Center for the Rural Arts
Somerset, KY
September 10th, 2004
Review By: Cole
We got the tickets to this show at last minute, just a sudden decision to go a week or two prior. Luckily,I've got an awesome boss who was fine with letting me have the day off (with my reassurance that I will
NOT need all these days off during the winter. So much for my "sticking to Saturday and Sunday only shows" plan!). I had set my alarm for 7 that morning
to allow myself time to get ready...however I awoke to extremely bright sunlight, and I realized my alarm had never went off! It was 9:30 by the time I got up. I rushed around and got ready, and Chris and I headed to Kentucky around 12:00. Somerset is only about 2 1/2 hours from Nashville, so it was hardly a drive at all.
Halfway there, I realized we weren't super positive if it was in Central or Eastern timezone. Nashville and Bowling Green are both in Central, and Somerset isn't TOO far from there. So I pulled out the tickets to look for a phone number, and the only number we could locate on them was for cellular One, who is sponsoring the show. Chris felt that we should make this a humorous trip...and called Celluar One a couple times to have some
meaningful chats, and then finally called the venue, where we were informed that they had NO CLUE who Andy Griggs really was, but they COULD tell us that he was "REAL CUTE". (Why they felt the need to tell Chris that Andy Griggs was cute, I'll never know!)
When we pulled into the venue - we were IMPRESSED. The building had beautiful glass windows and was quite tall. It seemed like a small building you would see in downtown Nashville. We thought this would mean the venue would be great inside! We got there early enough to see Patty and the band coming out of soundcheck, so we briefly said Hello to Patty, but didn't want to stop her for anything. We spent a little time with Marcia and then headed to Walmart to get something to drink.
When we returned to the venue, we saw in the car and talked on the phone for a little while to pass some time. It was growing closer to the show time- but neither one of us really cared to watch Andy Grigg's performance. We didn't have the radio running, and I was starting to become Patty deprived;), so I started singing "Trouble with the Truth" in the car at the top of my lungs. After that, we decided to head inside the venue.
That beautiful area we saw when we pulled in? Offices. Doors were locked! We kept on walking and the entrance to the actual VENUE was this little tiny brick building attachment. Not as nice as we though, but whatever works. They stamped our hands with this really unfashionable green "Bingo" stamper to allow us to come in and out of the doors. We went inside to check out the seating arrangement, and was a little surprised with it. When you walked in, it was just an auditorium. There were three sections
seats, and the sides were FAR side seats! The only seats literally in front of the stage, were center seating. We checked our seats out and then headed to the lobby. I decided I wanted to wear my Pink PL hat- so I had to change into a Patty shirt so it would somewhat match!
We watched Andy Griggs come on stage, but when he did- YOUR EARDRUMS about burst! His set was ENTIRELY too loud. So we headed out to the lobby and sat out in there waiting for intermission (or, as their djs' called it- halftime). You could hear Andy's set perfectly in the restroom, as well as outside when you first walked out the doors. I called Tammie on my cell and she could hear him as well. Crazy! We sat in the lobby for a bit and chatted with some of the crew. Shayne had some family there, since he is from Renfro Valley, which is just around the corner from Somerset.
He was finally over after about an hour of being onstage, and we were very anxious for Patty to come on. We went to meet up with friends Brad and Janet again, and they told us that fans had went in front of the stage and just sat on the floor during Andy's show. So we planned on doing the same for Patty's.
Patty came onstage around 9 or so, and the crowd went crazy for her! We were pumped that the crowd seemed so fantastic! Before she came out, people in front of us stood up and were cheering as Deanie and Garry started their intro to "Tear Stained Letter". Patty came out to fantastic applause. In the middle of "Tear Stained Letter", we sat down in front of the stage with Brad, Janet, and a few other folks to watch some of the show.
Patty was in a great mood and sounded top notch. I'd have to say this was probably the second best show I attended this entire touring season so far. She didn't miss a note at any point in the show whatsoever. Patty made the comment after "You Can Feel Bad", that the crowd put her in a great mood and made the "trip worth it", and said it was a great crowd. "The Trouble With the Truth" sounded superb- and she held the last note to perfection. I noticed a few people giving her well deserved standing ovations on various songs the first half of the show. After she finished "Trouble with the Truth", she smiled at all the applause and then as the band started into "She Drew a Broken Heart", she said "Now here's someone whose had some trouble with the truth!" and started into the song.
I wont post the set list- it was basically the same set list that she's had for most of the touring season. The crowd seemed to know most of the songs she sang that were singles- and "Halfway Down" was a big hit with them. Patty told her now famous "Picking Up Guthrie" in the bar story--and at the end of the story this night, and proclaiming she told him she really "dug your playing", she laughed and said "Using that Patty Loveless line works every time!", and then she let Guthrie loose on the guitar for his solo. Guthrie sounded fantastic! We kept noticing how much the rest of the band enjoys Guthrie's "Halfway Down" solo- Patty and Deanie were having a great time!
After "Halfway Down", we headed back to our seats. I realized at that point I was going to have some issues during the show....We were behind some of the rudest folks at the concert. They didn't like anyone cheering or clapping at any point, so when someone did so, they would turn to stare at them. Of course...it just made me cheer and clap a little bit louder. As I told Garry after the show- you don't go to a concert if you don't like the noise. GO TO a LIBRARY if you want silence, NOT a concert. Now, just a few seats down from them were a couple ladies I thought were great to sit near- they were cheering Patty on, and knew the words to most songs. I was glad to find some more big fans in our section!
After "Draggin My Heart Around", she kicked into "Nothin Like the Lonely"....now....I vote this song to the "the" song to NEVER GET TAKEN OUT of the set list! If she takes it out- we've got to have some other song with a ton of humming in it- she has now spoiled us with the humming, I want it to stay! This was my favorite song of Tour 2003- and it's pretty much been my favorite song for this tour. The humming is beyond amazing, and Deanie's fiddling is just killer in it! The crowd seemed to really dig "Nothing Like the Lonely" and gave a great reception to it. Then it was time for the Mountain Soul set.
Patty told the story about Emory's Papa Cochran and explained to everyone about the photo of him in the "On Your Way Home" cd sleeve. They started into "Grandpa", and the crowd was absolutely silent- for the most part. At this point, I was becoming irate with the ladies that I had thought seemed to really enjoy the show. They were
talking during the song. And I'm not talking leaning over and whispering in each others ear....they were just talking normally. A few people told them to hush, and they lowered their voices for the rest of "Grandpa". At the end of the song, she received another well- deserved standing ovation. An elderly lady in the front row was crying, and Patty apologized to her, telling her she didn't mean to make her cry, but assured her that the first time she
heard that song, she cried too. They kicked into "Boys", and the crowd went nuts. I am sure more than half the audience owns "Mountain Soul"- it was by far the most popular part of the night! I have to say- the Bluegrass segment
really lets you hear Marcia and Garry's vocals perfectly. Marcia has an absolute beautiful voice! (And if you haven't done it yet, go
here to order Marcia's cd!) I know we've spoke quite a bit about how fantastic Marcia is, and I have to say I
really hope that she does stay and tour again with Patty in 2005.
As Patty began to introduce "Cheap Whiskey", she spoke about how it was originally cut by Martina McBride. As she continued about how she felt she really wanted to cut it- I heard one of the ladies down the row from us loudly proclaim, "SHE IS NOT going to do a Martina McBride song, she doesn't have the voice to do it!"- which flat out ticked me the hell off. I looked at Chris, who knew I was about to open my large mouth and say something (I do NOT know how to keep my mouth shut) , so he just grinned and said, "WELL at least Patty did it so much BETTER!", and continued on with the show. Patty NAILED the song, of course (and I was so proud this show she got the words right;) ) the rest of the crowd went crazy over it! She closed out the Mountain Soul set with "Daniel Prayed", and then
telling her story of the young girl who came up to her at the beginning of the tour and wanted to hear "The song about her", Pretty Little Miss! I think almost everyone in the audience knew the words, and you could hear everyone singing along with Patty.
I have to say, I never thought Deanie could top her intro to "Here I Am", but for me- I think she has done so with her intro to "On Your Way Home". It's absolutely superb, and it had everyone's attention. (Deanie was a huge hit with this crowd!) I was thrilled about hearing the song, and just as Patty began to sing- Martina Fan down the row from me started yapping again! I looked at Chris and said, "Of ALL the songs to talk through- she has GOT to shut the hell up!". There is a difference between lightly talking, whispering at a show and flat out having a loud conversation during a concert! Luckily for me, she heard me and zipped the lips for the rest of the song! I would say that Patty sounded amazing during "On Your Way Home"- but I don't think it would be nearly enough accurate to say that-
because she was far beyond amazing. To my surprise- this song received the least amount of cheering from the audience! They were a great Patty crowd, but seriously needed to pay attention to that one! Tons of fans that we spoke to/overheard talking had no clue what the song was- nor did they know "Nothin Like the Lonely" or "Draggin"- a ton of them were shocked to learn she had a new cd out! The cd has been out for almost a year, and fans are just now discovering that she has a new cd. We heard a few fans say they planned on buying the cd immediately. (If this isn't a big neon flashing sign that OYWH was completely neglected in the promotions department, I don't know WHAT is!) The song that they
did recognize from the cd was "Lovin All Night", and everyone again sang a long to this one! After LAN, of course, had
come the time for Patty to teach everyone the words to "Blame", and make everyone stand up- if they were able. We had fantastic audience participation for this one. The set list called for an encore, but Patty had said they ran out of time, so she and the band took their bows and disappeared from the stage.
There were a few of us waiting out back and Patty was gracious enough to come out and sign autographs after her Meet and Greet was over. A few of the guys out there with us were intrigued by learning more about Patty, and we briefly gave them Patty's bio and the link to the site (so I wouldn't have to say everything!). One of the guys had told us he too had no clue about the new cd, and after he got his photo with Patty, he told her he was going to get her cd the next day.
Chris and Janet were thrilled to have the chance to meet her, since neither one of them had ever had the opportunity.
I'd say the show was worth the trip, but isn't
ANY Patty concert worth the trip? I'm starting to become bummed that it is now September, and the realization setting in that I've only got three shows left this touring season.
Oh, and as a final note, I want to say it's about time Patty has some pink merchandise!:) After 18 years of no pink stuff, I'm ENTHRALLED that she now has a pink hat!
