Special Note: Guthrie, I promised a good review, so here it is!
To say that the Gadsden, AL show was an adventure would be an understatement! To say this show was hot would also be an understatement! I'm treating a sunburn, which was something I was always soooo positive this Florida Girl at heart would NEVER get! But- to see Patty, I can speak for all of us by saying that sunburns are worth that hour and a half she was onstage!
Kelly Ann and Leslie met me at the gates to the venue around 11:30 or so, and I had been sitting outside already, with a few of the "locals" who attend this fest every year. I was really skeptic as to how this show was going to be. The lady next to me kept saying, "You know, I never really thought Patty Loveless was any good, but once they added Darryl Worley, I decided to come.", to which I wanted so badly to just smack her, but instead smiled brightly and said, "That's great, you can have our spots after Patty, because I'm sure as hell not staying for him." After that, she was nice as could be about our girl and kept pointing out that Patty's "Fan Club" was here to see her. I was so pleased when Kelly Ann and Leslie came to join me, and we sat and chatted and listened to the locals talk about some pretty random topics!
Kathy, Anita, Jessica and Rhett got in a little bit later and they came out and we all sat and chatted for awhile. A local TV crew came by and was interviewing some fans, and Kathy kept persisting for them to come over and talk to me, to which they did. He asked me a few questions about how long I had been going to see Patty, how old I was when I saw her first, and a few random questions like that. He walked away but came back a few minutes later to ask me about driving my wrecked vehicle to see her again! (Not long later, he informed me the producer loved it and wanted to use the segment about the wreck LOL)
We were all growing antsy and hot waiting in the sun. It was at least 95 degrees in Alabama this day! Gates opened up at 4, so around 3:15, we started gathering our chairs, got the kids prepared to run like hell to the front, and I took my large heels off (whatever possessed me to dress cute this day is beyond me!) so that I could run. When the gates opened, we took off and scored front row seats.
The gates opened at 4, but Patty didn't come onstage until 8:00, so we had to occupy ourselves for the next four hours. Lucky for us, the band came out around 4:30 to check out their instruments and get a mini soundcheck in, so we got to watch them and chat with them for a little while, which kept us totally entertained! We talked with Travis about getting married, and he told us he got married on the 1st, and he seems pretty happy, so congrats to Travis and Jennifer!
After a few opening acts, Patty came onstage a few minutes after 8. The crowd seemed enthusiastic about her-but they simply weren't "fans". Half of them were cheering to hear themselves scream and a group of girls to the left of the stage were screaming for attention. But, nevertheless, Patty was fantastic, and as always, very gracious of the applause and cheers. I instantly felt for her when she walked out- halfway into "Tear Stained Letter", she was sweating like crazy. I knew that the hours we'd spent outside burning up equaled about ten minutes on that stage with those hot lights! But, I must say, Patty, I'm proud of you girl...you've conquered the "wearing short sleeves" to the outdoor venues again! Those monitoring the Fashion Report, Patty wore some jeans, a purple beaded belt, and two tank tops- one was a darker purple which she wore underneath a light sheer purple tank top with flowers on the front. It was very cute, and something I'd not seen her wear before, so yaay for my pictures!
She wasn't as "energetic" as she normally is, but I guessed the heat factor played a role in that. It was just too hot for her to be bouncing all over the stage. She certainly gave her all, no doubt about it. She sounded superb. I am always more and more amazed about how it is that every single time I see her, she sounds better each time! Her set list was basically the same as it has been the past few nights, except this night she took out "Trouble with the Truth" and put in "Cheap Whiskey". Marcia's "Nothin But the Wheel" intro seems to get better and better every show! I'll admit, I've had a hard time getting used to Marcia, but I really enjoyed her at this show. She's full of personality, and just nice as can be to the fans! As usual, Deanie was tearing it up on the fiddle. After having Deanie away for awhile, I think we've all really realized what an asset she truly is to the band. It's wonderful having her back onstage. There was one guy who was really enjoying the girls, and was shouting, "Patty you're the stuff!" and then shouted "You go girl!" to which Patty replied, "Which one, there are three of us!"
The girls weren't the only ones tearing it up onstage- the guys were awesome too! Garry wore his glasses, explaining that he was having contact problems, but we thought he looked great (you can't expect a girl to write this review without talking about how hot the guys looked!), as did Travis, who wore his "I'm Big in Europe" shirt. Patty's done a fantastic job picking out songs this year that really gives a chance for each band member to shine. Garry sounds great on "You Don't Seem To Miss Me" and Travis gets that chance to shine on steel during that one, but also show off more guitar tricks during "Lovin All Night". And of course, Guthrie gets the chance to show off during, "Halfway Down". I decided during this show that I've been much too hard on Guthrie! We got quite a few grins out of him during this (way to go Guthrie!), and he nailed "Halfway Down". I think Guthrie is truly getting comfortable onstage, and I'm looking forward to seeing the band grow tighter throughout this year!
I thought that the highlight of this show was "Draggin My heart Around". I really enjoy this song live, she sounds fantastic! She spoke of having a new album out, and I was disappointed that so much of the audience could have cared less. It just had us cheering even louder for her, and Kelly Ann, Anita and I were certainly the loudest screamers and "sing alongers" that there were!
The Mountain Soul set was nothing short of amazing! She once again kicked it off with, "Grandpa", and talking about Emory's Papa Cochran, and then nailed the song. I was surprised at the beginning of the tour that she was doing this song, but I think it was a great choice to do. This audience certainly wasn't a true "Patty audience", but I've yet to see anyone not mesmerized by this song as she does it live.
A few audience members were shouting out, "Shady Grove!", which she indeed did sing "Pretty Little Miss", to their delight. That was the extent, however, of their "audience participation" until it was time for her to sing "Blame". What a disappointment. There was a huge lack of participation for this crowd, and for much of the songs, we were the only ones clapping along. It says a lot about Patty when she sings her heart out and still gives her all to this audience who was clearly unappreciative of her amazing voice.
I should point out that during "Lovin All Night", in front of us there was a little boy with Down's Syndrome (the handicap section was directly in front of us), who was having a fantastic time, dancing with his mother and enjoying the song more than anyone in the audience. He kept smiling, laughing and dancing, and flashing Patty the biggest smile in the world, which she would return each time- I know she made the boy's night!
Regardless of the audience, we had a wonderful time. Patty's voice was strong, she never missed a note, she mixed her show of old classics to brand new tunes on the new cd, and delivered an amazing bluegrass performance. Anyone who couldn't appreciate that is…. a moron in my slightly biased opinion : ) Patty- we love you!
The Full Set list is as follows:
Tear Stained Letter
You Can Feel Bad (Deanie made sure that all of us up front were clapping)
Nothin' But the Wheel (again, Marcia is fitting in perfect!)
You Don't Seem to Miss Me
You Don't Even Know Who I Am (don't EVER want her to cut this song out of the set list, it's too amazing live……)
Halfway Down (plain and simple, Guthrie was kicking major butt on this one)
Draggin My Heart Around
Nothin' Like the Lonely (humming was extended a tad. * amazing * )
That Ain't the Grandpa
Boys are Back in Town
I'll Never Grow Tired of You
Daniel Prayed (Deanie's intro gets overlooked so often, and it needs to be mentioned that no one but Deanie could kick this song off!)
Cheap Whiskey (a shame the audience couldn't shut up during this song)
Pretty Little Miss (our fun song of the night! Our sing a long was the most fun!)
On Your Way Home (standing ovation worthy. This is Song of the Year worthy)
Lovin' All Night
Blame it On Your Heart
The Full set list is as follows:
Tear Stained Letter
You Can Feel Bad
Nothin' But the Wheel
You Don't Seem to Miss Me
You Don't Even Know Who I Am
The Trouble With the Truth
Halfway Down
Draggin My Heart Around
Nothin' Like the Lonely
The Grandpa That I Know
Boys are Back in Town
I'll Never Grow Tired of You
Daniel Prayed
Pretty Little Miss
On Your Way Home
Lovin' All Night
Blame it On Your Heart
Encore: She Drew a Broken Heart
After the show, I had that wonderful experience to talk with Patty, which of course is always the icing on the cake after a show! I didn't want any autographs or photos with her time, it was just important for me to see her! When I was around 4, my grandmother used to tell me that Patty's Hugs were special- and it stuck with me, and each time I met Patty thereafter, it was simply my ritual to get my "Patty Hug". I hadn't been able to talk with her long enough this year yet to get my hug, and was simply thrilled to do so this show, and always means a great deal to me.
As always, thanks to the band for working so hard to learn so many songs to perform and sharing their talents. To the Crew & David for always going the extra mile for the fans, and doing so much each night to make the show fantastic. And last but certainly not least, Patty, for all the obvious reasons!
So I may have gotten pulled over on the way to the show, and I missed part of her show, and I wrecked my car on the way home- but who couldn't be on cloud nine after hearing Patty do such a fabulous show? The woman has talent, plain and simple. It irritates me that so many folks don't realize what a treasure our Patty is!
