East Rutherford, NJ (13-Nov-99)

Stage left camera position in the balcony provides lots of dynamic shots of BD and the band, especially LC. Colors are slightly monochromatic leaning towards the browns and tans. Both audio sources are top-notch, and the addition of the stellar alternate source where it exists is very nice. Also, titles, menus, slideshows, all excellent stuff. Flawless audio/video sync.
BD and the Band were blazing this week of fall 1999 tour. Nearly every show featured rare or previously unplayed tunes. This DVD is a real keeper and a great document of wonderful night at 'the Burn'.
Performances are stellar. BD is having much fun, into the songs, great guitar work high in the mix, barely missed a word all night.
Highlights? Visions, Song to Woody, Joey (and not just cause he played it!), Not Dark Yet, Hoochie Coochie Man is unreal....and on...
I gotta mention how meaningful it was for some of us to see DK and PL having so much fun playing together on this tour behind Dylan.
Well worth tracking down, this DVD bears repeated viewing.
Highly Recommended!
Thanks to all the great traders here, and thanks always DVDylan.com

Bottom line: A great show to own. Get it. The camera work is somewhat erratic at the beginning of the show, but quite steady most of the time after the opening. There are a few incidents of wild movement of the camera, or blackouts. There are few “head” problems, but not many. There’s a good mix of zoom and fixed focus. The taper is on the upper right side of the auditorium, which puts Bob, Larry, and the drummer’s faces in most of the shots, but we can’t see much of the faces of Tony on bass and the other guitarist. A pretty good mix of concentration on Bob mixed with partial-band and whole-band shots. Altogether a very watchable show.

Some highlights: A highlight of the concert is the opening sequence of acoustic numbers. It begins with an above-average I Am the Man, then climbs higher with Song to Woody, which, in a nice touch, begins and ends with the original’s closing verse. The performance is a slow, thoughtful, and faithful rendition of the old nugget of gold from the first album. It’s Alright, Ma is another early highlight. It has moments of emphatic expression:“not much is really saaaacred,” and “sometimes must have to stand naaaakid are standout lines.
Bob follows that up with Ring Them Bells. While it’s hard to make out some of the lines (partly because it is sung more quietly), much of the song consists of another expressive and sensitive performance. The steel guitar is lovely, and certain lines are delivered with moving conviction, e.g., “Ring them bells/ for the time that flies/ for the child that cries/ when innocence dies,” and the closing lines are sung quite tenderly and hopefully, “and they’re breaking down the distance between right and wrong.” A nice performance of a lesser-known song.

Tangled Up In Blue follows, and though it is only an average performance, it is elevated by a nice harmonica part at the end.

Following the acoustic set, other highlights include a nice, brooding Willie McTell, and Not Dark Yet, sung wistfully after a long and melodious lead intro.

Disc one closes with Pill-box hat, not one of my favorites, but Bob clearly enjoyed playing it this time, and that moves it up a notch.

On disc 2, Rolling Stone begins with a still, but the author has added an interesting touch by adding smoke blowing across the still. This is another nice version, with care paid to several of the lines, such as “everybody that was . . . everybody that was hanging out, scrounging around . . . scrounging around for your next meal,” and several choruses where the last word of each line ended in a low note (down-singing?).

It Ain’t Me, Babe is another highlight, elevated by its fine harmonica interlude.

There isn't much here to criticize. I don't care for Hootchie Coochie Man. Tombstone Blues starts well, with good pacing, but he mumbles a lot after the instrumental break. I always like to see Visions of Johanna on a setlist, but the reworked tune on this one didn’t work for me.

Altogether, this was a great night spent in New Jersey. Many thanks to Yassou for the chance to review this show.