Birmingham, England (20-Sep-00)

Aside from the fact that the early portion of this DVD is missing (its always a far better experience for the viewer if he/she gets to see an empty stage and the crowd's reaction when the man himself comes out, something like #D331.su achieves this effect perfectly), there is not a lot wrong with this DVD. It starts off just into One Too Many Mornings, and immediatly you can tell Bob is on form tonight. His guitar playing, movement and crowd interaction is some of the most animated and energetic since the Rolling Thunder or Gospel periods. His little jigs and bops around the stage were one of the most surprising things about the performance for me, having not seen a performance from 2000 before this one.

The camera work on this disc is particularly good and worthy of mentioning, it gives the effect of being in quite close proximity to the band. Initially it focuses almost specifically on Bob, with Tony just being featured as a background character. However, over the course of the show, the cameraman gets more adventurous and starts to focus a little more on Charlie of Larry, or gets some good quality wide shots of the band in action. An amazing moment, almost hairs standing up on your neck, is the final moments of the encore piece Blowing in the Wind. The background bluegrassy vocals delivered by our dear Mr Campbell and Mr Sexton are chilling when combined with Bob's drawly growl and the simple work of 3 acoustic guitars. It was certainly the highlight of the DVD for me.

In terms of technical quality, the DVD is pretty good. Its quite good quality video footage, slightly blurry and out of focus when quick zoom ins are used, but all in all the picture retains its quality brilliantly throughout the disc. I'm not sure what has been done in terms of audio remastering, but it is of very high quality. The between tracks editing (both audio and video) is a little off at times, and don't merge together all that well, but this is a minor infrequent complaint. I did notice a few heads getting in the way at times, but the cameraman quickly gets a good shot around these, which is great to see.

All in all, if you want to get a good setlist, Bob Dylan in absolute top form (in mood and music terms - a rare combination you must agree!) and a good DVD, I couldn't not recommend this one.

The taper made me feel like I was there. They did a great job capuring Bob and the band while not shaking up the shot. The sound was outstanding and if not for a few heads that got in the way, this show was almost flawless.'

Bob was on this night and you knew it when he reached for the harmonica to close out "One Too Many Mornings". A rocking "Cold Irons Bound" and a fantastic "It Ain't Me, Babe were just a few of the highlights during this show. And Bob has many little dances and grooves that he lays down during the show.

The taper of the show made me want to be there and the set list was outstanding....had I been there I don't think I would have been running to the refreshment stand in between song.

So thanks to the taper and thanks to Vygi. And most of all thanks to Bob!