Bob Dylan 990702 in Shakopee

From: Comrade Trotsky  ld_trotsky@hotmail.com 
To: karlerik@monet.no
Subject: Minneapolis review
Date: Sat, 03 Jul 1999 00:40:22 PDT

...
A quick review for those who give a damn. I have the Duluth show
tomorrow too. Overall, a good show and my first time seeing the
new line up. As opposed to Simon's set, Dylan's is very guitar
heavy.

Also, for those who care, Dylan wore a black suit with a long
black tie. Tony Garnier wore a purple suit and black hat. Charlie
Sexton wore a dark blue suit. Larry Campbell was dressed in black
with that long jacket on, with a aqua-sort colored shirt. David
Kemper was wearing a new Texas cowboy hat about the same color
white as his old Panama Jack hat.

During Simon's set, Kemper could be seen dancing around a little.

For my review, forgive me if I am a little vague. I'm trying to
remember each song and the performance. I am also, a bit tired.
This my first contribution here.

Sounds of Silence (Bob-harp) 
When Dylan walks out, he sort of puts his hand on Simon's
shoulder, like hey, but he nearly knocks him down. Simon is kind
of, on the shorter side, and Dylan towers over him. Those cowboy
boots probably don't help either. Dylan whips out some licks that
depart from this song's tender and delicate structure. A good
harp break though.

I Walk The Line/Blue Moon Kentucky 
Very quick. It seemed more like a blur. It's hard to hear Dylan
when they harmonize.

Knockin' On Heaven's Door 
This reggae version is interesting. After third verse, Simon
forgot to jump in and there was some laughing and awkward
glances. Dylan gives Simon's guitar player some weird glances
too. The guy's pretty good and looks like Sideshow Bob with his
tuff of red hair.


Hallelujah (Larry Campbell on mandolin) 
As the band strode on, the guitar tech asked Campbell whether it
would be the mandolin or guitar. It was the mandolin. A very
quick song. Kemper kicks it off with a trotting rhythm. Great
mandolin work from Campbell. He's a real nimble player. The
concert both starts and ends with great vocal sing-along type
songs. Sexton and Campbell form a nice vocal blend with Dylan. At
the end, Kemper took off his hat, which is something, I've never
seen before.

Mr. Tambourine Man (Bob-harp) 
A slightly different arrangement. A great harp break for Dylan. A
great performance.

Desolation Row 
Before starting this one out, Dylan told Tony Garnier and shouted
it to Charlie Sexton and Larry Campbell. Though it appeared
before the tour took a break, it was a surprise choice to me. A
great vocal delivery. No lyric mess ups, lots of intonation and
Dylan put a lot feeling behind it. Betty Davis style got a little
laugh from Dylan.

Don't Think Twice, It's Alright 
Some good guitar interplay on this one but within the confines of
the song. Sexton is staying steady on the rhythm. He must be the
most overqualified rhythm guitarist there is. Great playing by
Campbell. He played the finger picking part that Dylan played on
the album version while Dylan and Sexton mixed it up a little.
Standard vocals.

Tangled Up In Blue (Bob on harp) 
Like usual, Campbell starts this one off. But when you're waiting
for Bucky Baxter's mandolin to come in, it never does. Instead,
Dylan starts to play the second guitar part and that merges with
Campbell. Throughout the night, you got the feeling that Dylan
really likes Campbell's playing and they have quite a synergy, if
you will. Though Sexton is supposedly the guitar player, it seems
Dylan doesn't want to give Campbell up. Campbell seems very
locked in with Dylan and is both a great lead player but also
good supporting guitarist. Campbell took a majority of the lead
work tonight but he often would play rhythm lines for Dylan's
lead stuff. What makes him great is that Campbell's guitar parts
were simultaneously supportive to Dylan and they're interesting
to the song overall. Bob's harp solo was stumbling, sort of like
a tight rope walker but in the end was great. He sort of looks
for something, a lick or melody and once he finds it, he keeps
playing and mutating it.

All Along The Watchtower (Bob on harp) 
Campbell seemed to overdo it a little on this one. I think he
accidentally played one segment too long and interrupted a verse.
He plays a PRS guitar now and it has quite a thick and colorful
sound. Sexton started it off on acoustic. Despite the mess up, it
was really good to hear this song and was a good performance.

Make You Feel My Love 
This song sorely missed Bucky Baxter's pedal steel. The steel
guitar gave the song great loneliness and lonesomeness. In fact,
though it looked ready to go, there was no steel guitar tonight.
A great Dylan vocal. Some good melodic interplay.

Stuck Inside of Mobile With The Memphis Blues Again 
This was quite a guitar workout. It seemed the band was leading
the train and Sexton was sort of along for the ride. Good
drumming from Kemper. I've always like this song and I've always
wanted to hear it. A different arrangement. They don't all come
back together hard at the end of the chorus.

Not Dark Yet 
A magnificent version. Positively spooky. The intertwining layers
of guitar that permeate the recorded version are perfectly
recreated. A lick sort of appears out of nowhere and then
evaporates. Some really good subtle guitar work from Sexton and
Campbell. Dylan's vocal was tender and straight-forward, similar
to the album version. One of the highlights of the night.

band intros: 
Bob said, "I want to introduce you to my band. They're some of
greatest players in the country. After going around he said, "We
gotta get out of here. We gotta get the hammer and hit the sack."
Something like that. It would make more sense to change it around
but I pretty sure he said hammer, not hammered. Dylan got a big
laugh from Tony Garnier.

Highway 61 (Charlie Sexton on lead guitar, Larry Campbell on
slide guitar) 
On the last tour, this song was explosive. It had this intensity
and overflowing power. This version, though different, was
equally so though very different. Probably the best version of
which was on Tonight I'm Playing Here For You. With Campbell
playing slide on a road-worn red Gibson Les Paul (looked sort of
like one) Sexton played some interesting lead breaks. Campbell's
loud slide work was really great. Half way through, Sexton edged
toward Dylan trying to make eye contact or get him to do
something. It was great to see Dylan, Campbell and Sexton playing
all at the same time. It was sort of a blues jam session with
each of them working off each other. Campbell took the last solo,
I believe, and Garnier puts his head right near his shoulder,
seemingly to just try to freak him out.

Like A Rolling Stone 
This one got Dylan smiling. He seemed to laugh at the crowds
reaction and then quickly scowl and then laugh to himself. A
longer version. Not quite as effective as other arrangements
they've done. Solid but nothing more. Near the end, Dylan looked
at Kemper to ask for a few moments before they ended it, and
Dylan launches into a great little solo much to Tony's delight.

It Ain't Me Babe 
This song has become something of a speedy-little country
journey. Garnier's acoustic bass added a little punch to this
one. There was plenty of picking on this one. Some guitar weaving
and a great Dylan solo.

Not Fade Away 
A very funky version. Garnier was even slapping the bass a
little. Again great vocals from Sexton and Campbell. The song has
a real crunching sound too it. Sexton played a red Gretch guitar
on this one (he played Strats most of the night). I really like
this version but you'd almost never recognize it. Very different
from other versions of the song. A great closer.

A couple observations on Charlie Sexton. He stood at the side of
the stage during the Simon/Dylan duet and got a weird glance from
Dylan. He seemed to get along well with all the band members and
the roadies. Tony often leaned over during the set and would
whisper to him. He exchanged laughs with Campbell and could be
seen smiling at David Kemper. Kemper was hiding behind his
cymbals and couldn't be seen for comment. Though he has a limited
role so far, the next tour should be interesting.

The band has a different sound than before. Very familiar but not
quite as rich as before, in my opinion. With the departure of
Bucky Baxter, Campbell has really stepped forward. He plays a
variety of instruments and his playing often dominates, though he
is very adept at playing supportive lines. Though I like Campbell
and his contributions, it seems they are missing something.
Baxter's mandolin/pedal steel playing was a nice color to add to
the band's mix. And since Sexton is somewhat restrained, the
sound is not quite as diverse and dynamic as it once was, in my
humble opinion.


Hope this is helpful. Now, on to Duluth.

Old and young came to hear Simon and Dylan perform (Star Tribune)

Dylan and Simon: Pop's odd couple (Star Tribune)



Subject: Minneapolis Concert
From: Michael Anderson 
Date: Sat, 3 Jul 1999 00:30:05 -0500

I just got back from the show in Shakopee.  Dylan was excellent,
Simon was boring.  I've never checked my watch so much at a
concert.  When Bob walked onstage to do "Sounds of Silence", it
was much needed jolt.  When he played his harmonica solo, it was
better than the whole Simon show.  Unfortunately, the reggae
version of "Knockin' on Heaven's Door" suffered from the
Simonized arrangement.

When Dylan finally started his show, he was "on" from the first
note.  I'm glad I got to hear "Halleluia, I'm ready to go", which
was a  spry number.  Mr. Tambourine Man was nice to hear in it's
new arrangement. I won't do a full review, but I'll just say
highlights for me were "Desolation Row", "Make You Feel My Love",
"Not Dark Yet", "Like A Rolling Stone", "Not Fade Away".  I can't
wait to see him tomorrow in Duluth.



Subject: TOUR REPORT: July 2, 1999 Shakopee, Minnesota
From: "Morris Z."  MorrisZ@OPERAMAIL.COM 
Date: 29 Jul 1999 21:27:35 -0700

July 2, 1999 Shakopee, Minnesota
Tour Report
By Morris Z.

(Important: This and my other tour reports focus more on the
whole experience of attending the July 99 Dylan/Simon concerts,
and less on the music itself. You have been warned! :-)

Soundchecked (around 2pm): "Tears of Rage," "Highway 61."

Our first show of the tour. Not knowing what to expect, combined
with having nothing better to do, we decided to arrive at the
venue late the night before. It turned out to be a foolish
decision to arrive so early, as by lunchtime the next day there
were less than 30 people lined up for a circa 25,000 capacity
show. However, the night was not entirely uneventful--we watched
four teenagers joyride around the parking lot in a maintenance
cart. I guess the local Chucky Cheese closes early in this part
of the country.

There were lots of creative attempts at pushing in at the front
of the line. They ranged from the woman who only wanted to "stand
in the shade" for a little while, to the man with a homemade
printed t-shirt claiming to be with the art team with permission
to enter the venue early.

About 10 minutes before the doors opened, a guy from the local
news station set up a video camera placed so as to videotape
everybody running in through the doors. Finally, after more than
20 hours of sitting, laying, and standing (basically moving no
more than 6 inches from the same spot), the doors opened and we
ran... and we ran. Then we ran some more.  A half mile in
total--through the grandstand building, around the racetrack,
over a bridge, and finally across a field to the front of the
stage.

Having claimed our territory, the attempts by others to weasel
their way to the front of the stage did not cease, they just got
less imaginative. "I need to speak to someone," one girl whined.
"My friend's up there," said another. You'd bend down to tie your
shoelaces and on the way back up find yourself bumping into a
newly appeared arm which had mysteriously attached itself to your
part of the barrier.

The Bodeans opened the show. Paul Simon followed with a nice set
containing a surprisingly high number of familiar songs. After
about an hour's time, Paul announced, "I'm very proud to..." and
before he could finish we knew what was about to happen next.

Whether Bob was just on form that night, or whether it was down
to the countless hours of build-up, the level of excitement
reached fever pitch.

It was funny to see that it was Paul Simon wrongfooting Bob, and
not vice versa.  Usually it is Dylan who sings the wrong words at
the wrong times, confusing his duet partner. Tonight, Simon
surprised Bob with an unexpected chanting of "You keep a-knockin'
but you can't come in" over Bob's singing of the chorus.  Bob
eventually gave up singing the regular "Knock, knock, knockin' on
heaven's door" chorus, and joined Paul on this new one ("You keep
a-knockin', you keep a-knockin', you keep a- knockin' but you
can't come in").

However, Dylan knew well enough not to even attempt to join in on
a new verse of Paul's, the words of which were unknown to both
Bob and us.  It was all so much fun that we could not help but
laugh along with Dylan and Simon!

"Hallelujah, I'm Ready To Go," a joyous and uplifting start to
Bob's own set, was quite unlike the solemn hymn we had read
about.  Instead it turned out to be a jaunty, rocking, and upbeat
number.

The rest of the show maintained the same high level of
enthusiasm, right through the closing "Not Fade Away."

Soon after Dylan walked offstage, I was accosted by a portly
gentleman with a desperate look on his face and a keen eye on the
bottles of ice cold mineral water I had tucked under my arms. It
was humid night.

"Can I buy one of those bottles?" he asked, his gaze fixed on the
cool water instead of on me. I'd bought four bottles earlier, at
the horribly-inflated concert venue price of $2.50/bottle, and we
had drunk only two.

"Sure. They cost me $2.50 each."

He agreed and took one of the bottles. I stopped him just as he
was opening it and said, "Are you gonna pay for that, buddy?" He
gave me a puppy dog look but then Maggie Z. stepped in and
volunteered to serve as the mediator for the transaction. Buddy
handed Maggie a five dollar note and eagerly drank from the
bottle. "Keep the change, you saved my life," he said to me. It
was then that I realized my true vocation in life: waterboy.

At this point we should have been looking up at a fireworks
display planned as the evening's finale. However, an announcement
had been made earlier in the day that, to safeguard the welfare
of the horses (remember, this is a racetrack), the fireworks were
cancelled.

Getting out of the car park was easier than we had expected and
we made a b-line for Burger King. Having survived on only baby
carrots and bread since dinner the night before, the prospect of
a more substantial meal was deliciously exciting. Unfortunately,
we weren't the only ones with that idea.

It took ages for Trevor behind the counter to take our order
(#36), and we had to wait while orders #16-35 were prepared.  By
this late hour and our absolutely horrible state of hunger,
staying upright had become a problem. We found ourselves
collapsing over the counter, pleading with Trevor to please give
us our food.

We made our way back to the Budget Host Inn for some
much-deserved sleep--but we only afforded ourselves a few hours
because we had to get up the next morning to drive to Duluth for
the next show. The air- conditioning in the room was broken, and
the place felt like a sauna. But by that stage we were too
exhausted to care....

Morris Z.