Bob Dylan in Cedar Falls, IA

by Scott Lyson

If you’re read any of the reviews or comments from last night’s Dylan concert in Iowa, you might think that the 10-hours I spent driving yesterday were well worth the trip. That may be. There were a few fantastic performances from Dylan, however the venue was atrocious and spoiled the night. The last time I saw Dylan was at the Xcel Energy Center back in 2006. Center section, as I was at the McLeod Center last night, only about a dozen rows back. The sound at the Xcel was crystal clear, giving the illusion of a complete 5.1 surround mix. Not so at the UNI. The sound at the McLeod made the band sound quite amateurish during the opening number, “Rainy Day Women #12 & #35.” Dylan’s voice and organ came blaring from the speakers and echoed all over place, while the guitars were barely audible, the bass just a constant rumbling, and the drums only seemed to come from rear speakers and either side of the Center.

The crowd was ecstatic to see Dylan in action and were snapping pics, dancing and singing along. This was the first time I’ve seen Dylan pick up a guitar and his guitar dominated the mix, so I really got to hear him play too, if only for two numbers. The sound was slightly improved for ‘Don’t Think Twice’ and ‘Stuck Inside of Mobile’ when he was on guitar. “Just Like A Woman” was a another good singalong for the crowd and over-enthusisastic fathers were trying to get their pre-teens to really get into, but to no avail. This was also the first time I’ve been to a concert with Charlie Sexton on lead guitar. I was really looking forward to this, as Charlie is credited with giving Dylan and band a bit more fire and attitude. Sadly, “Rollin’ and Tumblin’” was an absolute mess. Nothing seemed to fit together and it seemed like each member of the band was on a different page, but Dylan himself was completely into it and his phrasing of ‘slut’ elicited many a laugh from the crowd. I wasn’t getting it though. I’ve heard this song, or similar versions of it, a dozen times but I didn’t think anything about this performance was working.

I decided to sit down, hoping to reduce some of the echo effect and for the next three songs, sitting did actually dampen a lot of the extraneous noise. This allowed me to enjoy a couple of songs I was longing to hear. It was a Sunday gig, so “Tryin’ to Get to Heaven” was a sure pick for the setlist, and I was finally treated to “High Water (For Charley Patton).” The next block of songs were okay, crowd-pleasers most of them. Hearing them performed at the Xcel left me wanting a bit more from this night. The final three songs of the set finally fired me up. Dylan’s performance of “Workingman’s Blues #2″ may be my favorite from any of his shows. He started playing on his keyboard, but midway through the song moved to the center of the stage with his harp and really delivered. It was very late in the set, but this was the moment when everything clicked for me. I was back on my feet and enjoyed “Thunder on the Mountain” and was blown away by the theatrical performance of “Ballad of a Thin Man.”

The crowd was loving it and the small McLeod Center, which held far less than 10,000, was eager for an encore. “Jolene” was not what they were expecting (I really think “Beyond Here Lies Nothin’” belongs in this spot), but of course Dylan did deliver “Like A Rolling Stone.” The sound for these two found me not really appreciative. The setlist itself left a lot to be desired. Dylan never seems to play the same set twice and he plays around a hundred different songs per tour. Nothing on this night was a surprise though. This set was like a greatest live hits collection.

If the songs ‘High Water’ and ‘Workingmans Blues’ weren’t played I would’ve been utterly disappointed by the evening, and the 10 hour drive. The tickets were cheap, the venue was a University arena in Iowa, so a lot of the crowd all new each other, and it was nice for Dylan to bring the neighborhood together in such a small place. He seemed to be really into too, delivered some inspired performances. I wish I would’ve been more into it. I wish I had made the Chicago show, or better yet, I wish he had come home to play. I missed George Recile’s powerful drums, the bluesy rock guitar, the man who was so enjoyed Tony Garnier’s bass playing that he wanted to make a Tony Garnier fan club, I missed the excitement of hearing a classic Dylan song for the first time – well, he did stand center stage with red light oozing on the stage and the spotlight projecting his shadow on the backdrop while he belted out the ballad of the thin man…

2 1/2 out of 5 stars

Check out his setlists at http://www.boblinks.com/dates.html#102410

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