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

BIRCHMERE REVIEW
OCTOBER 27, 2004
By Barbara

Bob and I flew into Washington National Airport at 1:15 p.m. on Wednesday, October 27th. Got our rental car, drove to the hotel in Arlington, Virginia, and called Mike D. Since we hadn’t had lunch (unless you want to count the tiny package of pretzels the airlines give you these days!), Bob and I headed to the Ecco Café, recommended by a friend. Had great food, and it had the advantage of being on the way to the Birchmere. We arrived at the Birchmere before 4 p.m. and met Nicole, Tammie, Jackie, Theresa, Chris, Myles, Mike D., Wanda and Denny, Melinda and Todd, Jess and Mike, and Patti and Richard. Knowing that Tammie is a gung-ho Miami Dolphins fan, Bob and I had picked up a little something to cheer her up when she watches her team play. Fortunately Tammie is a person with a great sense of humor, and she accepted the blue Patriots beanie bear and didn’t try to injure either of us! However, she did have some interesting ideas on what she’d do with it, such as fashioning a noose to hang it, puncturing it with voodoo pins, etc. (Nicole and Tammie affectionately named the bear Bob J Jr.) We had a great time chatting with everyone as we waited for the doors to open. At last we were inside, picked up our tickets, and milled around until the line numbers were called. Wanda and Denny came by and chatted with us about one of our favorite hobbies, riding our Harley-Davidson! We found out that Denny rides a custom (A custom is a bike you build yourself!) and he showed us the picture of the bike he built. He said he brought it home in several boxes and Wanda said, “Where’s the bike?” Denny had to build his own bike! Yea, we like this guy! He and Wanda love to ride as we do, so you never know, we may see them on the road one day! That would be outstanding!

We now were ready to ‘go inside’ and they started to call the line numbers. Richard and Patti went “above and beyond the call of duty” as Bob says, to be number one in line. Thank you, Patti and Richard, for including us in your group. We got the first table directly in front of Patty’s microphone! What an excellent spot! This is by far the best venue we’ve experienced. It was built specifically for music, so the acoustics are awesome. Guthrie came out to warm up wearing a T-shirt and a light long-sleeved open shirt with a music pattern. Jimmy was in a long-sleeved black pullover. Garry wore a red T-shirt, dark sport jacket, and ripped jeans. Deanie was in jeans and a pin-striped black shirt over a black scoop neck. Marcia wore black pants and a floral shirt with a black background over a black scoop neck top, and a pendant on a black cord. I got a quick glimpse of Martin before he was hidden behind the drums, he wore tan shorts and a dark short-sleeved shirt with a design on it. Pete was in a black and red shirt. When Marcia came out she said she was going by our hotel in a car earlier and saw us and said “There’s Bob and Barbara”. That’s so nice of her to remember us! We met Patti and Richard’s friend Chris who works at the Birchmere. He has cousins who live right near us in Cranston! It’s a small world after all to coin a well known phrase.

At 7:40 the lights went down, and Deanie and Garry began the intro to “Tear Stained Letter”. The crowd roared as Patty came out! (We think Cole screamed!) As always, Patty looked terrific in brown jeans with black leather appliquéd flowers on the leg; a matching tank; tan belt; and a long-sleeved lace blouse. She was wearing a heart-shaped pendant on a choker and hoop earrings. She seemed very energetic. At the end of the song she said, “Good evening, y’all. How are you feelin’ tonight?” which led nicely into “You Can Feel Bad”. Marcia did her usual great intro to “Nothin’ But the Wheel”. When Deanie plays that fiddle it sounds like a heart breaking, brings tears to my eyes. Patty then said it was great to be back at the Birchmere. She knows that things have been hard on people the last couple of years, with gas prices and so on, and she appreciates us getting to shows. In 1997 she and George Jones won the CMA Vocal Event of the Year with “You Don’t Seem To Miss Me”, and Garry always does an awesome job on the George Jones part. Okay, okay, I’m really prejudiced here, but Garry also is very easy on the eyes!! From my seat I was looking directly at him for the whole concert!!! No hardship there, believe me! But, I digress. Pete did a great intro to “Trouble With the Truth” and of course Miss Patty was amazing on that last note! Deanie sang with Garry and Marcia on that one. Patty then told us the story of how she found Guthrie, and concluded by saying “My husband already knows I’m a big flirt---a harmless flirt!” Once again Guthrie did a great job leading into “Halfway Down”. At this time Patty introduced the band, and she always has such fun things to say. She has known Pete Finney, who is on steel guitar, for a lot of years. Martin should try out for Santa Claus; she’d love to sit on his lap! Of Jimmy Johnson: “If I wasn’t married to a bass player…….” and she left that up in the air, then went on “He knows I love him and his wife Pat”. When Patty introduced Marcia Ramirez, and talked about how sweet she is, she noticed that Mike D. was holding up Marcia’s CD, and Patty mentioned it. Mike said something like “She’s the best!” to which Patty, with her hand on her hip, replied, “I thought I was the best!” Mike didn’t say too much after that, if you can believe that! LOL Introducing Deanie Richardson, Patty said she plays so passionately. Deanie proceeded to demonstrate that with her intro to “Nothin’ Like the Lonely”. Patty was humming, and Pete was on guitar and Garry on banjo.

Then the acoustic microphones were placed, and Patty said they were creating a more intimate setting. She said “Closer’s better as long as you’re using the right deodorant”. She explained about the lyrics to “Not the Grandpa That I Know”, and how the picture on the liner notes is of Emory’s grandfather Homer Cochran. Garry’s wonderful guitar intro was sad and slow. From the first note, we were in awe. I’ve heard this song many times in many venues (it’s one of my favorites) but never were the acoustics like this. Words fail me to adequately convey the quality of the sound. Deanie was on fiddle, Pete on dobro, Guthrie on mandolin, Martin on snare drum, Jimmy and Marcia on guitars. Marcia sang harmony, then Marcia and Garry. As always, Deanie’s fiddle solo at the end wrenched my heart. A well-deserved standing ovation for an incredible experience. The tempo picked up with “The Boys Are Back In Town”, which had Garry on fiddle and Marcia on the mandolin. Then Patty added a song not on the set list, in response to Richard’s request. The Stanley Brothers classic, “I’ll Never Grow Tired Of You” is on her “Honky Tonk Angels” album. What a great song! Speaking of the Stanley Brothers, Patty next sang another Stanley Brothers classic, a favorite of her father, “Daniel Prayed”, which was kicked off by Deanie on mandolin. Next was another favorite of mine, “Cheap Whiskey”. Then Patty told us that she was asked by a little girl about eight years old “Will you sing the song about me?” and when Patty asked for more information, the little girl said, “You know: “Pretty Little Miss”! Deanie and Marcia played mandolin, Garry on fiddle, then Deanie and Garry on fiddle. Deanie played the fiddle intro to “On Your Way Home”, a favorite of Bob’s. During this song I happened to notice Garry’s features when the lights cast shadows----mmmmm. And of course when he looks up and smiles----I’m a sucker for dimples! Oops, I’m digressing again! “Lovin’ All Night” got everyone clapping, and then Patty got us all on our feet and taught us the chorus to “Blame”. I’m not sure if we were on key, but we were definitely loud! Patty wore Richard’s hat for a while during that song. They said good night and left the stage, but we made so much noise that they graciously returned. Patty said “If Chuck’s in the house, this is for you” and said this is a song that she’s heard has brought a lot of people together, “Lonely Too Long”. The second encore song was “On Down the Line”, then it really was the end of the concert. We’ve never seen Patty so relaxed, enjoying herself, joking with the band and audience.

End of concert, not end of evening. We got a group picture in front of the stage which I’m sure Bob has already posted. We talked with Marcia and Jimmy a bit. Then Nicole and I went to the ladies room and when we came back Garry was there talking with two gals. Nicole asked me if I wanted a hug from Garry (I’m sure the look on my face was answer enough!) so she and I went over and she asked for a hug and whispered to him that I needed a hug too! A while ago online, Nicole had stated that Garry gives great hugs, and boy was she right! My blood pressure must have been off the scale, and I’m sure my sneakers started to smoke by the end of that hug! Then, keeping an arm around me, he said “Now we need to face this way and get a picture” and there was Bob with the camera. So I got not only a terrific hug but pictures to prove it! Believe me, I don’t need them to remind me; that hug will fuel a lot of fantasies!

But the night was still not over!! We went outside to chat and possibly wait to get another glimpse of Patty. During the wait, Todd was using his video camera and said to Bob, what was that you own, a 450 Honda? (He was laughing as he said that because anyone who rides a Harley, is territorial about their bikes!). Bob jokingly said “I’m going to kick your @*$!” Melinda was having a great time despite her recent fall and bruised lip. I know she was laughing hard at Bob and Mike D because of the way they carry on………….like two kids! All of a sudden, we saw David and he brought Patty over and she signed autographs and she signed my shirt, and Bob’s Harley jacket! Wow! (Bob REALLY must think a lot of Patty to have her sign his precious Harley jacket!!)

And then--------back to the hotel and we watched the Red Sox win the World Series!!!! Tammie text-messaged Bob to say “Go Sox!”

Such an awesome night! We met some wonderful people and saw some old friends, had a great time, enjoyed the best concert ever, got hugged, met Patty again and got her autograph, and saw baseball history made.

It is really nice to put faces to the names, and go to concerts with people who are as passionate as we are about Patty. We had such a wonderful time meeting and talking with each of you!

Thank you, Nicole, for this site which made all of this possible. And, on a personal note, I really really owe you big time for that hug from Garry!! Thank you, Richard and Patti, for all you did to get us there and ensure we got great seats. Until next time, we shall see you all on the road and may you all have a Happy Holiday Season!