For many a month, my father and I were planning a vacation to the Glacier National Park in Montana and parts of Canada. Being the generous, family-loving man that he is, my father invited my two siblings. As with all plans that involve numerous people, hammering out the details proved quite difficult.
Timing was the hitch. The sister and her husband reside most of the year in Shanghai, China, visiting the States for a few weeks out of the year. This summer they were already planning a multi-state trek to visit friends, and family and tour with Pearl Jam for several weeks. Finding time for me and the Glacier was proving problematic.
In the end, they canceled for fear of total exhaustion. The father figure then canceled because he chose not to miss seeing his daughter for the tall trees and the bald eagles. I canceled because father had planned to pay.
My anniversary plans were ruined because I had planned on using the Glacier trip as the anniversary present. For what wife wouldn’t love to celebrate four years of marriage with a 7-day 2,000-mile road trip with her in-laws? With the trip canceled, I had to actually come up with a real plan.
A little research found that Lyle Lovett would be doing a free concert in St. Louis. Praising myself for finding something quickly that would be on the way to my folks in Oklahoma, thrill the wife, and be cheap, I quickly booked a hotel room and let the wife in on my beautiful plans.
The concert was right on the river underneath the St. Louis Arch. A beautiful setting if there ever was one. After walking around downtown we debated on whether to branch out and see some of the gardens on the other side of the city, or stay close so that we might get a good seat. Knowing it was a free concert we expected the area to be pretty much packed.
Deciding to stay close we crept back to the motel for a nap. Afterward with nothing else to do we headed in the direction of the Arch. They had begun to set up a perimeter around the stage area so we ducked in quickly to not have our bags dug through and our camera discovered.
It was still a good three hours until Lyle was scheduled to perform. We found some shade (which lowered the temperature to a moderate 95 degrees) and tried to enjoy ourselves.
We sped up time by ordering too-expensive and too-hot pizza, hastily made lemonade with the sugar still undissolved at the bottom, and making laps past the merchandise booths and kiddie playground. Finally, we buckled down and found a seat on the arch steps. The heat was excruciating. The wait was intolerable.
After two hours the time neared. The Large Band minus Lyle performed a rousing version of “She Makes Me Feel Good.” Without Lyle’s lead, but with the backup singers’ punctuations, the song took on a jazzy, New Orleans-style improv.
Too quickly the performers left and the sound check was over. Then the rains came.
Two hours standing in the freaking heat and we’re going to get rained out. Many ran for cover, but I refused. No way was I going to lose my seat after getting fried like a worm on Sunday.
The rains let up and soon enough Lyle came out to play.
The show started softly with just Lyle with an acoustic guitar and a John Hagen on cello playing the tender ballad “Don’t Cry a Tear,” and then a cowboy song that I’d never heard before.
Slowly the rest of the band came out, adding new members after each song. The effect was quite dramatic as the number of performers increased and the music took on an increasingly bigger sound and feel.
The performers truly showcased Lyle’s different styles as a songwriter. The backup singers added a gospel feel, the horns brought in jazz and swing, and the mandolin player from the Chieftains brought old-style bluegrass along. Lyle was at home in all of these settings.
The between-song banter was priceless. As with many of his songs, Lyle has a dry, wry delivery that elevates everything that comes out of his mouth. At one point he decided, for whatever reason, that a portion of his audience was of the Lutheran faith. After discussing this idea for a bit he threw out this little nugget:
“Do you know why Lutherans are against pre-marital sex?
They think it will lead to dancing.”
Late in the set he introduced the entire band, then for his own introduction spoke, “I’m the guy who sits next to you,” which is the first line of the song “Here I Am” to which the band promptly joined in for a marvelous, souped-up rendition.
As is the way things go for my concert attending, the audience wasn’t always into what was happening onstage. There was quite of bit of rambling chit-chat going on when a middle-aged lady walking past noticed what must have been a long-lost friend. With a squeal usually reserved for pigs at a trough, she ran up the steps and hugged said friend and they both began to reminisce with great volume.
There was no attempt at moving someplace where their chatter might not annoy. In fact, the first lady kind of pushed the innocent fellow sitting nearby out of her way. The squealing and the loudness continued for two songs when Lady # 1 finally left.
Not but minutes later the young man sitting next to me received a phone call on his cellular and chatted through yet another song. Having seen that he can get away with loudness he began discussing the concert in progress with the lady next to him.
“That sounds like Scott Joplin on the piano.”
I know it is a free concert and all, but if you want to hang out and talk, go the freak somewhere else!
Moving closer to the front to get away from the chatter we found ourselves amongst more chatter, but at least the volume was loud enough to drown it out.
The Large Band cooked something hot that night. The backup singers, especially Francine Reed, have toured with Lyle for years and are well greased in his teenage. On songs like “(That’s Right) You’re Not From Texas” and “Church,” they swing and fly like a well-oiled locomotive.
As I complain about the audience I must also say many were quite enthusiastic as well. There was much white-boy country boogying going on and we all enjoyed Lyle allowing the audience to finish “Here I Am” by shouting “Make it a cheeseburger.”
The concert employed two people to sign for the hearing impaired. It was beautiful watching a kind-looking young lady perform what may have been the world’s greatest air cello performance during John Hagen’s extended solo.
The show ended without an encore and an apology from Lyle for not being able to play longer due to a city ordinance. The band left the stage to a beautiful, if short, fireworks display over the river.
Cost of a free concert:
$120 per night hotel
$3.00 per gallon of gasoline
$15 average cost of five meals dined out
$8.00 seat cushion to fend off wife’s fanny from hard Arch steps
$4.00 drinks at the concert
$300 in total.
It was worth every penny.
Set list:
Don’t Cry a Tear
Old Cowboys Sang??
This Traveling Around
Instrumental
I Will Rise Up
It Could Be All Downhill From Here
(That’s Right) You’re Not From Texas
I’ve Been to Memphis
The Last Time
Cute as a Bug
My Baby Don’t Tolerate
San Antonio Girl
That Old Train??
I Live in My Own Mind
Bottomland
Don’t Let Your Deal Go Down
Down the Old Plank Road
More Pretty Girls
If I Had a Boat
Give Back My Heart
Here I Am
What Do You Do
Sugar in My Bowl
Church
Cello Solo
I’m Going to Wait
Here I Am (Instrumental)
themidnightcafe.org 
Activities at the last minute always end up costing money but that trip sounds like it was really fun. I hope the wife enjoyed it. I enjoyed reading about it. You put me there.
They performed a bunch of songs….LUCKY!
Thanks Kellie.
your recent post ‘random’ something or other, mentioned that you mentioned us previously so i searched your little site and found this. first of all, bet didn’t want to go on that trip in the first place (don’t tell your parents) and second, aren’t you glad you didn’t go and had to go to the concert!
we did you a favor! j/k
hopefully we’ll do you another ‘favor’ and you can work here next year.
I would have had fun (mostly) on that trip. I’d still like to go out there. But this show was fantastic. So thanks, I guess.
Dude if you find us work I’ll…um…I’ll do something nice.