Lyle Lovett
Thanks to a very nice invitation from our neighbors, the wife and I went to Ravinia on Tuesday to see Lyle Lovett. Again, I want to stress that this was a very kind and thoughtful gesture on the part of our neighbors, who have apparently seen Lovett and his "large band" on several occasions.
That being said, I just don't get it.
Not that the man, and the large band, are not talented musicians, they most definitely are. It's just that, well, I don't think I've ever been to a show with less electricity -- despite the evident interest and adoration of most of the crowd.
I've certainly never been to a show at which I've felt more disconnected from what the crowd was hearing and seeing and feeling. His songs never approached a point at which I was moved to feel any emotion whatsover, outside of a vague appreciation for the professional quality of the playing (as an aside, I'm pretty sure the rhythm section played at the first concert I ever attended 30 years ago -- Randy Meisner and Linda Ronstadt. Please don't ask).
I can only guess that most of the crowd were once Little Feat fans (when Lowell George was still breathing), and find that Lovett gives them the same sort of laid-back, vaguely honky-tonk, vaguely Texas two-step feeling that they got from Feats back in the day (make no mistake, the wide majority of the crowd was distinctly middle-aged). To my ears, though, the music just had no life at all, and the cello solo (?!) late in the show helped matters not at all.
Thanks again to the neighbors, but I think that L-squared is one notion that I'm just not gettin'
That being said, I just don't get it.
Not that the man, and the large band, are not talented musicians, they most definitely are. It's just that, well, I don't think I've ever been to a show with less electricity -- despite the evident interest and adoration of most of the crowd.
I've certainly never been to a show at which I've felt more disconnected from what the crowd was hearing and seeing and feeling. His songs never approached a point at which I was moved to feel any emotion whatsover, outside of a vague appreciation for the professional quality of the playing (as an aside, I'm pretty sure the rhythm section played at the first concert I ever attended 30 years ago -- Randy Meisner and Linda Ronstadt. Please don't ask).
I can only guess that most of the crowd were once Little Feat fans (when Lowell George was still breathing), and find that Lovett gives them the same sort of laid-back, vaguely honky-tonk, vaguely Texas two-step feeling that they got from Feats back in the day (make no mistake, the wide majority of the crowd was distinctly middle-aged). To my ears, though, the music just had no life at all, and the cello solo (?!) late in the show helped matters not at all.
Thanks again to the neighbors, but I think that L-squared is one notion that I'm just not gettin'
posted by dgags @ 2:07 PM
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