LL Bean

July 4, 2009

Freeport, ME

Review By: Cole

This will probably be THE most random review I've ever done for a PL show. Apologies ahead of time!

The morning of the Freeport show was... interesting. My lovely Richard gave me a little bit of medication the night before to help my headache since I brought nothing, which indeed helped me sleep and I woke up with no headache. But, then I woke up dizzy. Chalking it up to needing to eat, I headed downstairs to the dining room at the Inn to meet Richard and Patti for a breakfast that I barely ate. We sat for a bit, then headed back to pack. They packed and got ready--- I laid down for 30 minutes. This really should just hinted to me even more that I wasn't feeling well, but I ignored it and we hopped on the road to head to Portland to check into our hotel, then to Freeport.

Now, Patti and Richard certainly came through as the "2nd Parent" roles that they've been dubbed on this day, as I ended up being sick almost the entire ride to Freeport. Bless their hearts for stopping everytime I needed them to, and when we got to the hotel and I slept for 2 hours, I awoke to find they had ran to the store to get what I needed, along with hard candy, and extra stuff in the car in the event I was still sick on the way. I owe them now! Luckily, after waking up, I felt better and was ready to head to the show!

We headed to Freeport in the pouring rain-- mother nature was NOT on our side. Not a good thing considering the show was outdoors. We drove around downtown Freeport trying to figure out where the show was when suddenly the stage and PL's bus appeared. It was literally just in the middle of the road and grass next to the LL Bean store. With it being 4th of July and the fireworks going on after her show--- the place was absolutely PACKED. We estimated at least 2 thousand people. People started setting up their chairs days in advance, and that whole area in front of the stage was full. From there, they had bleachers set up on the side--- and then BEHIND it all they had a HUGE jumbo tron and chairs set up back there. It was very, very busy! But, thanks to Bob, Barbara and Kevin, our chairs were already there and set up--- and once we arrived, we were able to take cover and meet up with them inside the LL Bean store.

We kept our fingers crossed that the rain would let up, and went to get a bite to eat and catch up with eachother---it had been four years since we had seen Bob and Barbara! We kept thinking it would clear up and sat down in our wet chairs (that extra stuff Patti brought in the event I needed it came in handy--- the towels and bags we were able to use to keep from getting wet on the chairs!) only to find out they were going to start the show early--- because a storm was headed our way! We got settled in and were joined by Steve, and he was able to nab a space behind us.

Marcia opened the show with a few songs, and had a "band" consisting of Garry and Matt. It was a GREAT set-- and really great exposure for her, since as I said--- it was crazy packed. Marcia has a great voice and a charming personality, so she was an instant hit with the fans. I heard just about everyone sitting around us comment on the fact that they liked her set, and she had a really great voice. Marcia's set was relatively short--- and once she was done the rest of the band hauled out onstage and hustled to get set up. Because of the rain, they didn't get to do a sound check. The band tried their hardest to get set up as quickly as possible, to try to get as much of the show in before the storm. We randomly heard some people start cheering over to the right side of the stage, and knew Patty had gotten off the bus.

Patty must be a great good luck charm, because from the moment she took the stage--- the nasty clouds disappeared and we never saw rain again the rest of the night! They did the same set list, (different encores, more on that later), and she came out to really great reception. It wasn't the "Patty crowd" we had the night before, but it was a crowd that knew her singles, and loved the new stuff they didn't know. Patty launched into "You can Feel Bad" & "On Down the Line" before stopping and wishing everyone a Happy 4th of July---and mentioned about hoping the rain could hold off. Patty wasn't AS chatty as she normally is in the beginning of the show, mainly because we still had that worry of the rain coming in.

They had a few issues with the sound in the first few songs, which wasn't overly surprising since again, they didn't have a chance to get a soundcheck in because of the rain. But other than that--- she seriously was "on" again this night. She sounded superb. I have to say that if I compared her shows today with the shows 10-15 years ago, say around 98 or so, she is more "on" now than she ever has been. I am certainly looking forward to more shows being added to the schedule, but I do love that she's not overloading it on shows. Each show just seems to get better and better.

By the time Patty started the "Sleepless Nights" set (which was a huge treat for Bob and Barbara, since this was their first time getting to hear it live!), the sound was better and she sounded flawless. Perfect timing--- there's something about "Crazy Arms" live that just is an absolute killer. I was pleasantly surprised that the crowd around us came to a complete silence during it! I can't quite decide what gets me more--- that or 'My Old Friend the Blues'. The latter usually tears me up each time I hear it. Once Patty started talking about how she'd always wanted to cut the song, and finally had her chance in 2005-- and Tom started to play, a serious hush went over the crowd. And then she took it up a notch further-- and launched into "Here I Am".

So this is the part I say, for the first time--- that I don't have any major details of the rest of the show. I got this bright idea that I absolutely had to have photos from different areas of the show, so once "Here I Am" was over, I started to walk around some to take photos. An overall bad idea for a huge festival show. The further back I got, and then the more off to the side I went, the louder and more obnoxious the teenagers running around became. I was missing so much of what Patty said, which was REALLY making me irate. Thankfully, I managed to find a quiet spot right before "You Don't Even Know Who I Am". Words can't really even begin this song live, and I always have goosebumps during it. Unfortunately, I had a seriously crummy view of her during that time frame, which was a bummer, as it's one of my favorite songs to capture her during. Patty's one of the most inspiring things for me to capture behind my lens-- she's the only artist that I can seem to capture the incredible passion and emotion in. Once the song was over, the people in my area were back to yapping and I was back to being frustrated.

When they finished the set this time, she stepped off just to the side of the stage and stood by the sound booth for a few minutes before heading back, and much to my delight--- did "Elvis" for an encore! I was slightly bummed the night before that it wasn't in the set, so it was quite the treat! This was the absolute perfect crowd for it. Had she done "Cold Cold Heart", I dont even think the people in my area would have been able to hear it above their conversations they were having. I figured 'Elvis' would be the last, but she went ahead with another encore, closing with "She Drew a Broken Heart". By this point, I'd given up on trying to get pictures and listen to the show clearly. Patty left the stage shortly thereafter, and the place was mobbed with people trying to get to the fireworks display.

A quick text message to Bob gave him my whereabouts, and he, Barbara, Richard, Patti, Kevin and Steve all joined me at the end of the fireworks display. We caught up on the show, and got Bob & Barbara's thoughts on the stuff they hadn't had the chance to see prior to that night.

And then---(and okay, this is the real reason my mind is kind of scatterbrained from this show--- this kind of topped it for me, and everything before this became slightly blurry!) Todd called me over and escorted me to the bus. Patty stood there, waiting on me, and immediately gave me a hug, and started to thank me for coming up for the shows, being at so many, etc. She knew this was my 200th show....I had wanted a photo to add to the collection, but she completely out-did everything I could have possibly imagined. It's kind of hard for me to put into words to explain. As we chatted and she started bringing up how old I was when I first saw her, first met her, where I first met her, it just became incredibly overwhelming. I quickly adapted to 'Patty Life' at an early age. It was all I ever knew as a kid-- I really don't remember a life without her in it. I remember my first Patty show. I remember the first time she called me "Nicole" without needing to be told my name. I grew up in front of her. I remember crying everytime I saw her, and I remember when it became such old hat to see her that all she'd have to do is walk outside the venue before I'd see a smile and her waiting for me to run over and hug her. Patty was the only consistent, stable thing in my childhood. Whether she knew it or not, she was there for me absolutely anytime I needed her to be. She was, without a doubt, one of the most important, influent people in my life. She was my idol, my hero, the person I wanted to grow up and be "just like". And now, this many years later, here she was---- trying to do something for ME to thank ME.

People can critique Patty all they want. But no one can deny how much she genuinely cares.... I've seen it firsthand for the past 20+ years.

Now how the heck am I supposed to top that??? : P

Lastly, just a mention of what a WONDERFUL weekend it was with my "2nd Parents", that I love dearly and don't get nearly enough time with. It was fantastic to catch up with Bob & Barbara again-- I have majorly missed them! And, it was super great to meet Kevin and finally get the chance to meet up with Steve! We ended up heading out to eat afterwards--- and staying out late enough that I didn't have time to sleep at all that night before having to head back to the airport to catch my flight :)