SHINDIG! 152 --- June 2024



ROCKMAN

A cool read, Rockman. Thanks!

- Doxa

Peter Fonda visits Bruce Langhorn - 2016

video: [youtu.be]

Yes ...touching footage Zotz

And while watching one cant help but think
of Mr Zimmerman visiting Woody Guthrie in
Greystone Park Psychiatric Hospital during the early sixties



ROCKMAN

That was great to read. A lot I didn't know apart from his name on Dylan's sleeves.

Saw him in Berlin last friday, it was simply fantastic. His harp playing was outstanding, his voice clear and powerful. He is really not in a good shape phisically, i`m afraid this could have been his last tour, even neverending world tours have to end. So glad and thankful that I made it to the show.

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Strike
Saw him in Berlin last friday, it was simply fantastic. His harp playing was outstanding, his voice clear and powerful. He is really not in a good shape phisically, i`m afraid this could have been his last tour, even neverending world tours have to end. So glad and thankful that I made it to the show.

I saw him in Prague last weekend. Well, he isn't young anymore but much less fragile than he was in late 2021

Bob Dylan - Sad-Eyed Lady of the Lowlands (Studio Outtake) 1966

video: [youtu.be]

It was a moving concert in Frankfurt, I am just coming home. Dylan is very fragile now, but he painted some great moments. Jim Keltner is a phenomenon. The whole band is great, but Keltner's drumming is oustanding, and the man is 82 years old. I am stillt a loss of words.The concert had an intense emotional impact.

ROCKMAN

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windmelody
It was a moving concert in Frankfurt, I am just coming home. Dylan is very fragile now, but he painted some great moments. Jim Keltner is a phenomenon. The whole band is great, but Keltner's drumming is oustanding, and the man is 82 years old. I am stillt a loss of words.The concert had an intense emotional impact.

Thank you for describing your impression! Unfortunately, I can't share your experience. I went completely unprepared, haven't followed a setlist for months, haven't opened this thread and haven't read any message boards about Dylan. I caught up on my reading this morning.

I struggled with the performance. I can't share the enthusiasm about Jim Keltner expressed by you, on Expecting Rain and in other media. Keltner doesn't fit in well with the arrangements and the sound. His tom-toms are too loud and leave an echo. Keltner doesn't swing, he doesn't set any accents, he doesn't play any ornaments and his dynamics are weak. I found Keltner's drumming to be very average. Light years away from the filigree playing of George Recile.

That is, of course, criticism at a high level. ‘Desolation Row’, for example, was played with continuous drum rolls, which gave the piece a hypnotic pull. But all in all, I had hoped for more from Keltner.

Opening the concert with ‘All Along The Watchtower’ in a version deconstructed beyond recognition was worth every cent to me. But the band seemed to warm up during the first 45-60 minutes. The concert got better and better as it progressed and the sound engineers seemed to me to have made adjustments to the soundscape.

Now I'm curious to see what happens tonight. Despite my criticism, I have not regretted buying tickets for two of the three concerts. Listening to Bob Dylan and his band is always an experience.



Edited 2 time(s). Last edit at 2024-10-17 11:09 by Allegorius.

Have a great night, Allegorius!

Since when is Jim Keltner playing with Dylan? That sounds cool, I didn't know he did much these days.

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RollingFreak
Since when is Jim Keltner playing with Dylan? That sounds cool, I didn't know he did much these days.

Since last summer.

[youtu.be]

Frankfurt, October 16th.

It was a an awesome concert yesterday in Stuttgart. I saw him right at the beginning of the tour in Charleston, West Virginia between the Atlanta and the Detroit gigs of our boys. He played the same 9 songs from the "new" album but they were played quite different than in 2021. Most of the other songs were new in the set and it was very surprising that he played Watchtower, It ain't me babe, Desolation Row (awesome!!!) and it's all over now Baby blue. I didn't look at any setlists before and I must admit I didn't recognize Jim Keltner. But he fitted very well into the sound.

The sound was excellent and Bob was really loud in vocals, guitar, grand Piano and harp.he played harp on 5 songs. I don't think I heard him so dominant at the 3 times I saw him before.

I hope he's coming back. It's still a joy to see him.

Saw him in Antwerp last night. The Lotto Arena is a great venue for live music. Bob was dominant indeed, a bit too much imho. He played guitar during the intro's of the first two songs, Watchtower and It ain't me baby. In a few minutes he played more bum notes than Keith does on an entire tour. When he switched to piano it got a little better, but not much. He was way too loud in the mix, which was a shame, because his band is great. Best parts of the concert were the parts when Dylan was just singing. The soundmen FOS could and should have improved a lot. Just turn that piano down! But they're doing what they're told of course. There should have been room for some guitar solo's by the guys in the band. And please put a fast compressor on his vocal mic to protect us from peaks, especially when his harmonica comes in. A nice evening still, but it could have been a lot better.

Seeing Bob Friday, low expectations with this minimalistic band and stage setting but hopefully he will surprise us in some way.

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keefriffhards
Seeing Bob Friday, low expectations with this minimalistic band and stage setting but hopefully he will surprise us in some way.

Why low expectations? Have you seen him within the last 2-3 years? He and the band are fantastic!

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RnT
Saw him in Antwerp last night. The Lotto Arena is a great venue for live music. Bob was dominant indeed, a bit too much imho....

Thanks for the review. I have been following this tour's progress on Expecting Rain, but even though I am a massive Dylan fan, and some of what I have heard is really compelling, the level of worship in those reports is just getting to be too much - they are following a god, not a performer. Comparing his often overplayed, sometimes woeful piano to Thelonius Monk is madness and borderline offensive towards Monk and jazz, and moaning with ecstasy at him picking up a guitar and playing poorly with his back to the audience for a couple of minutes... it's a bit much. I read that he was now in the habit of holding a mic in one hand, and playing with the other, which is a positive progression, as it means less piano. Which means I now take most of those ecstatic ER reports with a big pinch of salt. THough there sure are compelling new performances coming from the great man!

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NashvilleBlues

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keefriffhards
Seeing Bob Friday, low expectations with this minimalistic band and stage setting but hopefully he will surprise us in some way.

Why low expectations? Have you seen him within the last 2-3 years? He and the band are fantastic!

I've watched YouTube footage, highlights are Into The Mystic and Stella Blue, but i would prefer some more guitar action onstage to make up for Bob not playing guitar.

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keefriffhards

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NashvilleBlues

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keefriffhards
Seeing Bob Friday, low expectations with this minimalistic band and stage setting but hopefully he will surprise us in some way.

Why low expectations? Have you seen him within the last 2-3 years? He and the band are fantastic!

I've watched YouTube footage, highlights are Into The Mystic and Stella Blue, but i would prefer some more guitar action onstage to make up for Bob not playing guitar.

I understand that. The last 3 times I’ve seen him (all within the last 3 years; at the Ryman once and Brooklyn Bowl Nashville 2x) have all been at least 9/10. Hope you enjoy it as much as I have.

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MadMetaphoricalMax

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RnT
Saw him in Antwerp last night. The Lotto Arena is a great venue for live music. Bob was dominant indeed, a bit too much imho....

Thanks for the review. I have been following this tour's progress on Expecting Rain, but even though I am a massive Dylan fan, and some of what I have heard is really compelling, the level of worship in those reports is just getting to be too much - they are following a god, not a performer. Comparing his often overplayed, sometimes woeful piano to Thelonius Monk is madness and borderline offensive towards Monk and jazz, and moaning with ecstasy at him picking up a guitar and playing poorly with his back to the audience for a couple of minutes... it's a bit much. I read that he was now in the habit of holding a mic in one hand, and playing with the other, which is a positive progression, as it means less piano. Which means I now take most of those ecstatic ER reports with a big pinch of salt. THough there sure are compelling new performances coming from the great man!

Go to a show and get back to us. No way a video can do his sound justice.



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 2024-10-30 17:39 by NashvilleBlues.

How do my fellow Dylan fans rate him as a guitarist? If you listen back to those pre-electric releases, he was quite the excellent acoustic player.

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Big Al
How do my fellow Dylan fans rate him as a guitarist? If you listen back to those pre-electric releases, he was quite the excellent acoustic player.

He was such a fantastic acoustic player. Tomorrow is the 60th anniversary of his Halloween show from 1964 that is the Bootleg Series, Vol. 6. IMO its him at his early just acoustic best. His playing is superb and he's the only one up there.

I think his electric rhythm guitar playing used to be fine too. It fitted in the sound of his bands. But he's never been known for his soloing ofcourse. Then why - at the respectable age of 83 after years of not playing the guitar live at all - start a sold out show in Antwerp sitting down with your back to the audience noodling on an electric guitar in the wrong key or scale? And why - like later on with the piano - was that put high in the mix as if we were witnessing the reincarnation of Jimi Hendrix? I just don't understand.

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RnT
I think his electric rhythm guitar playing used to be fine too. It fitted in the sound of his bands. But he's never been known for his soloing ofcourse. Then why - at the respectable age of 83 after years of not playing the guitar live at all - start a sold out show in Antwerp sitting down with your back to the audience noodling on an electric guitar in the wrong key or scale? And why - like later on with the piano - was that put high in the mix as if we were witnessing the reincarnation of Jimi Hendrix? I just don't understand.

Dylan just likes to mess with people. Keeps him from getting bored I guess.

start a sold out show in Antwerp sitting down with your back to the audience


Mr Zimm just doin' a Robert Johnson .....



ROCKMAN

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Big Al
How do my fellow Dylan fans rate him as a guitarist? If you listen back to those pre-electric releases, he was quite the excellent acoustic player.

I love his guitar work on The Times They Are A-Changin’ LP, although it could be a bit louder.

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RnT
Go to a show and get back to us. No way a video can do his sound justice.

I've been to plenty thanks. Palladium 2022, second night, is the most recent. Excellent night. But that was with Charlie Drayton in the band, and Dylan prominent more on voice than piano in the mix.
Not sure if l'll be able to one of these 2024 shows but I'd love to, it'll be another intense concentrated experience...