Toronto, Canada (18-Jul-00)

oh, this was rough.
i feel really bad for the cameraman. the concert couldn't have been very enjoyable for him.
the 1st 30 minutes lulled me to sleep with the frame constantly meandering left & right, almost in a horizontal figure 8. something like lying down in a rowboat & looking up at the underside of an oilrig. good thing i had extra ginger before the show, i could have developed a bad case of sea sickness, otherwise.

2nd try at viewing the dvd:
too many heads.
40 minutes into bob's set, 3 guys show up late & sit right in the middle of what view is there. rather creepy viewing follows. almost voyeuristic. the 3 don't seem to be very interested in the concert (at least the guy in the middle [who bears a remarkable, uncanny, & somewhat eerie resemblance to Mark Volman of Flo & Eddie & turtles fame] & the 1 on the right), their heads constantly turning left & right like flamingos. maybe they want to see who else is at the show. the fellow in the middle turns all the way around & apparently stares directly into the camera lens. & i mean: stares. eerie. more than once. i lost count. then the fellow on the right lights a cig & perches it in his left hand on mark's [the middle fellow's] right shoulder, blocking the only view path between the lens & bob. it looks intentional; passive aggressive. for the most part, he just leaves his hand there & doesn't really smoke the cigarette. '...dreams & hopes buried under tobacco leaves...' part of the entertainment here, is waiting & wondering if he's gonna set the guy's hair on fire. this wasn't the only cig he lit during the show. more than once. i lost count. this really makes for difficult quality filming.

the theatre lights never go out until the very last encore song, & then, they only dim them.

glimpses of bob are rare & fleeting.

shot: steady, yet meandering on the 1st 30 minutes. not jittery at all.

framing: even though meandering in the 1st 30 minutes, framing is steady, but views of bob are extremely rare after the 1st 40 minutes. zooming takes place trying to fill the frame with bob. also some attempts...were all in vain... at views of bob’s band. from zoom, automatic focus frequently jumps to the heads & other content in the foreground.

picture: clear.

sound: good enough.

performance: very good, as is the set list.

highlights:
Desolation Row
Drifter's Escape

audience: some in close proximity to the cameraman, may need AADD medication.

audience gets a 1 & bob & his band get at least 4.5 on the star scale, if not higher.

you're really better off with just audio of the show instead.