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Patty Loveless Concert
New Hampshire Reviews
Hampton Beach and Lancaster (2 reviews)
Sept. 3 and 4, 2004
Review by Barbara

Thursday, Sept. 2nd. Bob and I organized our packing for the trip. Once everything was in the bags, I was going over a mental checklist: cameras and film, notebook and pen……..sniff, sniff….Oh No! Skunk, and I had just let our dog, HarleyD, outside! I yelled for the dog and also yelled for Bob; grabbed dog’s collar and held him while I determined that he had, indeed, been too close to a skunk. Bob scooped him up and plopped him unceremoniously in the tub while I went on a hunt for old-very old!-towels. So, our plan to get everything ready and get to bed at a decent time was derailed. We confined a semi-dry and still smelly Harley to our computer room (which still smells faintly of skunk) and fell into bed around midnight.

Friday, Sept. 3rd. Bob had to go in to work for 7:30 so he could leave at 11:30. I got up with him, and as soon as he left Harley got his second bath. Then of course I had to clean the entire bathroom! We got on the road at 12:45 pm, and by 3:00 we were at Seacoast Harley-Davidson, one of the largest Harley stores we’ve been in. About 4 pm we arrived at our hotel in Seabrook, NH. Mike D. called and told Bob he was going to the venue then. Bob and I had dinner near the hotel and drove to Hampton Beach. As we got close to the venue, Bob called Mike and he guided us to the parking lot where we parked right near Mike’s car and Patty’s bus. Mike, that is one gorgeous car!! The three of us walked on the beach, removed our shoes and walked into the water. The two guys chickened out---“It’s too cold!”---but I stayed in for a bit and we have pictures to prove it! It was cold and there were some awesome waves; I loved it! We saw a spectacular sunset. Finally it was time to go inside the Hampton Beach Casino Ballroom. Bob and I had the front seats at a table in the second row, on the extreme left of the stage (right if you’re looking at it). Garry’s side, so it was no hardship for me to sit there and look at that cutie! Hmmm, I digressed there a bit. Anyway, the opening act was a comedian so bad that I actually felt embarrassed for him! Don’t they audition these people?!?!? It was pretty warm in there (no a/c) and the acoustics weren’t good. Not a great venue except for it’s proximity to the ocean. Patty’s band came on stage at 8:45 and Deanie took center stage with her fiddle intro, accompanied by Garry on guitar, to “Tear Stained Letter”. Patty strolled out dressed in jeans, a black v-neck under the pink shirt with the beautiful lace cuffs. Guthrie had a hat on; cute! They went right into “You Can Feel Bad”, and Marcia’s intro to “Nothin’ But the Wheel” was awesome, as was Deanie’s fiddle on “Wheel”. I love that song!! I guess everyone else did, too, as Patty commented “Got some rowdy ones here; I like that.” She said it’s the first time back to Hampton Beach since 1998. Patty took us back to 1997 and singing with George Jones. She told us how she used to try to copy his phrasing when she was younger. They won the CMA Vocal Event of the Year for “You Don’t Seem To Miss Me”. Now, I admit I’m a big fan of Garry Murray, but it’s no exaggeration to say that he sounded incredible on that song, better than I’ve ever heard him. Travis had the steel whining on the “Trouble With the Truth” intro. Patty sounded great, and nailed the ending. After “She Drew A Broken Heart” Patty unbuttoned her shirt, and got some whistles and remarks. She buttoned one button! She said that she was in Portsmouth today and enjoyed it. She received some flowers, and said “Thank you very much, they’re beautiful. A man after my heart; it’s okay, my husband’s not here tonight.” Then she talked about Jedd Hughes, and introduced Guthrie, who did his usual virtuoso intro to “Halfway Down”. Patty called Guthrie a “little ball of fire”. The eighth song was “Don’t Toss Us Away” and Patty hit that high note perfectly. Her ‘controversial’ song was next, “Lonely Too Long”, and she said she’s heard that this song brought lots of people together. At this time Patty introduced the band. It’s the last week for Travis Toy, as he’s joining Rascal Flatts. Travis has always been very friendly and a lot of fun, and we’ll miss him. Jimmy Johnson has played with some unbelievable artists, and Patty said she’s honored to have him on stage with her. She said Jimmy has lots of stories! From On Your Way Home came “Draggin’ My Heart Around”, followed by Deanie’s fiddle intro to “Nothin’ Like the Lonely” with Patty humming. Patty said that Deanie played with Bill Monroe once. Then Patty told the story about Emory’s grandfather, Homer Cochran, which of course led to “Not the Grandpa That I Know”. This song is enough to make me cry, but when Deanie gets that fiddle going in the background, it just plucks my heartstrings. Naturally we gave a standing ovation. Tears dried and folks got energized with “Lovin’ All Night’, and then Patty jumped the gun and started to tell us she was going to involve the audience. However, she was skipping over Bob’s favorite, “On Your Way Home”. The band prompted Patty and she realized she was skipping a song, then went right into “On Your Way Home” As usual, she held those notes very well! THEN it was time to teach us the words to “Blame It On Your Heart”. She got almost everyone on their feet, and commented, “We’ve got some lazy ones down here, they must have had too much to drink”. I think we sounded awesome! We made a lot of noise so they came back for an encore. Another favorite of mine, “If My Heart Had Windows”, which Patty said she recorded in 1988 and it became her first top ten record and helped her become a member of the Grand Ole Opry that same year. The last song was “On Down the Line”.

I was watching Patty and thinking about all the other times I’ve seen her, and this thought came to me. This is no ‘pop tart’ with fake body parts hanging out all over. This is a woman with a rare talent to reach into your heart and soul. She is all about her music. Thank God she chooses to share her talent with us!!

We stayed in the ballroom until Security urged everyone to leave. Talked with Garry, Jimmy, and Marcia and I had a picture taken with Marcia, as did Mike D. By the way, Bob got pretty ticked at a security guy who, during the show, came up and said “Do you have a photo shoot pass? Then put the camera away, and if you take it out again, I’ll take it away from you”. Bob complained to the security manager after the show about how rude the guy was. Then we hung out by the bus. Travis said Pete Finney is coming back on steel. Jimmy has been on the road for 43 years! He prefers the bus to flying, and says Prevost buses have good suspensions, they don’t sway much. Travis was telling us about his dog, a Pomeranian with separation anxiety. Every time he and his wife left the dog alone, he chewed up whatever he could reach. Finally they bought a device which emits pheremones, and the dog hasn’t chewed a thing since they began using it. Patty slipped onto the bus, so we left about 11:30 and drove back to the hotel in Seabrook.

Saturday, Sept. 4th. Up at 6 am, showered, had the very good deluxe continental breakfast the hotel provided, and were on the road at 8:15. The night before, he mentioned that his flash was failing (Boy, I am not going to comment on that!) and he needed new batteries for his camera . Well, major crisis averted; the Wal-Mart was open so we could buy batteries for Bob’s camera! We arrived at the Lancaster Fair at 11:45, and found Mike D. and Miles at the grandstand. They said the band had just started sound check. We listened, but no Patty. We could hear Marcia and Garry on “Tear-Stained Letter” and Marcia on “You Can Feel Bad”. They sounded great. The deal at the fair is, you wait in line about two hours before show time and when they open the gate, you run like heck to get front row seats. We took stock, decided Mike D. looked fast, so he became our designated runner. Gates opened at 12:30, and he didn’t let us down. We had front row center seats. They were so close, in fact, that I was looking way up and couldn’t even see Patty’s feet! Once our seats were secured, we spelled each other for lunch. Then we saw Chrissy and Erica, and Mike went over to tell them that there were two empty seats in the front row. We had someone take a picture of all of us. The opening act was Christy Davis and Broken Arrow. Christy had a nice voice. They did a lot of cover tunes. Danielle from the local radio station, 97.5, was throwing T-shirts to the crowd. Jimmy Johnson asked if he could throw one, and when they handed him a shirt, he turned around and threw it to Travis! Garry came onstage in a great dark brown Western shirt. Mmmmm! When Patty came onstage, she looked outstanding in jeans and a sparkly lace ¾-sleeve V-neck zippered shirt in a soft butter color. The set list was the same for this show and the one at 7 pm, so I’ll just list it here, and then give any highlights.

“Tear Stained Letter”
“You Can Feel Bad”
“Nothin’ But the Wheel”
“You Don’t Seem to Miss Me”
“Trouble With the Truth”
“Halfway Down”
“Draggin’ My Heart Around”
“Nothin’ Like the Lonely”
“Not the Grandpa That I Know”
“Lovin’ All Night”
“On Your Way Home”
“Blame It On Your Heart”

After “Wheel” Patty said she loved the view of the mountains. “You sure have a beautiful view out here.” Mike D. said “We sure do!” and made a frame with his fingers. The crowd applauded, and Patty laughed and blushed. It was great! After “Nothin’ Like the Lonely” a little blond boy gave Patty roses. She said “A young man after my own heart. If I was a little younger or you a little older; thank you. What’s your name, sweetheart?” “Garrett.” “Thank you, Garrett. Is that your brother asleep?” “Yes.” “I guess he’s not into girls yet.” When we stood up for “Blame” I got a look at Patty’s boots. Wow! Cream with black design—very cool. I thought the sound was off; at times the band seemed to drown out Patty’s voice.

Second show, at 7 pm. Just a quick note about the sound. They must have fixed something because the sound was much better than the afternoon show. Guthrie had his hat, and Deanie had a nice black leather jacket. We had brought our jackets from the car, and glad we did. It got really chilly once the sun went down!! Patty came out in a beige V-neck bodysuit, jeans, and a leather cream jacket with a cracked-look finish. It was fitted, with wide split sleeves, a flared peplum, and a string tie at the waist. She wore a cross pendant and hoop earrings. As I said, the set list was the same. After “Miss Me” Patty asked how many had been at the 2 o’clock show. Well, we all raised our hands and hollered! “And you don’t mind sitting through it again?” she asked, which received a loud response. At the end of “Trouble With the Truth” she looked hot and sassy! When she introduced Garry, she mentioned all the instruments he plays, and said he’s a great fiddler, then grinned and said she meant his fiddling around. “Don’t let the sweet smile fool you’, she warned. Travis had glasses on, and Patty talked about him and began to move on without introducing him. Travis yelled, “Hey, what’s my name?” to which Patty retorted “How soon we forget!”. Jimmy, holding his guitar backward, said he was just warming it up. Patty: “My husband is a bass player too, and that’s what he tells me; he’s ‘just warming it up’”, which cracked us all up. Jimmy didn’t reply, so Patty said “He’s a gentleman---Jimmy, not my husband.” After “Grandpa” Patty told us “Grandpa liked lovin’ all night, he had twelve kids.” We left the fair at 8:30 pm and drove to our hotel in Lincoln, NH. Up again at 6 am, another great free breakfast, and drove home, arriving at 11:15 am. A total of 528 miles, every single one worth it. We had a great time, and it was even more fun sharing it with friends. Mike D., Miles, Chrissy, and Erica, it was a great Patty season with you folks. Take care, and we’ll hope to see you all again when the Patty bus hits the road next year!