Date: Sun, 21 May 1995 10:19:50 -0800 From: "jules n. binoculas" (p00518@PSILINK.COM) Subject: santa barbara county bowl 20 may 1995 flood (-- slowly awakening senor (lady lay) watchtower woman silvio river flow (-- fresh line: "saw someone who's goose was *really cooked*" _@tambourine man (-- *mythic* _@masters war _@love minus zero (don't think twice) (-- understated, mournful real you simple twist (shooting star) (-- _bott-man returns!!! takes a train (5 believers/tombstone) (-- spicy, snaky, luscious rolling stoneback pages (-- al fresco *highlight* # = not played; no original alternate chosen before show flash notes: peaceful, outdoor coastal lawn-mountain arena; subdued; naturalistic; begins slowly in cool misty gray dusk; dylan starts slowly -- eyes absorbing details like a hungry eagle with overcast gray eyes; he intuitively senses laid-back audience vibe and gradually makes judicious song re-adjustments to soften tone; heats to stirring finale; during _tambourine man_, as he drawls: "it's just a ragged clown behind/i wouldn't pay it any mind/it's just a shadow that you're seeing that he's chasing" -- his raw loneliness unfolds. painful, soothing, impossible to comprehend in a single thought. keeps getting more perfect. how? jnb
Date: Tue, 23 May 1995 15:39:28 GMT From: Steve Michel (michel@NETCOM.COM) Subject: Warfield 5/20 Down in the Flood Long Black Coat Watchtower Your Way Tears of Rage (!!!) Tombstone Blues (alternate on the setlist was Tom Thumb!) Tambourine Man Baby Blue Seeing the Real You At Last She Belongs to Me Obviously 5 Believers. Encores: Lenny Bruce (lots of made up lyrics) My Back Pages ------------------------------ Date: Tue, 23 May 1995 15:56:14 GMT From: Raegen Rasnic (raygin@NETCOM.COM) Subject: Re: Warfield 5/20 Steve Michel (michel@netcom.com) wrote: : Down in the Flood : Long Black Coat : Watchtower : Your Way : Tears of Rage (!!!) : Tombstone Blues (alternate on the setlist was Tom Thumb!) : Tambourine Man You left out Desolation Row, which was lovely. : Baby Blue : Seeing the Real You At Last : She Belongs to Me : Obviously 5 Believers. : Encores: : Lenny Bruce (lots of made up lyrics) : My Back Pages -- raygin@netcom.com San Francisco, CA Buy me some rings and a gun that sings A flute that toots and a bee that stings
Date: Wed, 24 May 1995 13:40:09 -0400 From: Braitman (braitman@AOL.COM) Subject: Re: Warfield 5/20 sorry, i disagree. Lenny Bruce was the lowpoint. Banal lyrics, and awkward arrangement. He's never done the song "right," as far as I'm concerned. my highpoint of Monday was "My Back Pages."
Date: Thu, 25 May 1995 19:12:57 -0400 From: Ragman10 (ragman10@AOL.COM) Subject: Concert Review 5/20,22,23... Hello to all. Here follows my own review/reaction/thoughts about the three shows I was just lucky enough to attend. 5/20/95 Santa Barbara County Bowl Crash ng. Senor ng. Watchtower Just Like A Woman Silvio Watching the River Flow Tambourine ng. Masters Love Minus Zero Real You At Last Simple Twist Takes A Train To Cry Rolling Stone Back Pages After flying six hours, taking a two hour bus ride, and waiting upwards of three hours at the Bowl, I was not in a great mood. Perhaps this fatigue in some way affected my view of the show. Perhaps it was the fact that I did not love the song selections. Perhaps it was my not so great seat and the guys talking incessantly next to me.....Agggggggh. Whatever, I still consider this the weakest of the shows. The energy just wasn't there from the crowd and I think Dylan was affected by this. However, the show, compared to those in the past (1994 excluded) was still very good. "Crash on the Levee" had some very interesting phrasing and, as I later learned, this phrasing changed each night. After the song he exclaimed "We were just in LA, the OJ jury was at the show." Was this the case or a joke? "Senor" was my highlight. Dylan, sans guitar, put so much emotion into the vocals that sitting there, outside, the wind blowing against my face, it was almost haunting. I have always loved "Senor" and the chance to finally hear it live was a treat. "Watchtower" and "Just Like A Woman" were standard. I was surprised that Dylan has decided to seperate the lines in "Watchtower". I like it much better in this pre-1994 style. "Silvio" was my second highlight. The two drunk, loud guys next to me went out to the bathroom and I was left alone with this rocking tune. It's amazing that just by seperating the lines, he has totally changed the feel of the song. In other words, for those who have not heard the 1995 version, Dylan sings "One of these days and it won't br longgggggggggggg" pause, "I'm going down to the valley to sing my songggggggggg". It's a lot like the new "Man In A Long Black Coat". The tempo is very upbeat and it, along with "Watchtower" was by far the most revved up song. ""Watching The River Flow" was standard, 1994-1995 style. Oh the acoustics. For anyone who has not heard the 1995 "Tambourine Man", get a tape as soon as possible. It is simply a beautiful prayer. Dylan, without a guitar, JJ playing th melody, Bucky's solo...it is, in a word, perfect. The addition of the "Skipping reels of rhyme" verse makes it so much the better. "Masters of War" was probobly the fan favorite. Dylan, again sans guitar, sensed this and his vocals were full of emotion. Fans, as usual, cheered at the verse ends and, with the way the red light shown on Bob, this song seemed as hauting as "Senor". JJ did that solo which Dylan was giving him special recogntion in Europe, but there was no special introduction. Dylan picked up a guitar for "Love Minus Zero" and, while I love he song, it did not have the same emotional, passionate feel of the previous 2 songs. While it was very well done, Dylan did not do a great solo and I felt a bit dissapointed. None the less, I was very happy he din't play "Don't Think Twice". "Seeing the Real You At Last" was good to hear for the first time, but I got the feeling that hearing it every night would be a bit annoying. The song, IMHO, while being upbeat, did not rock like "Silvio". I doubt that Dylan will play this as frequently in the future as "God Knows". Don't get me wrong, the song is well organized and JJ does a nice solo. It's just not great. "Simple Twist of Fate"- The song was well done but it is one of my least favorite songs. "Train to Cry"- While I really dislike this song, I must admit that it was well done. It's just that it seems that the song is in limbo. Sort of between fast and slow. Is it supposed to be rocking like "Watchtower" or slow like "She Belongs to Me." Dylan really appeared to love playing it. "Rolling Stone" was pretty standard while "My Back Pages" was simply awesome. Acoustic with the full band, Dylan did extensive guitar and harmonic solos and sang pretty much all the verses. There is something so fitting about ending a show with this tune. It caused me to forget much of what I had disliked about the show before it. In terms of other news. Dylan started forty five minutes after showtime. The setlist listed "Lay Lady Lay" as an alternate for #2, "Thombston Blues" as an alternate for #12, "Shooting Star" as an alternate for #11, and "Mr Jones" as the first encore. At some point, Dylan introduced Hoyt Axston, who was backstage, saying he had "written some song about a hotel." Dylan wore black pants (with Buttons) and a black jacket. As usual, he wore boots and no hat. He looked absolutely beautiful. Other reviews to follow.