From Birmingham to Mobile. April 6th.
Stefano is driving the pickup we rented. With Mauro we are now a party 
of three. We will go straight to Mobile and check in a beautiful hotel 
downtown, only two blocks from the Saenger theater.  We walk the 
streets of Mobile. They are empty and quiet that day.
Nothing much is happening. 

April 7th.
Stefano is looking for cheese cake for breakfast. We find a tea restaurant 
and we have a gorgeous "collation", as they say in Italian.

The three Bob Dylan trucks are aligned behind the Saenger. At 8.00 am 
the BD crew start pulling and rolling the materiel out.
We walk the streets of Mobile, still empty.
By 3.00pm. I meet with my friend Corky and I "exchange" my two Italian 
friends for an American gentleman. :)
Corky and I check in a hotel in the north part of Mobile as my Italian 
friends will be leaving this country after the Mobile show and their third 
show on that Tour. I keep on keeping on.

By 6.00pm I am by the Saenger theater, loaded with a new bunch of 
prints. I sell some right away as fans recognize me from my reviews. Cool! 
I start being famous.:) I hope that never, never I will become paranoid :) :( 
Fame is a bitter/sweet feeling.
Corky transfers a ticket for me on my phone.
I enter the theater in a great mood. I'm sure Bob will be in a good spirit 
as well.

8.00pm sharp. He is on.
The small 2000 capacity theater is full.
The crowd seems in average 50s or more.
I know my friend John Paul brought his three children to see Bob Dylan. :)
Right away the show is good. The audience is up for few minutes in 
"Watching the river flow" but the ushers signal to seat down.
I am on the aisle and there will be movements during the entire show. 
People just can't stay still for 69 minutes of show :(
Also people ... talk. Creating disturbance. 
I focus on the stage. Bob is happy, moving center stage often for a long 
pause. The fist 6 rows are lighted. He can see the few fans in front 
moving on the rythme of the music.
One Lady is particularly inspired in front left. The seat next to her is empty.
In the past I would have moved there. But...those days are gone:(
I often watch Charley Drayton on drums. Doug is hidden behind Bob.
Before the show I bumped into Bob Britt and said "hi!". He seemed 
surprised someone could recognize him. He smiled.
"When I paint my Masterpiece" is great with the new line
-someday everything gonna sound like a RAPSODY when I paint my 
Masterpiece -
By the time he hits "Key west" some people are leaving. The talking 
Ladies next to Corky leave. We are relieved
After "I've made up my mind to give myself to you" Bob takes a long 
pause standing front. So did he after "Crossing the Rubicon". He new 
he nailed down that song :)
At some point he even murmured "thank you".
I answer "Thank YOU!".
And surprise ...he starts "To be alone with you" on harmonica. Great.
"Jimmy Reed" is powerful again.
He says - "thank you everybody. Let me introduce my Band. On drums 
Charley Drayton.
Playing on the other set of drums Doug Lancio" oops! No "on guitar".
Then he murmurs something about 'Mardi gras' and says something like
"'Mardi gras' started here. It should be bring back in that city."
Bobby's talkative tonight :)

The crowd spilling out seems satisfied. I sell more of my prints. A way 
to go on farther on that " rough and rowdy ways" 'till 2024.:)
Thank you all the good people.

See you all in Meridian..for a Miracle ticket.

I just saw the best rock n roll concert I can imagine.  I’ve been a
regular at Bob Dylan concerts since my first in 1978, and I’ve been a
rocker with everyone who rocks to rock n roll!  That first Dylan show was
a really good one at the LSU Assembly Center. The show I saw in Mobile
Alabama 4-7-22 was the greatest performance I’ve ever seen, by anyone. 
Where to start – at the beginning of course.  The sound and the audience
were somewhat slow at first but quickly began to build.  I saw this tour
stop in Shreveport about 3 wks ago and was disappointed in the vibe and
with the audience.  The audience could have been the same in Mobile, but
the response was completely different after it got started.  The audience
got into it and hooted and hollered the rest of the way, but respectfully.
 It didn’t take long for this one to grow exponentially into Dylan at his
very best.  This band and its repertoire has (I hate to say this) gelled. 
They’ve gotten together! I can’t pick anything out, but it was rock at its
finest.  No Tony on “bowed”stand up bass, there was no room for such
niceties.  The whole thing was a singular performance, nothing left out,
nothing added but intensity, and no real break from one song to another. 
You could tell that by the fact it ended after 1 hr. 45 min. I couldn’t
take any more anyway.  If there was a climax it came in the middle of
Gotta Serve Somebody in which the two guitarists Bob Britt and Doug Lancio
dueled in a fantastic bridge.  The lighting was perfect and added alot in
itself.  Between Britt and Lancio was a 2x6-shaped red line connecting
them. I thought the stage would levitate.  But that peak did not end
there, it continued. I was sitting on the edge of my seat, couldn’t lean
back. The next 3 songs are I’ve Made Up My Mind…., Melancholy Mood and
Mother of Muses, all sort of ballad sounding songs on the studio album.  I
don’t think I can listen to the album cuts again after this (although I
admit I have, I may put it away). The show was at a climax that didn’t
end.  Everything was at the top of the mountain and wouldn’t come down. 
Bob’s enunciation of lyrics was at its best.  If you knew the words you
could follow everything he sang.  There is not a rocker anywhere who can
match Dylan at 80!  Goodbye Charlie, goodbye Larry!  This could take
anyone to school.  I really hope Bob’s company is making good videos of
his shows.  We’ll want to see and hear it again!

Every Grain of Sand seems now to be accepted as everyone’s favorite
finale.  No LARS in sight and I didn’t hear anyone complain afterward. 
The show ended with a standing ovation that was the first real one from an
audience I’ve seen in years.  Some still didn’t get what had just
happened, but most did.  This was not perfunctory, it was a – we mean
it!!! – genuine standing ovation for a virtuoso performance.   There were
some empty seats in the under 2000 capacity Saenger Theater and anyone
within driving distance who missed it…sadly missed it!  It’s the kind of
thing that happens rarely.  Every show I see from now on will be judged by
this one.  Don’t miss the tour while you have a chance.

PS. Bob had some friendly interaction with an audience member right after
the band introductions.  If someone can tell us what was went on, please
do.

Dan McKay
Out in the country in central
Louisiana