BANGOR – Tuesday night’s performance by Willie Nelson at the Bangor Auditorium certainly had all the ambience and atmosphere of a concert, but at times it seemed to play second fiddle to everything else going on.

It was almost as if the 4,000-plus fans went to a concert and a swap meet, tribute, photo op, and/or send-off party broke out.

Sure, 73-year-old Willie Hugh Nelson wowed fans – the vast majority of whom were over the age of 30 – with his dulcet tones and easy-on-the ears melodies and vocals, but there was so much more happening.

At first, fans converged on center stage en masse to snap photos, drop off gifts or tokens of their appreciation, or simply tell or show the musical legend how much they love his music. But after security personnel broke up the throng, fans came down front a few at a time to pay tribute by showering him with stuffed animals, flowers, artwork, clothing, and even money (perhaps to help with his widely-reported, decade-old tax problems).

Nelson even turned the 30-song show into a pseudo-swap meet at times, trading his cowboy hat a couple times for those of fans, exchanging his trademark bandanas for shirts and one particularly striking Navajo-themed jacket with a colorful symbol on the back, and T-shirts for other items.

Nelson also just gave stuff away outright, throwing his black leather cowboy hat six rows into the middle of the floor section seats, causing an intense but brief scuffle for the ultimate souvenir, and a pair of “straw” cowboy hats to adoring fans as well.

While showing appreciation for the gifts and accolades, Nelson still kept his attention on the business at hand, playing music and singing lyrics that the majority of fans in attendance could recite by heart. The show included classics as “Crazy,” originally written for Patsy Cline; “Help Me Make It Through the Night,” “Blue Eyes Crying in the Rain,” “Good Hearted Woman,” “Mammas Don’t Let Your Babies Grow Up to Be Cowboys,” “Blue Skies,” “On the Road Again,” “Always on My Mind” and “You Don’t Know Me.”

Dressed simply in a black T-shirt and jeans with his red, white, and blue guitar strap and a well-worn, beat-up and marred guitar that sounded clean and perfect but looked like it had been run over by a garbage truck, Nelson appeared to be well in his element. His patriotism was evident. A miniature American flag fluttered on stage in front of a giant Texas flag unfurled behind the stage as a huge backdrop.

The concert even resembled a religious revival when the Country Music Hall of Fame member played “I Saw the Light” and “Will the Circle be Unbroken?” causing fans to again swarm up from the their seats, flood the center and side aisles on the floor and dance.

About the only complaint fans could have about this show was the lack of an encore, but with 30 songs played over two hours with no breaks, that seemed like a minor critique at best. No one was leaving with anything but a smile this night.

Opening act Dickey Betts, a founding member of The Allman Brothers Band, delivered a solid, seven-song set capped by “Ramblin’ Man,” the huge hit he wrote for the Allmans. Fortunately for fans, being fired from the band in 2000 hasn’t kept him from performing the hits he created for it. Betts later joined Nelson for the main show’s last seven songs and the two proved that old musicians never fade away, they just end things on a different note.

Andrew Neff can be reached at aneff@bangordailynews.net.