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

My Weekend in Patty Heaven,by Mike D.

Well the weekend started off a little crazy for me. I was having a BAD day at the office, so bad in fact that almost all of the way to Mohegan Sun bad news just kept following me on my cell phone! Finally I got there and was overjoyed to hear the band stringing up for their sound check. By now I was really in need of a good "Patty Fix", so seeing her come out onto the stage was heavenly for me ! The sound check started off with OYWH, then, LAN and then I about lost my mind when the band started into "If My Heart Had Windows" ! Patty absolutely "Nailed it" and I was just the happiest guy in the place ! I just never expected to hear that one and was not ready for it ! After that she sang "Draggin My Heart Around" which is another favorite of mine, and this was the 1st time that I got to hear it. By now I was really excited and things just kept getting better ! I had a friend saving a place for me in line, so I had a really great seat just in front of Deanie and Marcie. While waiting in line BobJ came up to me and introduced himself, My posting of my wearing a bright red shirt paid off ! Shortly after that I got to meet BarbaraJ, which was really cool ! Bob, Barbara and I hit it off really good, and in no time flat,it felt like we had been friends for a long time ! Thanks to PLN of course !

Once they let us into the seating area, Bob introduced me to Chrissy. It was just as nice to meet her too since I have been reading her posts for some time now also. Bob and I then started talking to Shane who is one of Patty's stage hands. He was really nice to us and he gave us both Patty guitar picks, I then turned around and gave one to Chrissy so she could have one too. Bob talked Shane into giving us both the nights set list which was really nice of him ! After that we went over to see Chris. He is Patty's T-shirt guy and he too was really nice to us. We had some time to kill and continue to see who else we might run into. We got to talk to Martin Parker, Patty's drummer and Just like everybody else he was just great to talk to. He informed us as to why the set list didn't have an acoustic segment that night.From what he told us the sensitive microphones that they use for the acoustic music just pick up too much noise from the Casino, the slot machines in particular.What this does is produce some nasty noises in the band members head sets which is not a very good thing ! Naturally we were all bumming since we all love Patty's Bluegrass set so much !

We then talked to Garry who again was really great to talk to, and Anita we did tell him that you said Hi ! He smiled of course knowing Anita is one of his biggest fans ! Travis was really cool and Guthrie was also alot of fun to talk to. We told him just how much we had heard about his guitar playing and he smiled in appreciation ! I only got to say hi to Deanie because she had alot to do. Marcie was just awesome to talk to, Everybody was right, she is a real doll !!!

Now it was "Show Time"... The House lights dimmed and Deanie started into her wonderful fiddle into for "Tear Stained Letter", I just felt my heart start to soar as Patty came onto the stage to the wild applause of the cheering crowd! This is the time when you get that smile that starts deep down inside of you and just won't let go !!! I don't know about you, but for me this is "As good as it gets" !!! Patty looked and sounded great and it was so good to see her since we had all been so worried about her health.Next up was "You Can Feel Bad" which has always been a favorite of mine too. "Nothing But the Wheel" was next and I started to feel the hair on my arms start to stand up ! Yes those wonderfull goose bumps that you hear so many of us speak so fondly of ! I turned to Chrissy who was sitting just to the side of me and showed her my goose bumps and she smiled ! Patty then intro'd "You Don't Seem To Miss Me" which is always a fan favorite, and she spoke with great respect about her friendship with George Jones who she originally sang and recorded this song with. The "Trouble With The Truth was next and whoever said it on PLN was right, she doesn't waste one single note ! She really puts alot of emotion into this one, and boy does it show !

"Halfway Down" was next with a wonderful guitar intro by Guthrie ! This has always been one of my absolute favorites because it rocks so hard and Patty sound's so great on it ! Guthrie does a mean solo on this one and really impressed me and just about everybody else I am sure ! He is Great, and what a wonderfull addition to the band ! " Draggin My Heart Around" was next which is another of my new favorites.I just love that wonderful "Honky Tonk" sound, and Patty really nails that sound really fine on this one !!! "Nothin' Like The Lonely" was up next with that great humming we have all come to love and cherish so much ! She then intro'd "Grandpa", and told that really nice story about how it was written about Emory's Grandfather and that it was a very special song to the both of them ! We gave her a standing ovation after that one !!! "Lovin' All Night" was next which really brought a big cheer from the crowd who seemed to really appreciate it . "On Your Way Home" was next which many of us feel is a Loveless Classic for sure in the making ! Patty then asked everyone to get up on their feet for "Blame It On Your Heart", which has always been a Huge favorite of mine because she get's everyone going crazy singing along with her on it ! We all went up to the stage and went wild along with Patty ! She seems to really get quite a kick out of the crowd reaction as we all sang at the top of our lungs !!!

That was the end of the show, but we were all very happy to be there and it had certainly been a great day and night for all of us for sure !!!

Saturday was much like Friday, except I didn't have my friend to get there early and save a nice spot for us in line like I did the day before. That meant only one thing... I had to be the one to "Make It Happen" I promised Bob and Barbara and my friend Diana that I would do that for us all ! Not one to disappoint I dragged my butt out of bed with about 3 and a half hours sleep to head for the Mohegan. It's a 2+ hour ride for me the way I go, and it felt extremely long being that tired. On top of that I've had a nasty ear infection and wasn't feeling very good. But for Patty... Well... You know ... We will do just about anything !!! I got there at 11:30 AM and had to stand in line till 6:30 PM when they seated us, again that's a long time to stand still when all you want to do is go to sleep ! But in the end it's all worth it...after all this is Patty Loveless we're here to see !!!

One thing I almost forgot to mention is that when you bring as much love for Patty to her concerts as we all do, she really picks up on that!!! During both shows, especially on Friday, she kept looking,smiling, and winking at me because she saw just how much fun I was having and how happy I was to be there !!! I'm sure many of my fellow Loveless Lunatic's have noticed the same thing's happening with them and Patty too !!! You can tell that she really loves her fans, and is also really happy to be there up on that stage ! Saturday's show was pretty much a mirror image of Friday's,except I got to sit with Bob, Barb,and my friend Diana. She had always wanted to see Patty and was extremely happy that she went! This night we were seated on the other side of the stage near Garry and Travis.The show was great just like the night before and we all had a blast ! Both Bob and I got a ton of pictures which I'm sure you'll be seeing shortly on PLN !

In closing I'd just like to say a few more things...I had over 9 hours in the car this weekend to listen to just about all of Patty's music and think about things. I have to say that I feel more connected to this wonderfull singer and her whole band than ever ! We have something really special going on here with her and I just want to let everybody know just how much I cherish that and everyone who posts here on PLN !!! I feel like everyone is part of my extended family and that really mean's a great deal to me !

I personally feel that all of us are about the luckiest people in the whole world to have found such a wonderful person like we have in Patty, She truly is a legend in the making and I strongly suggest that anyone who has not had a chance to see her "Make It Happen" She's Great !!! See her just one time and I promise you, you'll be under her spell in no time !!!

"Patty Fever" How bad have you got it !!!

Mike D.