Bob Dylan 2001-05-07 Braunschweig Germany

Disc 1
1 Intro
2 Roving Gambler (acoustic)
3 Mama, You Been On My Mind (acoustic)
4 Ballad Of Hollis Brown (acoustic)
5 Tombstone Blues
6 Simple Twist Of Fate (Larry on pedal steel and Bob on harp)
7 I'll Be Your Baby Tonight (Larry on pedal steel)
8 Masters Of War (acoustic) (Charlie on Dobro)
9 Boots Of Spanish Leather (acoustic)
10 A Hard Rain's A-Gonna Fall (acoustic) (Larry on bouzouki)
11 To Be Alone With You (Larry on fiddle)
12 Where Teardrops Fall (Larry on pedal steel and Bob on harp)

Disc 2
1 The Wicked Messenger (Bob on harp)
2 Leopard-Skin Pill-Box Hat

(1st encore)
3 Love Sick
4 Like A Rolling Stone
5 If Dogs Run Free (acoustic) (Larry and Charlie on electric guitars)
6 All Along The Watchtower (Larry on lap steel guitar)
7 Knockin' On Heaven's Door (acoustic) (Charlie on electric guitar)
8 Highway 61 Revisited
9 Blowin' In The Wind (acoustic)

(2nd encore)
10 Rainy Day Women #12 & 35 (Larry on lap steel guitar)

---

Review by Carsten Wohlfeld


It�s 4am and I just arrived back home after a three hour drive from
Braunschweig. This show must have been one of the weirdest experiences I
ever had at my 100+ Bob shows. The circumstances of the gig couldn�t have
been better: Sunshine all day, a rather small, sold out venue (2,500
capacity; the first indoor show on this trip to Europe) and Bob even
attended the soundcheck, treating us to an approx. three minute harp solo
on �My Back Pages� among other things.

The show started just a minute or so after 8.00pm without a support act.
There had been many speculations about the seemingly random setlist on the
current tour and a friend had called the Borgholm show a couple of days
earlier �confused�. After having seen tonights performances, I kinda know
what he was talking about. When they were good, they were spectacular, but
the lowpoint were really, really boring, too. But let�s start at the
start. (By the way: my last show was Munster last fall, so if I try to
compare version it would be compared to late last year mostly).

Roving Gambler (acoustic)

Easily my least favorite song out of the opening selection, The band was
doing an okay job, but Bob seemed to be a little behind with the delivery
of some lines (maybe he did it on purpose?). He didn�t move an inch during
the first song and his voice was of the typical �first song, still got to
adjust� variety.


Mama You Been On My Mind (acoustic)

Well, it�s not his best song, so I guess even the best version still
would hardly categorize as �amazing�: This was better than some
renditions I had heard previously. He tried to change the phrasing a
little bit and he may have skipped a verse in favor of a pretty long and
surprisingly melodic guitar solo.

The Ballad Of Hollis Brown (acoustic)

Wow! Now he really got started! Even though I believe he played this
song less than ten times over the last ten years, this was already the 6th
time I had the pleasure to hear it. What I like most about songs is songs
with killer lines of the �it�s better to burn out than to fade away�
variety. This song obviously has tons of lines like that and the fact that
Bob pretty much concentrated on the words rather than his guitarplaying
and Larry did an excellent job in providing a strong rhythmic base, made
this an early contender for �best tune of the night�. Great! On to the
first electric set.

Tombstone Blues

A letdown. If they would�ve done a driving, hardrocking blues version, I
probably would have loved it, but the fact that Kemper used brushes on
this song is a strong indication that it was no more than a pretty
unconvincing blues jam going nowhere. A pity!

Simple Twist Of Fate

First song of the night with Larry on pedal steel. As Ray said after the
show, Larry looked really tired throughout the show. The rest of the band
looked great though � especially Bob who looked really healthy and �ON�.
Oh, and while Larry�s still having his �I�m the original outlaw�
Gunfighter mustache, Bob got rid of his �Call Me Al Capone� mustache.
�Simple Twist� was nice, without being special and sounded a bit too much
like �Make You Feel My Love� at the beginning. The harp solo, complete
with Bob holding a note for about 10 seconds, was a pleasant surprise. The
crowd (a pretty enthusastic bunch for Germany) loved it and we got the
first of several �thank you�s� of the night.

I�ll Be Your Baby Tonight

Larry still on pedal steel. This song still gives me the creeps. Sorry, I
can�t help it. The usual country-ish arrangement had hints of a Las Vegas
Revue-vibe to it, which was the only good thing about it.

Masters Of War (acoustic)

The curtain they use for a couple of years now came into full effect
during this song and while at first I thought the nice lighting effects
would probably the best thing about this overplayed song, it turned out to
be a pretty decent version with a great instrumental break (featuring
David) in the middle.

Boots Of Spanish Leather (acoustic)

Was VERY well done, as it is most of the time. Careful delivery of the
lyrics. Maybe he missed out on a couple of lines, but even if he did, he
did a very decent job of covering up his mistakes(s) tonight. Bob
basically took all the solos up to this point, leaving Larry and Charlie
to play rhythm guitar and fill Bob�s holes. They used beautiful blue
backlighting on this song, so you could hardly see Bob, but when I got a
glimpse at him standing almost completely in the shadow I noticed that he
looked EXACTLY the way he looked in about 1975. Pretty healty, very young!

A Hard Rain�s A-Gonna Fall (acoustic)

Larry on bouzouki. The arrangement was kinda different, thankfully
without the backing vocals that used to turn into �Charlie and Larry vs.
Bob� duels most of the time. Bob�s performed several lines of the first
verses as kind of a rap, the last verse was extremely well SUNG though and
I really liked that despite the fact that it�s not one of my favorite
songs. I know it�s probably a great piece of art and all, but the song
never connects with me the way, say, the umpteenth renditon of �Desolation
Row� still does. Charlie had his electric guitar in hands before switching
to acoustic during the first verse.

To Be Alone With You

A nice choice after the rather serious acoustic set. Fast, hard rocking,
with Larry taking a solo on the fiddle. A carefree time was garantueed for
all! It was the next song however, that made the night.

Where Teardrops Fall

Exremely well done, especially when you conider that Bob played it
approx. ten times over the last ten years. It still had the low and dark
�Oh Mercy� feel to it and was in one word: lovely. The harp solo at the
end (most definitely even the first EVER on this song!!!) was a nice bonus
as well. Larry on pedal steel. A fairly long discussion between Tony, Bob
and David followed and then David hit the drums REALLY hard for

The Wicked Messenger

This was another special treat. I had heard it last fall and it was
alright without being special. Tonight it took really off. I guess you can
compare ist evolution to the way �Drifter�s� evolved from it�s first
performances (new arrangement) in May 2000 to the amazing renditions last
fall. There was this funny moment during the closing harp solo where Bob
stopped playing and turned around to David, because he expected a drumroll
before he would start again. When Dylan looked back, that�s exactly what
he got. Band intros followed prior to:

Leopard Skin Pillbox Hat

Slightly different arrangement as Charlie was allowed to take his first
longer solo and show us the new effect pedal he bought: It makes his
guitar soundlike a hammond organ (you may have heard it [first] on the
Beatles �Let It Be�, where George Harrison quite famously used the same
effect). Apart from that it was the usual jam with a triple solo. After
the formation they were gone for a few minutes

(encore)

Love Sick

Very well done AGAIN: Highlight of the performance was the light effects
though. You could see Bob�s and the band�s gigantic shadows projected on
the curtain in the back, mimicking the �wandering spirits� design they
used for T-shirts a few years ago.

Like A Rolling Stones

Was (too) slow, without energy and quite flat. A disappointment. He had
played harp on �Stone� the show before this one and tonight he went back
to pick up a harmonica as well, but before he decided on one, the song was
over.

If Dogs Run Free (acoustic)

Was kind of a continuation of �Stone� with Charlie and Larry on electric
guitars. The last time I heard it was when it was debuted in Munster,
where it sounded fresh and funny. This was a typical �we have to get
through it� by numbers rendition. The people in the crowd who hadn�t heard
it yet loved it though.

All Along The Watchtower

Yet another arrangement, with Charlie holding the notes during the riff
and David playing harder than usual. Larry on lap steel. It was an
extremely short version as well, hardly with any solos in the middle and
the song now seems to end WITH rather than after the last line. It ends
with Bob holding the word �hoooooooowwwwwlll�...

Knockin� On Heaven�s Door (acoustic)

This time it was Larry on electric before switching to acoustic during
verse one. Charlie on the other hand played his electric and used the
�organ� to great effect with a lovely, lovely solo. Larry and Charlie also
get to sing more and more backup, joining in on selected lines of the
verses and the whole chorus. Maybe it wasn�t performed to perfection, but
the arrangement is the best I�ve heard so far. Another unsuspected
highlight. After the song the crowd started clapping rhytmically, and they
didn�t even stop when the band started

Highway 61 Revisited

Which visibly annoyed and/or confused Bob. He refused to start singing and
even told the band to play quieter and only when they did and the clapping
died out because of it he started singing WAY later than usual. Great
Charlie solo among the usual jam mayhem.

Blowin� In The Wind (acoustic)

I think Larry plays a different kind of rhythm on this, but I might be
wrong. Another formation and then they left again. Only to come back 30
seconds later for yet another song. Even Tony seemed to besurprised. He
probably thought he would be done after 20 songs and seven encores � the
mainset had 13 songs tonight). Anyways, they added

Rainy Day Women Nos. 12&35

With Larry on lap steel. And it was every bit as good as you would
expect it to be ?


Then the lights came on and it was all over. Two hours, seventeen
minutes, 21 songs. Not bad. Not THAT great either though, despite the
above mentioned highlights. A really weird show, I think I�ll need some
more time (and a couple of more shows) to put it into perspective. The
main set was obviously more or less random (12 new songs tonight compred
to the previous show), but this laissez-faire approach also meant that any
kind of red thread that you would usually have running through a set was
lost. The set had absolutely no flow and went from good to bad and back
within minutes. We�ll see what Schw�bisch-Gm�nd will bring us on Saturday.
See ya there!

Carsten Wohlfeld




Review by Reinald Purman


In his 1 (out of 4) rounds in Germany, the Bobcat hits a ground so well
prepared: Not the birthday phoney in media-overkill ("sixtie Years, 60
Banners united,,,). but the excellent new song that gained an Oscar-Price
( "The Voice - he didn�t had - that broke..") with an background-throning
Statue (made of false golden matchsticks) - a somewhat new band-member -
but most of all the series of marvellous concerts in his 2-step-german
part of the 2000-Tour, proved in the hearts of the lucky people to be
there and by the circulating records for the rest of us... So the
"Stadthalle" was sold out nearly two month before, mostly to an audience
in their middle years, lot of polka-shirts and families. It was the first
stop of the tour in this city, but they had done excellent concerts in
Hannover sometimes, what is very near. . And the 5000 people will remember
this hot day. It starts few minutes after 8 with the standard announcement
and the Gambler for a standard opening. All the band members in dark
suits, Dylan in an black suit with white applications. He looks a little
tired - or concentrated ? The band was cool and professional and the sound
was excellent from the beginning. Some smoke arose to the spotlights for
atmosphere. Hollis Brown came along with the bass-work of Tony G. It was
all concentrated and something happened. All where waiting for tingle of
the sparks, what came with the wonderful music of Simple Twist of Fate.
Larry starts to hypnotize us with his special steel-thing and than Dylan
starts singing. At the end oft the song, dylan went to the back of the
stage - for me spontainously, roadie running to late and returns with his
harp, for a long finishing solo. The audience was enthusiastic. Baby
tonight follows, perfect done and than a second highlight: the Masters of
W. It was changed in the arrangement, very impressing. On the
background-curtain was something like a rorschach-test-picure projected .
It was not followed by a slice of pie, but an excellent Spanish boots.
Charlie Saxton did a lot to this. We spoke befor the concert about songs
we NOT expect: One favorit was Hard Rain, the other was the Ballad of the
Thin Man. (greetings to the many people out waiting for that...)And than:
Hard Rain was another absolute highlight. It sounds in some moments like a
waltz-music to the words of the performing Artist. Show me a setlist
Germany (1978 instrumental) okay..Surprisingly in this evening.(Don't
forget Thin Man) And now the highlights were delivered by the row, one
after one. The wicked Messenger came with a metallic sound in his voice.
Even the standard Leopard Skin was something special by thew gfuitars..
Than they stand on the stage, resting, Dylan leaves last, 21.25 time. The
next 3 songs were expected, but done in a perfect and always a little new
way. This Watch-Tower was a Power - Tower. Audience was melting, waving
hands, lighters-swinging was stopped because heat and sweating and heat.
The next real highlight was Knockin. Charlie wove a carpet of music
around this and Dylan shows an impressive voice. Okay, the rest of the
set-list was standard (or it was not) , buteven the RDW sounds swinging.
They were cool in this heat, dylan &his band.The audience was delighted
and steaming and more. Thanks to you for reading and most for theh Men,
wich travellin roads ... (please return to Berlin next year). R.Purmann




Review by Sven Lewandowski


It was strange ! On the trip back home I sat in a car with two persons who
saw Dylan for the first time. Dieter thought he�d seen a fantastic show,
but Mareike�s statemant was very precise and short: "total schei�e" (total
shit). Andreas enjoyed the show and Alex (a hardcore fan and Mareike�s
boyfriend) argued that we�ve seen a good show. But I think they were all
wrong in some way. Let me explain why. After being to 18 shows last year
Braunschweig was going to be my only show in 2001. In the back of my mind
I kept the posibility of going to Schw�bisch Gm�nd too, but I really
wasn�t able to make up my mind. So I decided not to decide unless I
experienced the show and Braunschweig. But yesterday�s show didn�t change
my mind. To me the show was neither really good nor really bad. I think
the setlist was quite interessting but nearly the whole show lacked of
commitment. That was especially true for Dylan�s vocal performance. The
show started with Roving Gambler. I really like this song but in some way
I was distracted by Larry�s horrible new beard. But never mind.

Mama, You Been On My was okay and I liked it. When they started to play
Hollis Brown I thought "Oh great - that�s one of the songs I came to
hear". But very soon it became disappointing. On most of the verses Dylan
rather mumbled in a very low voice throught the lines. You could hardly
hear this voice. On some verses, especially on the first, his voice was
strong. So all in all Hollis Brown might be a highlist on the setlist. But
this was definitely not true for the performance of the song. The first
electric set startet with Tombstone Blues and it was quite good but the
perferomance didn�t match last year�s performances (especially Cardiff).
On Tombstone Blues we had once again to face the problem which to me
spoiled a lot of the show: Dylan�s vocal performance was rather weak. The
was no power in it and it lacked of both aggressivness and commitment
towards the songs. But on the other hand Simple Twist Of Fate which
followed was treaten in a tender way and his voice seemed to return to
good form. But finally he destroyed a lot of the atmosphere with a strange
harp solo at the end of the song. There�s very little to say on I�ll Be
Your Baby Tonight. To me it was a rather mediocre performance. Masters Of
War was sure a highlight although I don�t really like the song. Dylan now
seemed to be more concentrated and his vocal delivery got much better.
That was also true for the other two acoustic songs that follow. On Boots
Of Spanish Leather his voice was tender and blue lights created a very
special atmosphere. I was quite surprised that A Hard Rain�s A-Gonna Fall
followed. I didn�t expect him to do such a long song with some many lines
- especially after the experience that he didn�t seem to be able to
remember the lyrics of Hollis Brown. But on Hard Rain his memory seemed to
be quite clear and so we got a good performance. This time (this year ?)
there were no background vocals by Larry and Charlie and so I enjoyed the
song much more than at Portsmouth last year. While Dylan�s vocals were
good at these 3 acoustic songs the second electric set started with to old
problem. At To Be Alone With You, which featured Larry on fiddle, Dylan�s
voice was too weak to match the power of the music. There was a lack of
the aggressivness in his voice that is needed for this song. Too me the
highlight of the show was Where Teardrops Fall. It was the only song that
I haven�t heared live before. But it was a great performance too. And an
unexpected one... Dylan�s voice changed once again and commitment seemed
to have returned. So we got a lovely performance. Towards the end of the
song Dylan even picked up this harmonica and delivered an enjoyable solo.
Wicked Messenger followed and I enjoyed it very much. But still I�d argue
that last year�s performances of the song were much stonger. He once again
played the harp but it wasn�t as agressive as it has been last year. Band
introcuctions followed and the set was closed with Leopard-Skin Pill-Box
Hat which was quiet boring to me. After a short break the band returned
and started the encores with Love Sick. There seemed to be some kind of
misunderstanding on stage and so Dylan played some strange kind of intro
to the song. Love Sick was surely one of the ups in a show full of ups and
downs. I enjoyed the song and I think it was a good performance. That
can�t be said for Like A Rolling Stone. It was one of the "downs" (there�s
nothing more to say on it). I have heared If Dogs Run Free once before -
the debut performance at M�nster last year. While at M�nster the song was
a sensation the performance at Braunschweig was much better and more
interesting - another highlight. I didn�t like All Along The Watchtower
and I think I have to repeat myself once again: The performance lacked of
commitment and Dylan�s vocal delivery was rather weak and poor. Knocking
On Heaven�s Door followed and I really loved the new version. Especially
Charlie�s electic guitar created a fantastic sound and made the song sound
fresh. I think it was the best performance of Heaven�s Door I�ve heared so
far. Highway 61 Revisited: see Watchtower Blowin� In The Wind: always the
same Rainy Day Women: not a perrfomance to remember

So all in all it was a show with a lot of ups and downs and though I�m
known to be very critical I think nobody can really argue that it was a
perfect show. It sure had it�s highlights, but you can�t forget about a
lot of weakness. So in some way Dieter as well as Mareike weren�t totally
wrong in their judgements. I�ve one wasn�t committed to Dylan before it
was hard to become a fan during the show. And I think it has a lot to do
with expectations too. I don�t know what Dieter was told by Andreas before
the show. But I can imagine what Mareike was told by Alex... I think her
expectations were too high and therefore disapointment was unavoidable. I
myself tried to keep the level of my expectations low and in some kind of
way I was rewarded for doing so.




Review by Werner Kehl


A good half-dozen of Us had come from Berlin to Braunschweig to see the
return of Bob & Band to a german stage for the first time since Muenster
last fall.

Within our own little group, opinions about last night were split right
down the middle: some found the first hour better, others the second; but
the consensus was that Hard Rains A-Gonna-Fall was the peak! I myself
felt that was the song that gave the show the spark it had hitherto been
missing. Afterwards followed what I believe were wonderful and truly
inspired versions of Where Teardrops Fall, To Be Alone With You, and
Wicked Messenger.

What most of us find further amazing is the amount of song-reshuffling
going on . We can only guess it has something to do with the new format
in the first part of the concert (3 acc., 3 elec.,3 acc., 3 elec.) which
leaves no room or purpose for an anchor-tune a la Tangled or trad.. This
almost guarantees that if you catch 3 shows in a row, you will have been
exposed to many, many different songs unlike ever before, possibly
including quite a few one may or may not have witnessed live before.

On a more personal note: Charlie, we loooove those funky sounds you�re
adding (MIDI?); Larry more pedal-steele, please; David, the new beret
suits you much better than the old cowboy-hat; and Tony, you�re just the
back-bone be(a)st that keeps it all together!! Hey Bob, what are the
chances of Return To Me north of the Alps or is that something you wanna
save for Italy?


Whatever You play, from the bottom of our Hearts, Thank You for a REAL
good time!!!

Werner




Review by Stephen Cook

Flew back to England from Germany last night having seen the
Braunschweig concert. A night of mixed blessings! Having last seen
Dylan in Cardiff in September 2000 my expectations were high. Too high?

At times the delivery was over-indulgent, and other times Dylan seemed
totally disinterested; sometimes it was both -during horrendous versions
of "Like A Rolling Stone" and "All Along the Watchtower" for instance.

When it was good on Thursday night however, it was sublime!

The first two numbers were mumbled, but then Dylan turned to the
microphone and sang the words: "Hollis Brown" - and there followed a
thoughtful and feeling rendition of "The Ballad of Hollis Brown". Every
word could be heard and Dylan was careful to give the final lines the time
they needed instead of losing them: "There's seven people dead on a South
Dakota farm / Somewhere in the distance there's seven new people born".

The same was true of the delivery of "Boots of Spanish Leather" - Dylan
carefully sharing both sides of the story before deliberately accentuating
"Take heed of the stormy weather"; preparing everyone in the audience for
the title and closing line "Spanish boots of Spanish leather".

Having immediately warned of stormy weather, Dylan launched into "A Hard
Rain's A-Gonna Fall" - probably one of the highlights of the evening. Each
verse sung as though it were a new song, rising each time to a heartfelt
warning-of-a-chorus.

The other standout song from the main set was "Where Teardrops Fall", sung
with feeling and given added depth by the pedal steel and closing
harmonica solo.

On a number of occasions it looked as though the set was being made up as
it went along, and the performance suffered as a result.

"Simple Twist of Fate" and "I'll Be Your Baby Tonight" were welcome
inclusions but would both have been improved tremendously if only Dylan
had given them a little more care and attention. "Simple Twist of Fate",
one of Dylan's best pieces of romantic nostalgia, certainly deserves
better.

Sadly the encore was mainly predictable: overblown and empty versions of
"Like a Rolling Stone", "All Along the Watchtower", "Highway 61 Revisited"
and "Rainy Day Women #12 & 35". The exceptions were a mellow version of
"Knockin' on Heaven's Door" and a marvellous outing for "If Dogs Run
Free".

I must be getting old - but the acoustic tracks definitely stood out on
the night. They were delivered with more care and passion and still took
your breath away.

I wonder, is it time to exorcise the howling ghost of electricity? Or
just turn it down a bit!

Stephen Cook July 2001




Review by Tobias Freimueller


I see that Carsten (back on the tour?!?) und Sven have been busy already,
and I agree with them: This show featured some of the best Dylan and some
of the worst (at least in the post-drunk-period) in one show, what make
things hard to describe. I think there are 3 reasons for this extreme ups
and downs:

1) The band plays so exceptionally well these days: Hardly any mistake by
any of the guys. Everything depends on Bob now completely.

2) Bobs voice sounds very rough and old this year. When I listened to some
of the 2001-Boots I wondered about that, in Braunschweig it turned out to
be a fact. Something must have happened to his voice during the
christmas-holidays � propably he smokes stronger cigarettes now... On slow
and epic songs like Boots and Hollis Brown his voice works very good,
maybe even better than before, but on some others...

3) His guitarplaying has been strange since 1961, but now it is simply
bizarre sometimes - and he�s taking all the solos for himself leaving
Charlie and Larry strumming chords (what is a shame). Maybe he�s just
getting bored of playing some of the routine-songs like ROLLING STONE and
LEOPARD and is trying hard to push them in a new direction with some
�unusual� guitar?

Show started with an pretty standard ROVING GAMBLER; can�t say much about
this, because I was searching the moustache in Bob�s face (it was�nt
there) and because I was shocked by Larry looking like R�uber Hotzenplotz
(just for German readers) with his new beard.

MAMA YOU`VE BEEN ON MY MIND came next. Far from beeing an interesting
choice, but nicely sung and played. Would have prefered BOB DYLANS DREAM
in this slot ;-)

When they started the next song, I was sure that it was JOHN BROWN because
Bob saw me in the audience and decided to do that tune - like in M�nster
1996, Bremen 1998 and M�nster 2000 � but I was wrong. It was the other
brother Hollis to come. HOLLIS BROWN was the highlight of the night for
me. Different arrangement staying on one level during the whole song � no
increasing volume like 1998. Bob was very concentrated and got all the
lyrics right (Sven, the tapes will tell!) and from where I stood, one
could hear every word (Sven, where have you been?). Great great
performance!

Now things turned around completely: TOMBSTONE BLUES was played without
energy, Bob playing around with the phrasing ending up stretching some
lines and words, singing on a single note. Bad.

SIMPLE TWIST OF FATE is always welcome, although it means that there would
be not much room for electric surprises. Fine, more spoken than sung
vocals from Bob, strange, but good Harmonica at the end.

I`LL BE YOUR BABY TONIGHT came next. This is definitly the song I don�t
want to hear. Bad phrasing (as always), endless jamming (as always).
Puuhhhh.....

Back to acoustics again with another standard choice: MASTERS OF WAR
turned out to be the start of a great second acoustic set. Perfect
performance, at the end Bob repeated the first verse again and the song
ended with the last line of that verse. Nobody on stage looked surprised,
so this must have been rehearsed before. Same thing happend later again.

Now Bob saw me finally in the audience and started BOOTS OF SPANISH
LEATHER like always ;-) Again a perfect version. Spoken lyrics, a few good
guitar-licks, Great!

HARD RAIN was the first song that I never heard live � good performance
again, although Bob changed timing in the chorus in almost every verse
what make things not easier for the band.

Next was the extra-song for the night: TO BE ALONE WITH YOU was same as
earlier this year with Larry on violin (he looks even more like
Hotzenplotz now while playing some staccato-riffs on the fiddle and
grinning all the time as if he would jump off stage every second and kill
somebody � probably me because I was standing right in front of him). As
always Bob could�nt remember much of the lyrics and played some really
strange guitar for the first time.

WHERE TEARDROPS FALL was a brilliant performance again. But to be honest:
It�s a silly song with stupid lyrics.

WICKED MESSENGER was another highlight. Strange to see how Bob did�nt care
at all about the well rehearsed arrangement. He stayed away from the
microphone when he usually sings and plays some not-so-bad guitar-parts
instead. Larry, Charlie and Tony looked puzzled on some points but this
brought fresh air to the song. Maybe it will sound confused on the tapes,
but it was fun to see!

LEOPARD SKIN PILL BOX HAT should be deleted from the set-lists indeed.
It�s getting slower and slower. Bob�s guitar was bizzare on this.

Unfortunately he did�nt play HIGHLANDS for the first �enchore� but the
usual LOVE SICK. Carsten and Sven liked it, I certainly did�nt. Again Bob
was searching for some new ways of phrasing without finding any...

But things went downhill even more: ROLLING STONE was the worst redition I
heard in years. Way too slow and played without any passion. Sounds like a
highschool-band playing it so slow to learn the chord-progression. Bobs
guitar sounded completely out of tune. This song needs a rest too.

I was hoping for something different than �Dogs� now and chances were
good, because he skipped it the night before for the first time since
October 2000. But no way: They did it again and they did it surprisingly
good. No more screamed lines, just a relaxed jazzy tune. Nice!

A looooonnnng discussion between Bob and Tony made me sure that they were
talking about how to play SUBTERRANEAN HOMESICK BLUES ;-) but I was wrong.
WATCHTOWER came next. OK-Version with Bob doing the repeating first
verse-trick again like in �Masters�.

KNOCKING ON HEAVENS DOOR was the song I hoped for, because I love the new
arrangement I knew from the Melbourne-Boot. And they did it! Unfortunately
Bob did his best to sing the choruses in a different timing than Larry and
Charlie... Nice version nevertheless.

HIGHWAY 61 was driven by great rhythm-riffs bay Larry and Charlie, Bob�s
vocals were not more than OK, His guitarplaying has totally lost the
connection to what the others did.

BLOWING IN THE WIND was again a bad version. Played on autopilot by the
band, except for Larry, who tried to play a different rhythm � what did�nt
work at all. Another song that should be skipped for some time.

RAINY DAY WOMEN closed the show (when was the last show featuring 21
songs?), same as always � Bobs guitarplaying sounded as if my grandma
would try it for the first time...

When it was over you could feel that the hardcore Fans did�nt really know
what to say about the show, most of the other people seemed to like it
very much, hm.... Get a tape and judge for yourself � it�s worth for
HOLLIS BROWN alone.

See you at Schw�bisch-Gm�nd
Tobias