Philzone.org - Philzone Phansite Community Discussion Board: Setlists and Reviews: Non GD Related Reviews: Archive: Bob Dylan; Brooklyn 8/12/08

fun show...after a so-so start, it got progressively better (including bob's voice and phrasing), with some stellar moments (John Brown, Summer Days, a very bluesy Blowin' in the Wind)...guitars, especially Stu, could have been louder in the mix...regardless of the PA mix, the band has a rockin' and solid groove going...drums sounded great...Dylan appeared to be having fun, especially towards the end, during the encores, and when facing the crowd for the end-of-show band line-up...for those with kiddies, Dan Zanes was standing about 5 feet away from me...

Brooklyn, New York
Prospect Park Bandshell

August 12, 2008

1. Rainy Day Women #12 & 35 (Bob on keyboard)
2. Lay, Lady, Lay (Bob on keyboard)
3. Lonesome Day Blues (Bob on keyboard)
4. Girl Of The North Country (Bob on keyboard)
5. The Levee's Gonna Break (Bob on keyboard)
6. Spirit On The Water (Bob on keyboard)
7. Honest With Me (Bob on keyboard)
8. John Brown (Bob on keyboard)
9. Highway 61 Revisited (Bob on keyboard)
10. Beyond The Horizon (Bob on keyboard)
11. It's Alright, Ma (I'm Only Bleeding) (Bob on keyboard)
12. Nettie Moore (Bob on keyboard)
13. Summer Days (Bob on keyboard)
14. Masters Of War (Bob on keyboard)

(encore)
15. Like A Rolling Stone (Bob on keyboard)
16. Thunder On The Mountain (Bob on keyboard)
17. Blowin' In The Wind (Bob on keyboard)

Beautiful night in Brooklyn and despite some confusion over start time and lack of a seating chart, the show appeared to go on without a hitch and was from my point of view well orchestrated, making for a pleasant experience overall.

Somebody get that man a massage! A couple of times during the set, Bob appeared to cramp up, at one point falling to a knee to stretch his leg. Of course, a little leg stiffness didn’t stop him from getting through a fairly standard but well played set.

After seeing this band a number of times, I’ve resigned myself to not being surprised and blown away and instead trying to appreciate the subtle nuances of “Honest With Me” and “Highway 61”, songs for which the words “subtle” and “nuance” shouldn’t apply. While the lack of songs from the ‘70s and ‘80s was again somewhat disappointing there was more to enjoy from this performance.

I was happy to hear “Lay Lady Lay”. Though it’s been played a lot recently; I’ve seemed to miss it. Unfortunately, the version wasn’t totally up to snuff with Donnie’s steel guitar almost inaudible in the mix.

To me, the band started to kick in right at the beginning of “Lonesome Day Blues”, while not the “Mississippi” I was hoping for, was still a strongest showing from Love and Theft and was one of the highlights from the first half. That led into “Girl From The North Country”, the closest thing to a surprise for me, and the only real appearance of a harp solo in the main portion of the set (he did blow a few notes at the end of “Spirit On The Water”).

Then came “Levee’s Gonna Break”, “Spirit On The Water”, “Honest With Me” three songs frankly I have seen so many times that I lost interest for a bit. “Honest With Me” did have some interesting vocal phrasing and almost sounded like a totally different song for two minutes or so.

John Brown was nearly worth the price of admission itself with Bob really trying to make it meaningful. I thought the rest of the show sounded great, especially the funked-up “Beyond The Horizon” and a haunting “Masters Of War”. In the past, "Masters Of War" was more over-blown in attempt to punctuate the powerful lyrics. Last night's version let the lyrics do the talking and that was much appreciated.

I really thought “Like A Rolling Stone” was excellent last night, probably ranking in the top three of the dozens I have seen over the years.

I was happy to hear the third encore, a speeded up “Blowin’ In The Wind (nice harp outro), thinking that Bob had laid an extra song on the New York City crowd. Later, I find out the main set was only 14 songs so it was the standard 17 song show he has been playing all over Europe for non-festival gigs. Perhaps his legs were really cramping after “Masters Of War” and ran to find a masseuse back stage.

"John Brown was nearly worth the price of admission itself"

I thought the same last night...

on about 8:20 off around 10:08...

i wanted to go to the santa barbara bowl, but the drive $$ + ticket $$ was a bit much. i'd like to see bob again soon..