I unexpectedly attended Bob Dylan’s performance at the ExploreAsheville.com Arena in my hometown of Asheville, NC last night. I am fortunate to be covering the 2024 Big Ears Festival in Knoxville, TN this coming weekend (watch this space for my day-after reviews), so did not think that I would have the opportunity to take in this leg of Dylan’s Rough and Rowdy Ways World Wide Tour. Yet, there I was buying a single ticket at 6:30 pm EST, an hour and a half before scheduled kick-off.
I attended Dylan’s last concert in Asheville in 2022, and, comparing the two performances, there were definitely changes to the set and tone. Gone were the red curtains and white-lit floor that evoked a “red room” of Twin Peaks vibe. Instead, there were dark curtains and standing lights, straight out of a 1940s movie set. Dylan was located center stage on a baby grand piano. Though there were still spooky and noir-ish moments that echoed the overall mood of the 2022 performance, last night’s performance was quieter in volume, yet the music that Dylan and the band played seemed lighter and more joyous. Their approach incorporated many different sounds: roadhouse, noir, gospel, jazzbo/Beatnik spoken word poem recitation, sweet country, rockabilly, 50s kitsch, and on and on. Dylan’s two performances in Asheville – only two years apart with 98% of the same setlist – sounded unquestionably different. It’s still hard to conceive that he is out on the road at the age of 82, producing unusual, affecting, and affirming music every few nights. What a singular and remarkable artist.
Other highlights and stray observations from last night’s performance:
Dylan unveiled a new arrangement of “Gotta Serve Somebody.” Afterwards, there was plenty of speculation by the Dylan intelligentsia on hand about the source of the arrangement. Regardless, it’s easy to imagine an alternative timeline of Dylan performing this version with Carl Perkins.
I heard the beautiful solo piano rendition of Johnny Cash’s “Big River” from a few nights before in Fayetteville, NC. Dylan gave it the full band treatment in Asheville, and it suitably ripped.
Guitarist Bob Britt should get some kind of medal of distinction to honor his work subtly playing off of Dylan and routinely helping the band find a groove.
The “Istanbul (Not Constantinople)” arrangement of “When I Paint My Masterpiece” cooks.
“Goodbye Jimmy Reed” was remade into a 21st century version of “Outlaw Blues,” and I’m not complaining.
It’s been fascinating to track the evolution of “Black Rider” from the studio version on Rough and Rowdy Ways to various recordings on tour (especially this performance from Tokyo in 2023). Can I nominate the addition of echo on Dylan’s vocals during “Black Rider” for a 2024 Oscar for Best Sound?
I spotted a few bolo ties in the audience and one guy who looked an awful like the actor who played Buddy Garrity on the beloved Texas high school football drama/soap opera Friday Night Lights.
Both “I’ll Be Your Baby Tonight” and “To Be Alone with You” were exceptional. I’m gonna need this tape.
I can’t imagine the secret yet utter panic that Dylan band members must feel when they have no idea what chord they should be playing. What a tightrope walk it must be to follow Bob’s idiosyncratic playing!
“Key West” and “Every Grain of Sand” were exquisite and lovely.
Dylan played the harmonica three different times. Between that and the confidence of his piano playing, my wish for a solo piano record by Bob may come true one of these days.
I look forward to Dylan’s next visit to Asheville — at whatever age that will be — and seeing how his music will transform once again.
For more of my writing on Bob Dylan, check out the recently published “Late Cold War Style in Songwriting: 1978-1984” on Aquarium Drunkard. It examines the unsettled and anxiety-filled nature of the place-based songwriting of Warren Zevon, Bowie, John Cale, Dylan, and Donald Fagen during the winding down of the Cold War.
I also spent all of 2021 and some of 2022 writing thousands of words about 80 different Dylan songs. Find them all here.
Recliner Notes 
We, too, attended the Dylan concert in Asheville last night. We had excellent seats, but we feel that the concert would have been much better had there been a Jumbotron. His face was barely visible several rows back. Seeing an artist actually perform (facial expressions, etc) is important. We knew that he was not going to perform his big hits before arriving after reading other reviews in nearby cities; however, it was disappointing not to hear a few of his famous hits. We noticed many people leaving halfway through the concert. Perhaps they, too, wanted to hear the hits.
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Cool beans.
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I also attended the concert. but have a very different opinion. Dylan did not deliver.
He mumbled beyond his traditional vocal style, and the sound engineer couldn’t offset it. From a musical performance standpoint, there was an absence of diversity, the tempo in the full set with some exceptions were unchanging. The breaks all came back to Dylan instead of allowing the musicians in the band to connect with the audience. The music throughout the evening primarily supported his prose and poetry. As a musician and lifelong fan of Dylan I was supposed at the drone like temp of tunes that continued through out the evening. Fans were there to share at least a small representation of their shared musical memories. It didn’t happen. By and large a great poet, lyricist, but not a great musical performance for attendees. Many left early.
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We attended the concert in Asheville last night, and were among the many who walked out early. We knew that he wasn’t going to perform any of his older work, but we left because the audio was so bad as to make every word he sung or spoke unintelligible. It really was a complete waste of time and money.
This isn’t the first time we’ve been disappointed in a music act at the Cherokee Center. But for sure it’s the last time we will grace their doors.
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I saw Bob in Knoxville two years ago … band was tight .. comparing to last nights concert … I was disappointed … the acoustic in the venue were lacking … enjoyed seeing him … but I was one of the folks that left early … maybe just studio time is what is left for Bob
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Yeah, I was there, watchin the Boomers leave because the candy they wanted didn’t magically appear. I saw the usual, drunken Boomers loitering at the front of the stage before the staff did their job of quietly leading them away. Dylan was transcendent, his voice was clear from where I was sitting, and if you didn’t already know the lyrics after the album has been out for three years, why blame the audio system? Playing oldies isn’t Bob Dylan’s focus. My wife saw him in Atlanta in 1986 or 1987, and he didn’t play any of his well-known songs the way she expected. If it’s not a living thing, Bob Dylan won’t touch it. Time to wake up and feel the same way about your own life instead of complaining about your expectations being disappointed. Because with that attitude, they always will be.
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How neat! I hate i missed it
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