[gene]

I've been tied up on work-related stuff since the concert, but I did want to offer a few final observations:

-- The auditorium is said to hold around 2,400 seats. They weren't all filled, but it wasn't that far from being a sellout, either.

-- You knew right away that you were in the company of a room-full of Lightfoot aficionados. During the songs (with the exception of a couple of brief clap-alongs), there was rapt attention and respectful silence, followed by thunderous applause. My wife and I had attended four Lightfoot concerts prior to this one, starting in 1974, and we couldn't recall another with this level of enthusiasm and artist / audience connection. He was as into it as we were.

-- His voice is different now, but his command of that voice is undiminished, absolute, and masterful.

-- As someone observed, the audience "skewed a little older," but we were a bit surprised at the representation of younger folks who attended. As a rough guesstimate, perhaps 20% or so of those around us might have been under 40.

-- A special moment occurred when he noted the presence in the audience of John Stockfish, who had played bass on his earlier albums. "A great bass player!" observed Lightfoot in his warm words of welcome.

He had never played Asheville before, but the area turned out to be a heckuva venue for him. Here's hoping he comes our way again soon.

Gene