Perth 8/8 2018

[Anders S]

Perth, Australia
Perth Arena
August 8, 2018

1.   Things Have Changed (Bob on piano)
2.   It Ain't Me, Babe (Bob on piano)
3.   Highway 61 Revisited (Bob on piano)
4.   Simple Twist Of Fate (Bob on piano with harp)
5.   Duquesne Whistle (Bob on piano)
6.   When I Paint My Masterpiece (Bob on piano and harp)
7.   Honest With Me (Bob on piano)
8.   Tryin' To Get To Heaven (Bob on piano)
9.   Make You Feel My Love (Bob on piano with harp)
10.   Pay In Blood (Bob on piano)
11.   Tangled Up In Blue (Bob on piano)
12.   Early Roman Kings (Bob on piano)
13.   Desolation Row (Bob on piano)
14.   Love Sick (Bob on piano)
15.   Don't Think Twice, It's All Rights (Bob on piano) (slowed down version)
16.   Thunder On The Mountain (Bob on piano)
17.   Soon After Midnight (Bob on piano)
18.   Gotta Serve Somebody (Bob on piano)
    
    (encore)
19.   Blowin' In The Wind (Bob on piano with harp)
20.   Ballad Of A Thin Man (Bob on piano)

http://www.boblinks.com/080818s.html

[Anders S]

Klipp från ER 

Glad to hear positive reviews coming from Perth. I was in attendance for the second and final time this tour, after Monday night’s show in Singapore, and this show was a very interesting but not quite as enjoyable one. Bob and the band seemed to take a while to hit their stride, with the stretch before Tryin’ To Get To Heaven mainly illuminated by Simple Twist Of Fate and When I Paint My Masterpiece (especially the harmonica breaks). Make You Feel My Love has never been a favorite of mine, but tonight it was remarkable. It seemed for the first time like a song that (similar to I Believe In You) could be either a romantic ballad, a parent-child song, or a spiritual statement.

For the next five songs, the band was locked in to a very deliberate, almost thunderous mood. The new arrangement of Pay In Blood that we heard in Singapore (what song is that riff taken from?) worked much better tonight - still ominous and mysterious despite the somewhat lighter melodic structure. Bob was giving great vocals and seemed keen to experiment on the piano, although this resulted in him hammering out a one-note solo on Desolation Row in place of the breezy harmonica break he delivered in Perth (which reminded me of the 1991/92 acoustic band numbers).

Then came Don’t Think Twice, which looked like and sounded like a complete train wreck to me (goofyfoot seems to have gotten a different impression). Bob was trying to play the song like a slow ballad, while Tony and the rest of the band were probably expecting to jump into the honky-tonk version from the last few shows. The rest of the band members were looking to Tony for guidance and he was clearly clueless. Stu seemed particularly lost, with Bob going off in a different direction every time he seemed to be finally picking up the thread. After the song was over, Bob turned immediately to Charlie and Donnie, exchanging words with them, before having a visibly heated discussion with Tony.

As expected the rest of the show was pretty tense. Some people up front were whistling during the beginning of Thunder, some people looked confused, and some just left. Throughout Thunder, Bob kept signaling for Charlie to take a solo, but he never really took off until the end. Even Gotta Serve Somebody seemed more perfunctory than it was in Singapore, although I swear about half of the lyrics were new again (including one like “you might be a lawyer waiting for his day in court”). The band came back out for the encores almost immediately, and Bob didn’t do any fake stumbling or dancing this time, although he gave a hell of a performance on those last two songs.

In any case, it’s interesting to have seen what happens onstage when things go right as well as when they go wrong. The two shows I saw last year seemed mostly like business as usual, whereas these two shows felt like anything but (despite their identical setlists). I can’t wait to see what happens as the Australian tour continues - I’m not sure that the final set is in place yet.

 

[Anders S]

En annan recension av Perth 

So how does Bob visited Perth in 2018 stack?

Jaw dropping  to be honest. Is there any other artist that can just keep
being so inventive and imaginative- even discounting he is 77 years of age?

Although the set was the same as Singapore it just sounded so fresh - I can
say listening to You Tube clips doesn't do justice to the quality of this
current set in terms of playing, arrangement, texture and delivery.

Bobs voice sounded so fresh (best I've heard him to be honest!) and I love
his keyboard playing. He literally sings and plays over the band to great
effect with an occasional bum note which merely adds to the experience.
His piano licks remind me of his guitar doodling's in the late 90s/early 00's sets.


There is so much freshness in this set - this tour we have lost the crooning
numbers but there is the odd throwback to know its still there - Soon After
Midnight comes to mind. The arrangement although faithful to the studio
release seemed to have extra texture more fitting to a studio take than you
would expect at a live show.

What were the standouts - well I love the current arrangement of It Ain't
Me Babe and the very heartfelt lament that is Don't think Twice. Also up
there is Sun Studio sound on Duquesne Whistle (this had a big band swing
sound hat reminded me of benny Goodman, Tommy Dorsey etc), Thunder
in the Mountain and a radical re working of Honest With Me (took me at
least 20 secs to pick the song so radical did it sound).

Major standout is the Peter Gun inspired reworking of Gotta Serve Somebody
a fitting nod to the Trouble No More Box Set that was a release I've yearned
for years (Love that Gospel era).

But wait there's more - Love Sick is taken to another level with an intensity
that King Crimson would be proud of  (Bet im only person who will think that
but these are my ears!)

And the encore - one of my fave songs  Ballad of a Thin Man  - for me its
the song with Like a Rolling Stone that sums up that 1965-66 period.

Down side? - To the bloke behind me who seriously said after To Make You
Feel My Love - Wow he just covered Adele!   Grrrrrrrrrrr and a dirty look cast
by me over my shoulder.

To the rest of Australia, enjoy Bob and the Band  they are sounding amazing.
Don't You Miss it!

Sean Tanner
Perth, Australia

[bobi]

Tack Anders! Särskilt klippet från ER. Kul med initierade kommentarer. Behövs för mig som sväljer allt,särskilt numer,tiden efter crooner....☺