Full house for Mr. Dylan last night in the venerable Thomas Wolfe Auditorium
in Asheville, where they've patched up most but not all of the water seepage
perpetually coming through.  Ensconced behind that protective wall of piano
and obscured in the dim light, Dylan's iconic ball of hair moved to a strong, 
piano-thumping Watching The River Flow.

Some nice spiraling piano work on You Go Your Way. Caught a new lyric
"you were moving way too slow."  Can't see the artist in dim light, but you 
can project onto that fuzzy shape all the memories of a timeless career.

Multitudes didn't quite land.  False Prophet kicked the show into gear, 
followed by a short trip to center stage for a mute hello.  Man he's thin. 
He did his little stage-shuffle-step as he headed back to his zone behind 
the piano.

Harmonica solo (seated) opened Masterpiece which had a couple of new
lines but wasn't sung with a lot of conviction.  Started to think that yeah 
maybe he's got a cold.  Voice was compromised somehow.

Favorites of the night were the moody new ones, Black Rider, Own 
Version of You - excellent - and Crossing the Rubicon.  Bob has stories to 
tell and he really put himself into these great lyrics.  Rubicon felt so 
personal, so mortal.  "Not gonna get involved in the insignificant details" 
popped up one verse too soon in Own Version of You -- you could feel 
Dylan realize that and hesitate just before he sang it, but I guess there 
wasn't anywhere else to go and so we got it twice.  

Key West was a let-down, drained of mystery by the new version that
jams a conventional melody onto the original flowing rumination.  I don't 
know how the musicians can deliver whatever Bob's got in mind for this 
one cause it's all over the place.  Sounded more like an exploration of 
an idea than a song ready for performance.
 
Made Up My Mind won support from the crowd on "hope the gods go 
easy with me," again that frail brave intimacy from the artist.  His voice 
wasn't quite up to holding those high stretched-out notes on this one.

Jimmy Reed got a revamp - but sorry, I'll take the punch of the earlier 
version. This was toned-down and felt like change for the sake of 
change.  By the way thanks to Mark Thompson for unpacking those l
yrics on the Untold Dylan site-has really brought it to life for me.

Then a straight intro of the band, no local-themed patter.

After a moving and focused Every Grain of Sand, with beautiful piano 
break, the Asheville faithful stood for several minutes applauding in the 
dark, with only a few people moving to beat the traffic.

A poignant visit with the artist who's lit up my whole life.  Thank you, 
Bob Dylan, for making the trip.  

On the 3rd, and last, night of our mini North Carolina Bob Dylan tour my
girlfriend, Jacqueline, and I drove our rental car 2 hours west to
Asheville. Asheville seems like it may be a nice artsy city, but too many
bleeding heart policies allow the homeless, drug users, misfits and
general riff-raff to wonder/live on their streets. Just another liberal
utopian paradise of a city brought to you by progressive politicians.

We were fortunate enough to procure front row seats for the show... every
once in a while the stars align, and god bestows grace upon thee. The
Thomas Wolfe Auditorium is another nondescript venue, as were Charlotte
and Greensboro (all 3 N.C. Carolina theaters were bland and soulless
venues). If we were looking to see ornate and architecturally stunning
interiors for these three shows, then we would have been very
disappointed.

Tonight was a solid performance, not as good as Greensboro (hard to top
that one), but much better than Charlotte. Bob was in fine voice again and
the Band was really grooving tonight. The first half highlights for me
were I'LL BE YOUR BABY, TONIGHT, I CONTAIN MULTITUDES and FALSE PROPHET.
Second half highlights were the one-two punch of MY OWN VERSION OF YOU and
CROSSING THE RUBICON which are the linchpin of these shows for me... and
GOTTA SERVE SOMEBODY which absolutely ripped the place apart to a
thundering applause... kudos to Charley Drayton. Good crowd tonight...
good energy, although most stayed in their seats all evening... that's
always a shame during the upbeat numbers because the Band is usually
cooking up a storm. Most of the crowd seemed not to realize that JIMMY
REED and EVERY GRAIN OF SAND (beautiful rendition tonight) are the show
closers because almost no one was standing/dancing for these as usual
(it's especially unusual for the final song... I had never seen the crowd
sitting for the final song on any of my previous 69 shows... perplexing).

Said hi to Laurette before the show... we disagreed on which was the
stronger/weaker of the recent shows... we always did feel the same, we
just saw it from a different point of view. Met some Bobcats in the venue,
Sean from East Stroudsburg, PA (a big Bob fanboy) and Joe (I hate
Asheville) from Asheville... who let Jacqueline and I know that he hated
what has become of the once beautiful city that he lives in. Joe thought
it was a really good show tonight... he has been to over a hundred.. we
agreed it's not fair to compare one Bob era to another... just appreciate
that we still have a Bob era in which we can discuss the merits of his
shows. As Bob says. 'Don't look back'. To round out the social circuit we
spoke to Roger, Bob's watchman, before the show and wished him well on the
rest of the tour. Hope to see you in the fall Roger... call me for drinks
if you are in NYC.

All in all this was a great week for us... 2000 miles of driving...
three North Carolina cities and three Dylan shows with one standout
performance at Greensboro. Hope to see all you Bobcats in Fall 2022...
praying that Bob does another Northeast tour before the year is through.
You never know when the end will come, so I like to enjoy every show as if
it were the Last Waltz. That's why they call me the 'Dancing Cowboy from
NYC'.

If there is another show in town, Don't you miss it!

From Greensboro to Asheville April 2sd.
My good friends Jack Fate and Kim will pick me up at my motel for a ride 
to Asheville. They offer me brunch at the Waffle house.
We arrive at 2.30pm at my Hostel to check in. Then we go to visit the 
Thomas Wolf museum.
Great time!

After another cup of coffee we move to the venue.
Asheville is a pleasant little town. Seem to be on the "hippy" kind of town. 
And I'm on the suspense kind of mood. My experience is that the so called 
"hippies" might not be the most generous or open minded. :(
Few youngest are looking for tickets but it's not easy to find a good 
Samaritan :)
Tonight my priority is not even to get a ticket for the show but a ride to 
Chattanooga.
For some reason I don't quite understand there is no public transportation 
to get out of Asheville on April 3rd. No bus or train of any kind. The 
Greyhound leaving on the 4th  takes 14 hours with two transfers. :(
No way I can make it to the show.
I feel so stupid that I didn't anticipate the problem. I feel in an anxious 
mood all day long in Asheville.
I write a note "I need a ride to Chattanooga" and ask the fans arriving at 
the venue if any are going to Chattanooga. It seems that no one had plan 
to reach Chattanooga :) (or is willing to help :( )
Jack Fate buy me a ticket for Asheville show. 
For my birthday. Thank you Dave.
I keep on searching for a ride until the last moment.

I finally take my seat inside the venue.
I know Bob will be good tonight. He has to be!
I need comfort. I need to put myself all together.
8.00pm Bob is on.
The public is up. Good sign.
And right away the sound is excellent.
And it is one of the best show since Phoenix.
Could not be more perfect.
I even appreciate "Mother of muses".
Bob moves center after four of his songs. And the public is up and wild.
He did a long intro on "when I paint my Masterpiece"soooo great!
I'm on the road for Bob Dylan and a good show is all I'm looking for.
I've been on the road for a month now and it is my only priority to 
reach the next town for the next show. I have no where going home !
I thank all the people helping me...to move on.
I sell some of my prints. It's not only for money but also for my self 
esteem. Two or three fans recognize me for my reviews.
So I can say objectively that Bob Dylan was in a good mood and his 
performance was excellent in Asheville.

I need to make it to Chattanooga...and I will!