BMWCCA
08-22-2010, 02:15 PM
Perhaps the greatest benefit I've gotten from participation here on LH is recommendations for excellent recordings and favorite musicians. Often this comes from reading threads. Sometimes it comes from in-person reaction with fellow forum members in informal listening situations like our East Coast "parties", etc. It was at the first such party that "Fred Sanford" turned me on to Lyle Lovett's Joshua Judges Ruth (http://www.amazon.com/Joshua-Judges-Ruth-Lyle-Lovett/dp/B000002OIY) album. Since then it's been one of my favorite recordings to play for guests. And I am no fan of "Country" music.
The importance of how LH has enhanced my enjoyment of music was really driven home to me last Thursday evening when I'd planned on sneaking downtown to our outdoor pavilion to hear Lyle Lovett and his Large Band. I hadn't bought tickets because, well I've got a new job and I'm paying for two college educations with a third coming up. 'Nuff said? So I was supposed to meet my wife there after work with the concert set to begin at 7pm.
My normal MO is to just walk down the adjacent street behind the stage to an overpass with a large sidewalk and listen to the music. Being a hot night, the back-stage "blinds" were open for air-flow. Sadly, I got stuck at work and couldn't leave until 9:00pm. I made it downtown by 9:15 and met my wife on the bridge as Lyle and his bass-player, fiddle-player, and guitar-player were doing some traditional harmonizing into a solo microphone, giving the Large Band members a break. They'd already played for over two hours by that time. No opener, and no breaks. The sound from backstage was superb since they had a fantastic setup for stage monitors. After several more songs they started into "Ain't No More Cane" from the It's Not Big It's Large album and the band members gradually came back on-stage joining in. The final count was fifteen members including Leland Sklar on bass, Sweet Pea Atkinson on vocals, and Russ Kunkle on drums. Every musician was an obvious TOTL pro and the arrangements were both well-rehearsed and still contained the spontaneity that makes a live performance so compelling.
The full band continued playing until after 10pm when they said thanks and left the stage. But from my vantage point we could tell they weren't leaving yet. Lyle was waving to those of us above him on the bridge and Sweet Pea's fans were clamoring for attention. When they retook the stage they started with "North Dakota" from JJR (http://www.amazon.com/Joshua-Judges-Ruth-Lyle-Lovett/dp/B000002OIY) with the sweet voice of the fiddle-player singing the Ricki Lee Jones harmony. They continued to play for about a half-hour, covering at least three selections, with short solos for each of the 14 supporting musicians and vocalists, and a long cello virtuoso performance by Lyle's longtime collaborator, John Hagen, who showed the country crowd what Jazz cello was all about. Sometime after 10:30 they left the stage for good.
This was an amazing performance by a gifted group of musicians and the sound was every bit as superb as that on my favorite CDs of Lyle's music. I think "North Dakota" made my eyes leak, Kunkle's inspired kicks and slams adding just the right drama and dynamics to the quiet love song. Sklar's bass filled in a bottom-end anyone who's heard JJR (http://www.amazon.com/Joshua-Judges-Ruth-Lyle-Lovett/dp/B000002OIY) would appreciate. "Father Time" was loving it! I was, too.
So what's the point of this post? Just that if it wasn't for the associations and friendships I've made here at LH, I'd have missed this moment of musical nirvana, and would still think of Lyle as that guy with the funny hair who somehow landed that "Pretty Woman" beauty and owned a BMW motorcycle dealership in Texas. He's much more, and I've had hours of enjoyment because "Fred" took the time to turn me on to a few cuts that would change forever the speakers I listen to and how I enjoy them.
Thanks! :cheers:
So what's your favorite part of this community? :hmm:
The importance of how LH has enhanced my enjoyment of music was really driven home to me last Thursday evening when I'd planned on sneaking downtown to our outdoor pavilion to hear Lyle Lovett and his Large Band. I hadn't bought tickets because, well I've got a new job and I'm paying for two college educations with a third coming up. 'Nuff said? So I was supposed to meet my wife there after work with the concert set to begin at 7pm.
My normal MO is to just walk down the adjacent street behind the stage to an overpass with a large sidewalk and listen to the music. Being a hot night, the back-stage "blinds" were open for air-flow. Sadly, I got stuck at work and couldn't leave until 9:00pm. I made it downtown by 9:15 and met my wife on the bridge as Lyle and his bass-player, fiddle-player, and guitar-player were doing some traditional harmonizing into a solo microphone, giving the Large Band members a break. They'd already played for over two hours by that time. No opener, and no breaks. The sound from backstage was superb since they had a fantastic setup for stage monitors. After several more songs they started into "Ain't No More Cane" from the It's Not Big It's Large album and the band members gradually came back on-stage joining in. The final count was fifteen members including Leland Sklar on bass, Sweet Pea Atkinson on vocals, and Russ Kunkle on drums. Every musician was an obvious TOTL pro and the arrangements were both well-rehearsed and still contained the spontaneity that makes a live performance so compelling.
The full band continued playing until after 10pm when they said thanks and left the stage. But from my vantage point we could tell they weren't leaving yet. Lyle was waving to those of us above him on the bridge and Sweet Pea's fans were clamoring for attention. When they retook the stage they started with "North Dakota" from JJR (http://www.amazon.com/Joshua-Judges-Ruth-Lyle-Lovett/dp/B000002OIY) with the sweet voice of the fiddle-player singing the Ricki Lee Jones harmony. They continued to play for about a half-hour, covering at least three selections, with short solos for each of the 14 supporting musicians and vocalists, and a long cello virtuoso performance by Lyle's longtime collaborator, John Hagen, who showed the country crowd what Jazz cello was all about. Sometime after 10:30 they left the stage for good.
This was an amazing performance by a gifted group of musicians and the sound was every bit as superb as that on my favorite CDs of Lyle's music. I think "North Dakota" made my eyes leak, Kunkle's inspired kicks and slams adding just the right drama and dynamics to the quiet love song. Sklar's bass filled in a bottom-end anyone who's heard JJR (http://www.amazon.com/Joshua-Judges-Ruth-Lyle-Lovett/dp/B000002OIY) would appreciate. "Father Time" was loving it! I was, too.
So what's the point of this post? Just that if it wasn't for the associations and friendships I've made here at LH, I'd have missed this moment of musical nirvana, and would still think of Lyle as that guy with the funny hair who somehow landed that "Pretty Woman" beauty and owned a BMW motorcycle dealership in Texas. He's much more, and I've had hours of enjoyment because "Fred" took the time to turn me on to a few cuts that would change forever the speakers I listen to and how I enjoy them.
Thanks! :cheers:
So what's your favorite part of this community? :hmm: