA3FR30FUE

I don't think there's any indication for this. Bob has never fired a guitarist after inviting him to a recording session. Quite the opposite, really. John Jackson and Denny Freeman were both let go after not being invited to the studio.

As for Charlie *leaving*, why would he? It might sound a little harsh, but if you *rejoin* a band as as session player at age 41, it's the steady gig your most interested in. I can't see how that would have changed within three years. And unlike during his first stint with Bob, Charlie's market value hasn't really increased lately.

Also, let's wait and see how much room he's been given on the new album.

He did, but it's been said that Charlie was having some technical problems with his gear thar night.

It's Bob's band, so ultimately it's up to him who does how much of what.

Well part of his Birthday Thread here disappeared! (One of the missing postings was mine) so no doubt he just was incredibly upset about that, inconsolable, and after such a blow, and being worn out from hours of weeping about it, he just felt quiet.

I like Charlie, but when Freddy appeared in 2003 and 2004 the band really got loud, which is a good thing. I don't mind Dylan rocking the joint, which Charlie can help out with, but Freddy really maxed it out. A lot of songs appeared when this happened, such as Seeing the Real You At Last and other rockers like that.