Bob Dylan

10/29/09
Aragon Ballroom
Chicago, Illinois

Recorded by Roy right in front of the stage about 10' from the amps.

Recorded in 44.1kHz.16-bit wav using a set of Core Sound Cartioids plugged into a Zoom H2.

Sound Quality: pretty darn good, a little bass-heavy so EQ to taste

Transferred to PC via SDHC card reader.

Normalization to 95%, minor edits and fades using Cool Edit Pro.

Split up into tracks using CD Wave Editor.

Encoded to FLAC (Level 8) using Trader's Little Helper.

Thanks to Robin for the tickets.

Disc One

01. Watching The River Flow (Bob on keyboard)
02. Girl Of The North Country (Bob on electric guitar)
03. Beyond Here Lies Nothin' (Bob on keyboard)
04. Just Like A Woman (Bob on electric guitar and harp)
05. The Levee's Gonna Break (Bob on keyboard)
06. I Feel A Change Comin' On (Bob on keyboard)
07. Stuck Inside Of Mobile With The Memphis Blues Again (Bob on keyboard)
08. My Wife's Home Town (Bob on electric guitar)
09. Tweedle Dee & Tweedle Dum (Bob center stage)

Disc Two

10. Workingman's Blues #2 (Bob on keyboard then center stage on harp)
11. Highway 61 Revisited (Bob on keyboard)
12. Ain't Talkin' (Bob on keyboard, Donnie on viola)
13. Thunder On The Mountain (Bob on keyboard)
14. Ballad Of A Thin Man (Bob center stage on harp)
15. E: Like A Rolling Stone (Bob on keyboard)
16. E: Jolene (Bob on keyboard)
17. E: All Along The Watchtower (Bob on keyboard)

The performers:

Bob Dylan - keyboard, electric guitar, harp
Tony Garnier - bass
George Recile - drums
Stu Kimball - rhythm guitar
Charlie Sexton - lead guitar
Donnie Herron - viola, pedal steel, lap steel, trumpet
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Bob Dylan typically atypical in concert

Aragon show not his best — nor his worst

October 29, 2009

BY JIM DEROGATIS/POP MUSIC CRITIC

Though it cannot be denied that Bob Dylan is a living treasure and one of the most important and influential figures in the history of American song craft, the 68-year-old legend recently released a strong contender for the worst album of his storied career, “Christmas in the Heart.”

It may have been a noble effort to raise money for charity. But the new disc of massacred holiday standards is nonetheless a miserable listening experience.

Thankfully, there wasn’t a harsh, croaking rendition of “Hark the Herald Angels Sing,” an endless, torturous version of “Little Drummer Boy” or a weird threat-not-a promise take on “I’ll Be Home for Christmas” in evidence Thursday night as the favorite son of Hibbing, Minn., played the first of a three-night stand at the Aragon Ballroom.

In fact, in his patently perverse, willfully noncommercial, change-it-up-every-night and “zag whenever they expect me to zig” style, Dylan completely ignored his new album. Instead, the man whose taped introduction branded him “the poet laureate of rock ’n’ roll” gave us a typically atypical night, mixing a heavy sampling of songs from the last three studio albums before “Christmas in the Heart” with a handful of his most memorable anthems.

As usual, many of these songs were barely recognizable, as Dylan shuffled, rewrote, rearranged and just plain messed with them however the spirit of the moment struck him.

One notable failure: A particularly unsubtle and heavy-handed thrashing of “Just Like a Woman,” part of a generally sluggish start to the two-hour show. (Dylan began promptly at 7:30 p.m., and there was no opening act.)

Among the standout high points: a revved-up “Tweedle Dee & Tweedle Dum”; “Stuck Inside of Mobile with the Memphis Blues Again,” which was turned inside out and upside down; a rollicking and rambunctious “Highway 61 Revisited,” and a tense and dramatic “Ain’t Talkin’.”

After a particularly inspired and reliably consistent stretch in the ’90s, when his shows were marked by their furious guitar rave-ups and intense interaction with his crack band, Dylan’s concerts have become much more uneven and sluggish in recent years. The star has spent much of his time onstage rigidly standing behind an electronic keyboard, reportedly because arthritis has made his guitar playing more difficult.

And the voice . . . oh, that voice. Even though of us who’ve applauded its harsh punk charms, forgiven its infamous limitations and championed it as a direct conduit to the songwriter’s soul must admit that it’s becoming ever harsher, more limited and sloppier, without an appreciable increase in soulfulness.

The current tour marks the return of Austin, Texas, guitarist Charlie Sexton, one of Dylan’s best-ever sidemen, and a big reason why those ’90s shows were so fiery. But the bandleader still spent much of Thursday night behind that dreaded synthesizer. When he did don a guitar, he hardly moved and barely acknowledged Sexton, second guitarist Stu Kimball and bassist Tony Garnier at his right side, much less drummer George Recile behind him.

Indeed, the only time Dylan seemed undiminished was when he blowing harp. His harmonica propelled “Ballad of a Thin Man,” the last song before the encore, and the evening’s climax.

Overall, this was a better night with Bob than the last few this critic has had, but it was far from the best.

The most hardcore fans will contend that any night with their hero is a privilege mere mortals should gratefully welcome without complaints. But I bet that even many of them are glad to have been spared his particularly unique reading of “Winter Wonderland.”