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OCTOBER 29, 2005 KÖNIG-PILSENER-ARENA OBERHAUSEN GERMANY 1. Maggie's Farm 2. Tell Me That It Isn't True (Bob on harp) 3. I'll Be Your Baby Tonight 4. Lay, Lady, Lay 5. High Water (For Charley Patton) (Donnie on banjo) 6. To Ramona (acoustic) (Bob on harp, Donnie on electric mandolin) 7. It's Alright, Ma (I'm Only Bleeding) (Donnie on violin) 8. The Times They Are A-Changin' 9. Tweedle Dee & Tweedle Dum 10. Ballad Of Hollis Brown (acoustic) (Donnie on banjo) 11. Highway 61 Revisited 12. Tangled Up In Blue (acoustic) 13. Mr. Tambourine Man 14. Summer Days 15. Don't Think Twice, It's All Right (Bob on harp) 16. All Along The Watchtower Coming from Rotterdam, we checked into our hotel in Homberg, located directly at the banks of the Rhine, about 10 miles west of Oberhausen. As a child I had lived in Homberg until I was eight, so it was interesting to revisit some spots before going down the highway toward the Arena in Oberhausen to see the second of three shows during our fine October weekend. Even though we did not arrive early, only about the time of the opening of the doors, we ended up on the floor five rows behind the rail, on Denny's side, which was much closer to the action than in Rotterdam, especially considering the usage of my binoculars to behold the man behind the piano, who wore his black Spanish hat this time. Also this time I got to enjoy the band even more, especially Denny and Donnie, and the incredible drumming of George. Again I expected and got a mixture of regular and rarer songs, and again the concert itself was better and stronger than the set list might lead you to think. There were ten song changes from the previous night, but no new song was introduced into this fine European tour. The six repeated songs were performed similarly as in Rotterdam, but three of them were in different spots. "Baby Tonite" had no harp solo this time, and "Tangled", which was only introduced into the tour the day before, was surprisingly repeated already. The opening "Maggie" and the closing "Watchtower" were intense as usual, as was my 30th "H61", the performance of which was loads of fun for everyone on stage, and for us in the audience. I cannot recall ever enjoying a performance of "H61" so much. Dylan also played some nice and surprisingly audible piano during this song. The second song of the show, again ending with a center stage harp solo, was my second "Tell Me That It Isn't True" (I had seen it once, more than five years ago in Newcastle). The other center stage harp solo song was a tender "To Ramona", which was one of five slower and softer songs of the concert. The other four semi acoustic songs were "Times" (with a nice solo by Denny), "Hollis Brown" (with a nice banjo by Donnie), the new slow arrangement of "Tambourine Man", and finally the first encore "Don't Think Twice". Not quite as soft and slow, but in a new and fresh arrangement we heard "It's Alright Ma" (with Donnie on fiddle and bow). All of them were worth seeing and worth hearing. Another favorite part of the show for me was my ninth "Tweedle" since May 2002. I simply love to hear that song in concert, and have never listened to a field recording from recent years which would make me want to skip this track. It simply jumps, and I enjoy it immensely, especially when Dylan is focused, which he was in Oberhausen. The peak of the whole concert for me however was my first "High Water", the only song of the night which I had never seen live before. Donnie was playing some fine banjo, and Dylan sang the song as strong and focused as possible. Thought provoking lyrics, packaged in the finest music to be found on any stage. Amazing stuff, conveyed with authority and conviction: It's bad out there, high water everywhere." |
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