atlantic city review may 9 2003
Peter Stone Brown
in Philly, the kind of rain that wets the roads just enough to make them
slippery and traffic everywhere was crawling. I'm pretty sure this was
Dylan's fifth time in Atlantic City, not counting the times he did two shows
in one night. It was also his first time at the Hilton. I'd been the
Hilton a few times before to see the Everly Brothers and Dion and maybe
somebody else somewhere along the way. Usually they have tables, though
they don't serve drinks which makes the table kind of useless anyway. The
Waifs were already on by the time we actually got into the theater (shows
run on time in Atlantic City) and we took our seats about midway from the
stage to end up behind what appeared to be the only true drunken moron in
the place who didn't shut up once during the Waifs and had a mullet besides.
The Waifs are actually pretty good, playing some sort of Australian/American
roots rock. Good player singers, good songs and one of them plays a pretty
mean harmonica. They played exactly 35 minutes. At one minute after 9.
Dylan took the stage and opened with "Maggie's Farm"
On this tour, Dylan has perhaps the weirdest stage setup ever. He's all the
way over the left of the stage instead of being in the center. But he is
Bob Dylan, so who's going to tell him what part of the stage he should be
singing from? Anyway the reason for this setup quickly became clear. It's
so Dylan can lead and cue the band, and perhaps keep an eye on his sometimes
wayward drummer.
Dylan seemed to be in good spirits and having fun. New guitar player
Freddie Koella came right out (unlike previous new Dylan guitarists) and
played a fairly funky lead. Next came "Tell Me That It Isn't True" in an
arrangement that was pretty close to the original with Larry Campbell on
steel. Larry played a fine steel solo and it was Freddie's turn to jump
right in, but he didn't seem to find whatever he was looking for at it took
a while for him to get it. It wasn't a big deal, but he should have been
right on it and he wasn't.
Next came "Tweedle Dee" and "Tweedle Dum," which was just fine, the band
maintaining the groove. However on the second verse, Dylan went into what
some people call the "singsong" mode, which when he goes high on the last
word of a line. Unlike the fall tour, where he'd do it once and then stop,
he kept it going kind of, but was also doing that thing he does where he's
looking for the groove to make the song happen, laying into stretching out
some lines, breaking off others.
It was back to "Nashville Skyline" for a decent "Lay Lady Lay" with Dylan
singing strongly as well as convincingly with Recile staying reasonably
close the original Kenny Buttrey drum part. Dylan concluded the song with a
not bad harp solo that was just starting to approach the cosmic phase when
he ended the song.
Then it was back to rocking with "Things Have Changed," and a not bad at all
"Watching the River Flow" with Larry playing the slide part. An equally
good "Blind Willie McTell" followed though it was kind of diminished by the
mullet drunk who was dancing the entire show and started falling into the
chairs behind him. A fairly run of the mill "Highway 61 Revisited"
followed, and then came the sort of rearranged "Standing in the Doorway."
However this version was far better than the couple of mp3s I'd heard
earlier in the tour. The double-time guitar part, which I thought was
played by Koella is actually played by Larry and at Atlantic City, it wasn't
a lead at all, but a guitar part in the arrangement of the song and instead
of dominating was in the background. As a guitar part it worked fine, as a
lead part it doesn't. Koella and Campbell had some really nice interplay
going on in this song.
Next came the high point of the show for me, a rather stellar rendition of
"Dignity." Though he kind of mumbled the opening line, the rest of the song
was close to perfect. And this was followed by more than competent versions
of "Just Like A Woman," with a good harp solo, "Honest With Me" and a more
than decent "Moonlight."
Now last fall, "Summer Days" was the perfect song to close the show. With
three guitars going crazy, the song reached stratospheric heights - there
were times I could've sworn I heard horns on it, though of course I really
didn't. At Atlantic City, it didn't come close. Something I don't know
what, threw Dylan off early in the song and he started blowing lines. It
took him a while to recover. Just as he did, Recili came out of a drum roll
and kind of lost the beat. The guitars players tried to save it, but it
never really took off. "Like A Rolling Stone and "Watchtower" were fairly
predictable.
After last fall's Philly show (perhaps because I had very good seats) I kind
of felt like the guy on stage was the closest we were going to see to the
kid who rocked the talent show at Hibbing High School. I feel even more
that way now. Dylan is clearly having a good time on stage. Every once in
a while he comes out from the piano and does his Dylan walk shuffle and then
goes back to the piano and leads his band. However his band is in a
transitional phase. Some arrangements are the same, some are slightly
different. There's no doubt that Koella can play, and he can be both funky
and tasty when he wants to be. He doesn't seem to have a handle on the
songs yet. And while he apparently has no problem stepping out, he does not
have the edge and the fire that Charlie Sexton had not yet anyway.
Gone at least for the moment are the harmonies, and also gone for the moment
is the feeling of a band that had been together for years and knew exactly
what it was doing.
At the same time, it wasn't a bad show by any means. It just wasn't a truly
great one. It was a great singer having fun with his songs and his band.
That that singer is one of the greatest and probably the most influential
songwriter of the last century, along with being on of the truly brilliant
vocal stylists of the last 40 years is another story. Dylan did enough to
let you know he can still do it. One last thing. Bob Dylan did not touch a
guitar the entire night.
--
"I'm having a hard time believin' some people were ever alive" -Bob Dylan
e-mail: p...@peterstonebrown.com
http://www.peterstonebrown.com
Trev Gibb
It woke me up :-)
Now i must go to goddamn work :-(
Mucs
Trev
--
---------------------------------
We have done with Hope and Honour, we are lost to Love and Truth,
We are dropping down the ladder rung by rung, And the measure of our torment
Is the measure of our youth, God help us, for we knew the worst too young!
- Rudyard Kipling -
----------------------------------
"Peter Stone Brown" <ps...@earthlink.net> wrote in message
news:f21va.65483$4P1.5...@newsread2.prod.itd.earthlink.net...
Patriot_dudley
"Peter Stone Brown" <ps...@earthlink.net> wrote in message
news:f21va.65483$4P1.5...@newsread2.prod.itd.earthlink.net...
> It was kind of this miserable raining and not raining and raining again
day
Thanks for the review, which, as always to conserve bandwidth (officially
defined as the distance onstage between Rick Danko & Robbie Robertson), I've
'snipt'.
It is reportage such as this, along with the goodPostings of others
hearabout, that has kept me returning to r.m.d. thru trolls, trollstompers,
and my own lame postings.
However, I shd point out:
1) reviews like this shd include not only weather & traffic reports, but
also food criticism. To fill in the blank you left, you had a Philly Cheese
Steak from Pat's (known as "a Cheese wit' ") before you left for the AC
XPressway.
furthur, And I leave a ? on this one:
2)
}
He's all the way over the left of the stage instead of being in the center.
}
Perhaps this lineup reflects a particular political statement. Rather than
larding his programme with decidedly leftLeaning antiWar songs, his position
is made clear by where he stands on stage.
Which, if I understand Theatre at all, is Stage Right.
3) Mullets, drunken or no, are easy targets, & beneath yr dignity as a
journalist to attack. I'ts like shootin' fish in a barrel or a president in
a white house.
In any event, thanks for writing, and looking forward to seeing you in
Montclair.
Yr pal,
Moby Mango
Avylan
Which, if I understand Theatre at all, is Stage Right."
But it's way to the left from most conceivable points of view.
"Patriot_dudley" <dud...@cloud9.net> schrieb im Newsbeitrag
news:vbpcq5t...@corp.supernews.com...
> Dear Peter,
>
:
snipt
:
> Yr pal,
> Moby Mango
>
>
Johnny
> also food criticism. To fill in the blank you left, you had a Philly Cheese
> Steak from Pat's (known as "a Cheese wit' ") before you left for the AC
> XPressway.
I would like to second that sentiment. I want especially to hear from
anyone who's eating at Pats--even if it was several weeks prior to the
concert review, there are ways to sneak it in. "As we approached the
concert venue, my entire being began to tremble with an anticipation
that has only been matched by seeing Pat's coming around the corner. .
. . It Aint Me, Babe was warm and fresh and tasty, like a cheese-steak
from Pat's . . . Freddy added just the right zing to H61R, like the
hot sauce at Pat's . . ." So, let's all pull together on this and see
if we can't make it happen. As a former Philly resident now stuck in
Indiana (which, no offense, is a bit like food purgatory--there is no
truly spicy Italian sausage, there are no bona-fide bagels [here, they
let the dough keep rising so the bread gets light and airy], and most
of all, there's not a real cheese-steak to be found in the entire
state; there's a place named after NJ that makes an ok Italian hoagy
[though if it showed up in Philly, it would be quarantined] that
advertises "Genuine Philly Cheese-Steaks!!!" with a kind of idiotic
Hoosier gushiness, and when I went in to inquire how they made them, I
was informed that, among other abominations, it had fresh sliced green
pepper, black olives and Philadelphia cream cheese! Can you imagine?
I was with a Catholic priest who immediately began to attempt an
exorcism, but it didn't work.
So, help us live vicariously, and tell us of your visits to Pat's. It
doesn't have to be a concert. You could just listen to Bob in the car
as you drive over there, eat the steak, come back, write up the
review. I'm especially interested in the bread. Don't be afraid to
get VERY detailed.
Also, when enough of those have come in, there's a little Vietnamese
place (or there was) over on Race, 800 block as I recall, that has
amazing barbecued prawns, and we need to think about how to work that
in also.
Sneakerface
keyboards of any kind live (the closest was when I saw him at the
Tower in '89 and there was an available piano that he didn't play that
night...)
So maybe if I catch him this tour I will...
Tumulty
> Peter Stone Brown wrote:
> > It was kind of this miserable raining and not raining and raining again
> day
> Dear Peter,
> Thanks for the review,..
>
> 3) Mullets, drunken or no, are easy targets, & beneath yr dignity as a
> journalist to attack. I'ts like shootin' fish in a barrel or a president in
> a white house.
Dudley Do Laugh. You can't be serious. That was my favorite part of
Pete's review.
If you remove Pete's description of the lush, you lose a huge part
of Pete's experience and a little of Pete too. You've got to know a
little something about the writer in order to rely on his judgement
of a show, no?
T.
P.S.
Most likely, he had a Cheese Fit.
RonE
- on the opposite side from Dylan. The whole section was comp'ed, but
I paid for my seats. So with everyone leaving after the first couple
of songs, and the rest of the people rushing towards the stage, I
pretty much had the first few rows to myself. At least no one jumped
on the stage at this show like the Sands a few years back!!! I stayed
at my seats since they were decent - and I could see Dylan very well,
but not the rest of the band because of a large speaker on the right
of the stage.
I dunno - I agree that a Dylan show needs an acoustic set, or at least
a few acoustic songs. The acoustic songs last November in Philly were
the high point of the show for me, and I missed them last night. I
also think Dylan needs to play guitar - the whole piano thing doesn't
do alot for me at this point. It was better last night than last
November, but I would rather hear Bob on guitar. It seems like Bob is
getting ready for his summer tours, where the rockers in the setlist
will be much better received than the acoustic numbers. Dylan at
Bonnaroo (sp?) - that should be something, but you won't find me
there. And I do like Phish also.....
Lay Lady Lay and Just Like a Woman were great - so was Standing in the
Doorway. But when you add up H61R, Like a Rolling Stone, Honest w/me,
All Along the Watchtower, I found the setlist lacking. Things Have
Changed was cool and intense, but I could have done with a few
acoustic numbers to break things up a bit. Alot of screaming guitars
- not that there is anything wrong with that, but give me something
else also....please!!!
I was really tired after the show. But starving...so I went out to
breakfast at that point, and then gambled most of the night. I stayed
at the Trop (ugh), and my wife doesn't think I look too good today -
in fact I juat got home so I think she was worried.....it's 5:00PM
now....(I live less than an hour away).
I hope the Saturday show has a more diverse setlist for the people
attending. And don't ever think that the casinos don't comp a ton of
tickets - there is nothing wrong with it, but they all leave. That
would be like my wife going to a Dylan concert and lasting more than
10 seconds - it'll never happen!!! Enjoy the Saturday night - for
some reason, I think I was supposed to be working this afternoon so I
will not be attending...
That said...anyone got a copy of the show for me??? I can offer up
copies to the group!!!
RonE
they are the worst food in the nation for you. Probably why Phila got
the un-healhiest city in the USA a few years back - until Houston took
the honor away from us. I worked in Minneapolis for three years in
the late 90's and the food was weird. Good steaks, good fish at
OceanAire, and Mall of America was always fun. But not the east coast
- I was lucky - I flew back every weekend - unless Dylan was
playing.....or I went to Vegas....or Phoenix.....you get the
idea....we did go to Duluth for the weekend once....and drove on
Highway 61 - and if I ever went back again.....
jhaas...@comcast.net (Johnny) wrote in message news:<aaa1f328.03051...@posting.google.com>...
Seth Kulick
: [though if it showed up in Philly, it would be quarantined] that
: advertises "Genuine Philly Cheese-Steaks!!!" with a kind of idiotic
: Hoosier gushiness, and when I went in to inquire how they made them, I
: was informed that, among other abominations, it had fresh sliced green
: pepper, black olives and Philadelphia cream cheese! Can you imagine?
I have seen "Geniune Philly Cheese-Steaks" advertised in lots of places,
and they are always something ridiculous. But that is truly weird.
Actually, the best Philly cheese-steaks I've had were from Koch's deli about
20 years ago when a friend of mine worked there. Down with Cheese-Whiz!
==========================================================================
Seth Kulick "The hypnotic splattered mist was slowly lifting"
University of Pennsylvania - Bob Dylan
sku...@linc.cis.upenn.edu http://www.cis.upenn.edu/~skulick/home.html
Patriot_dudley
"Tumulty" <Tum...@aol.com> wrote in message
news:256b6c99.0305...@posting.google.com...
I too, enjoyed Mr. StoneBrown's scribbling thoreauly, and welcome furthur
efforts as I've enjoyed his past contributions. & Yes his description of the
stoneLush are integral to the piece; my qualm is that he may have opened
himself up to attacks from the National Committee to Preserve Mullets, a
littleKnown but powerful force in today's america. It might have been better
for him to refer to a "republican" or "democrat" lush.
Either one, I don't care.
Far be it from me to lose any piece of Pete. May we call him Pete?
Fomvrtr;u (oops, my fingers moved)
Sincerely,
Robert dudley Dickinson
___
np: "Guantanamera": Tao Rodriguez-Seeger
Patriot_dudley
May I call you Johnny?
"Johnny" <jhaas...@comcast.net> wrote in message
news:aaa1f328.03051...@posting.google.com...
> > 1) reviews like this shd include not only weather & traffic reports, but
> > also food criticism. To fill in the blank you left, you had a Philly
Cheese
> > Steak from Pat's (known as "a Cheese wit' ") before you left for the AC
> > XPressway.
>
> I would like to second that sentiment. I want especially to hear from
> anyone who's eating at Pats--even if it was several weeks prior to the
> concert review, there are ways to sneak it in. "As we approached the
> concert venue, my entire being began to tremble with an anticipation
> that has only been matched by seeing Pat's coming around the corner. .
I stand 2nd to none in my admiration 4 pat's, but in equalOpportunity mode,
Geno's (sp?) ain't bad.
>As a former Philly resident now stuck in
> Indiana (which, no offense, is a bit like food purgatory--
Sorry, but anytime someone mentions "Indiana", I can't help but remember the
stateSong: "Indiana Wants Me (Lord I Can't Go Back There)".
You do, however, have fairly close access to another of America's unique
culinary delights: Cincinnati Ohio's Chili 5Ways.
The ways of which I can't authoritatively speak, but I do remember heading
westward one night with my buddy to have a bowl.
Sidenote: Pennsy's a longAssed haul. We had our 5Way 4 breakfast.
Sincerely,
Robert dudley Dickinson
Ken Wilson
> It might have been better
> for him to refer to a "republican" or "democrat" lush.
B-but according to Garrison Keillor tonight, "we're all Republicans now."
Ken
Peter Stone Brown
"Seth Kulick" <sku...@linc.cis.upenn.edu> wrote in message
news:b9ju42$5q0v$1...@netnews.upenn.edu...
> Johnny (jhaas...@comcast.net) wrote:
> : [though if it showed up in Philly, it would be quarantined] that
> : advertises "Genuine Philly Cheese-Steaks!!!" with a kind of idiotic
> : Hoosier gushiness, and when I went in to inquire how they made them, I
> : was informed that, among other abominations, it had fresh sliced green
> : pepper, black olives and Philadelphia cream cheese! Can you imagine?
>
> I have seen "Geniune Philly Cheese-Steaks" advertised in lots of places,
> and they are always something ridiculous. But that is truly weird.
> Actually, the best Philly cheese-steaks I've had were from Koch's deli
about
> 20 years ago when a friend of mine worked there. Down with Cheese-Whiz!
>
Seth,
Koch's is a great deli and probably one of the greatest sandwich shops on
the planet, but you don't go to Koch's and get a cheese steak. Jeesh.
Pat's while legendary isn't what it was and these days a superior cheese
steak can be found at Jim's. However the best cheese steaks might still be
at Dellasandro's. It certainly wasn't the one I just had from Geno's.
Seth Kulick
: "Seth Kulick" <sku...@linc.cis.upenn.edu> wrote in message
: news:b9ju42$5q0v$1...@netnews.upenn.edu...
: > Johnny (jhaas...@comcast.net) wrote:
: > : [though if it showed up in Philly, it would be quarantined] that
: > : advertises "Genuine Philly Cheese-Steaks!!!" with a kind of idiotic
: > : Hoosier gushiness, and when I went in to inquire how they made them, I
: > : was informed that, among other abominations, it had fresh sliced green
: > : pepper, black olives and Philadelphia cream cheese! Can you imagine?
: >
: > I have seen "Geniune Philly Cheese-Steaks" advertised in lots of places,
: > and they are always something ridiculous. But that is truly weird.
: > Actually, the best Philly cheese-steaks I've had were from Koch's deli
: about
: > 20 years ago when a friend of mine worked there. Down with Cheese-Whiz!
: >
: Seth,
: Koch's is a great deli and probably one of the greatest sandwich shops on
: the planet, but you don't go to Koch's and get a cheese steak. Jeesh.
normally, no, I agree, but that was during a period when a friend of mine
was working there and it was a special order. A Cheesesteak hoagie, actually,
just to pile on the Philadelphia-isms.
Johnny
> steak can be found at Jim's. However the best cheese steaks might still be
> at Dellasandro's. It certainly wasn't the one I just had from Geno's.
What? Jim's, on South Street? I had always thought of Jim's as quite
good, but somewhat lacking in ambition due to the guaranteed tourista
clientel. Pat's in decline? Say it ain't so? Man, if that's true,
Thomas Wolfe was more right than he knew--you really can't go home
again!
NOYES66
Dwolf0823
>
>At the same time, it wasn't a bad show by any means. It just wasn't a truly
>great one. It was a great singer having fun with his songs and his band.
>That that singer is one of the greatest and probably the most influential
>songwriter of the last century, along with being on of the truly brilliant
>vocal stylists of the last 40 years is another story. Dylan did enough to
>let you know he can still do it. One last thing. Bob Dylan did not touch a
>guitar the entire night.
>
Thanks for the usual excellent review. I thought it was a stronger show than
you found it to be, with the highlights being the Nashville Skyline material
and the new-to-my-ears Standing in the Doorway.
dsw
Stephen
> [...] I thought it was a stronger show than
> you found it to be, with the highlights being the Nashville Skyline material
> and the new-to-my-ears Standing in the Doorway.
Nor, in my view, was Saturday's significantly better, though very good
and certainly more polished. Certainly not in terms of song
selection. The best part was the outrageous 4-song "L&T" run at the
end, which was as fine a performance of that material as I've yet
heard, and which made me almost grateful for the fire marshal's
shut-down as Dylan and band seemed to come back with renewed vigor
after "intermission"; I'd found things fairly pedestrian before then.
But if the diminished set meant missing new versions of songs like
"Dignity" or "Blind Willie McTell," I'd take Friday's rougher yet
richer performance anytime.
Bubbaband
"Dignity" or "Blind Willie McTell," I'd take Friday's rougher yet
richer performance anytime.
these songs & Just Like A Woman were the highlights for me,, on friday,,,,,,,
Dwolf0823
I was as close to Dylan on Saturday night than I have ever been, probably ten
yards away, right in front of him, so I don't think I can objectively compare
the shows. I enjoyed my experience more on Saturday night, but that might have
been due to factors other than the quality of the music. To my ears, "Tonight,
I'll be Staying Here With You" was the highlight of both nights. Goosebump
material all the way.
dsw
tom .
i hear you, man.
and the other thing is that on friday night i had this completely
freaking tightass midget dickhead behind me shhhh-shhhhh'ing me the
whole freaking night while i was doing my best trying to enjoy the show
despite the fact that my barber completely fucked up my hair earlier
that day and gave me this really stupid haircut. no way in hell did i
ask him to cut my hair this way even though my buddies tell me i did.
yeah i was already pretty drunk and don't remember what i said but no
way in hell did i ask tony for the haircut i got. anyway, what's the
dilly-o? why doesn't anyone get really drunk at dylan shows anymore?
it felt like i was the only one drinking there. and to the guy behind
me making faces because i was "loud": why don't you go to a beethoven
concert buddy? dylan is rock and roll and if i want to dance and shake
my thang and have a good time that's just too bad for you.
.
ps: dylan rawks!
.
Stephen
>
[...]
>
> and the other thing is that on friday night i had this completely
> freaking tightass midget dickhead behind me shhhh-shhhhh'ing me the
> whole freaking night while i was doing my best trying to enjoy the show
> despite the fact that my barber completely fucked up my hair earlier
> that day and gave me this really stupid haircut.
Ah, who are you trying to kid? Everyone here knows you wouldn't be
caught dead in a mullet.
Most, I would venture, have a sort of Rudolph Valentino image in mind
whenever they think of you (which is often): darkly handsome,
languorous, and a little bit threatening.
Don't take that away from us. Even if it isn't true.
Linn Carpenter
Seth Kulick wrote:
> Johnny (jhaas...@comcast.net) wrote:
> : [though if it showed up in Philly, it would be quarantined] that
> : advertises "Genuine Philly Cheese-Steaks!!!" with a kind of idiotic
> : Hoosier gushiness, and when I went in to inquire how they made them, I
> : was informed that, among other abominations, it had fresh sliced green
> : pepper, black olives and Philadelphia cream cheese! Can you imagine?
>
> I have seen "Geniune Philly Cheese-Steaks" advertised in lots of places,
> and they are always something ridiculous. But that is truly weird.
> Actually, the best Philly cheese-steaks I've had were from Koch's deli about
> 20 years ago when a friend of mine worked there. Down with Cheese-Whiz!
I was in Michigan about 5 years ago and stopped in a little bar and restaurant
to get a bite to eat after being on the road for over 10 hours. I looked at the
menu and saw "Philadelphia Cheesesteak" listed. Ok, being born and raised in
Philly, I know better than to expect a genuine Philly cheesesteak in Michigan or
most other states for that matter, but I was hungry and a bit curious at the
same time so I ordered it. I pretty much expected a piece of steak, thick and
unchopped with melted cheese and fried (or maybe unfried onions). I couldn't
believe what I got. It was a long hamburger - I suppose it was a Salisbury
steak - on a long roll with green peppers, fried onions and something that
vaguely resembled a cross between melted American cheese and Cheez Wiz. My
appetite went right out the window. I took about three bites of this atrocity
and filled up on the french fries that came with it. I paid my check and left
feeling that this place should be banned from serving this item and listing it
as a "Philadelphia Cheesesteak". What made me feel worse, though, was knowing
that anyone ordering this item in that restaurant who is not from Philadelphia
is going to think that's what Philly cheesesteaks really are. A travesty!
Linn
Linn Carpenter
Peter about Dellasandro's in Roxboro, PA. The two best places for them. Sadly,
Pat's is not what it used to be.
Linn