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Posted on Mon, Sep. 06, 2004 By TIMOTHY FINN The Kansas City Star The “dream” in this “Field of Dreams Tour” was the lineup: a murderer's row of the two largest living legends in popular music. And given the state of baseball these days, you could say both men represent America better than its bloated, greedy pastime. The stage for this show was in the outfield of Community America Ballpark, where the Kansas City T-Bones play. Saturday's show was the 22nd and final in the Bob Dylan/Willie Nelson summer tour of minor league parks — their way of hitting smaller towns, including Cooperstown, N.Y. To their credit, they charged minor-league prices. Now $45 plus service charges isn't peanuts, Cracker Jacks or chicken feed, but compared to the outrageous prices for other summer tours (that would be yours, Sting), this show was a bargain. The highlights came early and fast. The Hot Club of Cowtown ended its set with a flurry: A scalding version of “Orange Blossom Special,” featuring the frenetic Elana Fremerman on fiddle. Then Nelson came out and took lead vocals on “Please Don't Talk About Me When I'm Gone.” He turned 71 in April, but Nelson was in remarkably good form on Saturday, whether he was playing his battered guitar or singing one of his own classic songs. His set lasted 70 minutes and he stuffed it with nearly two dozen songs. Except for the “Crazy”/“Night Life” medley, which got a little sloppy as they jazzed it way up, the entire set was strong. The better moments: “Whiskey River,” “Mamas Don't Let Your Babies Grow Up To Be Cowboys” and “Georgia On My Mind” plus his covers of “Pancho and Lefty” and “Me and Bobby McGee.” Several times Nelson turned the show over to someone else in the band, including his blues harpist Mickey Raphael and Nelson's son (and guitarist) Luke, who played a respectable cover of Stevie Ray Vaughn's “Texas Flood.” The last time Dylan was in town, he put on a show for the ages at the Uptown Theater. Saturday's didn't live up to that one, primarily because Dylan's voice was thin and ragged, especially when he dipped into his lower register. He came out, took a seat at the keyboards and opened with a raw and hard version of “Maggie's Farm,” which seemed to sap a lot of juice out of his voice — it was his second show in two nights. As usual, his band picked him up, especially instrumentalist Larry Campbell and monster drummer George Receli. As has been his custom the past several years, Dylan profoundly refashioned some of his material, especially “Stuck Inside of Memphis…” and “Positively 4th Street,” which was recognizable only by its lyrics. Nelson came out and joined Dylan on “Heartland,” and Fremerman came out and added some furious rock-blues licks on the instrumental break in “Highway 61 Revisited.” Another highlight: “Honest With Me,” from his album of choice this evening, “Love and Theft.” Dylan ended with his usual encore: “Like a Rolling Stone” and “All Along the Watchtower,” both of which started some hippie dancing in the outfield. This might be the last time these two tour together, but as sure as it gets muggy in the summer, they'll be around again separately. Dylan especially knows that lo these 40 years later, if he sings, they will come. |