I first saw Bob Dylan at the Carolina Coliseum in Columbia in 1988. My seat was facing the stage but at the back of the room. Steel Pulse opened for him. They were a reggae band. I hadn't heard much of that music before, but I really liked it. When Dylan hit the stage, he was great! I knew all of his songs and sang along with him. I couldn't help to think about all the artists he had been associated with including The Beatles. I was in a part of Heaven that night.
The next time I saw him was around 1997 at the Township Auditorium in Columbia. Once again, my seat faced the stage but was in the back of the room. Everyone around me, including me, danced to the music. I almost threw out a hip dancing. It was magical. After the show, I saw his tour bus pulling out of the parking lot. I got to my car and chased to catch up to it. I ran red lights through the Columbia city streets and was going 70mph to get to it. Just before it got to the freeway, I was behind it. I knew they were heading to Knoxville, TN next. My goal was to get there with them. As we got out of town, I realized that I was running out of gas. I wasn't going to be able to go with them to Knoxville. I pulled alongside of his bus and honked my horn. Dylan looked out of the window. I threw my hands up in the air, and he waved at me. The car was running on empty, and I got to a gas station on fumes, but it was worth it.
The next time I saw Dylan was around 2015 at the Township. I had a seat parallel to the stage, so I couldn't see much. There was a man in a row ahead of mine who was playing games on an iPad rather than grooving to the music. Why go to a concert, if you aren't going to pay attention to it? Dylan played a bunch of standards and Earl Slick was in his band. He had played guitar with a lot of people including David Bowie and John Lennon.
The last time I saw Dylan was in 2022 at the Township. I had a seat facing the stage from the balcony. I had found, from going to other concerts there, that the balcony facing the stage was the best. You could see everything without worrying about people standing up in front of you on the floor. By now, he was mostly sitting behind a piano rather than playing the guitar. His voice was not as strong, but you could still understand the words some. He played songs from a new album. One of the songs was called "Crossing the Rubicon". I wasn't familiar with it, but when I heard the lyrics, I wept. I knew this would probably be the last time I would be in the presence of the great Bob Dylan. The song touched my heart in ways that I had not felt in a long time. It was a very sad and beautiful moment in my life.
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