Emmylou Harris with Patty Griffin and Buddy Miller - Nashville - May 6, 2016 - City Winery
When this show was announced I couldn't say yes fast enough. It was part of my birthday week extravaganza and I love Patty Griffin. The $85 price tag was the only thing that caused me to pause. Patty usually plays Nashville once a year though. I wasn't about to let my one chance be this show and miss it.
As we all know, Emmy has the voice of an angel and just plain cuts deep. And Patty sings literally straight into my soul. Her new album came out during a week in October last Fall where it rained every single day. I was also going through some stuff and it couldn't have been more perfect. I listened to the album non stop as I gazed at the miserable weather outside. So fitting. I've heard that it's a sort of breakup album for Patty. It makes sense (ps damn you Robert Plant). This album is still the one I go to when I need a glass of wine and to stare out the window after a bad day. Yes, I do a lot of staring.
The format of this show was a writer round between Emmy, Patty, and Buddy with Emmy bringing out some guests every now and then. The cool part was they'd sing harmony on each other's songs and even the guests. Emmy brought out Kree Harrison who sang her new song "All The Time I Wasted". Buddy seemed to confused to see me mouthing the words a supposedly brand new song by Kree, but it's one of my favorite Lori McKenna songs. Emmy also brought out Kate York who has written songs for the "Nashville" tv show. I really enjoyed Patty's harmonies on that song. I think it was called something along the lines of "Wasted Time". It's really cool to see Emmy embracing the young songwriters in town and giving them a platform.
Buddy Miller is hilarious and a great story teller. I also really enjoy the fact that Patty, Emmy, and Buddy are all good friends anyway. They know each other's songs and collaborate frequently. Emmy got things started with "Big Black Dog", as a subtle reminder that these residency shows are benefiting her charity, Bonaparte's Retreat. Patty also offered up her song "Wild Old Dog". Buddy brought the first pet Emmy gave him, a Chinese cat statue with an arm that moved. It was a cute gesture. Patty said Buddy accused her of pandering to the crowd with "Change". But I was delighted. She doesn't do songs from "Flaming Red" too often. Patty said she'd gotten a cold on vacation the previous week, so her song selections were affected to due to her range being affected. She also pulled out a song that was new to me, "Our Love Is A Dud". I wish I had the lyrics to post, as it was hilarious. Buddy and Emmy also sang a fantastic duet of "I'll Never Get Out of This World Alive". Harmonies people. They were top notch.
Moving on, imagine my severe delight when Patty played "You Never Asked Me" from the new album. It's drama filled and the lyrics cut deep. "I don’t believe in love like that anyway / I would have told you that if you’d have asked me / The kind that comes along once and saves everything / Between a woman and a man." Previously I've seen her play this on the piano so it was a treat to see it on guitar. Patty and Buddy also sang their duet "Chalk" ,which is weirdly on the duet album Buddy put out with his wife, Julie. But, oh my goodness. This song always gets me too. I wish I had videoed the whole thing instead of the 30 seconds I got. Next time I won't be such a pansy. It was so good.
Overall, this night was one of those nights I remembered why I moved to Nashville. Good for the soul.
Thumbs Up:
-Writer rounds are always the best when they're friends, this one was excellent because of that
-Everything else
Thumbs Down (But not really):
-City Winery seating is always so swooshed together. I never get used to it.
-Drunken table neighbors, always annoying. The performers don't want to talk to you from the stage. Shh Nashville.
-Emmy's song choices were a tad questionable. Obviously "Black Dog" was perfect, but the Emmet Till song was a bit of a bummer. Obviously she can do whatever she wants though because her voice makes everything okay.
