DVDylan ID: D632.su
Recording type: Audience
City/Venue: Palamalaguti, Bologna, Italy
Date: Thursday, 10th November 2005


Man, oh man. This filmer has balls! The close-ups are amazing! Loved it, get it! 5 Stars. ''

Reviewed by nfischer on 22nd October 2006

VERY rocking show, and very tender show at times, too. Girl Of The North Country is extremely beautiful. The next song, Cold Irons Bound, rocks ferociously. Whole concert's like that.
Bob's facial expressions throughout are another epic in themselves.

More proof that the current Bob Dylan stands tall among all Bob Dylans.

Reviewed by NewDylanFan on 20th October 2006

With the wealth of material out there and even though most have something to recommend them I tend to find most audience films fall into the "watch once then up on the shelf for all eternity" category.But this is one I will definately return too.Taking into consideration the limitations of audience video ,this one is essential.
The sound is great,the picture sharp as a pin and as for closeness well,I don't think it's possible to get any closer..
Although the shakiness and recurring blank screen may put off the casual fan I suppose if you've made it as far as dvdylan you're a little past casual(!) and these are small prices to pay for the amazing close-ups.Also I saw a hell of a lot more of Bob and the band on this dvd than I did at any of the concerts I attended last year (Glasgow in particular brings back horrible memories of trying to see over the tops of peoples heads and overzealous security kicking people out of the aisles..)
And for people like me who think Bob's current band is very boring and maybe Bob's cruising a bit,this film shows just how much effort Bob still puts into his peformance and how much he enjoys performing with this band.
Highlights include a great "TweedleDee.." (why do people dislike this song so much??!) and "Sugarbaby" cos you know the camera is gonna zoom in when it gets to THEM lines..)..I also really like the current version of "Hard Rain" ..the two most intense vocals are probably "Cold Irons.." and "It's Alright Ma" which are both very well peformed..
All in all a good dvd more essential than most as it's a relatively recent concert and it does get so close..
Thanks must go to the brave (crazy!) person who risked filming this and the very generous fans at dvdylan who do such a great job of circulating this material...

Reviewed by Bobfan1 on 19th May 2006

This is a great show, certainly worth watching and re-watching, even if shakiness and obstruction make it difficult to stay focused at times. The nerve of the filmer is certainly worthy of high praise, and the editing and authoring are stellar. My position, however, is that any show with less than a '4' on any criterion save the controversial "distance" rating, should not receive 5 stars. There are other shows equally as good as this one, but without the shakiness that is off-putting to even the most die-hard Dylan ameteur video fan. As a whole, a solid 4-stars.

Reviewed by yassou on 13th April 2006

Great show, infrequent position of filmer and excellent sound and authoring. Late 2005 is a good season for Dylan and his fans. This disc takes a honest place in every collection. But five stars is reserved for highest points by my opinion. And this show is best of all 2005 stuff I have seen 'till the moment but not unique in all Dylan's career. So 4 stars only.
Highlights: Highway 61 Revisited (interesting keyboard playing) and Summer Days (it's heading to best of Bob songs for me)

Reviewed by lavicky on 13th April 2006

This DVD is a must have in my opinion if for nothing else besides the colseups. It is quite a rare feat to have such a close shot that you can see all the sweat on Zimmy's face. Pretty good setlist, and delivered fairly well. My only complaint of recent concerts has been Bob's tendency to "up-sing". I know this has been discussed on many different occasions, however, I feel it needs repeating. I'm not sure exactly why he does this sometimes and not others, but it can get pretty annoying. I have seen Bob do an entire show of "up-singing" then come out the next night and not go into it at all. It did seem however, that by the end of 05 Bob was starting to phase out of the whole "up-signig" thing, and this concert is a good document of only partial weird singing.

All in all, this is a fine DVD and definatley a must have for the DVDylan lover.

Reviewed by bluesguy on 09th March 2006

Thanks very much to jman for this GREAT Dvd of the last european tour,
good setlist and the best thing to see Bob in front of you,
thanks to the close-ups. We've got the impression that Bob
and the band are in the room, fantastic ! The sound is really good
and the menu is beautiful. My favourite songs for this one are "It's alright ma",
"Never gonna be the same again" and a wonderful "Sugar baby".
What I like too is that the show is complete and every player
is well filmed to enjoy the solos.

Reviewed by woody on 27th February 2006

what can you say when you have a show recorded from 2nd row? ok, it's shaky at times and you get a "black screen" once in a while, but for the great things that you get, it's really worth it.

good things: obviously the close-up shots, the great work of the camera-man in getting all the solo parts of Donnie, Denny and Stu (this is not an only-Bob-on-screen DVD), the sound is really good as is the performance and the authoring (thanks and congratulations to wheatln2!)

not-so-good things: i feel the close-up shots are too few, we could have get some more, i think. for the position of the camera we can't see Bob actually playing, all we see is him standing there in front of the keyboard singing and "dancing" with the music.

once the DVD ends you're left with the feeling that you have been really there that night, at Bologna, at the 2nd row, with Bob and the boys.

thanks to jman for sending this to me in one of his multiple freebie threads.

Reviewed by raz on 25th February 2006

A new standard for distance, it bears repeating that this is truely an amazing video. Yes, a bit shakey and with some ducks, but mostly very easy on the eyes. Congratulations and thanks to the fearless filmer.
This is truely a 'Team Dvdylan.com' production, flawlessly executed and captained by Wheatin2 from aquisition to authoring to distribution, with support from many of the usual suspects.
The decision to leave the audio intact makes the ducks and drop outs minimally disturbing. The Audio is lovely, and the sync is perfect. With the many clips this must have been a long process and the payoff for the rest of us is a pleasure.
Thanks to everyone involved, this is an exceptional document and a treasure in the collection.

Reviewed by jman on 13th February 2006

As noted in the description of the DVD it is filmed from the 2nd row of people standing right in front of Bob on the floor. Every song has parts where the taper has to hide the camera behind the few people in the front row. Realizing how vulnerable this position must be with regards to security it is amazing to see that easily more than 95% of the film are perfect video of Bob and the band on the stage. Already during It's Alright, Ma I couldn't help thinking that Donnie Herron has seen the camera as he looks directly into it several times. The fact that the taper is able to capture the complete concert without being caught is a miracle.
The picture is crystal clear throughout with an occasional out-of-focus for a few seconds. Needless to say, the sound is in perfect sync and leaves nothing to be desired.
The concert has so many highlights for me:
Almost perfectly filmed renditions of It's Alright, Ma and Down Along the Cove. A lovely arrangement of Love Minus Zero. Cold Irons Bound, Sugar Baby and Hard Rain. During the latter the lightning makes Bob look very much like he did during Rolling Thunder Revue. Highway 61 where the taper recovers after some problems in the beginning and of course yet another powerful All Along the Watchtower to end this wonderful DVD.
The breathtaking close-up views and the feeling of standing on the rail yourself is worth 10 stars alone, but as the rating system goes to 5 stars only it must be that.
A big thanks to wheatln2, Vygi and the tapers for making this available. A must-have indeed.

Reviewed by MisterClive on 06th February 2006

As already said above, the video is often shaky and sometimes you will see nothing but just somebodys pullover or hairs, but incredible close-ups makes this video more than just worth having: it is really a "must have" DVD. If you liked #D133.su Duluth, MN 1999 like I did - you will love also this one. DVD authoring is quite excellent, too. Thanks, wheatln2!

Reviewed by Vygi on 04th February 2006