Newcastle, England (20-Jun-98)

D218.su TWO'S COMPANY?

DOWNSIDE If you like to see the whole band play, this DVD is not for you. The camera position (see screenshots) allows a view of D and Larry only, with Bucky, Kemper and Tony all unseen throughout. And if H61R is your favourite song, be prepared for a disappointment. For the otherwise pristine s/u audio track is marred by three bursts of interference. The first, lasting 10 seconds, occurs during the play-out of Hard Rain. Then come separate 10 and 20 second interludes during H61, with another faint touch (barely noticeable) halfway through Love Sick. The picture still goes funny during Tangled and, finally, steel yourself for stage and performers being bathed in clouds of blood* (last screenshot), not during CIB, but first Masters (quite fitting) then Forever Young (not).

UPSIDE There wasn't too much wrong with D218 (see review): a slightly overloaded soundtrack - here resolved - and a missing first verse of H61 - here patched to give, this time around, a complete show. If you think the set, at 83:40, rather short, it's because the bill this night was a D/Van the Man double header. But never mind the clock, for 83 minutes of this is worth five hours of D431.su, D007 or several others equally grim. I could pick out highlights - Serve Somebody, Simple Twist, Ramona, LMZ - but nothing falls flat - not even Silvio. Not even CIB! As for being limited to a view of Bob and Larry only, they make a photogenic pair, very easy on the eye and this superb film is a joy to behold all through. Top marks to taper, filmer, author (and, of course, performer) - artists all. One not to be missed.

THANKS Yassou and Yunz (the Two Ys Men)
STARS Five

*The arresting Cold Irons image clouds of blood was a particular favourite of Blake, who used it seven times - thrice in Jerusalem and Milton and once in The Book of Urizen. I wonder which of them - if any - fed magpie D?

NOTE For an even better version of this fine DVD, seek out D218.su2.

A top notch fan made project!

A grade audio, expert sync and authoring, crisp colorful video footage. Very steady, slight obstructions from stage equipment detract little if at all.
Only shortcoming is the side stage location provides shots of Dylan and Larry only. A great document of them two though. Very nice mid- to close- shots throughout.

Hot performance, audio and video wonderfully captured here. A great document. 5 stars for overall excellence, you won't be disappointed by this one if you like audience video. Thanks to all involved in bringing this out, and thanks to the dvdylan.community!

Again, like Cardiff 2000, this audience-recorded video blows me away. My deepest gratitude to the intrepid taper who filmed this with a tripod (or a rock-steady grip!) and the person who painstakingly synchronized the sound upgrade.

As for the set list, it's full of rarely played goodies such as opening with Gotta Serve Somebody, then an effortless segue into If Not For You --- absolutely priceless. Then if that's not enough, one of the most beautifully played and sung Simple Twist of Fates you'll ever hear. To Ramona....Masters of War....Love Minus Zero/No Limit...the list goes on and on. The band is tight and spot-on.

5 stars all the way. One of the very best Dylan dvds out there!