Indian Ranch

Webster, MA

August 7, 2005

Review By: Cole

We arrived at the Indian Ranch after an entertaining car ride with Bob & Barbara. These two crack me up when driving in the vehicle- Tammie and I just sat in the back seat laughing. After a 45 minute entertaining trip, we arrived at the venue a little early. Bob, Barbara and Tammie had bought some subs to bring to the venue, so we all went to some picnic tables in the back to let them eat, and met up with Mike (and waiting for Miles- again!). After a little while of sitting there, Roger & Lyle came up and introduced themselves to us. It was, as always, fun to meet up with more PLN'ers, and they spent a lot of time with us prior to the show,so we spent a good while getting to know eachother.

Indian Ranch seems like a nice little venue. Quite a few people there were swimming, or having a picnic since it was the perfect place to do so. There were five rows in the front of the stage, that were white plastic chairs. We were in the last row of the white chairs, and they were great seats- especially since I sat on the end- I had no one on the other side of me and was able to lean over for photos. I had a guy with a cowboy hat on in front of me, and while I'm tall- he was taller, so I couldn't see well past his hat. Being on the end of the row eliminated that problem quickly. However, we had quite some interesting folks around us. There were some empty seats just to the left of us, but for the most part, the place was absolutely packed. To our left and a couple rows up sat two ladies who had already had too much to drink before the show started. We'll get back with them later on in the show!

Patty came onstage and the crowd went nuts! I was quite curious how they would be, and from the sounds of it, we had quite a few big fans there. Even those who weren't "big" fans at least had a large appreciate for her music, and clapped along with the music. Patty came out wearing jeans and the one brown shirt that she's had a lot throughout the tour. Tammie laughed & looked at me saying "I know they don't have tons of room for clothes on the bus, but I swear she only brought four outfits for the entire tour!". She looked fantastic, however!

I wont post the set list, since it's already been posted, but again will comment on some. The crowd really seemed to enjoy her- after a little while, the constant non stop screams during the songs were getting a little annoying for me, and I thought the crowd was a little more "rowdy" than I like. I was so pleased they all seemed to enjoy her- and I cheer along with anyone else, but after so much during a song...I start to get annoyed, lol! Most of this crowd was great, but had it's share of over-eagers & drunks!

The two drunk ladies play into this. They kept screaming at her when she was trying to talk,or even during songs. One of them kept screaming "we looooove you patty!" while Patty was trying to explain some of the songs, etc. Everyone around her was trying to tell them to shut up, but they never did- they just got worse! Luckily for us, the staff discovered that the ladies had brought vodka in with them - and was pouring it into their Sierra Mist. They were searched & kicked out, yaaay! Everyone in the front five rows cheered & smiled when the ladies were kicked out- they were the biggest problem in the crowd!

Patty told the crowd she was so pleased that the venue was still there, because she thought it was going away after 2003, and that it was a great place.

She sounded top notch throughout the entire show- but Tammie and I noticed throat spray over by her water & she was using it in between songs. A couple times we saw Martin & Guthrie ask her if she was ok. It was also hot, hot, hot on this particular day! We complain about the heat at shows, but at least we're sitting in once place- she's all over the place, and bless her heart, her shirt was just sticking to her by the end of the show.

Before starting into the acoustic set, Patty mentioned that she and Emory have been married for 16 years, and that this was their 20 year anniversary of making music together in the studio. A guy down front yelled "what about at home?!" and Patty laughed, saying "Well that's a personal question! Yes, we make music together at home too!", laughing again as she continued talking about she & Emory, and explained more about their new record. She started the acoustic set once again with my personal favorite on the entire set list- "My Old Friend the Blues". I said it once, I'll say it again- that song is killer. She nails it every single time- although she nails just about everything!

After singing "Never Ending Love" & "Someone I Used to Know" with Troy (give it up for Troy! He rocks!), she kicked into "Boys are Back in Town" & "Daniel Prayed"-which have become staples in the acoustic set. We had mentioned once we wouldn't mind if she took out "Boys", but the more I think about it, I'd hate to see it out! The fiddles are amazing in it- it's a great song for Deanie to kick off!

She had a lot of the audience crying during "Grandpa" (drunk girls up front included, prior to them getting kicked out). She told everyone in the audience about Papa Cochran. She rounded out the acoustic set with "Big Chance", telling everyone that the "Pretty Little Miss" was fourteen now and ready to get married! I love this one- it's got the cutest lyrics & a great beat. During this one, Kylie forgot some of the words, and Patty took her first and pretended to punch her, prompting laughter from both girls.

What show is complete without Patty's humming, and as usual, that's what she gave us after the acoustic set was over! Die Hards who follow Patty around know the routine for each song, so you could tell who had seen her before when Deanie started to walk out towards the middle of the stage and some folks were going nuts! This is another one we can't take out of the set list- or if she ever does, it needs to be replaced with something with an equal amount (or MORE) of humming! :)

Audience Participation went well at this show- everyone knew their lines in "Blame" and "I Try to Think About Elvis", of course! Encores consisted of "Wheel" and "Elvis", which, again, I love "Wheel", but REALLY miss the key intro to it.

And, just because I want to...props to Jimmy, because I totally missed him in Prestonsburg. Shows just aren't the same without Jimmy J!

Afterwards, we headed out to the bus and waited. Since I'd met her Friday, I saw no need to get another photo with her (although I did get one with Troy!!), so I plopped my headphones on and sat back and waited for her to come out & served as the photographer for everyone else who got their photo with her. She was extremely gracious- and signed autos and posed for photos for all the ones who had been waiting for her for a while.

At this point, I want to jump on my soapbox for a moment. I don't usually allow this topic to be discussed on the boards, because I simply get annoyed and tired of hearing it BUT... I can't express enough how appreciative we are that Patty was so humble and gracious both nights. It seems like half a tour season, fans complain left and right that she doesn't sign autographs (or she does and is unappreciative), and when she does, they still aren't happy. I know she's not been posing for photographs with everyone at each "after show signing", and some folks are a little agitated with that, but remember that she doesn't have to come out there at all. Can't we just be gracious that she's come out to "shake and howdy" with us at all? I'm tired of people complaining that Patty is a hard artist to meet..We've seen her over 7 times this year and she has signed autographs at almost every single show! She is not that hard to meet, and she's in no way unappreciative. Go to her show, and if you meet her afterwards, you simply got something extra! If you don't meet her- you still just saw an amazing performance by the best talent to ever hit country music! : )

/end soapbox:)