Dylan in Boston in Nov 2002

[November 17, 2002] - Friend Jimmy Brown the Newsboy reports on Bob Dylan’s November 16 concert at Boston’s Fleet Center. The whole show was rocknroll, almost – no acoustic stuff, he says. It started with Seeing the Real You at Last, a sleeper from a snoozer, his mid-‘90s Empire Burlesque. But here it was good, transformed, “majesterial,’ combining the concepts of majesty and the work of a magistrate.

The strongest stuff was from Love and Theft, which is still the new record, in these days before a much awaited installment of 61-year-old Bob’s NeverEnding Bootlegs Releases. He played keyboard much of the night. Standing like Little Richard.

He did Summer Days in which the basic boogie figure was transformed into big massive rave-up break before the return of the first verse at the end of the performance. And the audience went out of its mind. The band huddled together, got in groove, had wall of sound thing going. They’ve been doing this for awhile, and theyare getting better and better.

He stood at an electronic keyboard. Your could still see his cowboy boots. The texture was alotta chugga-chugga – but they did vary the sound. HighWater Rising was wonderful, and Bye and Bye. The music of the band was key, as on old songs, the verbal treatment of the lyrics was somewhat perfunctory. He obviously loves playing with these guys.

Shelter from the Storm from Blood on the Tracks was blown up - meaning it had been arranged and rehearsed in a "grand manner" and presented almost anthem-like, with a big gilt frame around it. The original is intimate and bruised. They all harmonized somewhat in the manner of the Band.

The sound was big. As even in his mainly horrific ’78 Las Vegas stage incarnation, he – Dylan - wants to make it grand somehow. Last night, in the Fleet Center, a few steps from the old Boston Garden, where the Las Vegas-style formaldehyde was palpable, he was just damn terrific.

The tour is notable for a larger helping of non-Dylan songs than has usually been the case. This evening he did two Waren Zevon songs, Neil Young’s Old Man, and Brown Sugar. The Rolling Stone’s rocket nugget in Dylan’s hands was sly, not arch.

Click below to access set list -

http://discussions.bobdylan.com/thread.jsp?forum=2&thread=20615

Last update: 4/12/2003; 11:45:18 AM.