Went to see Lyle Lovett, the marvelous musician, July 2 at Wolf Trap Park for the Performing Arts in Vienna, Va. My wife, Pat, and I had perfect seats, Section H, numbers 40 and 41, Orchestra Section. Had it been a football game, we would have been on the 50-yard line. Let me report, the show was exceptional. The uptown crowd – 8,000-plus -- packed the Filene Center. We didn't take a picnic like most of the crowd. We ate our tuna salad with tomatoes and lettuce on wheat rolls at home. We felt at home as we carried our bottled water. I thought it was fun people watching, seeing music lovers enjoying food from their coolers . . . some dainty little sandwiches, some sub sandwiches, some salads, some smoke salmon and one enjoying spaghetti sitting on blankets sipping wines, diet sodas and water.
The weather was perfect too. Mosquitoes, probably with a little help from the Park Service, weren’t anywhere to be found.
I must say, "Lyle Lovett and his Large Band" in concert were awesome -- absolutely great musicians. The 25-member ensemble included God’s Generation, a trained young black gospel group from Connecticut; three stylish black singers from LA; a classically-trained cellist from Wyoming, a bass player from the left coast; two percussionists – drummers; two guitarists, one doubling on mandolin; a violinist from Texas; a steel guitarist from Nashville; and a pianist (not a piano player) from Los Angeles. Joining the show toward the end of the concert was Mike Eldridge of Northern Virginia, a longtime member of the famed Seldom Scene blue grass band. They performed non-stop for 2 1/2 hours. Superb musicians all.
Lyle’s a Texas boy. I discovered he majored in journalism and earned a graduate degree at Texas A&M. He's a combination of alternative country, gospel and the blues. In college working on the school paper, Lovett began interviewing and hanging around with Willie Nelson, Waylon Jennings and others in informal, front-porch jams where he hone his skills.
None of the audience left early and offered standing ovations and received two encores. Variety is the spice of life of course and Wolf Trap certainly has variety. #
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