Bob Dylan - Bob Links - Seattle, Washington - Reviews (original) (raw)

Three nights, one setlist. I really can't complain though. Bob and the band are presenting an excellent selection at these shows. Who would have thought his sets would include only four songs even remotely thought of as "standards" from his catalog ("Tangled Up in Blue," "Simple Twist of Fate," "All Along the Watchtower" and "Blowin' in the Wind")? Or that two soundtrack tunes ("Things Have Changed" and "Waiting for You") could become mainstays? And instead of "Highway 61" or "Summer Days" as the usual closing number, now the unlikely "Long and Wasted Years" takes the slot perfectly. Such a program would have been unimaginable just a few years ago.

After the Saturday weekend party crowd, Sunday's audience was polite and relaxed. The musicians sounded more relaxed too, with Dylan pounding out piano riffs even more forcefully than on previous nights. He frequently repeated the notes on the piano, as if to direct the band by saying "THIS is where I want the song to go." Of course the players masterfully followed suit, which was fun to witness. "Duquesne Whistle" and "Beyond Here Lies Nothin'" especially seemed to soar tonight.

Three shows in, this tour is about digging the subtleties, rather than expecting any big song surprises. Once again, Bob is challenging his fans to hear him in a new way. Not as a greatest hits act, but as a current artist proudly performing his later work.

See you next time somewhere down the road, Bob!

Steve Rostkoski

Beauty Walks a Razor's Edge

In an exercise of powerful restraint, tight stops and starts, and a highly practiced, and unchanging set list, Bob Dylan and his band, elevated the art form of live music, once again, in Seattle this past weekend.

Bob and band could have blown the roof off the Paramount several times over, and that moment came quite close a few times. But the current show being played is not about blowing roofs off, it's about quite the opposite, it's more about listening for the nuances, and subtle artful brilliance these days, it seems.

The subtleties of differences between song versions on different evenings became more pronounced as the weekend unfolded. At one time on Saturday night, either during "Soon After Midnight", or "Spirit on The Water", I at least, heard a few licks reminiscent of Les Paul and Mary Ford's "How High the Moon", but did not hear that again, or prior to Saturday. And Sunday's version of "Love Sick" was unbelievably well phrased by Dylan, his facial expressions and little body motions so emotive and so beautiful-sometimes doing kind of half dance, half funky little sashay thing across the stage--artful, you might just call it.

The stage lighting effects that folks have mentioned is rich and dramatic, and obscures anybody from too much scrutiny on stage. Bob occasionally kicked up his creme colored boots on Friday, his brown cowboy boots on Sunday, and his two-tone shiny black and white shoes on Saturday, as he emphasized piano licks or lyrics, and it is, like the entire show, these small, measured gestures of emphasis that thrill, without any hint at grandiosity or showiness-just classy, artful and spare movements.

His voice was at times so very strong and almost piercing, matching the strength and power of several moments during beautiful harmonica breaks-nearly causing a chill on my end several times over, the newer Tempest material he has mastered so well (seems like part of the focus on the single set list is mastery, in some way, of these particular songs)-it's pretty damned astonishing.

One reviewer mentioned a bit of self doubt over the high spend on tickets for these shows (horrific prices, true enough), and I can fully understand that perspective (is it worth it??)-it was a ton of money to sit in decent seats. Tonight, there is no doubt that I could not have missed any of those shows in Seattle; none.

The highest point for me, was after the first show, walking away from the marquee area in front of the Seattle Paramount Theater, when I had asked my sons, aged 17 and 22, what they thought of the show-both had seen Bob once before, but not at a show quite as good as Friday night in Seattle-their response: "that was amazing-The BEST!!". These two boys are musicians themselves, and they don't mince words, even to their old dad regarding his favorite, Bob Dylan-this thrilled me to pieces....

It was a real high point having my family at some of these shows with me, above all else-and we were very fortunate to have been able to attend-it was a privilege, and a joy.

Thanks to the man who call himself Bob Dylan, and to that amazing group of musicians- a nod to Tony and George for the strong backbone to that band. Best, Fellow Bobcats!

Mitch Rath Seattle, Washington

Review of Bob Dylan at the Paramount Theatre, Seattle, Wash (Friday, October 17, 2014 and Sunday, October 19, 2014)

Given that all three nights contained identical set lists and that the two shows I saw - Friday and Sunday were virtually identical in their performance, it is perhaps just as well to combine my review of the two nights!

I had a seat in the further reaches of the beautiful Paramount Theatre for Friday and marginally closer for Sunday. The setting for these shows was stunning -hard to believe that Dylan was last at the Paramount in 2005, which does not seem like nine years ago now, but unfortunately is.

Friday night also had the important distinction for me of being 27 years since I first saw Bob perform live. It was October 17, 1987 and the setting then was Wembley Arena, London, and the last night of Bob's Temples in Flames tour with Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers. Less than a year later, he would arrive in Concord, California, and kick off what has been the most incredibly touring show of any artist that most can recall. The Never Ending Tour is now 26 years old, but still young enough to be on its parent's health insurance, but no longer in the all-important 18-24 demographic.

The shows in Seattle were the first nights of a new American leg of the above Never Ending Tour and as always there were some hope that Dylan might decide to freshen up the sets with new old or recent material. He has largely been performing the same nineteen songs since 2013 with Workingman Blues being about the only new twist in the past 130 odd-shows (with more still to come for this year). I still feel that Dylan ignores many important gems from the 1970s and 1980s in his live shows.

Friday night also marked the return of rain to Seattle after months of warm sunshine and largely cloudless days. It was still a warm night though but the clouds swept in with Bob's tour bus. A small group huddled close to the railing to see Bob step out. One guy had been waiting for two hours and still was not sure if he had seen Dylan or not. I used to do this once - the London Hammersmith shows from 1990 being the last time I think. It is often a fruitless endeavor but can bring rewards on occasion. On Sunday night, I sat near to a taper of the show - a guy who first saw Dylan at Wembley Arena on June 8, 1989 and then at Hammersmith on February 5, 1990 - both shows I had been present at. Such wonderful shows - nice to compare notes � A woman and her husband were confused on my other side and appeared to lose each other all night long, failing to hear the lost sounds of the other. A leather coat was left behind. The shows began super promptly on both Seattle nights I went to, and with no sonorous introduction this time. Later, Dylan would return the favor by not introducing anyone either - the band is now anonymous which they seem to accept.

The band arrives, attempts to tease us with some unknown opening riff, and then Dylan emerges clinging to Things Have Changed. I have always liked this song and have yet to hear Bob not do it justice. It is not quite as urgent these days as it used to be when I first heard it.

She Belongs to Me follows - a clear-as-a-bell stunner of a version and the rest of my two evenings followed in the same vein with Dylan displaying clear and powerful singing, rousing piano work - the best I have heard him do - and resolute harmonica playing. This was an incredibly polished show with standouts including the aforementioned She Belongs to Me, Workingman's Blues, Pay in Blood, Tangled Up in Blue, and Love Sick from the first set, High Water, Simple Twist of Fate, Early Roman Kings, Forgetful Heart, Scarlet Town, Long and Wasted Years from the second set, and even All Along the Watchtower to a certain extent from the encores. Waiting for You, Spirit on the Water, Soon After Midnight and Blowin' in the Wind did not work as well being either overly tired (Blowin' in the Wind) or sounding strained by comparison with the highlights. At least that is how these appeared for me.

The audience listened spellbound and rapt on both nights and of the above, I have to say that Forgetful Heart was by far the performance of the evening on both nights I was there. I have not heard Dylan sound this clear and fresh for years. The acoustics were amazing and even the now-infamous "intermission" worked to everyone's advantage! I have not seen one of these at a Dylan show before. To the best of my knowledge, at a solo Dylan show (i.e. one without the Heartbreakers or some other artist performing), there has not been an intermission since 1984. Even then, that was for only one song! There was the one-off show at Toads in January 1990 when Dylan came up with a staggering 50-song set over an entire evening, but for most of the Never Ending Tour, intermissions have not been present.

Yet, here, now, and in Seattle, 2014, the newly installed intermission really, really worked! I am sure that Dylan's voice benefits no end from having this after nine songs or so. It is not short either, but feels like half time at a Seattle Sounders game with folks trooping to restroom or bar before scrambling for their seats again in the plunging darkness.

American audiences seeing this latest incarnation of Dylan live will not be disappointed if Bob's voice and stamina hold until the Beacon Theater shows in New York City. The use of residencies in select cities should reduce the fatigue factor and the intermission will of course help preserve the voice, but I do remain concerned at the effect of playing unvarying sets from night-to-night. The 1978 shows had more variety than this across 115 shows and Dylan watchers then used to say that the sets were boring because they did not vary that much. They were wrong then, but they would not be wrong now. This is not to say that the artist is not fully engaged with the material but we are referencing a performer who is fully capable of performing any combination of the 600 songs or so that he has at his command. That said who are we to judge. We do not "own" Dylan, anymore than he "owns" our expectations. We exist through the media of a cheerful dance as the man himself once said.

With that note, thank you for coming once again to the Emerald City and no, we do not think you are "over the hill" or "past your prime!"