As you can probably tell by the long list of concerts I have on this site and my frequent use of song lyrics in my writings, I love music. While the number of concerts attended tailed off over the last decade (seems to coincide with start of fatherhood), I have not lost my passion for live music.
Fortunately the Summer of 2012 brought the opportunity for me and the Lovely Mrs. Neill to see three acts that for many years I had wanted to see but for one reason or the other had not seen. The three acts: Everclear, Dwight Yoakam, Lyle Lovett.
Everclear was first up on our Summer of Music tour. I have been an Everclear fan since the early 90s. Those that only know the 40+ me may find this surprising but it’s true. There is just something about that hard SoCal alternative rock sound. Everclear was a part of a five band lineup in the Summerland tour. We decided to make a long weekend around the concert so we headed to Ft Worth to see the show at Billy Bobs – the world’s largest honkytonk. It was a strange place to watch a bunch of alternative 90s bands to say the least. The weekend was great, but Everclear failed to wow me. In fact I was disappointed – the sound was bad and the energy that made me love their music was just not there. I am still happy to be able to check them off the list, but this was one concert I probably should have seen in my 20s, not in my 40s.
Concert number 2 was Dwight Yoakam. While I wouldn’t put Dwight in my Top 10 of musicians I just had to see, there is a history here that made this one special. Back in 1993, I had fallen madly in love with a recent UT graduate but she wasn’t feeling quite the same way just yet. I scored some free tickets to a Dwight Yoakam concert in Austin and invited her to go to the show with me. Long story short, she cancelled last minute on me and I ended up not going to concert. So fast forward to 2011. I had ended up marrying that fellow UT grad in 1994 and 17 years later we yet again had tickets to go see Dwight Yoakam. I was excited about it because it was the “date” that never happened back in 1993. Well as fate would have it, days before the show, I ended up having to make a last minute trip to the Philipines for work. So I had to cancel and dump the tickets. Luckily less than a year later Dwight booked a return gig in Austin at the ACL-Live venue. This time we bought 4 tickets so our daughters could go with us. What a treat it was. This time I got to go with three beautiful girls. We had a fun dinner beforehand, the venue was great, and Dwight put on a fantastic show. I have no doubt it was better in 2012 than it would have been back in 1993.
The final show in the trio was the legendary Lyle Lovett. I am almost ashamed as a born and bred Texan to admit that I waited this long to see Lyle. He is hands down a true Texas music legend. The show was once again at the ACL-Live venue. This time we left the kids out home and grabbed a great meal downtown before the show. Lyle brought along his Large Band for this show, and I think it may have been one of the most enjoyable concerts ever. There was also a special guest appearance by Shawn Colvin – one of my Austin favorites. The small venue feel was awesome and the musical talent was off the charts good. It was a fitting end to the trio of concerts. I would go watch Lyle anytime, anywhere.
Overall the Summer of Music was a success even if Everclear did not live up to my expectations. All three shows gave me a chance to relax and forget the chaos of work and life in general. I got to relieve some memories and hang out with my best friend. I can’t wait to do it again in the Summer 2013.
Robert Not Bob 