Today’s blog
Lynn Murphy Mark
The Factory
I don’t know how long it has been around – not too long by the looks of it – but The Factory is a relatively new venue for live music. That’s where I spent a couple of hours last night. While responsible Americans were watching the presidential debate, I was enjoying the music from Lyle Lovett and his Large Band.
Before the show, I went to dinner with my friend Donna, her brother Vern, and his companion, Judy. Judy and I hopped in the back seat on the way to the restaurant, leaving Donna and Vern in the front seats. Judy has an artistic flair and I always enjoy seeing pictures of her work. She uses different mediums to accomplish her beautiful pieces. This time around she showed me cool pictures of her quilling pieces. This kind of delicate filigree work with strips of paper resulted in some really nice colorful designs. As I commented on each one, Judy very humbly accepted my compliments. I asked her if these designs just manifested in her head. She said she gets ideas from Pinterest. I said she should exhibit at a craft fair.
We were so engrossed in our conversation that we missed whatever was happening in the front seats. Donna and Vern had their own exchanges, many about how to drive Donna’s relatively new vehicle. It is one of those that has lots of bells and whistles. Donna, being a tech person, has studied most of the features so she was schooling Vern. Vern’s job was to drive us to The Factory after dinner. And that’s when the fun began. Both Donna and Vern have their own ideas about how to drive, what directions to follow, and how to park the vehicle.
We left the restaurant and Vern got in the driver’s seat. At least, he thought he was the driver until it came time to pick the route to the venue. Once we got there they sparred about where and how to park. They both have strong personalities and opinions about the right way to fit a car between the lines of a parking space. Vern decided to back into the spot. To make a long story short, Donna’s vehement advice about how to accomplish this made me in the back seat laugh out loud. Finally she hopped out of the car and verbally instructed Vern about how far to back in. I don’t have any siblings, and I did enjoy watching the dynamics between the two of them.
Into The Factory we went, joining a long line of Lyle Lovett fans. We found our seats in the balcony without too much trouble. My seat was perfectly aligned with the middle of the stage, so all through the performance I had an unobstructed view of Lyle and the band members. His band has four brass players, a steel guitar player, three other guitar players, a fiddler, a piano player, and an awesome drummer. He also has three backup singers whose voices are striking.
The show started a few minutes late. I think that’s a requirement, used to get the audience worked up and anxious to see the star of the show. Lyle made his way onstage to applause and whoops of joy. The band members joined him and we were off and running. For the next two hours we were entertained by some classics and some newer material. Lyle introduced each member of the band, giving their long and productive careers a showcase. It was an impressive array of talent with their own careers well established.
Here’s the sad part of my experience: I think Lyle is losing his voice. Afterwards Donna and I were trying to describe what we heard. Unlike his usual delivery, his voice sounded dry. He wasn’t able to move smoothly between notes. At first I thought it was the microphone dropping notes, but by the end of the concert I realized that one of my favorite performers may be coming to the end of his singing career. This morning as I listen to old albums of his I know that there is something fading from his voice. But, he is still an engaging, funny, talented man. He ended the show with an encore, demanded by the fans. He sang his new-ish song, “June 12”, written about the birth of his twin kids. They are seven, which means he as around 60 when they were born. It’s a sweet song. I left there both happy and a little bit sad.