Bob Dylan Examiner notes from Boston show (Part One)

November 16, 2:01 PMBob Dylan ExaminerHarold Lepidus

Previous Next

4 comments Print Email RSS Subscribe

Subscribe

Get alerts when there is a new article from the Bob Dylan Examiner. Read Examiner.com's terms of use.

Email Address   Include other special offers from Examiner.com Terms of Use

Last night I saw Bob Dylan for the sixty-ninth time. It’s been a long, bumpy ride over the last three-and-a-half decades, but the Sunday night show at the Wang Theatre was certainly the best in recent memory.

The Wang Theatre is located on Tremont Street in Boston’s theater district. It’s a classy joint - Boston’s answer to New York’s Radio City Music Hall.

When I first moved to Boston, it was known as The Music Hall. Poco’s “DeLIVErin’" album was partially recorded there, and Bruce Springsteen gave some incendiary shows at the venue in 1977. I remember seeing “long-hair” bands like the Kinks, Dave Mason with Bob Welsh, and Frank Zappa in the late 1970s and early 1980s. Since the venue was renamed the Wang Theatre, I’ve seen more upscale acts like Van Morrison, Bjork, Eric Idle, the “O Brother Where Art Thou” tour, and, most recently, Leonard Cohen. Since the early 1980s, Dylan’s Boston theater of choice was usually the Orpheum Theater, located just down the street. Seeing Dylan in such an intimate, prestigious setting was sure to be a treat. Plus this is where the Rolling Thunder Revue played on November 21, 1975.

Thanks to the Bob Dylan official presale, I was able to score a ticket way up front in the “pit.” Great sound, great view. Just after 7:45, the lights went down and the familiar introduction was heard (taken from a Buffalo newspaper review):

“Please welcome the poet laureate of rock 'n' roll. The voice of the promise of the '60s counterculture. The guy who forced folk into bed with rock, who donned makeup in the '70s and disappeared into a haze of substance abuse, who emerged to 'find Jesus,' who was written off as a has-been by the end of the '80s, and who suddenly shifted gears and released some of the strongest music of his career beginning in the late '90s. Ladies and gentlemen, please welcome Columbia recording artist Bob Dylan."

The band took the stage. In the back - George Recile on drums and Donnie Herron on pedal steel, lap steel, trumpet, viola, and electric mandolin. Up front, from the left: guitarist Stu Kimball, long-time bassist Tony Garnier, and returning gunslinger Charlie Sexton. Way at the right side of the stage, on keyboards, was Bob Dylan. His “Oscar” (or a facsimile) for “Things Have Changed“ was perched behind him. He was wearing a white hat and a black uniform (with what looked like a yellow ascot). As usual, he started off pokerfaced, but that would not last long.

This was the 30th show of the fall 2009 tour. So far Dylan has performed 65 different songs (67 if you include Kimball singing two partial Tom Waits covers). Most shows consisted of 17 songs.

Dylan opened this Sunday night concert with his rewritten version of “Gonna Change My Way Of Thinking.” Dylan remained stationary while Sexton fell to his knees for the first of many times during the show. It was obvious that Dylan’s vocals were clear and strong. He kept within his range, and only got raspy when the performance called for it. Dylan played an organ solo near the end of the song, while Sexton took the guitar solos.

Dylan left the keyboard set up and moved center stage to perform "The Man In Me".  It brought back images of the Rolling Thunder Revue, when Dylan performed an intense version of “Isis” on this very stage. Dylan stood with a special microphone for playing the harp (harmonica) in his right hand, pointing with his fingers for emphasis. Dylan played two long, powerful harp solos, with Sexton filling in with tasteful riffs. Herron played trumpet, although it was low in the mix.

“Beyond Here Lies Nothin’” was next. This one really comes alive in concert. Recile was most impressive - the rhythm and percussion takes you right into the jungle. Dylan played really cool 1960s riffs on the organ. Herron on trumpet again, Sexton changed guitars again, as he would after almost every song. Dylan maniacally smiled when he mentioned “midnight” and “stars." Sexton added to the atmosphere playing almost atonal solos. Herron's trumpet was more prominent here.

Dylan came center stage with an electric guitar strapped around his neck, for “It’s All Over Now, Baby Blue.” It would be the only time he would play guitar all evening. He held his instrument in the same way former Rolling Stones bassist Bill Wyman did - almost perpendicular, with the tuning pegs by his left ear. Dylan played pretty sophisticated riffs up and down the fret board. Kimball played acoustic, while Sexton played his black and white Fender center stage Dylan at the end of the number. The song ended with duel solos by Dylan and Sexton.

The spirit of Muddy Waters was summoned during “Rollin’ and Tumblin’.” Dylan loosened up for this one, dancing behind his keyboards. Kimball was back on his Fender, Herron played electric mandolin. Charlie Sexton really shined on this one - playing killer slide on a large hollow body electric guitar, often on his knees, tapping the strings with his finger. After the song ended, Dylan shuffled papers on his keyboard, then seemed to share a joke with Herron and Recile.

The next few songs were probably the highlight of the show for me. Dylan performed three songs in a row from his 1997 album, “Time Out Of Mind.” First up was an emotional read of “Tryin’ To Get To Heaven.” The black backdrop was dotted with little “stars.” Herron learned over his pedal steel his watch for clues from Dylan. Kimball and Sexton played duel riffs before Charlie played a solo, then Dylan played a harp solo from behind his keyboards. After the song, a standing ovation.
 

 . .to be continued . . .