TORONTO -- Anyone who's witnessed Bob Dylan's extraordinary musical comeback of the last few years probably expected a lot from his concert last night at the Molson Amphitheatre.

Like I did, for example, having seen him turn in some truly thrilling shows on the heels of his Grammy Award-winning 1997 release,Time Out Of Mind .

But until the five-song-encore of his hour-and-45-minute performance, the 59-year-old legendary folkie seemed stuck in neutral, despite some solid musicianship by him and his excellent four-piece band, including Charlie "Cheekbones" Sexton on guitar. (Sexton was a budding star in his own right at one time.)

Inexplicably opening last night for Phil Lesh & Friends (Dylan and the former Grateful Dead bassist have been rotating headlining spots) Dylan was a man of few words.

He only muttered, and I do mean muttered, the occasional "Thank-you," and indecipherably introduced his band towards the end.

Even when he left the stage, Dylan stood stone-faced alongside his band members as the crowd (which included local folkies Gordon Lightfoot and Hayden) jumped to their feet while applauding and cheering in appreciation.

It's almost as if he's decided being detached is the way to go.

Oh, well.

At least, Dylan -- who along with Lesh didn't allow any cameras to take their pictures last night -- scored major points during the latter half of the evening as he performed some seldom played hits Lay Lady Lay and You Gotta Serve Somebody.

The guitar interplay between Dylan and multi-instrumentalist Larry Campbell was also impressive, particularly during Desolation Row, Tangled Up In Blue and Leopard-Skin Pillbox Hat, with Campbell particularly smoking on that last one.

Then came the encore.

Dylan, who occasionally brought out his harmonica, kicked things off with his newest song, Things Have Changed, from the excellent Wonderboys soundtrack. He then moved into classics from his nearly 40-year-old catalogue -- Like A Rolling Stone, Don't Think Twice, It's Allright, Highway 61 Revisited and Blowin' In The Wind.

If only the whole evening, which saw the pale-faced singer-songwriter in a retro suit perform in front of a ruffled ivory curtain, had gone as well.

As for the jam-oriented Lesh, his status amongst Deadheads lead to an abundance of tie-dyed shirts, Birkenstocks and crystal necklaces amongst the peace-sign- flashing, dance-happy crowd last.

One obvious Dead fan even hugged an usher who tried to move him out of the aisle where he was engaged in some serious interpretive dance moves.

JAM! Rating: 4 out of 5