When we arrived at the Georgia Mountain Center, we were a little shocked at the set up of the venue. The seating was quite odd ,very different than any other venue I had been to. The seats were not permanant seats there- just chairs they had set out. It was not a large venue by any means. But, this also meant that her sound would be pretty good! Before the show, we had discovered that Emory was there as well. I was ecstatic, as he had not been at any of my other shows this summer!
Patty hit the stage around 8:30, to everyone's delight. I was saddened to see that the place was not packed- but the people that did attend the show were true Patty fans. They cheered her on after every song, gave her three standing ovations, and hated to see the show end. Patty came out wearing her ever so classy black pantsuit that she wore to Renfro Valley this summer. After the first song, she proclaimed it was much to hot to wear the jacket and took the jacket off, as guys hooted and hollered.
I can honestly say that this was theMOST amazing show I have EVER seen Patty do. She was in absolute top notch. She nailed each and every song, her voice strained at no point during the show. Fans seemed to truly enjoy her older tunes- everyone ate up "Don't Toss Us Away", and "Timber I'm Falling In Love". She did "Don't Toss Us Away" with so much emotion and strength, I was in awe! I don't think I've quite seen her sound as amazing as she did this night. She had the same set list, with one happy surprise (which I'll get around to later in the review!). Jedd had changed his intro to "Halfway Down", which was also a nice surprise, and sounded great as usual. He is quite talented on the guitar, and after two years with Patty, it will be odd to have someone else doing his parts! Another high point was "On Your Way Home". She sounded magnificent. It was really great to get to see a show and FINALLY be able to have her say "I have a new album out". Her merchandise guy, Chris, had said he is selling the new cd's like crazy!
While doing her Mountain Soul set, Emory swapped places with Jimmy and took over the bass playing. The band sounded top notch, but you could simply tell that Emory was playing the bass, and it was absolutely perfect. The man is a musical genius, and it was wonderful to have him play! Before she introduced Emory, she said she had to say "Hello" to a couple girls down front. She then said "These two little girls are actually...my grandchildren! One of them is a great grandchild, if you can believe that!" She pointed to the two small little girls waving and smiling and then said "Hey Suzanne, Hey Beth, Are you girls having fun??". It was adorable to see the little girls having fun, and it was great to get to see Suzanne, since we have heard Patty talk about her so often. The girls really got into the Mountain Soul set, dancing and singing. You could also see Emory's youngest daughter singing along to "Cheap Whiskey" (naturally,...her father wrote it!). Patty joked that Emory had been "complaining" the night before the he was stuck with Patty. She then took the time to introduce him and they continued on with the Mountain Soul set.
For her encores, she came out and began to talk about songs she loved on her cds that never quite made it to become a single. I was absolutely ecstatic when she began "My Heart Will Never Break This Way Again". I have been waiting all summer long to hear this. It has been on the set list at most of my shows, but she had said they did not have the time to do it, and cut it out of the show. This show, was just different- and I was so happy they did it, it was by far the best version I have ever seen her do. She sounded absolutely perfect on it- and the band just nailed it. They were in top notch- including Loretta. It's clear this lady has been busting her butt working on all these songs, and I have to say, she has become SO much better since the last time I had seen her play! They then closed the show with 'Trouble With the Truth'.
After the show, like all other major Patty Fans, we headed out to the bus. After a little while, David came out and announced he had to take Patty inside for some business but would bring her back out after that. I was shocked, as he had never said that all summer long. He got her off the bus, and she walked inside with him. As we waited outside, Emory walked back and forth to the car to carry all of her stuff out to it. The man was busy, carrying all her stuff, LOL! Not long after, Patty came back out, and got on the bus. When she hopped back off the bus, just moments later, she came out with a Sharpie and walked right over to the beginning of the line to sign autographs for the fans patiently waiting to meet her. So, the evening couldn't have ended any better. It was by far the best show I have ever been to- and the meet and greet was icing on the cake. She has a week off to spend with her husband at home, and did not have to stop to sign autographs and could have just left and went home, but she chose not to....-Thank you Patty- for taking the time out to sign for your fans!
