Bob Dylan 990704 in Milwaukee
Subject: Re: July 4, 1999 - Milwaukee, Wisconsin - Setlist From: stuart levitan sdlevitan@globaldialog.com Date: Mon, 5 Jul 1999 01:51:41 -0700 Solid show. Highlights, for me, were one-hand harp solo in Back Pages; Spanish Leather, and Trying to Get to Heaven. Watchtower seemed like a new arrangement -- Charlie Sexton started it off on acoustic. Bob vocals strong throughout show. Bob seemed in fine fettle, doing that thing with his legs and striking various poses. Not much mugging, but was in a good humor. Seemed surprised when Simon segued into the Wanderer -- afterwards, gave him playful push to shoulder and big "you old dog, where'd you pull that out of?" smile. AND HE TOLD A JOKE: "Nice to be here. One of my early girlfriends was from Milwaukee. She was an artist. She gave me the brush-off." Simon, who closed, played much longer set and double encore (closed with The Boxer). Audience seemed very happy. Musicianship very high, but didn't connect (to me, at least) emotionally. But what do I know? I was still back in that buggy with Miss Mary Jane ...
Subject: july 4th milwaukee *through my eyes* From: lily precious_lily@hotmail.com Date: Mon, 05 Jul 1999 11:03:30 +0100 it was at least 100 degrees down in that hollow of the marcus ampitheater where our 12th row aisle seats were..no breezes blowing down there at all. the sweat was rolling off us like buckets of rain. through the binoculars, which i didn't really need and should have given to my daughter who was sitting in the bleachers (but was too selfish to), i saw the sweat dripping off of the band also and was thinking to myself, "why the hell are they all wearing so much clothing?" sheesh, charlie had on what looked like wool pants and a wool double-breasted jacket. i was close enough to see that BOB doesn't wear a wig, so let's put that rumor to sleep now, okay? and he WAS wearing the white belt and for anyone who thinks that a white belt with black pants is a faux-pas, think again. he wore the black boots with the white scroll-work on the toe and heel, a white shirt opened at the neck, matching jacket (which had diamond-shaped black snaps)which like the boots and pants had the white squiggles, diamonds and stars on the cuffs and the shoulders, and the cowboy hat. he took off the hat quite a few times when he was either scratching his sopping wet and matted down hair or taking some big bows, arms spread wide. alot of chuck berry strutting and holding the guitar in a gunslinger stance..he has such skinny legs! toe-heel dancing and bending his knees, crouching and grimacing... at one point he mentioned an old girlfriend from milwaukee who brushed him off.. charlie was up-front and very present., unlike tony and larry who seemed bored. charlie sang alot of good harmony. larry played violin on Friend of The Devil , which added depth to the song. (i miss buckyâs instruments... ). the harp on My Back Pages was incredible..warping notes ...he sucks in more than he blows, just like the old bluesmen. his voice was strong and he was singing from his lower register..the way he snaps off certain words for emphasis, the way he makes a one syllable word into three, the way he changes the rhythm of the words, the way he sings those old songs in a new way, with a new little twist..he did it all for us last night. by the time he introduced paul simon, the crowd was begging for more. the duets were simply great...topped off by Thatâll Be The Day and The Wanderer...Bob was laughing his ass off when Paul seamlessly segued into The Wanderer. Bob looked a bit surprised, obviously didnât know that was going on...when he realized what song paul was singing, bob started dancing..and for the first time all night, he looked like he was really into playing...everything that had come before seemed rote to me..he finally opened up...he went over to paul and gave him a sort-of punch on his shoulder..like ãhey man, cool choice of songs!ä...the crowd went wild. then he was gone.. paul simonâs band was fantastic..the horns, the congas, the bells, the accordian..the guitarists..all magnificent...i had never seen him in concert before and have none of his cdâs. he was great. he was solid. he was smiling and appreciative..he talked to us, he thanked us... two old, short jewish men .... it just goes to show that genius and creativity doesnât automatically end when you hit 30. * * * * * P.S.i sat next to one of the tapers last night, so i'll have a first gen. e-mail me :).
Subject: Re: july 4th milwaukee *through my eyes* From: don freeman dfreem@home.com Date: Mon, 05 Jul 1999 16:24:39 GMT Great review lily!!! There have been so many song by song reviews lately, that this review, concentrating on music and style, was well appreciated. But despite how perceptive you are, I notice that, even in row twelve, you can be fooled by Bob Dylan's wigmaker.
Subject: Milwaukee show, July 4 From: Marty Traynor mtraynor@execpc.com Date: Mon, 5 Jul 1999 23:00:42 -0500 It was very hot, and Dylan made no concession to the weather as he and his band wore their suit coats in the oven that was Summerfest's Main stage at the Marcus Amphitheater in Milwaukee. Sweat poured off the group as they played. Dylan wore a 10 gallon hat, which he periodically took off to run fingers through sweat-soaked hair (I'm in agreement with the "he does not have a wig" group...a wig does not sweat through the way his hair did). The show started with Friend of The Devil, followed by My Back Pages (with Larry on fiddle and Bob on harp...the violin was obviously the lead instrrument but watching Larry scan Dylan's every move so he did not step on the Harmonica lines was an education in working for a star musician) and Boots of Spanish Leather before settiling into crowd-pleasing favorites (but many-times heard to me) Don't Think Twice, TUIB (with Larry really taking over on the 12 string, moving up front to ring out the signature chords...what a rhythm guitar players' song!) and AATW with Charlie starting the action on acoustic guitar but Larry emphatically playing lead lines throughout. There is no doubt that Larry is the lead player in the group, notwithstanding his instrument. I'll admit to missing Bucky's playing, though. His mandolin is missed on DTT and TUIB and his steel guitar made songs like LARS more exciting than the three guitar duels we now witness. Larry plays in a trance-like state...he was very hot on AATW, Memphis Blues, LARS, and Highway 61. Charlie seemed to be a spectator except for LARS, where he played a great solo. Tony was his usual self, stolid and cutting a great rhythm. He perked up when something fell to the floor toward the end of the show...I couldn't tell what it was but he went over and picked it up after one of the songs (LARS?)...maybe it was a harmonica case. Dylan was in mid-range form. His voice is in good shape. He did plenty of little march steps and mock duck walks, including one move I hadn't seen before which is like a standing in place moon walk. He put emphasis on words and syllables, a trait we love, throughout the show. The arrangement of Trying to Get to Heaven he did is flat...I had great hopes for this one when it started but the arrangement just falls far short if the other TOOM songs I've heard in concert (all except Highlands and Standing in the Doorway, I think). The new material was in the duet with Simon, a good version of That'll Be the Day in medley with The Wanderer...Dylan had no clue as to the words...he mouthed along on "I'm the Wanderer, yeah the wanderer..." but otherwise knew no lyrics, a fact he and Tony found to be very humorous, as he grinned and pounded out acoustic guitar lines while Simon sang. After the acoustic set Dylan conferred with Tony for a minute....maybe they were talking over Highlands, but it was too hot so they opened the electric set with AATW. Oh well, maybe later this week. Marty
