Wiesbaden, Germany (20-Feb-93)

“Drunk Singer Observed by Drunk Videographer”
This is the Dylan of 1.000 State Fairs, trying to lead an under-rehearsed band, They are off to a troubled start with a stumbling ‘Folsom Prison Blues,’ the monotone slur of “The Man in Me.” and mumbling grind of “Memphis Blues Again.” Barbaric harmonica playing adds nothing to the tunes but length, as the band tries to remain just alert enough to keep time. After “Watchtower” dawdles on without significant musical event, Dylan walks over to the drummer and simply tells him to stop playing. Things pick up a bit with a “Tangled Up in Blue” that sports a nice emotional crescendo toward the end of each verse. Unfortunately, the cameraman follows the crescendo with his own upward leaps, making the song all but impossible to watch. Would that the entire concert had the arrangements of the acoustic segment, which begins with a Tomorrow Night” that works despite the possibility that Dylan has set up a slingshot in his throat to catapult the notes out of his mouth, . and ends with a “Don’t think Twice” that compares favorably to the best of the 1997 versions. Invigorated, Dylan keeps up the pace with a burning “Cats in the Well” and an intensely focused “I and I.” After this, we are back in the land of the lukewarm sun until a final “It Ain’t Me Babe” that might be one of the most alienated versions yet performed. The dominant composition that goes in and out of focus and frame is of Dylan and JJ, who, because of the angle, appears twice the size of the diminutive singer.