Gothenburg, Sweden (14-May-00)

#760.su Gothenburg, Sweden, May 14th 2000

Overall impression/concert.
As a Bobfan, you know the score: The opening act is crucial as to what the show is gonna be like. Will he be in a good mood – or just gloomy. Is he here to merely deliver a show – or is he here to set these cold regions of Scandinavia on fire?
What we get here for an opening act bodes so well: Roving gambler, great. And even a word (two, to be precise) from the man himself ”Thank you”. Yes, this is gonna be a fine night in Sweden.
Then comes a fine, semi-acoustic ”Times are a’changing” and a master- and powerful ”Masters of War”, with just the right majestic drums coming on like solid rock after the first acoustic chorus.
Other stand-outs: A reeling & rocking country pie, a heart-rending ”Can’t Wait”, a great ”Watchtower” which for once does NOT end the show, ”Drifter’s Escape” tight as it gets, yes Bob and the band is truly a band this night, these are guys that can perform miracles together.
Was that a smile on Bob’s face during ”Drifter’s”...yes, I think is was.
”Love Sick” truly makes you wonder: What makes a man write a song like this, what’s the story behind it, yes, pain makes such great art, doesn’t it?
All in all this great night gives both beautiful ballads and rock to rip your heart out. A long, tight night that ends with massive acoustic guitar Bob feeding ”Blowing in the Wind” to a still hungry audience.
You can’t ask for more than that. A truly great night, thank you Bob, may you stay forever young.

Camera/pic quality:
Fixed position camera, left side balcony? Bit grainy video, but still in the top 10 videowise, as you can actually see facial expressions. Hardly any camera wobbling, so even if you're prone to motion sickness, you can comfortly watch this fine concert.
Overall the brave taper has managed to get the feel of the gig, and grainy or not, this is closer than many of us ever get to Bob i real concert life – unless of course you’re a lucky US citizen who can get hot seats from bobdylan.com.

Sound:

Magnificent. Smooth, mellow, precise recording with just the right amount of audience noise, cheering etc to give the right atmosphere.
If you listen to it with your headphones, you will occasionally hear a fan singing along in your left year. He sings OK, though a wee bit out of sync.
Sound upgrading is (as always, here) a true masterpiece. Thanks, Yassou.

To sum up:
One of the fine, fine concerts of what was a truly great Bob-concert year.
It’s a concert of the kind you hope to get when you buy your ticket. But you can’t always be so lucky, can you?