www.patty-loveless.net || Patty Loveless Net

Paramount Arts Center
October 28th, 2004
Ashland, KY
Review by Cole

We headed overnight on the road to Ashland, KY with excitement from the show the night before- but were both pretty bummed to think that this show would be the last one of the year! But alas, we traveled about 400 miles after Birchmere to land in Ashland, KY for the very last show of the year. We both were growing tired, like we had been the previous night....however, this trip provided us with more entertainment, as I took more medication than directed and was "seeing" things on the road. (Tammie, I'll swear till my dying day that I saw a possum in front of the truck, LOL!) We were both thrilled when we pulled up to our hotel at 5 that morning!

We spent the day just hanging out at the hotel, since we actually had some free time instead of traveling time! This is when my most prized moment of the entire trip happened.

We were on the 4th floor, and had a coke machine just down the hall. I was ecstatic to see Cherry Coke (my addiction!) in the machine, and was quite annoyed when I saw it was sold out! So, after I took a shower, before doing my hair, I headed out to the 3rd floor to see if they had Cherry Coke down there. I'm sure I looked real cute with my jeans, Patty shirt and towel wrapped around my head, LOL. When I arrived on the 3rd floor, I walked halfway down the hall and discovered there was NO coke machine on there. I was growing more and more annoyed, so headed back to the elevator to go back up to my room. The elevator doors opened, and I heard someone start to get off and realize it wasn't their floor, and say "Oh!" and hop back on the elevator. I paid no attention until I went to walk in, looked up, and saw Patty standing on the elevator, with her suitcase, saying, "Hey Nicole!".

In the past 18 years, I've gotten MUCH better at talking to Patty. I no longer cry, and sometimes I don't even feel nervous. But- that's when I know I'll be meeting her! This was a chance meeting...which made me a nervous wreck! I fumbled out a "Hey Patty!" and got on the elevator, stuffing money in my wallet, and dropping my room key on the floor in the process. Patty pointed down and said, "You dropped something sweetie", to which I thanked her and picked the key back up. Can you say "nervewracking"? LOL If only I had pyschic abilities and knew she was going to be on there...I would have played it sooo much more smoothly! Anyhow, I got off on my floor, and Patty smiled and said, "See you tonight Nicole!", and I told I'd see her then. Of course- I then rushed to the room to tell Tammie what had happened, and realized I still had the towel on my head. It FIGURES the time I run out of the room with a towel around my head is the time I run into Patty!

That set me up for a fantastic day. When we arrived at the show a few hours later, we were pumped and ready! We met up with Elaine and Sue, who I had not seen in about a year, so I was pleased to see them again, Brian, and then Brad and Janet. And, of course, we met up once more with Jess and Mike, and Teresa, who also had made the trek from Birchmere to Ashland.

We had fourth row center, and were not too pleased with the seats. We'd discovered a little before the show that the venue had not been honest about when tickets had went on sale, so we actually had not gotten them the day they went on sale. (Mental Notes running through my mind at that point- SECOND YEAR in a row I had that problem with that venue. Makes me want to just say bite me to them and not return!). Anyhow, we were fourth row center, smack dab next to Mike and Jess! How we did that for the second time this year without planning it- I'll never know. At least we were near other true fans!

At the Paramount, there are tables for Corporate Sponsors in front of the stage, and then the regular seating is behind that. Well, we noticed the tables weren't full, and the usher informed us we could go to the box office to get one. We went in and asked about how to get one, and the lady in the box office looked at us and said, "Uh yeah..but their 500 dollars!" in the SNOTTIEST tone she could have used. Instead of smart mouthing her like I normally would have done, we simply went back into the venue. I did NOT want to get kicked out of the venue, LOL. However, neither one of us were very appreciative of her snotty attitude towards us. If we had to do it over again, I know both of us wish we had said, "Ok we'll take one", and just bought a table.

When Patty walked out onstage, I was shocked that the crowd wasn't as crazy about her as the rest of us! Our little group were, as Jess put it, the cheerleaders for this show, because we were the only ones screaming up a storm for her. Well, except for a couple drunks!

I have to mention that Patty looked absolutely amazing at this show- and I think this was the prettiest I have seen her look all year long! She looked radiant, and although was sad the tour was ending, you can tell she's looking forward to getting some home time with Emory- and getting started on the new album!

During the second song, we noticed four front row seats still empty. So Mike went to the back to ask if we could move, and was told that we could!. So Mike, Jess, Tammie and I trekked down to front row center, and were very pleased with the seats! We were directly in front of Patty, and as soon as we moved down, Deanie grinned. We figured she was glad to have some of the loudmouths up front!

There was one guy who, although had a little too much to drink, was quite into the show! During "Trouble with the Truth", when Patty neared the end, you could hear him singing loudly. As she paused in the last line between "with the........truth", right before she said "truth", the guy sang out "TRUTH" loudly, promting everyone to laugh, including Patty. You could see her laughing as she tried to finish the song. Afterwards, she looked over his way and said, "Somebody out there was trying to end it before I did!".

The band and Patty were all so relaxed during this show, and although I say the crowd wasn't as into it- they WERE during The Bluegrass set. They ROARED when she started into "Boys are Back in Town"! They seemed to fully appreciate her once they started into that. Regardless of the crowd, however...this show was worth the trip. During the Bluegrass segment, we were treated to "I'll Never Grow Tired of You" again, thanks to Richard! And then, "Rise up Lazarus", which I thought was SUPERB! It really gave Marcia and Garry the chance to shine on their own for a couple lines, without Patty, and they sounded amazing. After this song, when Patty would begin to speak more about her album, the drunk guy in the audience started yapping something back to her, which made everyone laugh again, and Patty say, "Im so glad there's someone there that I can have a conversation with!".

The highlight of the show came when Deanie and Guthrie took their places sitting on stools, the rest of the band left- and Patty came out and sang "Too Many Memories". It was nothing short of spectacular!!We were blown away- and I have to say it's the best rendition I had ever heard her do. With just Deanie and Guthrie out there- it practically sounded acapella, and I cannot stress how wonderful it is to hear Patty occasionally do a song by herself, with no other vocals whatsoever! The other highlight of course was "On Your Way Home", which I have to say this might be the best I've EVER HEARD IT! Tammie, Jess and I got up immediately after the song to give her a well deserved standing ovation.

Her encores were once again "Lonely Too Long", which made the crowd go wild, as she mentioned she had heard someone call out for it earlier in the show. It sounded amazing.

I was incredibly sad when we walked outside, knowing that was the last show. I caught David, and went over to get a hug and thank him for everything, which only made the night more sad! (Believe it or not, I rocked on and didn't cry, go me!) We went over to the bus to spend some time hanging out, and chatted with Marcia. She let us know she'll be at 3rd and Linsley on November 30th, here in Nashville. She'll be playing with Royal Scam, and it starts at 7:00, for those interested! It is on a Tuesday night, but will be well worth it! Jimmy J came out, and promptly went all the way around all the fans waiting outside to shake their hands. I was quite thrilled to see him- I had my goals of seeing Jimmy and Brent before leaving. Jimmy came up to us and stopped at me, saying, "Well look who it is! That's my little buddy", and gave me a hug, which I was quite pleased with!

We chatted for awhile- and Marcia came back over to chat again, as did Brent. Brent spoke so highly of Marcia in Royal Scam- and might even do the sound for the show. He got us looking forward to seeing the show on the 30th! As he was talking to us, Marcia was over talking to Jess and Teresa. We heard some people fussing, and looked to see Patty coming out of the venue. David took her to the bus, and came back out to announce that she would sign autographs for everyone waiting (approximately 25 or 30), no photographs with her, but she would sign one thing for each person. This night- I decided to get in line so that I could tell her goodbye and get my hug. TO our delight- she started out with all of us! We spoke to her briefly, thanking her for a wonderful tour, and gave her hugs, and then sadly walked away. We stood around to chat with the rest of the group for awhile, and then gave hugs, as Tammie, Teresa and I headed over to our hotel.

This marks the end of Tour 2004, which, gives Patty, the band and crew well deserved breaks-- and even gives us the hope and promise of a new cd soon, as Patty and Emory will be heading to the studio in January to start on a new album.

It has been an amazing tour- in which Patty, the band and crew have given me some wonderful memories. I could never begin to thank them enough for all their hard work, dedication, and traveling across the country simply to put on shows for us. (I'd also never know how to start to thank them for giving me the best birthday I've ever had), so I'll simply say "Thank You"- for all that all of you do and more! Thanks to David, Marcia, Jimmy, Garry and Deanie for all of their support of the site!

And lastly- special thanks to everyone I had the opportunity to meet up with this year....from those of you that I'd never met before to friends I made years ago and never lose contact with. You are all what makes shows so much fun!