Bob Dylan 2000.03.11 in Köln
From: mail@carstenwohlfeld.de (Carsten Wohlfeld) To: Billp61@earth.execpc.com Date: Fri, 12 May 2000 01:19:27 +0200 Subject: cologne review CC: Karlerik@monet.no Bob Dylan Cologne, Germany, May 11, 2000 Kölnarena A Review By Carsten Wohlfeld Tonight Bob and his gang played the biggest indoor arena in Europe, the huge Kölnarena in, youāve guessed it, Cologne and even though they only sold about 7,000 tickets (the place holds more than 13,000 even if there are seats on the floor like tonight), it turned out to be a fine show. It didnāt looked like it would be at the beginning and it was a very, very strange concert, but Iāll come to that later. The lights went down at around 8.10 and Bob and his band took to the stage to open yet again with Roving Gambler (acoustic) The stage rush happened right at the start of the song and I got into a little fight with one of the security gurads, so I canāt really comment on the performance. It seemed to be not as good as previous ones though. After that things got even more disappointing, because at the number 2 slot we got The Times They Are A-ChanginĪ (acoustic) Yet again! And it was very, very badly done as well. Bob couldnāt remember the words of the first verse and it all went downhill from there. Baaaaad! Itās Alright Ma (Iām Only Bleeding) (acoustic) Bobās guitarplaying was even worse than in Zrich, even though his singing was quite strong. He actually paused before the last word of (almost) every verse, which was a nice way of changing the phrasing. Mr Tambourine Man (acoustic) Now things got really bad. Not only did Bob sing the song badly, he also stopped playing guitar again (Zrich revisited) and at the end picked up the harp as if he wanted to tease the audience, but after standing there for 30 seconds with the harmonica in his hand, he put it back on his amp again without having played it and the song ended. Still the song got the best crowdreaction all night, it got a huge cheer right at the start. Tangled Up In Blue (acoustic) Was as unlistenable as the previous song and even though he actually did play the harp at the end it didnāt help to improve things much. Up to this point, this mustāve been the worst Bob show Iāve been to with the possible exception of Essen ā91 and Hamburg ā98. Bob didnāt play the guitar at all and treated it like a tambozrine, reminiscent of some of the horrid ā91 shows. That he looked completely stoned didnāt help much either. It was the next song that saved the night. Gates Of Eden (acoustic) Bob didnāt play the guitar on this one either, he actually held it in his right hand for the best part of the song, while he had his left hand on the mic stand singing a gorgeous, slow version of this amazing song. But not only that. After he had put the guitar down he picked up the harp and gave us not one, but two full (and rather excellent) harmonica solo in the space of just a couple of minutes. Wow! He really seemed to wake up during this number ö yay! Larry on bouzouki, Tony on electric bass. Country Pie Was pretty messed up, but still funny, because it was so bad it even made the band laugh. It was very short too. If he wouldāve played ćCanāt Waitä next like he did the nights before, ćGatesä wouldāve likely been the sole highlight of the show, but actually he did follow it with Things Have Changed! Yesssssss! Great version too, pretty rocking due to David using sticks and not brushes and Bobās vocal delivery was quite excellent, too. Larry played slide guitar and you could see that all four guys actually played on the studio version too. It sounded pretty perfect, save for Bobās two note guitar solo. Down Along The Cove Followed.... wow, now things got really started! Very fast version too, with Larry playing the pedal-steel like riff from the original on a regular guitar. Long Bob solo (and a good one, too), lots of smiles (Lampchop was front row center) and kneebends, great fun! Every Grain Of Sand Now he really wanted to make up for the disasterous acoustic set. He mumbled a few lines, but apart from that is was a very nice version complete with a long intro and a great pedal steel solo courtesy of Larry. I (and I assume, most others) have been quite happy at this point already, but what followed was one of the strangest performances Iāve ever heard at a Bob show, with the possible exception of the early ā98 ćJohn Brownä and the ćWatctowerä at the Miami Beach show in the same year. Cold Irons Bound Looks probably boring on the setlist, but it was a very weird (and rather splendid) version, or maybe work in progress that made Bob smile all the way through. It started just with the guitars and Davidās drums dropping in and out, Tony playing not the bass, but a tambourine (Iām not kidding, folks!), and only for the chorus he kicked in with the bass and there was a mighty crescendo. Actually, itās very hard to describe it, just get a tape and be astonished! Leopard-Skin Pillbox Hat Followed the band intros, featured Bobās best solo of the night. Good version, but not something youād sell your grandma for. (encore) Love Sick Was really good tonight. After the really, um, slow start of the show Bob was in full effect now and his singing (and guitarplaying got better and better with every number). After the song, a tall shorthaired blond woman came on stage, apparently invited by Tony Granier, and she played an acoustic guitar on the next song without actually plugging it in... Very strange. Since Bob didnāt introduce her, her identity might forever remain a mystery, My guess (and itĪs not more than that) is that sheās part of the crew and it was her birthday or something. Like A Rolling Stone Was the song he payed on and it was yet another pretty solid version with Bob, Charlie and Larry sahring the solos. Forever Young (acoustic) Featured Larry and Charlie (half-heartedly) on backing vocals and was a reular version, which is to say that it was apretty nice performance. Not Fade Away Better than most night, probably due to the fact that Bob really enjoyed himself and gave us some of his gest Chuck Berry moves. Even in the gym his love is bigger than a cadillac, it seems. Donāt Think Twice (acoustic) Featured the third harp solo of the night and was definitely the biggest crowdpleaser apart from ćTambourineä. Rainy Day Women Nos. 12 & 35 Bob was goofyinga round more than on any other number tonight and it seemed as if he wanted to say something to Lampchop in the front row... At least it seemed to me as if he was playing the song directly to him. After two hours, a disasterous acoutsic set (bar ćGatesä) and a very weird, but good electric set the show ended with Bob giving the audience a ćthumbās upä. He was right. It really was a fun show. And one thingĪs for sure: he wonāt repeat this setlist again in Hannover tomorrow! Thanks for your time and keeping up with any mistakes I made, itās getting late and itās been a long day yet again. Good night! Carsten Wohlfeld -- http://carstenwohlfeld.de "ich glaube, dass du pseudo bist / weil du glaubst, dass du durchblickst, wenn du bekifft bist/ du glaubst, dass du drauf bist, wenn du daneben bist (die antwort)
