Wolf Trap

Vienna, VA

July 1st, 2005

Review By: Richard

Patti, Jesse, and I took the miserable Friday afternoon holiday weekend ride from Baltimore to Vienna Virginia for the Opry show. Most of the trip is like driving in a packed parking lot. A slow go.

Wolf Trap is one of my all-time favorite outdoor venues. I wasn't as psyched as I would have been for a full-show, but a dose of Patty is better than none at all. And, it will be three weeks (Prestonsburg) before we get the full show.

The park was crowded. Ricky Skaggs, the headliner of this Opry show, said there were 4500 people there. Ricky opened, then came Old Crow Medicine Show, Riders in the Sky, and Del McCoury. I got antsy waiting. I spoke briefly with Shane, who was a very busy man negotiating the stage with so many bands. He shared the set list with me, which I will note later. I spotted Kylie Harris with a guitar. She appeared to be a bit uncomfortable. After all, it was her first show with the band. Shane told me last night on the bus was the first time she had picked up a mandolin, in preparation for the bluegrass material, but she just strummed the guitar tonight. Deanie told me that there would be no keyboards on the tour this year since the last two albums do not feature them.

Finally, after a brief intermission, Patty and the band came out. I must mention that it was oppressively hot and everyone on stage was sweating bullets. Patty's blue tank top (Sorry, folks, no pictures. I think they hire people at Wolf Trap specifically to look for cameras) was soaked. She wore it over jeans like she did at the Renfro Valley show.

Despite the oppressive conditions, she sounded absolutely wonderful. She opened with last year's opener, Nothing But The Lonely. And yes, folks, a most prolonged hum. Instantly, this made the traffic hassles, the heat, the pain and suffering of sitting through the other acts all worth it. My Patty Loveless buzz was ON.

She nailed the song and followed it with Here I Am. Not a false start into On Your Way Home, but a solid and splendid rendition of this masterpiece. I must say that the audience was most respectful: no talkers that we could hear and a loud ovation after every song. Our girl was most appreciated.

Next up was Keep Your Distance. Guthrie and Pete managed to recreate some of Albert Lee's B-Bender riff from the recorded version. I think they are developing their rendition of this song as the tour goes on. This song, which should be a radio bullet to #1 in a perfect world, was well received by the audience. After the false ending, Patty finished the song by raising her arms in the air and belting out the final "keep your distance." Spellbinding. I glanced over at my punk rock, White Stripes son and his mouth was open. He looked back at me and said, "awesome."

Patty followed with Dreamin' My Dreams, after giving her due to Waylon. This one mesmerized the audience. Such a beautiful rendition. Not a loudmouth in the house.

The tempo was fired up with a rousing Lovin' All Night. I leaned over to Jesse and said, "I really don't like this song." He said "yeah, it's a bit hokey, but it rocks." He was right. As many have noted on this site, the live version is much better than the album cut.

A profusely perspiring Patty ended with Blame. She didn't bother to ask people to stand up. It was too hot. But I felt some eye contact from my seemingly distant 5th row seats as I shouted every word on the chorus.

That was her set. A nice in-between dose of Patty until Prestonsburg and Lincoln Memorial University in 3 weeks. But we did not leave to beat the traffic because Shane had tipped me off that our girl would do a number with Ricky. And indeed, during his set, Patty joined him for a superb rendition of Bill Monroe's Close By, which she recorded for Ricky's Bill Monroe Tribute album several years ago. Magnificent ending to an evening that Patti and I most needed. Last weekend, our daughter totaled her car with our son, Jesse, and two of his friends inside. He had 27 stitches in his forehead, a chipped tooth, and a sprained knee. Thank God, no one else was hurt. Tonight was great healing.