A fascinating summer not just for Bob Dylan, but Paul Simon. The two make for an unlikely pairing but in this Summer of 1999 show, they prove their dedication to the stage, their shared love of classic tracks and songs of the old days. Dylan takes to covers and classics with a spritely dedication, shedding the indifference of previous decades’ performances. Hallelujah, indeed. His Bluegrass opener is not just a cover to warm the crowd but a chance for Dylan to confirm he is, definitively, ready for work. That may be a surprise to some but for others, it served as a chance to hear Dylan was reinvigorated by great works of original quality. Though they, and Simon, may not appear until later in the show, Summer of 1999 is a shocking, hits-laden set which features as many rarities as a slice of Toad’s Place New Haven.
Build the live experience of this one at home for Mr. Tambourine Man. If you can, somehow, pair the cold conditions of your living room with the scent of borderline expired beer, you can make the most of the erratic and unsettled crowd. They calm down later in the show, but those moments of disregard for the stage show dig up horrific memories of the Rough and Rowdy Ways shows, where walkouts were the worst part of the evening not for Dylan, but for those having to shuffle their eyes around those leaving. Still, at least you can sit and listen to Summer of 1999. Lend your eyes to the solid video featured too, though. Summer of 1999 has Dylan ripping a few notes on guitar, shaking his leg like a half-frozen Elvis Presley. But that swagger does not matter, Summer of 1999 is a tremendous show, ripped from an even better tour.
The fact Simon shows up for The Sound of Silence at the end is neither here nor there. An immaculate song where he and Dylan share those same songwriting fundamentals, but the bulk of the action is in the progression from hit to hit heard in the main body of the show. Delicate showcases of Girl from the North Country precede tremendous punches of Tangled Up in Blue and All Along the Watchtower, the latter more or less a staple from 1999 onwards. This is not just a traipse through the hits for Dylan, with Not Dark Yet and Love Sick providing some real highlights of this set. They are legendary in their own right, twenty-five years later, of course they are. But as the Time Out of Mind rips settle into place, it is tremendous to hear how well they fit in with the rest of those legacy songs.
There may just be ten minutes of work between Simon and Dylan, but the whoops from the crowd are enough to suggest how strong a collaboration it is. One of the greats for sure, and introduced as such. The Sound of Silence sounds excellent here and it gets even better when the pair covers I Walk the Line and Blue Moon of Kentucky. What a showcase it is, a much-loved double bill rounded off with Knockin’ on Heaven’s Door. A rare treat it is to hear extra artists add their sleight of hand to a Dylan track, but here it feels like Simon is a fresh-faced part of the band, following the charming work already built over the preceding hour and a half. He does not try and stand out and he is all the better for it. Summer of 1999 is a great listening experience which just happens to have a fantastic cameo from Simon.
