Bob Newhart in a Stetson: Lyle Lovett Plays the Beacon

The great Lyle Lovett played NYC's Beacon Theatre last week and Rock Turtleneck's critic-at-large was there. Thanks to Dan Cassidy for filing this review. -Editor

I've been a fan of Lyle Lovett for 20 years, so there was no question I would catch his most recent gig. I’ve seen him at least five times and always walk away feeling as if I got the better of the deal. So there I was Wednesday night when the Texan brought his Large (not Big) Band to the bright lights of Broadway’s Beacon Theatre, and I wouldn’t be surprised if the walls were still ringing.

Having the Large Band in tow is no small undertaking—there were by my count up to 15 musicians on stage at any given time, including: a pedal steel guitar, fiddle, cello, 2 drummers and a quartet of voices that was by turns mournful and joyous, yet always astonishing.

Lovett’s new CD, Natural Forces, was featured heavily, as you might expect, and it sounds like another great entry in the canon. Standout tunes included the title track, "Farmer Brown/Chicken Reel," "Sun & Moon & Stars," "Bohemia" and "Pantry." But in his typically wry way, Lovett didn’t want anyone to come away thinking he was shamelessly plugging his new CD, so he used a wonderful bit of reverse psychology: “Please, please don’t go out and buy it. Just go right ahead and download it for free”, he deadpanned.

Mr. Lovett ran the room not only like a well-seasoned performer, but like a well-seasoned comic. His self–deprecating style combines with a low, pause-filled monotone that holds onto the joke just long enough, and then brings it in for a soft landing — Bob Newhart in a Stetson.


Here's a recent clip of Lyle playing "Pantry" on the Jools Holland Show. This version features Jools doing — what else? — playing a mean boogie-woogie piano. I don’t really think Lyle's singing about food here, though I could be wrong.


Lyle is often tabbed (wrongly) as “country”, but that doesn’t begin to tell the musical story. Whether it’s the country blues of “Nobody Loves Me But My Baby,” the bluegrass of “Pantry” or the western swing of “That’s Right, You’re Not From Texas,” Lovett never feels like he’s hell-bent on genre jumping. Rather, the best word I can think of to describe his music is American—authentic, unique, wry, individualistic and a bit restless. Maybe that’s why he’s equally at home playing to Upper Westsiders as he is playing to his native East Texans.

One of the highlights of the show was "Ain't No More Cane," a decades-old prison song that, unbelievably, I’d never heard before even though it’s been covered by everyone from Lead Belly to Dylan to The Band to the Black Crowes. Lyle and his remarkable soul singers brought the house down with this one. Here's Lyle and the Large Band doing it in Kansas City in 2007:


Walking out of the Beacon with a crowd of New Yorkers —listening to our “funny accents” and rapid-fire speech— it was plain to see that “that’s right, we’re not from Texas”, but after seeing Lyle at his finest, you almost wish you were.