by Chris Cooper

Magnetic Movements On-Line 

Hello and welcome

As to be expected there are a number of new films this month.

Too many to list I am afraid, though again you can view the forthcoming ones in brief at  http://dvdylan.com. Vygi keeps a full list of available DVDs there and the site is becoming quite versatile so check it out.

We put these things on the back burner last time to make way for some films from the UK dates. So it seems now we have to catch up, so here goes, some very worthwhile things here, and quite a few more films from the European Tour to follow next time. By the way it should be understood that unless I say otherwise all the films listed here are currently available as DVDs. So getting them in the same quality as I review should be eminently possible.  Have fun. 

If you have any news / copies of films that have not been listed please don’t be shy, tell me, or Vygi about them!
 

01-10-00               MUNSTER, GERMANY                                                                120.00

Duncan & Brady / John Brown / Visions Of Johanna / One Too Many Mornings / Tangled Up In Blue /Searching

For A Soldier / Country Pie / Standing In The Doorway /All Along The Watchtower / Dignity / Just Like A Woman / Drifters Escape / Leopardskin Pillbox Hat // Love Sick / Like  A Rolling Stone / If Dogs Run Free / Things Have Changed / I Shall Be Released / Highway 61 Revisited / Blowin In The Wind 

From Days gone by this was/is a nice clear steady view. Could be a bit closer for interests sake but well watchable and a good show too. First outing for If Dogs Run Free, if my memory serves me well. Looks nice and sharp and I believe is from the original source so one to get. Nice professional looking menus too.

20-04-02               MILAN, ITALY                                                                             114.00

Hummingbird (inst) (s) / Times They Are A Changin / Its Alright Ma / Love Minus Zero / Solid Rock / Positively Fourth Street / Lonesome Day Blues / Stuck Inside Of Mobile / Visions Of Johanna / Masters Of War / Boots Of Spanish Leather / Summer Days / Make You Feel My Love / Wicked Messenger / Leopardskin Pillbox Hat /// Not Fade Away / Like A Rolling Stone / Knockin On Heaven's Door / Honest With Me / Blowin In The Wind / All Along The Watchtower (s) 

Ok here’s the weird one. We all know the story I’m sure. Someone reputedly throws a lit cigarette on stage which hits Bob, he then pulls back. Well I cannot say we see this but Dylan plainly refuses to move to the mike on Hummingbird, turning it into an instrumental (which the crowd still applaud) Sexton is shaking his head and pacing the stage throughout. By track two the mike is pulled way back so that Dylan is, I guess, out of range? He stays back here and in order to make himself  less of a target the lights are dropped a lot. The pic above is during Hummingbird, the  rest of the set is much darker. However he must have warmed as the lights are back to near normal for the encores, he even blows a kiss after “Wind” and goes on one knee for a bow after “Watchtower”. This isn’t a great video, but it’s a helluva amusing video to watch!

There  has been a previous short film from this show, but this is the first virtually complete video recording.
 

12-08-03               HAMMERSTEIN BALLROOM  NYC                                        110.00

Silvio / I Don’t Believe You / Tweedle Dum  / It Ain’t Me Babe / Things Have Changed / Watching the River Flow / Love Sick / Highway 61 Revisited / Make You Feel My Love (s) / Drifters Escape / Moonlight / Honest With Me / It's All Over Now Baby Blue / Summer Days ///  Like A Rolling Stone / All Along The Watchtower 

This was a great show, Dylan is ducking and diving and really getting into it. A joy to see actually. However there  are a  few teething problems with the video, which if ironed out would make it much better. First there are no chapter divisions, it plays as one track, poor by today's standards. Secondly the sound has been redubbed but in a few places not totally accurately (though not far off)  Don’t let me stop you watching it as its well worth seeing. The taper over zooms a bit at times, a common fault in this digital age, which results in a slightly grainy pic. But there’s good panning and its such a nice show that the faults do not much detract.
 

13-08-03               HAMMERSTEIN BALLROOM  NYC                                         110.00

Tombstone Blues / If You See Her Say Hello / Tweedle Dum / You Ain’t Goin Nowhere // Things Have Changed / Most Likely You’ll Go Your Way / Its Alright Ma / Highway 61 Revisited / Desolation Row / The Wicked Messenger / Every Grain Of Sand / Honest With Me / Don’t Think Twice/ Summer Days ///  Like A Rolling Stone / All Along The Watchtower 

Night two and another great show, Dylan is once more ducking and diving though you have to say with less enthusiasm.  Not so the taper, this is a  better effort than the 12th  a few teething problems are less evident. First there are now chapter divisions, but not in the right places. Dividing the video up into 3 parts (probably as it was shot) may mean that some DVD players will not advance from part 1 to part 2 automatically The sound has probably  been rudubbed but better this time But the image is sharper and the zooming less grainy, and Bob does some great harmonica work, and Every Grain is just spot on!!!  This is certainly one to locate.
 

20-08-03               HAMMERSTEIN BALLROOM  NYC                                         110.00

Maggies Farm / Senor / Tweedle Dum / Watching The River Flow / Things Have Changed / Highway 61 Revisited /  This Wheels On Fire / You Ain’t Goin Nowhere / Just Like Tom Thumbs Blues / Cold Irons Bound / Hattie Carroll / Honest With Me / Mr Tambourine Man / Summer Days /// Like A Rolling Stone / All Along The Watchtower / Rainy Day Women 

Night three was a bit delayed due to a rather large power cut, but our man is again on form, taper and artiste that is.  and another great show, Dylan is once more very lively. Sadly the teething problems are back no chapter divisions and a slightly too grainy pic from zealous zooming in poor light. The sound has probably  been redubbed but seems ok.
 

02-11-03               MILAN, ITALY                                                                               100.00

To Be Alone With You / Its All over Now, Baby Blue / Cry Awhile / Desolation Row / Its Alright Ma / Boots Of Spanish Leather / Things Have Changed / Dignity / Hattie Carroll / Tweedle Dum & Tweedle Dee / Honest With Me / Every Grain Of Sand / Summer Days /// Cats In The Well / Like A Rolling Stone / All Along The Watchtower 

The same venue as the weird “who threw the cigarette show?” from last year. This is a much more orderly event. Dylan gives a professional if  familiar performance, he seems to be giving Freddie Koella a lot of scope here too. One question this show raises is that you can clearly see Dylan fiddling with lyric sheets throughout the show. So if he was using them this far back in the tour, why did the setlists not change sooner?  Was it deliberately planned. Or is he just an awkward bugger (surely not!?)

Till Next Time