Bob Dylan came to Lafayette, was seen, conquered and left

My expectations for the October 16 show in Lafayette, Louisiana were high for a number of reasons.

One reason is the roller coaster days of his shows seem to be over. Instead, according to reviews, he has found a way to infuse older songs as well as newer numbers, with an inspired energy, possibly inspired by the may Frank Sinatra interpretations he has recorded. Also, this was the first time I was going to enjoy Dylan at a concert hall, built for musical performances, instead of in big ice hockey barns, or outdoors.
The Heyman Performance Center seats about 1,500. Most of those tickets were gone within an hour after Ticketmaster released the tickets.
The view from the balcony was pretty good, and we could look down at a dimly lit stage with instruments waiting for their players.
At 8 p.m. the lights faded out, music, perhaps by Copeland, was played and we could see five shadows enter the stage.
First number out was Things Have Changed. Bob's vocal were low in the mix, but  this was adjusted after a few words. "I used to care, but things have changed", Bob sang, but I think that was a little white lie.
Dylan seemed to be on  task behind the piano. He was sitting mostly through the song. However, towards the end he got up, and made a couple of careful dance moves as the music intensified. A great performance and a great opening number.
In the next number, It Ain't Me Babe, Dylan showed his age, and I mean that in a positive way. He transformed from the restless youth he was when he wrote the number some 54 years ago, to an experienced man, explaining to his partner why he wasn't the man she was looking for. For me it was the first goose bump number of the evening, but far from the last. I couldn't help but becoming emotional. As Bob sang, teardrops fell.
After that number an inspired Highway 61 rocked the concert hall. Hwy 61 was where it all began for Bob, as he dreamed about going south from Minnesota, towards the Mississippi Delta and Louisiana. Dylan and the band just nailed the performance on this one.
Things slowed down once again as Bob told us about the Simple Twist of Fate. As Bob sang, and sometimes recited the lyrics, I couldn't help bu envision an old man sitting on a park bench somewhere, explaining to someone younger about life's twists and turns. A magnificent performance by Bob and the band. For the first time this evening, Bob picked up a harmonica, cheered on by the enthusiastic and respectful crowd. Another goose bump moment.
I had already shed a few tears, but for the fifth number it was time to Cry A While. Bob's band turned the song from his Love And Theft album to a heavy rocker. It probably was a standard performance, but Dylan's standard these days is much higher than other artists' average.
Then Bob took us on a trip on a a dirty gondola and also on a plane ride so bumpy that he almost died. The Band's original recording recording  from 1971 of When I Paint My Masterpiece is a classic, and hard to re-imagine,yet Bob Dylan did a good job of it when he told us about the  rubble filled streets of Rome, clergymen in Brussels and more. I came to think about someone sitting alone in a hotel room, writing a letter to a friend, describing his adventures on a tour in Europe. He makes a big promise in that letter, everything is going to be different when he paints that masterpiece. We know now that that masterpiece could be anything from poetry, paintings, or welded art.
Between each song, the lights dimmed and Dylan left the piano and sipped on something, possibly his own brand of bourbon, Heaven's Door. My wife asked me after the show, "Why do you think it was bourbon and not water in that cup?' I said, "I prefer to believe it was bourbon he sipped on."
Another blues rocker followed as Dylan asked us, Be Honest with Me.
For the next number, the tempo slowed down a bit again as Dylan explained how he was Trying To Get to Heaven. "I've been all around the world, boys. Now I'm trying to get to heaven before they close the door."
Dylan had stayed behind the piano so far, sometimes sitting sometimes standing, while making a few dance moves with his feet which was revealed by the shiny his white boots.
When the lights came back on Dylan was center stage, looking vulnerable as he grabbed the microphone stand with both hands. Longtime bass player Tony Garnier switched from his electric bass, to an acoustic one. Steel guitar player Donnie Herron picked up a banjo. Scarlet Town, recited by Dylan, was a one of many highlights this evening. "In Scarlet Town, you fight your father's foes, Up on the hill, a chilly wind blows You fight 'em on high and you fight 'em down in,You fight 'em with whiskey, morphine and gin." A top notch performance of Bob and the four-piece band. Extra drama was added by Tony Garnier as he used a bow on his bass.
A solid Pay In Blood followed with the poignant line : "I  pay in blood, but not my own.
Familiar chords followed for the next number and the crowd answered with the loudest cheer so far this evening. "Once upon a time you dressed so fine, threw the bums a dime in your prime, didn't you?" Dylan and the band managed to reinvent the song a bit by slowing down parts of the verse before excellent drummer, George Recile set things straight, so to speak, by accelerating the tempo for the refrain. "How does it feel to be on your own, Like A Rolling Stone?" Majestic!
Before asking us not to think twice, Bob told stories about Early Roman Kings. "I ain't dead yet, my bell still rings!" exclaimed the 77-year old Nobel Prize Laureate.
Don't Think Twice, It's Alright was a masterful performance. Bob Dylan at the piano, while the band added almost not audible ambience to the song. "It ain't no use in  turning on the light babe, the light I never knowed, because he was on the dark side of the road" Dylan explained to us. For every verse the band added more instrumentation. Bob also added harmonica, while investigating every corner of the melody with this instrument. For the last verse, drummer George Recile laid out a soft shuffle beat, using whisks. The band including the harmonica playing keyboardist, played the song so beautifully. Goose bums again and more goose bumps followed.
The familiar opening chord of Love Sick played as Dylan took center stage again. The scene lights transformed the stage to an empty street lit up by street light as Dylan gave us the picture. "walking through streets that are dead, walking with you in my head." The band added more drama as the lonesome singer confided to us that he was sick of love. Last verse, say no more: "The silence can be like thunder, sometimes I want to take to the road of plunder. Could you ever be true? I think of you and I wonder. I'm sick of love, I wish I'd never met you. I'm sick of love, I'm tryin' to forget you. Just don't know what to do, I'd give anything to be with you."
Love Sick was one of the best Dylan performances I have never heard at the seven concerts I have attended (so far).
It's a hard number to follow, and Dylan and the band played it safe by performing a rather anonymous version of Thunder On The Mountain. However the last 20 seconds or so of the song literally exploded and gave room for George Recile to show his drum skills.
Soon After Midnight followed. Ever since I heard this song on Dylan's last (?) album of self-penned songs, Tempest, I have always considered this to be an homage to Dylan's buddy, Abbeville's own Bobby Charles. It is something with the melody and the phrasing of the lyrics. I will of course never get a confirmation regarding this but I prefer to think so.
The regular concert came and went with a rollicking version of Gotta Serve Somebody. A great version of from Dylan;s these days re-evaluated catalogue of Gospel songs. "Might be the Devil, might be the lord, but you gotta serve somebody."
The music ended, Dylan stepped out on stage, took a bow (not Tony's) and left. The band left with him. It was dark for a few minutes, while the crowd cheered for more.
The quintet returned, Donnie Harron grabbed a violin and played the familiar tones of Blowing In the Wind, the first of two encores. A beautiful version, which  brought out one of the louder cheers of the evening.
Second encore was Ballad of A Thin Man,
delivered with great dedication from all involved.  When Dylan sang bout Mr. Jones giving checks to tax-deductible charity organizations emphasized the phrasing on letters t,d,c, and to a comical effect, it was a lovely way to finish a wonderful concert. Dylan once again took center stage, stared out towards the audience, bowed a couple of times with the band (George Recile-drums, Tony Garnier-bass, Donnie Harron, steel guitar/guitar/banjo/violin, Charlie Sexton-guitar) lined up with him, and disappeared without a word, just as expected. I wonder if there is a touring artist who can match the four guys Bob Dylan tours with? I haven't mentioned Charlie Sexton, too much, but what a great guitar player he is!
As we made it outside and were walking towards our car, the two tour buses rolled by us and disappeared behind a curve. Dylan was already out of the concert hall heading towards Mobile Alabama, for Wednesday's show. A restless man with a restless soul had finished another day on the job.