Sellersville Theatre
Sellersville, PA
August 6, 2005
Review By: Richard
There is not a better way to recuperate from nasty eye surgery (restoring my tear ducts. I guess there is some irony that after 30+ years of counseling children and families that my eyes lost the ability to produce tears) than two Patty shows in one evening. Four days removed from the procedure that left me looking like Rocky Raccoon, we headed to Sellersville, which is located north of Philadelphia and south of Allentown. This is wonderful small town Pennsylvania.
The venue, Sellersville Theatre 1894, is a refurbished movie theatre with legendary local history. The theatre holds fewer than 300 people, with 7 cabaret-style tables at the front of the stage and Rows A through U behind the tables. The rows are elevated, somewhat like Prestonsburg, which provides great sight lines. We were fortunate to score a front table for both shows, which we shared with Teresa. The intimate setting was ideal for David to provide the finest of sound. Both shows were sellouts with appreciative and enthuiastic crowds.
Patty was in top-notch form, looking and sounding great. (Since my computer has died and I am working off a laptop, waiting for my new Dell to arrive, the photos will be delayed for about a week). Since we were about 3 feet from the stage (very much like the Birchmere and Ram's Head in terms of closeness), my bruised and battered condition was not lost on Patty. She pointed to my wife behind me and asked if she was responsible for my "look". It was nice to be noticed, but there are probably better ways to do so. During the acoustic set in the second show, I politely stated, "I'll Never Grow Tired of You, Sweetheart" right after the band finished "Boys". I didn't get my request this time, but Patty responded with "I'll Never Grow Tired of You, Richard", which made my night.
The setlist was standard for this tour, with "Harlan" in the first show and "Grandpa" in the second show. First show encores were "Don't Even Know" and "Elvis" and second show encores were "Wheel" and "Elvis". Although the setlist has become familiar, I think it is brilliant. The new material blends seamlessly with the old stuff. My favorite new songs change from show to show. This time, "Dreamin' My Dreams" blew me away both times I heard it. Waylon Jennings is no doubt beaming from above every night that Patty renders his work as timeless. I also like the fact that the acoustic set is approaching half of the show (7 out of 19 songs). I think that smaller venues like this and the Birchmere and Ram's Head lend themselves to an unplugged sound. At small venues, I am always reminded of the 2002 shows at the Birchmere and Ram's Head, which were nearly all acoustic, on the heels of the Down From The Mountain tour.
Unlike the Northern Gang, the Mid-Atlantic duo has yet to hear, "I'm That Kind of Girl" (a great Matraca Berg song, which I would feel somewhat uncomfortable singing along to). I also need my fix on The Stanley Brothers' "I'll Never Grow Tired of You", but I am sure that there are surprises ahead as the tour hits its stride.
If you have an opportunity to check out Sellersville, by all means do so. Its value to the community reminds me of the historic Newberry Opera House in South Carolina, where we were treated to two fine shows in 2003. Patti and I have been blessed this summer with fine venues and appreciative audiences.
We expect that to continue at our next stop, which is Liberty North Carolina on August 20. This will also be two shows in one day (PL Bliss). And another small venue. When the owner of Liberty Showcase, a guy named Ron, mailed us the tickets a few weeks ago, we were impressed with the fine photograph of Patty on the tickets (from the On Your Way Home shoot) and the personalized touch he has given to the shows. Booking Patty for two shows in this small North Carolina town clearly means a lot to him.
