Asheville to Nashville
Fun weekend in NC and TN. Concert in Asheville was as described by Ellen in her Asheville thread, familiar set lists, well performed as always, and well received by the audience on a Sunday night. The next night in Nashville, the core repertoire was reprised with several songs taken out of "cold storage" as Gordon describes it. The new songs that have already been mentioned on this site. The interesting thing was the magnitude of the audience response. Every song, new or old, hit or more remote selection, was instantly recognized at the first note or two and welcomed vociferously by the crowd. There were five standing ovations, after Wreck, Sundown, IYCRMM, Early Morning Rain, and SFAWN. The Nashville audience was so knowledgeable that they were actively singing along, (didn't fill in the blank on "over me" though), and screaming out with joy at times, thinking every joke and comment by Gordon was hilarious. Understandably, the Nashville fans particularly appreciate a good guitar player. Carter's solos were very well received, a few distinctive touches by Gordon were highly regarded, and a group of men that I was sitting near were commenting that Rick is one of the best bass players ever. Mike and Barry's performances were appreciated as well. The successive standing O's were having an increasing impact on Gordon and the band; even Mike, who is usually pretty cool when receiving acclaim, was smiling and laughing, as they all were. Their performance was their usual fine caliber, but the fanfare was way above and beyond. Anyway, the positive energy is infectious and elevates the whole evening to another level, another great memory. And that's how it was on Monday night on the Carefree Highway Tour.
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