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PATTY LOVELESS CONCERT 8-31-03
Webster, MA
Review by Barbara, Pictures by Bob J.
Let me set the scene for you. A perfect New England day; sunny, 70s, cool breeze. The venue: Indian Ranch in Webster, Massachusetts. A large lake glistens to the left of the stage and seating area. You get extra points for correctly pronouncing the name of the lake: Chargoggagoggmanchaugagoggchaubunagungamaugg. We’re told that this Indian name translates as follows: ‘You fish on your side, I fish on my side, nobody fish in the middle’. Bob and I arrived on our Harley, and of course we had a Patty CD playing all the way there!

At exactly 3:15 Patty stepped onstage. She was wearing bleached jeans, a red sheer top under a jean jacket which was adorned with a red flower on the back; silver hoop earrings; a cross on a cord, and what looked like pale pink boots. Her blonde hair swung freely as she moved about the stage. This was the most relaxed, upbeat, energetic Patty that I’ve seen; she looked very trim and was in excellent voice. She opened with “Nothin’ Like the Lonely (In My Heart Tonight)”, followed by “He’s the Last Thing On My Mind”. She spoke about how happy she was to see the parents of a former band member before the show, and with a big smile promised to tell them several stories about their son afterward. Her next song was “Timber, I’m Falling In Love”, then the beautiful “Don’t Toss Us Away”. She introduced Travis Toy on steel guitar, and pointed out a person in the audience who resembled Travis. Garry Murray did the George Jones part on “You Don’t Seem To Miss Me’. Next came “You Can Feel Bad”. Patty then took a moment to pick up her gifts, a bag and some lovely flowers which she said ‘will make the bus smell so nice’. She had some fun with pretending to misread an eighth birthday as 84, telling the young girl (Kylie?) that she sure looked good for 84! Patty introduced Jedd Hughes on electric guitar, who has a record deal with MCA and will have an album coming out in February 2004. It’s Jedd’s second year with Patty. The upbeat “Halfway Down” had us clapping along. Patty then introduced the entire band; Loretta on fiddle and mandolin; Becky Priest on acoustic guitar, keyboard, mandolin, vocals, and mentioned that Becky has a deal with Curb records. She had a lot of fun introducing Jimmy Johnson on bass (I could never forget his name, as I’m a big Dallas Cowboys fan!!) and Martin Parker on drums. Patty’s new album will be out September 16th, and she sang the title cut, “On Your Way Home”, a beautiful ballad from a wife to her cheating husband.

Next was “Lovin’ All Night”, a Rodney Crowell song which Patty and Rodney sang onstage in the Down From the Mountain tour. Patty mentioned Rodney’s new album, titled “Faith’s Right Hand”. She talked about her Mountain Soul album, which led into “The Boys Are Back In Town’ with Travis on dobro and Loretta and Garry on fiddles. One of my favorite Patty songs was next, “Cheap Whiskey”. Becky and Jedd did a great job with Patty on “Daniel Prayed”. Patty then spoke about her father, a coal miner for 28 years, who died of black lung disease. She said she always sends this next song out to him, John Ramey, and her other family members who were miners. She feels they have the best seat in the house. Of course the song was the haunting “You’ll Never Leave Harlan Alive”. I believe she was very surprised at the standing ovation she received. She thanked us and said the song means a lot to her and her whole family, Changing the mood entirely, Patty opened “Pretty Little Miss” with a looooooooooong note!!! Shifting to a slower tempo, she broke my heart again with “Here I Am”. Every time she sings that song I can feel the raw emotion in her voice just reach out and touch me. She taught us the tongue-twisting “Blame It On Your Heart” and had us all on our feet singing along. We did pretty well with our line in “I Try To Think About Elvis”, yelling out ‘Come on, Patty, get it together!’ at the appropriate moment. This was the last song of the regular set, but we were all on our feet, clapping, stomping, and making a big bunch of noise. When they came back out, Patty said with a smile, ‘You don’t give up, do you?’ and launched into “The Trouble With the Truth”. I think she had no doubt, from the response she got, that she has a strong fan base in New England.

After the show we waited by her bus, and were fortunate to meet Cindy and her daughter and had a nice chat. Bob had gone back to see if Patty was still in the pavilion, and came back to report that there was a meet and greet going on. Wish we knew how to get a pass to that! Apparently you have to know someone in the band, or be in the right place at the right time. So, a fortunate few got to see Patty. We continued to wait at the bus with a small crowd of hopefuls. All of the band members graciously shook hands, signed autographs, and talked with the fans. I especially noticed how nice Becky was with some special people. Eventually Patty walked up the incline to the bus, and was nice enough to come over and explain that she couldn’t sign because they had to be in Maine and had to leave, but she shook hands with everyone. A really classy lady!

This was one of our best Patty concerts ever. Of course, so far the best one is still New Haven, CT two years ago, when there was no opening act, just pure Patty Loveless all evening, and we got to meet her later. However, we never get upset if Patty or any other artist doesn’t meet with us. We feel that what we pay for is an artist giving their best on stage. We understand that they have commitments to fulfill, are human and just plain get tired, and they are entitled to privacy offstage. Patty Loveless never gives less than everything she has when she performs, and we are grateful that she shares her awesome talent with us. Go Patty, and you already are our female vocalist of EVERY year!!!