Concert Review and Set List - Lyle Lovett, Appleton

We attended the Lyle Lovett concert in Appleton last night, and it was our 5th time seeing him and the band.  The entire Large Band was in tow, including "Sweet Pea" Atkinson, "Sir" Harry Bowens, cellist John Hagen, the legendary Leland Sklar, and the incomparable Francine Reed.  There were 16 members of the band in all, and their sound was at times haunting, and other times holy, but always incredible.  Lovett has always surrounded himself with incredible talent, and those he brought with him to Appleton tonight were no different. 

The concert was held at the Fox Cities PAC, and it was a beautiful venue.  We were lucky to have 4th row tickets, and were jazzed to see a great show.  Unfortunately, nobody told the rest of Appleton and Green Bay to show up.  Here's a photo from about 5 minutes to curtain:

I estimate that there were less than 1,000 people there.  Little wonder that nobody tours into Green Bay or Appleton.  Hell, the Large Band accounted for damn near 2% of the folks in the building.  Pathetic. 

Speaking of which, the first three rows were less than 10% filled.  I hope some ticket broker somewhere got screwed.  Bad.  I mean really bad.  It literally was the first time I've ever been to a concert where the front rows weren't filled, and it looked awkward.  Here's a photo:

Now to the set list, to the best of my recollection:

The Blues Walk
It's Rock and Roll
Farmer Brown - Chicken noises by background singers were outstanding
Here I Am - Nice interplay with Sweet Pea
Cute as a Bug
I Will Rise Up
My Baby Don't Tolerate
Already Made Up Her Mind
If I Were the Man You Wanted - Oldie that I'm surprised made the set list
LA County
Nobody Knows Me - OK, I cried on this one.  Given I attended with my wife for our anniversary, you can cut me some slack
Keep it in Your Pantry - Outstanding harmonies on this and the following two songs
I'll Come Knockin'
Up in Indiania
If I Had a Boat
She's No Lady
North Dakota - Bawled on this one too
What Do You Do
Wild Women - Francine knocks another one out of the park
That's Right (You're Not from Texas)
Church - It would seem like this song should have been tired.  It was outstanding.  The best version I've seen
Ain't No More Cane
Can't Resist It - Complete with the requisite cello solo 

A couple of thoughts on the evening:

• While the crowd was embarrassingly small, they were quite enthusiastic.  The band clearly felt it and played off it.  For those of you that did show up, good job. 
• I was asked politely by an usher prior to the show to not take any pictures.  Hence, I don't have a lot to show.  She was nice about it, and I tried to comply as much as possible.  But come on, it is 2011 people. 
• My wife and I stopped by the Durty Leprechaun after the concert, and after ordering, we were joined by a backup singer and the fiddle player from the band.  Both shook our hands, were incredibly nice guys, but were looking to get their schweel on prior to the bus pulling out in order to "get some sleep."  They polished off two Irish Car Bombs in record fashion and disappeared as fast as they arrived.  It was run to run into them, and I kicked myself that I didn't pick up one of those drinks.  Dummy.   

As stated earlier, this is the 5th time we've seen Lyle and his Large Band, and I'm not sure we've seen a better concert from him.  I loved every minute, and hope he takes to heart the request from the drunk sitting stage right that asked that he come back.

Great concert