Live In Atlantic City 2010 (Highway HW-057/58)
Borgata Hotel Casino & Spa Event Center, Atlantic City, NJ – November 26th, 2010
Disc 1 (49:53): Gonna Change My Way Of Thinking, Girl Of The North Country, Beyond Here Lies Nothin’, Just Like A Woman, The Levee’s Gonna Break, Most Likely You Go Your Way (And I’ll Go Mine), My Wife’s Home Town, Desolation Row
Disc 2 (57:55): Cold Irons Bound, Shelter From The Storm, Highway 61 Revisited, Nettie Moore, Thunder On The Mountain, Ballad Of A Thin Man, Jolene, Like A Rolling Stone
Live In Atlantic City 2010 documents Bob Dylan’s November 26th show at the Borgata Hotel Casino & Spa. The tape is thick with the bass frequencies, but clear and highly enjoyable.
This is the penultimate show in 2010, followed only by the concert in Mashantucket, CT and documented on A Different Set Of Rules (GR 610/611). About half of the Atlantic City show appears on the Godfather as bonus tracks. Highway use the same tape as Godfather for Live In Atlantic City 2010.
Eyewitness reviews call this an exciting show, compared to the rather boring performance in West Long Branch. While that assessment is overtly harsh, (the Monmouth University show isn’t that bad), Atlantic City is treated to a more interesting setlist and overall performance.
“Gonna Change My Way Of Thinking” opens the show, as it does for all the concerts in the final week, and is followed by only the eighth and final performance of “Girl Of The North Country” in 2010. While the and are quite gentle with the arrangement, Charlie Sexton plays a strange, out-of-tune solo in the middle.
“Beyond Here Lies Nothin'” sounds very loud and powerful with the trumpet blasts in the melody. The unprepared audience give it a loud ovation.
“The Levee’s Gonna Break” elicits another reaction, with people by the taper saying “that was swing music, like our parents.” They follow with “Most Likely You Go Your Own Way (And I Go Mine).” During the middle improvisation they get into a few bars of “Good Lovin'” by The Rascals.
There are also several startling performances of “Desolation Row” and a country/ western tinged “Shelter From The Storm.” Sexton does a nice Les Paul imitation in the instrumental breaks as he duets with Dylan on the organ.
A somber “Nettie Moore” and “Thunder On The Mountain” provide a double dose of Modern Times before the set closes with “Ballad Of A Thin Man.” Two encores, “Jolene” and “Like A Rolling Stone” close out the concert.
This show is good enough to deserve its own release. Live In Atlantic City 2010 is a very good CDR title by Highway which is worth having.
