Bob Dylan w/ Foo Fighters @ Xcel Energy Center
Source: morecowbell.net
A most excellent Sunday night occasion at Xcel Center, both Bob Dylan and The Foo Fighters strolled into town. The Foo Fighters were carrying their relatively new acoustic sound with them, with a very talented eight-member group. Their set was very tight and Dave Grohl was funny and seemed absolutely stoked to be there. They only played 2-3 songs (fine by me) from their new double record and the older songs sounded great reworked. They’ll be releasing a live double disc CD/DVD recorded in LA called ‘Skin And Bones’ on November 7. It will be nice to have good sounding sources of those songs.
“Everybody got to wonder what’s the matter with this cruel world today”
Great vibes surrounding Dylan’s entrance, the near full house on hand was a really diverse crowd. A very solid set for the evening, starting things off with the attention grabbing opener of “Maggie’s Farm” moving onto one of my favorites “She Belongs to Me”. After “Tweedle Dee”, a rare off-mic comment from Dylan “let’s go!”. I was thinking a rocker from the new record but they chilled things out a bit with one of four cuts from the new record Modern Times (seriously, buy this record if you don’t have it yet). A very respectable crowd allowed Dylan’s crisp (yes, I said crisp) vocals to hang in the air a bit longer and bounce off the ends of the arena. I was suprised how respectable everyone was to the low key tracks. And unlike his Fargo, ND summer tour stop, Bob’s piano was more audible and he even threw down a few solos.
“Simple Twist of Fate” and “Tangled Up In Blue” were highlights of the evening for me. Both songs from Dylan’s masterpiece Blood on the Tracks, mixed with the nice arena sound had them coming across as vivid as ever. Painting those pictures in your mind for the thousandth time. “Nettie Moore” felt the same way, nice to hear a new gem presented in that way.
The standard three-song encore for this tour proved to do the trick. Just before the band (who deserve many props) busted into “Thunder on the Mountain”, the Dylan “eye” logo backdrop was draped down and the sweet groove started. I felt that this was the most re-worked so far of the 4 new ones, but maybe it was just the fast delivery of the lyrics. “Like a Rolling Stone” and “All Along the Watchtower”, didn’t disappoint anyone. Well, maybe a few of the many executives and their wives who bailed out of the show way too early. I’m sure they can read about it in the news if they’d like. Both were enjoyable versions of songs that become wiser themselves, each time you hear them.
It was a special show, always is when you can be in the same building as the man. Many friends in attendance, good sounding venue, sweet seats, and the Foo Fighters opening will make this Dylan show stand out a bit more for me. Until next time….
Maggie’s Farm
She Belongs To Me
Tweedle Dee & Tweedle Dum
When The Deal Goes Down
It’s Alright, Ma (I’m Only Bleeding)
Simple Twist Of Fate
Rollin’ And Tumblin’
Masters Of War
Tangled Up In Blue
Don’t Think Twice, It’s All Right
Highway 61 Revisited
Nettie Moore
Summer Days(encore)
Thunder On The Mountain
Like A Rolling Stone
All Along The Watchtower
The Strib has a review as well – dig it.
