Thursday, August 25, 2011

Lyle Lovett, Stage AE, Pittsburgh PA

8/23/2011
     On a whim I decided to check out my old friend Lyle Lovett at Stage AE in downtown Pittsburgh last Tuesday and was pleasantly surprised by both. I have been a fan of Lovett since his great album Pontiac and saw him about 8 years ago over in Station Square. Back in those days Lyle traveled with his "big" band which was composed of an entire horn section for his ventures into big band type jazz and rhythm and blues. These days he travels with his "large" band which is still quite extensive with multiple vocalists but no horn section. The sound wasn't quite as rich but the band still sounded great.
    This was my first trip to Stage AE, the new mid-sized venue in downtown Pittsburgh and for the most part, I found it to be a great venue. It was much smaller than I had imagined it (this show was set up outside, they can turn the stage around for indoor shows as well) but the stage was large and there were lots of of drink vendors and nearby bathrooms, always important. One complaint about the venue is that it bumps up against Heinz Field and you could literally hear the sound bouncing off the stadium and creating an echo effect. Lovett even commented on how annoying it was during the show. This probably isn't a big deal with heavy metal or rap acts but for music like Lovett's it created a distracting reverb sound. I got one not great video of Lovett and part of the band and I will include it because it is my favorite song of his: If I Had A Boat.

If I had a boat
I'd go out on the ocean
And if I had a pony
I'd ride him on my boat
And we could all together
Go out on the ocean
Me upon my pony on my boat

If I were Roy Rogers
I'd sure enough be single
I couldn't bring myself to marrying old Dale
It'd just be me and Trigger
We'd go riding through them movies
Then we'd buy a boat and on the sea we'd sail



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