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Bob Dylan 951105 Austin, TX


Date:    Sun, 5 Nov 1995 23:39:38 -0600
From:    Chris Lyons 
Subject: Austin TX 11/5/95

Everything is still a bit of a happy blur, but here are some quick
impressions of tonight's show, B.D.'s second night in Austin.

He hit the stage promptly at 9:15 after a brief opening set by local hero
Ian Moore. Bob looked trim and rested, amazing considering the pace he's
been setting. Black T shirt, purple floppy satin overshirt (doublet?) and
Long Black Coat.The band was in top form throughout, as was the Leader's
voice.

The Set List, as best as I can recall:


                                November 5, 1995

                                 Austin Music Hall



   1.Down In The Flood
   2.Tonight I'll be Staying Here with You (superb vocal)
   3.All Along The Watchtower (tighter than usual)
   4.Shelter From the Storm (incredible anthemic performance)
   5.Watching the River Flow (wild "Mystery Train" rockabilly arrangement)
   6.Silvio
   7.Mr. Tambourine Man (acoustic, only harmonica solo of the night)
   8.Gates of Eden (acoustic)
   9.To Ramona (acoustic)
  10.Maggie's Farm (with Doug Sahm)
  11.Tom Thumb's Blues  (With Doug Sahm)
  12. Never Gonna Be the Same Again (particularly heartfelt, from Empire
Burlesque, natch)
         12.5. Highway 61 (with Doug Sahm and Ian Moore)

     (encore)
  13.Alabama Getaway
  14.Girl From The North Country (acoustic)
  15.Rainy Day Women Nos. 12 & 35  (with Doug Sahm and Ian Moore)

Great song selection! Many tunes I had never heard performed live before,
with Mr. D interpreting his heart out on every one.

The evening was marked by long, long I do mean long jams in each and every
song. At times these were amazing, reminding the audience that Dylan's
MUSIC made his words so special. On the other hand, at times it seemed that
Dylan decided to play three notes over and over and over on the guitar
since he wasn't doing it on the harmonica. Many times the jamming really
jelled though, and became a crazy sort of magic. Every song built to a
majestic creshendo. Upon reflection, the whole tone of the arrangements and
song selection on the Fall Classic (as this leg of the tour is named on the
T shirts) could be viewed as a tribute of sorts to the Grateful Dead. The
kind of telepathic interplay the Dead enjoy was occassionally hit by the
musicians tonight. The Dead-tribute idea would also explain the nightly
performances of Silvio and Alabama Getaway. BTW, I haven't heard Dylan in
better voice in twenty years. It was a very exciting two hours.

Date: Mon, 6 Nov 1995 17:00:49 GMT From: Scott Reeves (sreeves@FC.NET) Subject: Austin Performances and Set lists-11/4-11/5 ---- Austin Music Hall ---- > >Dylan played a two night set in Austin with local guitar slinger Ian Moore opening with a 45 minute set both nights. Clearly, Moore is an up and coming performer and a Stevie Ray Vaughn (another local) wannabe and he certainly has the talent to do it. However, a 53 year old man came on stage shortly after his set and showed the young pup how it's done. Playing to a packed house of about three thousand each night, His Bobness played two of the truly great shows in recent memory. Gone are the engimatic performances of the past where the audience was forced to play "Name that Tune". Each song was given its own new twist, but the vocals were strong and recognizeable and Bob's voice came through beautifully (although the slow, mournful version of "It's All Over Now, Baby Blue" took some listening to identify). He was joined the first night by Charlie Sexton (another local) and the following night by Doug Sahm (yet another local) and rumors were about that Willie Nelson would join him on stage to do "What Was It You Wanted". Dylan needed no help in conquering this crowd,though. In a city that regularly showcases more live talent on a Sunday night than you can find in New York or L.A. on a Saturday, Dylan proved that he is still raising the bar for public performances and the younger generation of players still have a stretch to reach it. Whether or not you've caught His Bobness in the past, this tour is a must see. > >4 November >---------- >1. Down in the Flood (Crash on the Levee) - Totally butt-rockin' >2. Man in the Long Black Coat - a high point of the evening >3. All Along the Watchtower - lots of guitar solos, brought the house down >4. Just Like a Woman - nobody felt any pain >5. I Don't Believe You (She Acts Line We've Never Met) - very tasty stuff >6. Silvio- a very changed song. The Deadheadiness is left behind and a hard charging rocker emerges. This is serious rock 'n roll! >(Acoustic set) >7. Tangled Up in Blue - plays harp - "bootleg" version with 3rd person lyrics >8. Masters of War - caustic as ever, big reaction from crowd >9. It's All Over Now, Baby Blue - terrific rendition, beautiful song >>10. Seeing the Real You At Last- (w/Charlie Sexton) >11. She Belongs to Me- (w/Charlie Sexton) >12. Obviously Five Believers - rocked the house > >(Encore) >13. Alabama Getaway (w/Ian Moore)- rocked hard, brought the house down. Faced off and traded licks with Ian Moore and between the two of them, burned the place down >14. One Too Many Mornings (acoustic)- very tasty stuff, redux >15. Rainy Day Women 12 & 35 - big crowd response, of course (w/Moore & Sexton) > > >5 November >---------- >1. Down in the Flood (Crash on the Levee) - rocked the house. Didn't expect this one two nights in a row as he has been opening with "Drifter's Escape" also, however, no complaints. >2. Tonight I'll Be Staying Here with You - nice rendition >3. All Along the Watchtower - even better than last night, anthemic, STRONG. People have been comparing his performance of this song with the Hendrix version. I don't really see it other than both versions rock hard. Excellent. Got the crowd on its feet after the softer lead in of TIBSHWY. >4. Shelter From the Storm - GREAT SONG. GREAT PERFORMANCE! >5. Watching the River Flow - performed as country rocker. All he needed here was a fiddle and it's a hoedown. great version. >6. Sylvio - rocked extremely hard, brought the house down, dancing in the aisles > >(Acoustic set) >7. Mr. Tamborine Man - outstanding version, high point of the evening >8. Gates of Eden - what can I say? >9. To Ramona - Sublime. Spanish style guitar trading licks with mandolin. Close your eyes and let the melody take you away. > >10. Maggie's Farm - serious rock and roll (w/Doug Sahm) >11. Just Like Tom Thumb's Blues - one of the great Dylan songs IMHO (Sahm vocals). Sahm amuses Dylan on this one by changing lyrics to say Austin's party scene is too much and the protagonist just wants to get back to Manhatten where he'll be safe. Dylan actually laughs! >12. Ain't Never Gonna Be the Same Again - very tasty >13. Highway 61 Revisited - yep, we're in the presence of greatness (harp). The crowd leaps to its feet as this one is recognized. > >(Encore) >14. Alabama Getaway - (w/Ian Moore) rocked and rolled himself to death, baby. Less of a jam than last night. >15. Girl From the North Country (acoustic)- made the show >16. Rainy Day Women 12 & 35- as always, a crowd pleasing closing number. > >NOTES: Lots of interaction with audience Sunday night. Flashed that >impish grin a lot.
Date: Mon, 6 Nov 1995 18:37:30 -0500 From: SueAnna (sueanna@AOL.COM) Subject: Re: Setlist Austin, Texas November 4, 1995 I thought what you are calling Obviously 5 believers was Temporarily like Achillis(?sp) Heal from Hwy 61 album
Date: Tue, 7 Nov 1995 01:41:34 GMT From: Christine Consolvo (consolvo@IX.NETCOM.COM) Subject: notes from Austin...awesome What a wonderful weekend I've just had! Not only the great (as usual) shows, but meeting so many new faces...the names and personalities I was already acquainted with. Met quite a few "lurkers" too, and all were found to be delightful. The night life in Austin was too good to be true! (I had a slight problem trying to entertain people on a Saturday night in Springfield!) Fabulous music at every turn. And I've always loved Tex-Mex cuisine! I can't remember having ever packed so much FUN into 48 hours. And the shows...Bob always benefits from "competition" onstage-these nights, of course, in the form of Charlie Sexton, Ian Moore and Doug Sahm. (I had no intentions of enjoying the sets from Ian Moore Band, but found myself truly enjoying them on both nights. Very good.) On both nights there were several "highlights". The absolute ultimate, though, had to be Saturday with "It's All Over Now, Baby Blue". Maybe I'm slipping over the edge, (hush) but I found myself feeling in an almost trance-like state. Stunned...awed... hypnotized by that single drop of sweat that hung endlessly from his nose--refusing to give in. I had to occasionally remind myself to take a gasp of air. Completely over the top, this one was. He's gotten to a point where each and every version of each and every song has enough fresh nuance to seem bright, shiny and brand new! I can't imagine how this feat is accomplished. After all, I've heard some of these songs live many, many times over, yet I'm taken in by "Down In the Flood", "Watchtower", "Tambourine Man", etc. over and over. Then he pulls out the newest version of "Shelter From the Storm" and there is no question in my mind that this small person on the stage is the biggest thing to hit 20th century music. He's a gift from above bestowed on any who take the time to listen. How very lucky we all are to have received this. At the Sunday night show there was an early rush to the stage after the first acoustic song. Partway into the next song he noticed (how could he not?) an older woman, 65 if she was a minute, only six inches taller than the stage and sporting a black leather jacket. I don't know if she was the catalyst of the early rush, but she was really boogeying (in old lady fashion) front and center against the stage. He found this to be adorable (as did we all) and smiled and pointed at her then proceeded to lock eyes with her while playing the guitar with a flair. We thought it could well be that she reminded him of his own mother. He put on quite a show for her which we all benefited from. Before leaving the stage at one point, he smiled down at her again, then wandered back to his spot and fetched a guitar pick, handing it down for a special souvenir of the evening. We were all quite jealous! He was back to wearing a jacket on Sunday-the long one with appliqued velvet leaves (black on black) to which he had added some spiffy silver button covers. The shirt (deep magenta lame) was still worn in the same buccaneer style underneath it, however. Cutting a dashing figure as usual. Well, I apologize for these wandering comments, but wanted to post while it was fresh in my mind. Only problem being that my mind is not very fresh! After rubbing shoulders with Doug Sahm at the Continental Club and getting a very late (early?) breakfast at the IHOP, I only had time for a short nap before catching a 6:30 am flight back home then straight to work. Perhaps I'll post more later. Just thought I'd mention it... Christine
Date: Wed, 8 Nov 1995 02:52:06 GMT From: Judas Priest (dxyoung@FC.NET> Subject: Re: Austin TX 11/5/95 Chris Perkins (cepx%mimi@magic.itg.ti.com) says: >> 13. Highway 61 (with Doug Sahm and Ian Moore) >sorry, but there were no guest musicians on Hwy 61. Oops. I stand corrected. Obviously a typographical error on the part of my stenographer. I'm sure he'll make up for it in his set list of the Vegas show.
Date: Fri, 10 Nov 1995 00:08:06 -0600 From: "John R. Weikart" Subject: Austin Weekend (Long, rambling post) Well, I finally have some time to set down a few of my thoughts about this past weekend in Austin. It's a little late, but I've been very busy catching up on work for all my classes since it was hard to get anything done over the weekend. It sure is hard to concentrate on contract law when you've just been to two Dylan concerts! Actually, I'll start with a few words about the show in Biloxi on October 14. Jenny (my wife, a reformed Dylan hater) and I drove the 9.5 hours from Austin the day of the concert and were planning to hook up with a few rmd folks but it was not to be. We got into Biloxi with just enough time to catch a quick dinner and get to the show. Others have said plenty about this concert (remember the woman in white?) but I just wanted to make a few comments. Our first and only Dylan show before this one was at Wolf Trap in Virginia in the summer of 1991. The show was one of the infamous mumbling ones. A great "John Brown" and not much else memorable, although the band sounded pretty good. I had been reading the rave reviews of this year's earlier shows and had heard Unplugged but I was unprepared for just how wonderful Dyaln concerts have become again. "Tangled Up In Blue" was the highlight of Biloxi for me. The version of this song that Bob, J.J., Tony, and Bucky are doing on this tour is incredible, the best I've ever heard. The lyrics are the original ones (Bootleg Series). In Biloxi, it was fast and strong with a momentum that perfectly suited the travels described in the verses; the lyrics have never stayed in one place for very long and now the music keeps up with them. Bob's singing on this was sharp, extremely rhythmic, clear, inspired, inspiring. Other highlights were "Positively 4th Street" and an excellent encore of "The Times They Are A-Changin.'" The most noticable thing was Dylan voice throughout the whole show. The rough gravelly sound that seems to have been typical since about 1990 is gone, replaced by a smooth strong voice. Austin November 4: The rmd gathering took place at 5:30 at Waterloo Ice House. Jenny and I were the first to arrive. Before long Kelly Randall from Dallas and his non-internet friend Joni (sp?) from Taylor and their spouses had arrived. Eventually we had around 15 folks, including Ray Webster, Christine Consolvo, Bill Pagel, Debbie from Dallas (We don't know your last name Debbie!), Nancy Hernandez and her friend Jamie...am I forgetting anybody? What a wonderful time we had! It was like meeting old friends. Actually it WAS meeting old friends, only we never knew what they looked like or how their voices sounded until then. I don't think you'll ever see a brighter gathering than a group of Dylan fans just hours from a concert. If any of you are considering organizing a pre-show bash, please do; the work in organizing is minimal and it could turn out to be great fun. Thank you all for showing up. Contact ahuk1@swarthmore.edu, the EDLIS parties and gatherings agent. Thanks for all the help Alex. To the show! We walked the six or so blocks to the Austin Music Hall. It is a former warehouse in downtown Austin, so it's pretty echoey and loud. There is a "balcony" which is really just a sort of loft with more seats set up. We were in the first row of seats in the balcony. The Ian Moore Band opened and were very good but it's hard to concentrate on an opening act when Dylan is about to perform. At about 9:15 the announcement "...Columbia recording artist Bob Dylan" and immediately those huge opening chords of "Down In The Flood." Dylan's voice was strong right away and there was a tightness to the sound of the band that was a surprise after the fairly loose sound in Biloxi. The next surprise was "All Along The Watchtower." Obviously it wasn't surprising that they played it in the number three spot, but it sounded like a song rather than a ritual. Paul Williams describes the "cinematography" in this song and something about the sound of those three guitars on Saturday night made this song very visual, almost tactile. And J.J. demonstrated exactly what a wildcat growl sounds like. "Tangled..." was very good again although Biloxi was much better in my opinion. (This may well be because it was my first time hearing the arrangement.) A powerful "Masters Of War" followed, and then the highlight of the weekend. I always found "It's All Over Now, Baby Blue" good but not particularly inspiring. The words meant little to me. I had read various interpretations and none had done much to enlighten me. On Saturday night I felt it for the first time. Isn't it an amazing experience to suddenly discover a song that you've heard dozens or even hundreds or times before? This is what makes us Dylan fans really, isn't it? That unexpected moment when he suddenly creates something so beautiful. Why is it so unexpected after all this time? I have been listening to Dylan for 10 years (admitedly not as long as most of you) but it still startles me to feel that same rush of wonder that I felt on first hearing the opening bars of "I Want You" on my father's "Bob Dylan's Greatest Hits" a decade ago. I won't try to describe the arrangement of this song further except to say that it is very slow, very sad, and very beautiful. It has dignity. It only occured to me later that it may have been an elegy for Rabin. Most of the rest of the concert was a good-time rock-n-roll show. Lots of big guitar noise, lots of fun. November 5: We were in the fourth row, toward the Tony/Bucky side of the stage. We had a great view. Overall, the show was even better than Saturday, although there were no moments as wonderful as "Baby Blue." Sometimes it takes these guys two or three songs to warm up, but they were on from the first moment of Sunday's show. Another wonderful "Flood" and then "Tonight I'll Be Staying Here With You." I don't know if it was because we were up close and could see or if something was different on Sunday, but I noticed that Bob was really playing amazing lead guitar on this song and continued to do this on every song for the rest of the night. This guy can play the guitar!!! I don't want to read any more newspaper articles about Dylan the "influential 60s songwriter"; he's the greatest performer I've ever seen. "Watchtower" was very good again. Then he hit us with "Shelter From The Storm." I had just gotten a tape of the 1994 Hiroshima show and really got a kick out of that upbeat version of the song; November 1995 is completely different and infinitely better. It starts slowly and quietly and builds and builds. Somehow it reminds me of the Rolling Thunder version I've heard on a tape of "Creatures Void Of Form." (Incidently, does anybody know which date of that tour that song is from?) It's hard to pick a best song from Sunday, but this may be it. The rush for the stage was early on Sunday, occuring between the first and second acoustic numbers. Jenny and I got right up front just about where Bucky stands. It's great to be that close and really get to watch Dylan play that guitar. J.J. was really laying off and letting Dylan play the leads, whereas in Biloxi the sound was often dominated by two dueling guitars. Does it seem like Bob's spent this year first re-teaching himself to sing (in Europe and beyond) and then doing the same for the guitar? Will 1996 see the same happen with harmonica, piano, and songwriting? I suppose I have rambled on enough now. This hasn't been particularly organized, but I just had to share a few of my thoughts about the three shows I've seen on this tour. Aren't we fortunate to have heard Bob Dylan and to be able to continue hearing him? Thank you to everyone who made it to Waterloo on Saturday; I was so glad you shared your weekend with me. Does anybody have a tape for me? ;-) -John jweikart@mail.utexas.edu
Date: Wed, 8 Nov 1995 11:37:22 GMT From: Kelly Randall (krandal@METRONET.COM) Subject: Bring Mom along This is info I got second-hand from my friend, Joni, who was closer to the stage at the Austin shows than I. On Saturday 11/4, Dylan brought out Charlie Sexton to play guitar with the band. I guess Charlie is a local Austin guy, but I'm not sure. Bob said something like "I want to bring out one of the best guitar players in the world, Charlie mumblemumble." I did not get the last name & neither did Joni. So Joni sez to Bob, "What was the guitar player's name?". Bob turns to Joni & sez, "I just told you. You weren't listening!" She wasn't trying to imply that Bob had mumbled, but maybe he's sensitive about that. When J.J. heard the question, and before Bob answered, he moved toward Joni and when Bob was thru talking he said "That's Charlie Sexton". Perhaps J.J. knew what the answer was gonna be. On Sunday 11/5, there was a nice lady (maybe 5'3", curly hair, about 60 years in my estimation) standing next to Joni at the stage. She said she had really come to see Ian Moore (hard rock & Texas blues), but she was gettin' into Bob's set. The lady was jumpin' and dancin' & wavin' at Bob. Bob noticed her during the set & pointed her out to J.J. When Bob was leaving (I forget which time), He came to the edge of the stage and pointed to the lady. She said "Bob! Give me you pick!". She had to repeat a time or two before he got it. Bob went back, got a pick & handed it to her. This gave Joni a chance to grab Bob's arm. She did not pull him off the stage, however. Then Bob got another pick and this time dropped it to the lady, so no one could grab him. J.J. gave her a pick, too. After the show the speculation was that the lady might have reminded Bob of Beatty, his mom. So, the moral of this story: If you want a souvenir, bring along someone who looks like Beatty.
Dates 1995
Tour