Shooting Star Casino
Mahnomen, MN
June 10th, 2005
Review By: Josh
I know everyone is excited to hear the details of the first tour stop of the year. I will do my best to give a detailed account, so forgive me if it gets long. John (Bluemoon) has posted the set list, and I am sure he will add any details I may have left out.
Before the show at the Shooting Star casino located about four hours north of Minneapolis/St. Paul, I had the chance to talk with Jimmy Johnson for some time. He warned me that the band was rusty and there were still a lot of kinks to work out. Nevertheless, Patty and the band were excited to begin this years tour and make music together. He told me they would be doing FIVE SONGS FROM THE NEW ALBUM!
Also, he said there were a few new band members this year, and that Marcia would be playing tonight and making an appearance here and there throughout the tour. On to the show...
1. KEEP YOUR DISTANCE: what a better way to begin the new year with a brand new song. It began with a beautiful Pete steel guitar intro and then Patty graciously walked her way on to the stage with a beautiful smile, wearing jeans and a brownish tan colored shirt. You all know those goose bumps we get when she makes her appearance. The song sounded great and the band showed little signs of rust. Her voice sounded strong and she nailed the complicated vocal.
2. LAST THING ON MY MIND : I have never been a really big fan of this one, but it sounded great! Martin really nailed the unique drumming, and the harmony with brand new band member Troy Engle proved to be seamless, like they have been singing together forever.
After the song Patty talked with the crowd, telling us theyd be doing a little old, a little new, and a little Johnny Come Lately. at that point our Loveless Lunatic John (Bluemoon) yelled we will love it all! Patty told John to be patient. :)
3. YOU DON'T SEEM TO MISS ME : always sounds great live and tonight was no exception. Once again, Troy harmonized beautifully. He is no George Jones, but he has a great voice. Guthrie did an excellent job on the guitar runs. Watch what he does with the volume controls on the guitar during the chorus. He earns his money on that one!
4. YOU CAN FEEL BAD : the band really nailed this one. Musically it was flawless and seemed to be more rockin than I remember it in the past. Patty really seemed to get into the show on this one; having fun with the words.
5. SHE DREW A BROKEN HEART : wow! I love when she does this song live. Itˇ¦s a great follow up to You Can Feel Bad. The crowd (the room was pretty packed - I would guess around 1,500) really got into the show on this one. Patty seemed to be having a lot of fun making numerous hand gestures to tell the sassy tale of the song. The band sounded fantastic and Guthrie and Deanie really made the song come alive.
After this song Patty briefly spoke to the crowd. She dedicated the next song to Waylon Jennings
6. DREAMIN MY DREAMS : you all are going to love this song. I cant really think of words to do it justice. We all talk about how Patty just loses herself in the words and really makes it powerful for the audience; this song epitomizes that. Patty stood still behind the mic stand on this one, and she really seemed to be into the slow, beautiful ballad. Here are the words to the chorus.
Some day, I'll get over you,
I'll live to see it all through.
But I'll always miss, dreaminˇ¦ my dreams with you.
Guthrie also has a beautiful solo on this one!
While they were setting up for the bluegrass set after this one, Patty explained that she remembered hearing Waylon sing that song and she thought it was so beautiful. She also admitted she had a crush on Waylon growing up. Also, she said THE NEW ALBUM WILL BE OUT THE LAST OF JULY OR THE 1ST OF AUGUST, I THINK. Iˇ¦m not sure, the record company does that stuff.
BLUEGRASS SET (same set up as before, one mic and the band gathers around)
7. MY OLD FRIEND THE BLUES : ummˇKˇKwow is all I can say. Patty just nailed the Steve Earl song. Similar to Dreamin my Dreams, she really seemed into the beautiful combination of words and melody. You all are going to LOVE this one! Heres the refrain.
Lovers leave and friends will let you down,
But youre the only sure thing that I have found.
No matter what I do, I ll never lose,
My old friend the blues.
After this song Patty introduces the next song by telling the story of how she a Dwight Yoakam are from the same town, born in the same hospital, only a couple months apart.
8. NEVER ENDING LOVE : another great new song. This is the one I was least impressed with, nevertheless, it was excellent. Troy did an amazing job of harmonizing. I ll be very curious to hear it on the record with Dwight. She also mentions that this is one of her favorite Dolly and Porter duets.
9. SOMEONE I USED TO KNOW : sounded great and the band played beautifully. Guthrie played a few beautiful little guitar runs and Troys harmony was absolutely amazing. His voice is somewhat similar to John Randell from the original recording. Very high and soft.
10. THE BOYS ARE BACK IN TOWN : Deanie and Troy nailed the duel fiddle and Patty seemed to be having a good time with the fun song. Marcia and Troy both sounded great harmonizing with Patty.
This is where the night got really fun. Patty mentioned that she forgot her belt, and she couldnt drive home 1,000 miles to get it. So jokingly, she asks the audience, anyone have a belt I could borrow? To her surprise, some cowboy in the front row puts his belt on the edge of the stage and Patty grabs it. It must have been the biggest belt buckle I ve ever seen! I am talking like boxing/wresting championship belt big! (Ok, not that big, but you get the point.) Patty put it on and wore it for the show. I ll somehow post a pick)
11. DANIEL PRAYED : once again, everyone sounded great, especially the harmony with Marcia and Troy. You all are really going to like Troy!
Before the next song Patty tells the story of her father and how he loved the Stanley Brothers. She dedicated Harlan to my father and all of his friends.
12. HARLAN : whats to say? You cant use words to explain the power of the song. The band sounded great and Troy did an excellent job on the banjo intro. They seemed to add a little more to the outro, with Patty doing some extended humming! The song gets better and better every time she sings it.
After Harlan, our friend John (Bluemoon) presented Patty with a Minnesota Twins baseball jersey that said Loveless on the back with #1 on it. Patty held it up to display for the crowd. Unfortunately, I didnt get a pick of her displaying it, but I did get one of John handing it to her and her holding in her hand. Patty thanked him kindly. Maybe she ll wear it next month at the Jordan show!
For the next song, Patty called it a follow up to Little Miss
13. BIG CHANCE : this song was awesome and it is a fun song to do live. I wish I could have written down all the words, but it is clearly a follow up to Little Miss. Very close to the same melody. I hope they do Little Miss and Big Chance together for some shows. I wish she would have talked about it more. I wonder if she and Em wrote it? I tried to write the chorus, but couldnt get it all.
Look here momma, look her daddy,
Its my true love, we are gonna get married.
??
??
This is my big chance, we are gonna get married.
This is going to become a classic. It's so funny!
END BLUEGRASS SET: Back to the original stage set up
The next song begins with an amazing Deanie fiddle intro. And everyones favorite, Patty humming those pretty little lips off!
14. NOTHIN LIKE THE LONELY : ok, I have to admit, I ve never been a real big fan of this song, but this performance made it a favorite. She and the band just nailed it! She must have been listening to us regarding the humming, as she definitely gets her humm on for this one. You all are going to love! The performance was just awesome!!!
15. ON YOUR WAY HOME : sounded fantastic. Nothing added or fancy from the original recording, but always chilling, powerful, and trans setting.
After this Patty introduced the band. (Deanie, Troy, Martin, Marcia, Pete, and Guthrie) ˇV Patty said that Marcia would be joining her now and then and jokingly said that she forgot to bring her keyboard; or it wouldnt fit on the buss : Its weird not having a keyboard, but you could barely tell it was missing. They didnt play any of the songs were it is required; like Nothin But the Wheel or How Can I Help You
After that Patty turned Guthrie lose on his solo. It was good, but honestly I think last year was better. He played a lot of pretty chords and harmonics, but didnt really let lose on any fast finger picking. Nevertheless, it was very very good!
16. HALFWAY DOWN : ok, wow! This song always rocks live, but Guthrie and the band were really rockin this year. Guthrie really cut lose on the solo too. This has become one of my favorite live songs and you all are really going to love it! It really gets the crowd into it and I think it is better than any previous time I ve heard it.
17. LOVIN ALL NIGHT : honestly I wasnt too impressed with the performance. Patty seemed to be having fun with it, but something was lacking. Maybe it was just me.
Patty got the crowd to their feet and said it was time for participation. We all knew what was coming.
18. BLAME IT ON YOUR HEART : same as always. Nothing special or added. The crowd was pretty into it. Nothing exceptional
Patty thanked the crowd and walked off the stage. People applauded favorably, and an elderly man was making some sort of weird wooping sound behind me. I was nervous it would scare them from coming back out! j/k
ENCORE : short Guthrie Intro
19. ELVIS : same as Blame it on Your Heart. It wasnt anything exceptional. Very similar to the recording. During the part Patty always has fun with, she said yeah..I know where I am. We are in Minnesota. the crowd seemed to like that.
Patty thanked the crowd and brought the band forward for a bow. So concluded an excellent show to kick off the season. The band showed little signs of rust, and I know they will only get better and better. Patty s voice is as strong and beautiful as ever. We are all in for an amazing season.
While there were a standards that she left out (Here I Am, You Dont Even Know Who I AM, Thats the Kind of Mood, etc.), a few from last year (Grandpa), and a few classics (Dont Toss Us Away, That Kind of Girl, etc.) it was worth it to make room for five BRAND NEW SONGS!
Enjoy the season everybody! It is going to be a great one!
