My wife and I just returned from two incredible shows in this little Southern town. Newberry was apparently on its way back to prosperity when a Wal Mart moved in and crushed the local economy. It's like a foreign creature being introduced to an ecosystem and ruining it. Too bad because this a a pretty little town. Maybe they will survive despite the corporate giant. The Newberry Opera House was originally built in 1888 and it was beautifully restored five years ago. Patty played there a couple of years back and apparently liked it enough to return. For good reason. The opera house is an ideal venue for Patty and band. Lots and lots of wood (Ryman like). The acoustics are awesome. The house holds about 400 people. There was a good turnout for both shows - 3:00 pm and 8:00 pm. Only the side balcony seats were empty.
Both shows were great, but the 8:00 pm show SMOKED. The band was fired up. Maybe they gave it their all because they now have a few days off to rest and regroup. Jedd in particular was on. The standard tour setlist has been posted on here before, but there were a few surprising additions. In the first show, Patty did My Heart Will Never Break This Way Again (from Strong Heart) as an encore. This led to pins and needles from my wife Patti and me. She skipped Elvis in both shows and this was fine with us. It is great that she is bringing in different songs in mid-tour.
In the second show, the Mountain Soul mini-set included Someone I Used To Know with Jedd on Jon Randall's vocal part. He did a great job. During the song before, Travis' cell phone was ringing. After Patty and the boys gave him a hard time about it, he commented that it was Jon Randall calling to phone in the vocal. They were obviously having a good time on stage. For the encore, there was an unexpected Trouble With The Truth. Great choice!
Although Patty's speaking voice sounded a bit hoarse, her singing was absolutely top notch. She nailed everything. It was clear that she enjoyed playing here. I also had the opportunity to speak with her and get a photo taken after the first show. She commented that she saw my Gram Parsons and the Fallen Angels t-shirt from the stage and she asked me about it. She told me that they were playing Gram and Emmylou on the bus the night before the concert. Very cool. It was nice to meet fellow Patty Heads, Kathy and children from Florida and Teresa from Virginia. Sorry we missed you Kait. This tour is getting better and better. I also heard someone say that they will be adding as many as twenty additional dates for the fall tour.
