Cincinnati, OH (11-Jul-99)

To steal from an old-time song (And what could be more Dylanish?), I was there when it happened, so I guess I ought to know. This show was all it could've been, all it should've been, and then some.

I saw Dylan six times in 1999. Depending on how much of a diehard you are, that either doesn't sound like much or sounds like it borders on the insane. This show was the pick of the litter. They were all good shows-- 1999 was about as solid and consistent and the NET ever got, in my humble opinion, but Bogart's had it all. Good setlist, brilliant performance, intimate atmosphere.

And we flash ten years forward and Yassou brings it all back home. This video isn't perfect, but it is brilliant at what it is. It's a smooth, clean video, with a fairly tight focus on Bob, Larry and David Kemper most of the night. Yes, you see all three of them because the stage was about the size of a postage stamp. Occasional glimpses of Charlie and Tony also drop in. Colors are as good as they were at the time. Heads aren't a problem. I suspect the video had some occasional focusing problems, but Yassou has deftly handled those.

The sound is loud and boomy-- sometimes overloaded to near distortion. BUT, and this is a key, this is because Bogart's is a tiny club, with a rocking Bob Dylan Band. The soundtrack is representative of the show. Art mirrors experience. If the 1999 incarnation of Bob set up in your local high school gym, this is what it would sound like. And it does. Jim50 sees it as a distraction, but I see it as endearing-- the mole on Cindy Crawford's cheek if you like. (And I'm sorry if I'm dated, in 1999, people still remembered who she is/was).

I gave this DVD five stars because I couldn't give it six. I recognize that a little of that is sentimental value because of what the show meant to me. But a lot of it is that this is a Hell of a show. You won't be disappointed.