Bob Dylan 2000.05.21 Horsens, Denmark
Horsens Ny Teater
Horsens Folkeblad on Dylan.
Dylan i gavehumør (opasia.dk - Danish)
Three Concerts, Two Dogs and The One And Only Horsens
by Karl Erik Andersen
Michael Niebuhr's report
Carsten Wohlfeld's report
Johnny Borgan's report
MIchael Falch's report (in Danish, learn it!)
Dennis Cleary's report at Dylanbase
From: mu41533 (dirtyfrank@get2net.dk)
Subject: SV: SV: SV: Dylan in Horsens
Date: Mon, 22 May 2000 23:21:12 +0200
A HISTORIC GIG IN HORSENS, DENMARK (May 21st Horsens Ny Teater)
(witnessed by Michael Niebuhr)
It's been over 2 months since I first read on Expecting Rain that
Bob would play in Denmark. I got chills! I called the theater in
question the next morning and got through. "Tell me about this
Dylan-gig, please". They sounded confused. Then irritated. And I
got "no comments!". They wanted to know where I had gotten the
information from (I lied and said bobdylan.com) and asked me if I
believed everything I read on the net. I got out of them that
there might be some news on the subject if I were to call again
the next week.
Well, that night it was on the news on national television. Bob
Dylan would give his smallest gig in 26 years in Horsens,
Denmark. There would be 250 tickets sold on April 1st. Another
100 tickets would be given to sponsors. And a final (estimated)
75 tickets would be withheld for "the press", and some of these
might be offered to people waiting in line on April 1st. at a
later date. It was made clear that it wouldn't have been able to
finance this thing without the help of the many local sponsors.
It was also stressed that even the press had to pay for their
tickets.
I made arrangements to have a week off from work to go wait in
line. I got somebody to take care of my dog for the week. The
first person to form the line was there on Monday, as the tickets
would be sold on Saturday. It was snowing. It was windy. It was
freezing. I was speculating about how long I could stay home
before I had to go get sick down there.
Then I'm told that I can't get off from work after all and the
whole thing is off! I'm a bit sad, but the whole thing is so
otherworldly anyway, that I figure it just wasn't meant to be. I
follow the growing line on the theater's webcam. It's approaching
some 60-70 people on Thursday afternoon. Then things happen. I
get a call saying that I'm free to go! I GO!! I'm off to Horsens
with two pairs of underwear, a folding chair and a toothbrush. On
the way I stop to get some money, too.
I arrive at 8 pm, and what do I see? Everybody's having a real
good time! There was no paranoia or anything remotely like that.
It seemed like a scene out of Sound of Music, only Dylan-music. I
was afraid I might have missed my chance already, as there's only
250 tickets and each person in line can buy 2. That means that
being number 126, could be a very unlucky number.
I ask where the end of the line is and I'm shown. I recognize my
friend Flemming and he says "You made it!" and tells me to sign
in. I sign my name and address in a little notebook and that
makes me an official "liner". I'm number 104. Various people
(that I know and some I didn't know at the time) are quick to
offer me beers. There's bootleg music through loudspeakers.
There's gas heaters put up for us to warm us by. It's okay to
move around, you can even go out to eat, shop or to a pub. The
theater has opened it's doors for us to use the toilets (from 11
am to 11 pm) or just warm ourselves inside the theater. There's a
cafe/restaurant, too. A local butcher has made his toilet
available during the nights.
I chat with a few people and go to check out the bootlegs by the
stereo. They look really familiar and I notice that one of the
covers is in handwriting. Mine! Turns out the guy I borrowed them
to decided to bring them along for everybody to hear. Didn't know
what to think about that, just hoped nothing would happen to
them. (I still haven't got them back)
Then it's announced that one of the sponsors of the theater, a
brewery, would like to treat us to a round of free beers. I go
get one, and is tapped on the shoulder by my kid brother. He'd
heard I had taken off in a hurry and brought me a sleeping bag on
his own initiative. And a blanket. Well, thanks a lot bro! (It
was just below zero degrees celcius at night)
We're handed candles. I light one and sit down to take it all in.
To try and believe my luck.
A little later, the director of the theater shows up and says
that the city has donated five books for each of us, as well as a
flashlight. A little bedtime reading. Everybody gets books and
flashlight.
Suddenly a trio appears. A drummer, singer-guitarist and a double
bass player. They happen to be playing next door, and give an
impromptu half-hour concert. Cheers.
It's bedtime and people start to unfold their sleeping bags and
settle for the night. I go up to the stereo and join a group of
people in a... Dylan-talk! About four hours later everyone seems
to think it's time to get some sleep and we do.
I wake up around 8 a.m. Friday morning. A guy next to me has made
coffee and offers me some. A little later there's coffee for
everybody, provided by the theater. And a little later again,
there's bread and butter.
The sun is out this Friday, and most people spend it with a beer
in their hand in these most pleasant surroundings. In the
afternoon cars start to roll by slowly all the time. Everybody's
checking out the freaks. Thursday night's sleep was interrupted
by disco-goers on the way home screaming "Bob Dylan reeks of
piss!", "April fool's, haha!", "Didn't you know? He's cancelled!"
and other brilliant, intelligent, adult stuff.
Well, throughout the Friday people stare and stare at these
Bob-people. These nutters. It's Friday night and the mayor of the
city has put up a hot-dog stand. Free hot-dogs for everybody in
line. They ask us if we think it's a good idea to put up a
different stand selling beer. We think so. It's Friday night.
Some girls and some guys (myself included) are asked to entertain
a little. It turns out that the only "gear" available is a junior
guitar (right-strung, I'm a left-handed) and a harp. Anyway, we
decide to play Sara and Powderfinger (by Neil Young) with tree
girls singing lead and us guys singing backup. We're followed by
a real act doing covers. They have their own gear and sound
really good. All of a sudden it's a real party and people are
dancing. A tall blond girl asks me to dance. We dance.
Everybody's happy. Everybody's happy! I talk to the nice girl all
night and we decide to share sleeping bags (it was really cold).
It's Saturday morning. I go to the local butcher to buy a little
coffee. It's free.
It's about 9 a.m. A city council official makes a speech. Then he
pours free beer for everybody (remember it's still 2-3 hours
until noon). We're asked to remain patient as a local sponsor
wants to provide breakfast. They do! Hundreds of buns and even
some cake, I think. And coffee!
We have breakfast. Then everybody's handed a gift from the
sponsors. It's a picnic basket with all sorts of things in it.
From gum to cd's, to beer (again!) to chocolate. Thanks!
It's approaching the time when the tickets go on sale. There's a
lot of media guys there. There's been fear of people rushing to
get the tickets, fights ensuing and so on, but the reality is
quite different. The director calls people to the box office,
"no. 36. No. 36. Please, no. 36. Everybody try and be more ready,
now. No. 37. C'mon, no. 37." And so on. Everybody gets tickets
and no. 1 gets champagne and hugs. The theater is divided into
three sections. Floor and first and second balcony. The first in
line gets tickets for row #1. All the sponsors and press get
balcony tickets. There's A LOT of scalpers. About 50 percent of
the people in line are either buying for somebody else
(parents/family or friends) or with the intent of selling them
with a huge profit.
The director announces that he feels sorry for no. 126 so he will
sell him two press tickets. Everybody cheers. Anybody who's
interested (no. 127 and onwards) can go to the box office and
submit their address. Should any seats be available at a later
date these people will be notified. Whether this actually
happened I'm not sure of.
Flemming told me that the director wanted to know if there was
somebody we the fans would like to give a ticket to. The people
who were asked agreed on Karl-Erik Anderson from Expecting Rain.
Who by the way did a lot of publicity for Horsens Ny Teater (the
theater) by putting numerous links on his page. The director said
that Karl Erik had also been recommended by Dan Levy. Mr.
Andersen got a free ticket for the second row!
It was a announced that a party would be held on August 26th so
everybody could meet again. Everybody looked happy and went home.
In the next couple of weeks people wrote and thanked the theater
and the other fans on their homepage. Everybody agreed that the
waiting in line was a onceinalifetime experience. What a joy! And
everybody had felt terribly restless coming home... For days!
Now it was 7 weeks until the day of the concert.
I had promised my extra ticket to the guitar player from our band
(Lovesick), but I also managed to obtain a third ticket for a
good friend (and a huge Dylan-fan). Both these tickets were sold
at face value.
A couple who had waited in line invited everybody to meet at
their house and garden before the show. The theater arranged for
a Dylan-buffet at a local hotel.
Fast forward and it's Sunday - May 21st 2000.
I'd been checking the setlists from the rest of Scandinavia and I
couldn't help hoping for something special. Something to signal
that this was a special event.
Well, my friends and I took the train to Horsens and got a ride
to the farm where the pre-concert gathering was. We entered the
garden and it was just beautiful. Like a miniature Garden of
Eden. And no gates! There was a lot of familiar faces and the
rest was just as friendly. Again, the media was there which was a
bit weird. I mean what did they want? I don't know what the
purpose of meeting there was except for spending the time before
the concert with other people with a similar good taste in music.
It wasn't front-page-material for chrissakes.
I had to leave a little early to meet the girl from the line
again. But just as I was leaving some guy handed out the lyrics
to Forever Young and requested that we all sang it after Bob's
last encore. As a tribute. I thought it was a little hippieish,
but after a quick trial run (with the media filming), it was
decided against. You didn't miss anything, apparently people have
different perceptions of how to sing this fine song. (And in
which key).
At the hotel people were beginning to realise how close we were
to the concert. There was a lot of chatting and mingling and a
really nice atmosphere. A lot of people had dressed up for the
night and I got the idea that this felt like being at one of
those parties for someone you don't know, where you're just sorta
there at the end of a looong table because you're with somebody.
We got to the theater and there was lot of spectators taking it
all in. We got in line, and was joined by "Face of the Eighties"
(model) Renée Toft Simonsen and her rock-star boyfriend Thomas
Helmig. Suddenly there was paparazzi photographers all over the
place screaming "you look great, the camera loves you, uhmm, one
more, yeah, yeah". I was further surprised when someone wanted MY
picture. I kept looking away, but in the end she got one and
confided with me that she was happy to have a picture of both me
and the two celebs. Dumbfounded we went inside. Apparently the
theater have been doing some lobbying. A friend of mine was to
sell two tickets to someone of the Danish rock royalty, but he
called saying he'd gotten one for free. So had a lot of other
celebs apparently. Cause they were all there. Maybe they'd gone
to scalpers, but I doubt it. So for you Danish readers who might
be interested there was Filmdirector and Dylan-writer Christian
Braad Thomsen, Dylan-writer and poet Asger Schnack, model and
talkshow-woman Lotte Heise, cool rocksingers - CV Jorgensen,
Sort-Sol's Steen Jorgensen, Allan Olsen, Michael Falck, Johnny
Madsen, Sebastian, Bamse, former member of the Government Mimi
Stilling Jacobsen, upandcoming singer-songwriter Marie Frank,
Peter Viskinde, lots of clubowners and what-have-you. I mention
this because I had feared what an audience of 50% sponsors and
celebs would be like. Would they cut loose? Footloose? Would they
feel as competitive as musicians usually do or would they scream
their heads off?
This is a fine theater. The floor is mechanic and there was not a
bad seat in the house. When we were waiting in line in March the
whole line was invited in to take in the atmosphere. The place is
SMALL!! It's only 16 seats wide. We got to stand on the stage and
to sit where we would approximately end up. We were told that
Dylan didn't want anything between the stage and the audience so
that would free up some seats. On the other hand he demanded that
a lot of seats be taken out to fit the huge mixing and lighting
desks. Also a lot of the balcony seats were reserved for extra
lighting gear. There was virtually none of that at the show, so
in the end they must've decided against that and gotten even more
seat. There was an estimated 450 people at the show. In the press
the following day you could read about how Dylan didn't want to
be seen before and after the show. Before the show his bus with
dark windows rolled up to the side of the theater and everybody
was waiting for Bob to come out. At the same time a small
mini-bus drove up behind the theater and Bob entered through a
back-entrance. After the show two "Bob" came out of two different
doors with towels over their heads and jumped into different cars
and speeded off.
THE SHOW
It was 20 pm and everybody was in their seat. There was a smell
of Nag Champa in the air. Soon it was 20:15 pm and the lights
went down. "Ladies and gentlemen..." Everybody got on their feet
and clapped like madmen, but then quickly sat down for
Hallelujah, I'm Ready To Go (acoustic)
The sound was fantastic from the very first note and Charlie and
Larry's harmonies were right on the money. Larry played the
mandolin. After the show everybody was asking what the first song
were. Virtually nobody had heard of it. I was happy and knew this
hadn't been played in 2000. I haven't checked but I don't think
so. One of the biggest newspapers reported the opening song to be
Roving Gambler. They also wrote that Tombstone Blues was
excellent. But it wasn't played. Still, they gave the show a
five-star review.
My Back Pages (acoustic)
Wow! Larry on violin. No Times They Are A-Changin'? Cool! This
was very beautifully done. The acoustic set was really going
strong. Pleasing, indeed. Ever since I heard this song on Bathed
In A Stream of Pure Heat I've wanted to hear it done with Larry
on violin. Everybody clapped and cheered and then we got
Masters of War (acoustic)
Okay, so we got one of the old war horses. Hmm. It sounded good
as did everything. It seemed to me that Bob had turned the rhythm
around and was singing almost "towards" the song. Interesting and
well done. Throughout the concert Bob would take most of the
solos. There was a lot of mediocre playing at those times, but
nothing really fell through and occasionally it was quite good.
Tomorrow Is A Long Time (acoustic)
The third very slow song. We all cheered but it seemed that Bob
had a very quiet concert on his mind. The sound was excellent
throughout the concert. I'd been telling a lot of people that I
thought it was such a kick when the first song just blew you away
with sheer volume. But the volume stayed down. Now I was telling
my friend and first timer at a Dylan concert (though he'd seen a
bit at a festival five years ago) that he was in for one of his
favourites - Tangled up in Blue. Instead we got the fourth very
slow song in a row
A Hard Rain's A-Gonna Fall (acoustic)
Hard Rain and Masters of War has always seemed a tad "old" to me.
It was just fantastic in '75 and I liked it in '94 in Japan. But
in this slot it seemed a bit dull. Not because of the playing,
but because of it's slot. Everybody was sitting quietly in their
seats. A girl in front of me who lended me her theater-binoculars
in every song had explained how her boyfriend was up-front and
asked me if I thought there would be a stage-rush. I said it
might happen in
Tangled Up In Blue (acoustic)
Well, it didn't. This was the song I expected to really get
things going, but instead it was almost falling apart and nobody
seemed to think it was special. No stage rush, either. And no
harp solo.
The Lonesome Death of Hattie Carroll (acoustic)
Was really good. Soothing. I took it all in and it was just
beautiful. Those three guitar players and the stand up bass. What
a sound. The lights went down and it was time for the electric
set. I was expecting Country Pie but we got a hard rocking
Gotta Serve Somebody
that really did the job. Now things were rocking. Everybody
seemed to like this. And everybody stayed put and enjoyed a good
show. Just as things was rocking we got another slow song (or
beautiful heartfelt ballad, depending on how you look at it,
right?)
You're A Big Girl Now
I've always wanted to hear some of the Blood On The Tracks songs
live. I'd previously only run into Tangled and this was only the
second song from BOOT that I heard live. Larry had switched to
pedal steel. It was good but not stand-out. Larry switched to
steel guitar and it was
All Along The Watchtower
time again. I'd previously heard this twice. As opener in '98 and
show-saver in '96 (along with some good acoustic songs in Aarhus,
Denmark). As always it was a little bit different. Not very fast,
and as everything else not very loud. I'd been afraid that people
wouldn't be enthusiastic towards specific songs and I guess I was
right. There was the exact same cheer after every song. The exact
same level of excitement. So either it was amazing all along and
every song equally good, or people were being polite. For
everything people stayed put, where I had hoped that for the
faster songs people would stand and clap or dance a little to
contribute to the club-feel. Instead we got a good chance to sit
and and watch a master at work. Maybe this was what Bob wanted? I
mean, he did play an extended acoustic set (compared to recent
concerts) and kept the rockier songs in a short leash. My friend
had a seat at the balcony and he told me how lots of people
wandered off during the first hour, looking like they'd been
eating nothing but lemons all day. Next up was a slow song from
Time Out of Mind -
Trying To Get To Heaven
A wonderful song and very beautifully played. Bob introduced the
band and Tony looked at Charlie who was messing about on his
guitar. Tony shook his head and Charlie ripped into
To Be Alone With You
done as real rocker! He was giving the blues-element of this song
a new coat of paint and it was just a lot of fun. That was the
end of the "electric set" and everybody cheered and we got the
first encore. I poked my friend and said "here comes Lovesick".
Well, we got
Ballad of a Thin Man
Lovely choice, and nobody seemed to miss Lovesick too much. I've
been getting into this song the past couple of months and I
really appreciated it. At the beginning of the song I noticed
that a small group had gathered at the right side of the front
rows. Not dancing or anything, just staring at Bob. They looked
harmless enough and none of the security guards gave them any
hassles. So I walked down and joined them.
Like a Rolling Stone
Here was the chance to dance a little bit. And I did.
Forever Young (acoustic)
Was really beautiful. Here was the chance for people to sing
along. And some did. A nice arrangement and a very, very clear
and crisp sound. I knew it was time for Not Fade Away but didn't
recognise the intro because it was
Maggie's Farm
with Larry on pedal steel (or steel guitar can't remember which).
Somebody commented afterwards that this really wasn't happening,
but rather falling all over the place. I dunno, I enjoyed it very
much as a rockin' feelgood encore. Bob didn't leave the stage and
we got
It Ain't Me, Babe (acoustic)
This was done very slow. At the end it seemed to drag on and on
and I asked the guy next to me (who I'd talked to at the
garden-party earlier) where he'd been sitting. He'd mentioned
that he'd gotten tickets through a radio-show and was gonna sit
in the seat normally reserved for the queen. He pointed it out
and then somebody told us to keep it down. I was glad cos I hate
that kind of behaviour, myself. I kept quiet and returned my
focus to the stage. Bob was taking off his guitar and I figured
he had broken a string. But he picked up a harp! There was a
cheer from the audience and I was listening hard, trying to be
receptive towards his solo. It only just got started and then
after about 30 seconds he ended the song. It was time for
Rainy Day Women no. #12 and #35
Bob was doing a lot of lead playing and some cool knee-bends. He
would lift his guitar up towards his chin and do rock'n'roll
postures when Charlie was playing lead. Cool version. Very good.
Bob then almost left the stage (or did he leave?) and was handed
an acoustic guitar and came back.
Blowin' In The Wind (acoustic)
This was done very firmly with razor sharp harmonies. Very nice,
albeit more of a sing-a-long than a sonic adventure. Bob left the
stage and there was a massive noise for minutes on end as
everybody clapped, cheered and stomped their feet. Still, the
lights came up in the end and it was all over.
Bob Dylan, thank you!
p.s. A nice roadie gave me Bob's guitar pick and a setlist. I was
surprised to see that the setlist didn't have any alternatives on
it. I had the idea that there would be several options for Bob to
mix up the setlist depending on how he felt and what response he
got, but the setlist read just what I've reported above. Except
for the encores which read: Lovesick, Like A Rolling Stone,
Forever Young, Not Fade Away.
From: mail@carstenwohlfeld.de (Carsten Wohlfeld)
To: Billp61@earth.execpc.com
Date: Fri, 26 May 2000 10:10:51 +0200
Subject: horsens review
CC: Karlerik@monet.no
Bob Dylan
Horsens, Denmark, May 21, 2000
Ny Teater
A Review By Carsten Wohlfeld
So there you had it, the smallest Dylan show (as far as regularly sold
tickets are concerned) since the early 60s, his smallest show ever in
Europe, the show some people spend ridiculous amounts of money on.
The ãpeople had to queue up for the days to get ticketsä-show. A
legendary concert even before one note was played. Now obviously
weâve all talked quite a bit about the gig, but it was actually up to Bob to
really give it the legendary status it deserved. I mean, small shows are
not THAT rare for Bob anymore and do we still talk about Chicago Î97 or
Melbourne Î98? Not really. Maybe we still talk about Tramps Î99, but
thatâs because not only it was a very small venue, but mainly because
Bob played a killer show. Anyways, we all hoped Bob wouldnât to
ãTimesä, ãTambourineä, ãLay Lady Layä and ãRiver Flowä in Horsens
and somewhat ãruinä our legendary expierence. On to the important
stuff: Gunter (Iâll be forever grateful to him for letting me have his spare
second ticket... thank you!!!) and I arrived at the theater at around 4pm to
meet and greet the usual suspects who where obviously there already.
They even sold a few tickets at the door, because they had initally
thought the soundboard would take up more space...
The doors opened at 7.30 and we took our seats in the last row (which
was not as bad as it sounds, cause we actually could do whatever we
wanted without bothering anybody). The Ny Teater is a beautiful small
theater, with a two storey balcony and since there was basically no space
in the aisles left and right of the seats we knew very early on that there
would be no stage rush tonight. Actually, the auidience was very well
behaved throughout the night, an audience youâd usually expect at a
theater like this, but some people seemed to have forgotten that this was
not Shakespeare, but a rock Înâ roll show there were about to see...
anyways.
The lights went down at 8.15pm and there we were on the tiny stage:
Bob, Larry, Tony, Charlie and David... ãLadies And Gentlemen Would
You Please Welcome Columbia Recording Artist.... Bob Dylan!ä. Much
to my surprise Larry grabbed the mandolin and I knew it was time for my
favorite among the current opening choices and a song Iâd never had
heard before:
Hallelujah Iâm Ready (To Go) (acoustic)
seemed to have a new arrangement, slower than before, but every bit as
good, with Larryâs and Charlieâs answering chorus vocal. It was apparent
from the start that Bob wasnât singing was smoothly as he did during the
first week of the tour, maybe this was due to the Scandinavian weather,
maybe just due to the fact that he played too many shows in too little
time, but at least he was trying and his phrasing was definitely better
than the shape his voice was in. Great start, loved it already! Larry hands
Tommy the mandolin and picks up the violin.... thank god, no ãTimesä!!!
My Back Pages (acoustic)
Better than Zurich. Bobâs singing wasnât as strong, but at least his
guitarplaying was much better. He did only four verses I believe and at
one point he and Larry couldnât decide who was supposed to do the
solo, but it still was a very solid rendition.
Masters Of War (acoustic)
Oh well, the first song of the night that you usully wouldnât expect at a
ãlegendaryä show, but then again, Tramps had a slow start with ãBabe It
Ainât No Lieä and ãTimesä, too. They either tried to change the
arrangement and failed miserably or David just wasnât concentrating -
either way he cae in way too late and only when both Bob and Tony
turned to him and seemed to tell him: ãHey, wake up, itâs your turn
now!ä. The last verse was sung very well I thought, but all in all it was a
minor disappointment.
Tomorrow Is A Long Time (acoustic)
wasnât as good as the incredible Hannover version a week ago,
but it was just Bobâs voice that made it slighty worse. Larryâs
backing vocal was perfect once more and if thereâs one song that
he band seemed to have perfected, itâs definitely this one. With
one word: Lovely!
Itâs A Hard Rainâs A-Gonna Fall (acoustic)
The usual arrangement with Larry and Charlie on backing vocals
for the chorus. It still doesnât work out as they never know where
Bob will pause inbetween the lines and itâs always a mess.
Obviously the song is too strong to be ãdistroyedä by such minor
mistakes, but I for one think it would work much better without.
And it was a very welcome alternative to ãTangledä in the
number five slot, or so we thought until Larry hit the riff to
Tangled Up In Blue (acoustic)
ãone song too lateä. Rotten version, too. They visibly donât enjoy
the song anymore (at least definitely not as much as say 18
months ago) and it seems to have less verses now as well. I guess
they are looking for a rocking acoustic song and Gunter and I
have rattled our brains on the way back but there really seems to
be no alternative in the ãrocking/acousticä department, unless he
rearranges one of the eletric songs to be an acoustic one.
Anyways, the first lowpoint of the night had arrived. Fortunately
Bob and his crew made up for it with the very next song... My
jaw dropped and the did a completely rearranged version of
The Lonesome Death Of Hattie Carroll (acoustic)
that still sends shivers down my spine every time I only think
about it. It was sooooooo good. In fact, it was perfect. The only
think I didnât like about the current live rendition before was
Davidâs waltz rhythm, and tonight he hardly played drums on this
song at all, save for the last couple of verses. It was a very
stripped down version musically that was very good already, but it
really was Bobâs vocal delivery that made this such a KILLER
performance. Very intense. He was talking rather than singing
(cf. the current ãPositively 4th Streetä), skipping the pauses after
each line and even he though mixed up a couple of lines once
(Hattie took out the garbage twice tonight :-)) the song still was
the one single highlight of the show. Awesome!
Gotta Serve Somebody
was not only a nice alternative to ãCountry Pieä which was
dropped from the setlist for the first time in Europe, but it was also
a new arrangement. Yet another one! The band mustâve spend a
whole lot of time rehearsing lately! It lacked the cool ãfemaleä
backing vocals that made the 1998/99 version so special, and
instead it had similar start and stop parts like the newly arrangend
ãCold Irons Boundä debuted in Germany and Scandinavia last
week. Cool stuff!
Youâre A Big Girl Now
Nice version of a song that doesnât do too much for me. Larry on
pedal steel, doing a great job as always. I really like the way he
played the pedal steel as a lead instrument whereas Bucky only
seemed to ãfill the holesä.
All Along The Watchtower
Yay! Another song you probably wouldnât expect on a setlis
thatâs supposed to be special, but hey, I still love the song, Charlie
rocked and they seemed to enjoy it a lot (and so did the audience),
so I guess it was alright that they did it after all!
Trying To Get To Heaven
was another semi-surprise and actually they did a pretty good
version of it, too. You probably know that Bob usually skips the
ãshook the sugar downä verse, probably just because it#s on the
bumper stickers they sell. Anyways, he skipped it again tonight,
well, sort of, becuase when he came very close to the end and
reached the line that was supposed to be ãIâve been all around the
world, boysä he subsituted just that one line with the ãsugartownä
line, which sounded very funny indeed. The song also had a
reworked, extended ending that sounded pretty good, too. Band
intros followed, Bobâs only words to the audience apart from a
ãthank youä or two.
To Be Alone With You
was the very unlikely closing number and actually it sounded a lot
like ãSweet Marieä when they started it. As youâd expect, Bob
mixed up all the lyrics, probably sang all the lines from the orginal
but most definitely not in the correct order. Lots of soloing from
all three guitarists, as well. Fun version, but not exactly
spectacular.
(encore)
Ballad Of A Thin Man
very strong version, although I still tend to miss Winston Watsonâs
thunder drums. Bob played around with the phrasing quite a bit,
his singing was probably the best of the night and Larryâs pedal
steel solo was excellent as well. The whole band seemed to enjoy
playing this one a lot.
Like A Rolling Stone
Okay, after a main set that basically was a greatest-hits-free-zone
it was now time to make the tourists happy. Judging from the
audienceâs reaction it worked quite well. Makes you wonder who
actually queued up for those three days... Bob played a rotten
lead guitar, one and a half notes, punk rock 2000!
Forever Young (acoustic)
nicely done, but due to Bobâs less-than-perfect voice it wasnât a
real highlight.
Maggieâs Farm
ãNot Fade Awayä became the last song this year to get dropped
from the set. ãMaggieâsä was the usual country-fied rock
arrangement complete with an extended, modified ending.
It Ainât Me Babe (acoustic)
I still donât know why anybody wouldn do a seven song encore
and apparently Bob and band donât know why either, because
they tend to sound very tired at the end of the two hour show.
Bob did play the harp at the end, but the solo was very short and
not very good either. There was the traditionally huge cheer when
he picked up the harmonica though. The fact the he didnât put it
down properly on his amp again after he had finished but actually
threw it away showed how much he enjoyed it, too, I guess.
Rainy Day Women Nos. 12 & 35
Larry expected them to do ãNot Fade Awayä it seemed as he
plugged in his guitar and looked very surprised when David
started ãRainyä and he had to switch to lap steel. It was the usual
jam-packed version and Bob sang a third, improvised, verse
tonight after all the soloing.
Blowinâ In The Wind (acoustic)
Very short version (e.g. no real solo before the last chorus), tired,
and quite boring. Not the best way to end a show that actually
was quite special after all.
I had a great time throughout, but to repeat what John Paul Jones
from Led Zeppelin told me when I asked him what was on his
mind when he became the first one Jimmy Page played his new
composition ãStairway To Heavenä to. He said something along
the lines of: ãI thought it was really good, but there was no gold
dust falling from the ceiling, when he played.ä Thatâs exactly how
I felt about Dylan in Horsens.
Carsten Wohlfeld
--
http://carstenwohlfeld.de
ãlove is not a victory marchä (leonard cohen)
From: Johnny Borgan (Johnny.Borgan@ephorma.no)
Subject: Horsens, 21.5.00.
Date: Mon, 22 May 2000 19:45:52 +0200
Yes - you all should've been there!
Yes - it was a great and very special show!
It was a beautiful day in Horsens, and me and my companions from Norway
arrived early in town. Soon after this we catched a cab right to
the-middle-of-nowhere (the cabdriver didn't have a clue!), Hšjballe farm, a
few miles from Horsens - a beautiful farm with the most amazing trees of
life in the backyard, where fellow fans gathered before the show. Bob sang
"Cupid" on the hi-fi, the birds sang back and forth in rhyme and we had a
great time, meeting both new and old friends.
After a great dinner at our new-found danish friends house, we left for
Horsens Theatre, and there it was, just like the picture and the webcam -
and yes, finally we could really believe the unbelieavable - we're going to
the Horsens show! Even the audience got some audience this time. The
citizens were showing up to see us get in! Horsens Town was not very well
known, at least not among the norwegian fans, but now it's on the map once
and for always - and will always be remembered because of this show, not
just among the Dylan fans.
And yes - it really was a small theatre - just 18 chairs at each row, two
balconys in the back of the theatre. And me, blessed and lucky me, was on
the sixth row! The stage was as wide as the rows, and the musicians got
closer than on the other shows.
Bob went on stage about 8.15, and from the first song we realized that this
would be something really special - a new opener for this tour -
"Hallelujah; I'm Ready to Go" is some prologue (and maybe an inspiration for
"Trying to Get to Heaven"?) - and Bob is pointing back to his roots at this
show as he so often have done before. He wants us to know that he stands in
a strong tradition, he wants us to search back to the sources he's still
drinking of. As on the other show I've seen this year, the sound was crispy
clear from the first syllables. The audience reacted immediately to Bob's
appearance. Nevertheless, my biggest disappointment this night was the
audience. I'll come back to that.
Larry fetched his fiddle and we got a nice version of "My Back Pages" who
was followed by a powerful "Masters of War". Then we got some steel intro,
and Bob sang a really, really tender "Tomorrow is a long Time", switching
the order of the verses, maybe with purpose, maybe not.... And then came,
for me, one of the nights highlights - "A Hard Rain's A-gonna Fall" - an
intense and beautiful version with Bobs magical phrasing on all, and I
really mean all, those great lines. It was a killer! Then it was "Tangled Up
In Blue" - great version, but a song we've maybe gotten too used to to
really listen the way we should? And then, another highlight, "The Lonesome
Death of Hattie Carroll" - a great and dramatic song, this time sung in a
way I never heard it before. Bob sang one line and started the next in the
same breathing, (a little bit like "Changing of the Guards"! ) - it gave
both the song and the singing a new and surprising twist, new dynamics - Bob
really is a magician!
And then Bob strapped on his Fender, and we were on for some really dirty,
low-down bluesy version of "Gotta Serve Somebody", one of the best versions
I've ever heard - the audience rocked, and it's funny to see that the
prologue from the gospel tours this time get the same treatment and
reception as a classic Dylan song. Bob really was on fire on this, his left
foot was more in the air than on the floor! Really, really great, and
another one of the highlights of the evening.
By this time I was standing by the side of row one and had really great
view, but two fascistoid guards didn't let us get to the stage, as we've
been allowed on all the other shows I've been to. It was a really, really
big mistake from the guards, knowing that Bob on all shows get fed and feeds
back when the audience rises and dances in front of him. People gave
standing ovations after each song, but sat quietly on their chairs, even on
the uptempo rockers, even on Rainy Day Women, and, in my opinion, missed
their opportunity to contribute to make the show really an historic event.
The audience was too "dead", even if they all seemed to love the show! Too
bad! I mean, a club-sized show with Bob Dylan, and 90 % of the audience is
sitting down on a boogie-woggie-version of "Maggie's Farm" - that's not how
it should be. We can't give the guards all the blame!
Well, nevertheless, Bob continued a great show, and surprised us with a nice
version of "You're A Big Girl Now", then launching into a perfect and very
intense version of "All Along the Watchtower", featuring some great
guitarplaying from Bob. With few exceptions the guitar was great in its own
dylanesque way, commenting the vocal lines, playing it like a little drum,
rhythm and solo in once.
And then, the next highlight, and one of my personal wishes came true, a
beauuuuuuutiful version of "Trying To Get To Heaven", Bob breathing new life
to each and every word. His intense and dramatic delivery of the "Time Out
Of Mind"-songs makes it a little disappointing that we only got this new
song in Horsens. "Cold Irons Bound" was fantastic in Oslo, "Not Dark Yet" in
Stockholm and "Can't Wait" in Gothenburg, "Love Sick" was great at all these
shows, and is important in vitalising the tour as a whole. In Horsens just
two songs at the whole show were younger than twentyfive years.... Each song
was great, but Bob, you have so many wonderful songs from the last
twentyfive years, too....
Ok - after "Trying To Get To Heaven", Bob introduced the band, and surprise,
surprise - "To Be Alone With You" - a really rocking version, a great
alternative to "Leopard Skin Pill-Box Hat" - but the audience..... sitting
down..... urrrrghhh!
The encore set was surprising, too, and it seems obvious that Bob really had
planned to give us a "Horsens Special". In the place of "Love Sick" he gave
us a really dramatic version of "Ballad of a Thin Man", making his
66-posing, and yes there were someone who didn't know what was happening.
F.i., one of the reviewing journalists, positive as he was, wrote warmly
about Dylan's versions of "Roving Gambler" and "Tombstone Blues" - two songs
that were not included at all......
"Like A Rolling Stone" was okay, but not as great as the previous shows, the
guitar wasn't too good either on this one. The show heightens again with an
beautiful rendition of "Forever Young" - the audience singing and blessing
Bob, thanking him for giving us this special event. "Maggie's Farm" rocks
and Bob makes his little Bob-dance, but hei makes too many
guitar-experiments and at one point the song nearly falls apart, but Bob and
his great companions, gets it all back on the tracks a few seconds later.
>From the rocker, Bob takes it all down with a very nice quiet "It Ain't Me
Babe" - ending it without the guitar but with the harmonica - beautiful -
why can't you blow the harp even more, Bob? - it's so naked, so pure, so
true!
"Rainy Day Women" is as usual, a crowd-pleaser, but this is the first time
ever I've seen the audience at the first rows sitting down during the song -
I guess it's Bob's first time, too! Ok, I will not mention it anymore....
Without any more breaks, Bob ends the show with a really nice "Blowing In
The Wind", with Charlie and Larry singing great harmony at the chorus. And
then - it's over - the lights and "Asleep At The Wheel" fills the air, and
we all look at each other, knowing it really was something special - I
could, in my mind, see Bob, sitting in his bus in the early morning,
scrabbling down this unique set-list, that stands out from all the other
shows so far - to make it really special for "the chosen few". He succeded.
Not even did he change the set from Oslo by thirteen songs (!!!!), but he
also played nine songs that I didn't get on my four previous shows. Who else
would do such a thing, but the song & dance man, the trapeze artist, the
line dancer we knows by the name of Bob Dylan? Who would take such risks at
such a special night? Nobody but Bob! The audience loved the show, of
course, but I really wish they'd shown him in a much more convincing way!
Johnny
(Danish)
Kørte med Viskinde i hans nyerhvervede Mercedes Coupé
Cabriolet '63 for åben kaleche til Århus. Hørte i det fri på E 20
lyde, jeg aldrig før havde hørt. På Hotel Royal var "mit" værelse
414 booket til anden side, fortalte receptionisten
hemmelighedsfuldt. Var det mon Dylan selv eller nogen i hans
stab, der havde lånt det? Eller havde han bare booket sig ind for
at narre fjenden og lå nu i stedet og vendte sig uroligt i sengen
oppe på Radisson?
Jeg måtte vænne mig til 404. Flere ukendte Krull-billeder på
væggen. Hans Krull, Odysseus-maleren. Jeg bryder mig ikke om
forandringer. Jeg har mest ro, når alt er ved det gamle. Og helst
systemisk tilrettelagt, så overraskelserne bliver så få som
mulige. Og gerne isoleret fra andre mennesker, end dem jeg lige
er afsted med. Når jeg går ud ad døren, ryger skuldrene straks
op, og verden bliver nervepirrende at bevæge sig igennem. Det er
ikke verdens skyld - det er mit eget handicap. Måske den lille
snert af autisme, der præger en del af os uden at ende i en
decideret diagnose. Jeg kan somme tider drillende mistænke min
kone for at have fattet interesse for mig også af denne grund.
Hun er socialpædagog med speciale i autisme.
Jeg skrev en ny sang næste formiddag til monstrøs klokkekimen fra
domkirken på Store Torv. Flere konfirmationer, måske en enkelt
begravelse ind i mellem. Skrev endnu en sang over middag og kunne
være blevet ved, for der var hul igennem på alle kanaler. Men vi
måtte videre sydpå - Dylan kom til Horsens.
Hvis jeg havde været modig nok, havde jeg monteret en osteklokke
omkring mig selv, da Viskinde og jeg skulle gennem
pressehurlumhejet foran Horsens Ny Teater. Men som den
civilklædte betjent sagde efter at have bedt Viskinde om at
flytte den smukke Mercedes fra gågaden og så mit skeptiske
udtryk: "Det hører vel med til jobbet". Mødte heldigvis straks
Krebs indenfor i menageriet, men ellers var jeg bare, måske som
de fleste af de 449 andre gæster undtagen Horsens flinke
borgmester, som gerne ville have en glad snak, fokuseret på at
komme ind i salen og finde min plads på 10. række som en anonym
helle i trængslen. Hvilken lise, da mørket endelig sænkede sig
over røgelsesrøgen i den fine scene, hvor jeg selv stod med De
Nye Rejsende for halvandet år siden.
"I am ready!", proklamerede Dylan i åbningssangen, og min koncert
blev primært et psykologisk studie i, hvad denne parathed kunne
sigte mod. Lyden formidabel og den ene rå perle afløste den anden
fra "Tangled Up In Blue" over "Hard Rain", "Gotta Serve
Somebody", "Tryin' To Get To Heaven" og sublime countrysange, en
enkelt, jeg aldrig havde hørt før. Et ungt skotsk kærestepar
fortalte mig senere, at Elvis engang indspillede den. "If my true
love was waitin'...", sang Dylan. Hedder den mon "If Tomorrow
wasn't such a long road"? Dylan med samme urolige attitude som i
Forum for to år siden. Ingen social kontakt, udover enkelte cues
til den formidable bassist, Tony Garnier. Guitaren af mellem
numrene, to skridt til højre, to til venstre, på med guitaren
igen og videre. Flakkende sideblikke uden focusering. Som et
markant tilfælde af Aspergers Syndrom. Jeg sad og tænkte, at han
ligner H.C. Andersen mere og mere. Ligeså uskønt ældet i de grove
ansigtstræk, lige så kejtet, utilpasset og åbenbart utilpas alle
andre steder end inde i sin kvadratmeters osteklokke på scenen.
En grotesk, mekanisk figur, der vrisser sine guldkorn ud over os.
Og uden et øjeblik at udstråle nogen form for nydelse. Det er en
pine for ham. Det ligner tid, der bare skal gå. Han fandt
åbenbart ingen varig ro i sit gudsforhold; der var ingen holdbar
lettelse fra den tunge verdens byrde at hente for en Dylan. Der
var større betoning af "the Devil" end "the Lord". Sangene minder
om tunge klippeblokke, der modvilligt og glædesløst skal slæbes
op ad bjerget. H.C. Andersen nåede måske en redning for sin
smerte og sin styghed i sin himmelråbende naivitet og en grandios
selvglæde ved det at føle sig som "et Lykkens Barn", som han
skriver til slut i "Mit Livs Eventyr". "I vor Fremskriden mod Gud
fordunster det Bitre og Smertelige, det Skjønne bliver tilbage,
man! seer det som Regnbuen paa den mørke Sky", fortsætter H. C.
Andersen. Dylan ejer ikke en stump af den Andersen'ske naivitet.
Det er kun den mørke sky, der står tilbage som en sort glorie om
hans tynde hår.
"Sometimes my burden/gets more than I can bear/It's not dark/but
it's gettin' there", som han sang.
Dylan flankeres af to verdensklasseguitarister, men ikke én
eneste guitarsolo i løbet af de over to timers koncert overlader
han til dem. Han tager dem alle sammen selv. Jeg har en Fender
Stratocaster magen til Dylans, og jeg påstår uden blusel, at selv
jeg er en større solist end han. I hver sang repeterer han den
samme lille solo-vignet, med den obligatoriske falske tone kilet
ind. Enhver musiker ved, at den tone er en halv ved siden af,
hvorfor den ikke nogensinde vil kunne passe noget sted i Dylans
traditionalistiske akkordgange. Den lyder simpelthen rasende
disharmonisk; den er en fejl. Det er en djævletone. Ufortrødent
gentager Dylan den hele aftenen igennem. Som en diabolsk mantra,
som en insisterende protest mod musikkens sammenhænge. Som en
provokerende spytklat i verdens ansigt. Hvis hans osteklokke da
ikke er af så uigennemtrængeligt panserglas, at han ikke selv
opfatter det, kunne det umiskendeligt ligne hans indædte nægtelse
af at bøje sig for Guds plan og livet! s vilkår. Jeg har set det
hele; jeg har ingen drømme mere; jeg er slået, men jeg bøjer mig
ikke, synes han at stædigt at hævde, mens han sveddryppende
ruller sine falske Sisyfos-soloer som en alderstegen mand, der er
nægtet adgang til såvel himlen som dødsriget. Som et frådende
oprør eller måske som den sidste drøm, at den falske tone måske
pludselig en skønne dag alligevel et øjeblik skulle vise sig at
passe ind et ukendt sted i verdensordenen. Vi andre tror at vide,
at det er et umuligt projekt, men Dylan har jo aldrig været én af
os. Og dog, måske er han egentlig den radikalt destillerede
version af vores ensomt flakkende menneske, kæmpende forgæves
imod undervejs mod endestationen.
Og endestationen ligner Dylans mål. Med en irritabel utålmodighed
synes han at kalde på døden som frelse fra sine pinsler. Døden
som udfrielse. "I don't even remember/what I came here to get
away from", sang han. Han forlod bygningen og i følge en bekendt
lydmand, der var involveret backsage, steg han direkte ud i en
ventende bil med to bodyguards og en chauffør. Han blev kørt ud
til motorvejen, hvor hans bus ventede, og så rullede Dylan videre
i mørket mod Berlin, næste stop på sin Never Ending Tour.
Jeg mærkede ensomheden som et hug i solar plexus, da jeg hørte
lydmanden fortælle. Dylan rullende ned gennem Jylland med sit
livslede blik ud over den stinkende kreaturforbrænding ved
Hedensted. Helt alene bagest i luksusbussen, verdensfjernt
fantaserende om den 16-årige pige fra "Things Have
Changed"-videoen. Måske stadig med melodien i hovedet fra
aftenens mest gribende højdepunkt: "If my true love was waiting
for me...". Det gør hun næppe, for han har formentlig selv
droppet hende undervejs. Og jeg ved af erfaring, at man ikke
møder mange 16-årige erstatninger for den tabte elskede undervejs
sydpå ad E 45. Det er ikke bare ved at blive mørkt - det er sort
nat nu. Og himlen er vist lukket. Jeg kørte med Viskinde i modsat
retning på samme motorvej, nu tilbage til værelse 414 på Royal.
Det var ingen teaterforestilling, jeg så i Horsens Ny Teater. Så
godt teater findes nemlig ikke. Så hård en forestilling ville man
ikke drømme om at byde et Arte-publikum. Jeg sværger, jeg så
Døden danse. Han havde Dylans sorte scenekostume på.
Michael Ehlert Falch
2000:
March -
April -
May
