Magical Evening

Tonight (Tuesday) I will try to get pictures, but for now I am just excited that we have another sold out show featuring Lyle Lovett, Guy Clark, John Hiatt and Joe Ely.  Wow.  What a show they put on last night.  I mean that was one for the history books.  Oh – and Guy, the no smoking thing is more about the no sprinkler thing in a historic theatre and less about California – but by all means sit back and enjoy that prop as long as nobody in the audience tries to join the act…

If you were not at the show, let me try to describe the evening.  Packed house.  Packed.  Bars opened at 7 and stayed busy until the boys took the stage at 8:15.  (Then stayed busy enough to keep them open past 9).  Four singer/song-writer legends on stage with four guitars and four chairs.  The only other items on stage were the tables to hold their drinks and few sound monitors so they could hear one another.

Clark opens with a story and a song…pass to Joe who does the same… pass to John who continues the rhythm and then to Lyle who tells stories as well as he sings songs.   Sometimes it was one or two together and sometimes it was all three.   Telling stories with and without music for two solid hours – no intermission. 

All of this in the Paramount.  Died and gone to heaven…

Stupid me forgets to tell people to turn off their cell phones during my curtain speech.   Really people.  Do we still have to remind you of that?

THIS JUST IN – Top 2 Bidders will get tix – read the comments

TICKET AUCTION:

Ever since taking this job, I have wanted to see Lyle Lovett on our stage.  I know that he is a big fan of the Paramount and has even said that watching music shows here when he was younger made him want to be a musician. Next week I finally get to see him perform and amazingly the bill includes Guy Clark, Joe Ely and John Hiatt.  Wow.  So I used my “connections” and scored 4 front row seats… and then the calls started.  My brother in Houston.  My brother in San Antonio.  My brother in Round Rock.  Honestly, if my sister wasn’t all the way out in South Carolina, I am sure she would be here too.  We’re a close family so I wouldn’t dream of not sitting together, but there is one problem – not enough seats in the front row.

So now I have 4 front row seats with nobody to use them, and that is where you come in.  As I have said many times, the Paramount no longer has enough seating to have commercial value in the entertainment world and to add seats would destroy its historic integrity. It exists today only because the community values its history more than its ability to make money.  When you buy a ticket, you are supporting the show.  When you make a donation, you are saving the theatre for future generations to enjoy.

To bid on 4 FRONT ROW seats to the Monday night show (and complimentary beverages) leave your bid amount in a comment.  The tickets are valued at $400 so anything above that amount is a donation.  This isn’t EBay so don’t expect a fancy auction.  Bid as often as you like and each evening I will sort it all out and post the highest bidder.  The winning bid at 5:00PM on Friday, May 2 gets the tickets.  The bid must be confirmed before tickets are issues.  Winner gets 4 tickets, 8 drink coupons and two parking passes.  Let the bidding begin… and good luck!

Hannah Montana vs. Martie Maguire

   

I didn’t go to the concert.  I didn’t take my daughter.  I can barely stand the show, but my daughter loves Hannah and somehow gets the difference between Hannah Montana and Miley Cyrus which still has me confused.  I mean I undertand the whole double-identity thing for the TV show plot, but why has it carried over into the real world?

So at my age, it’s not Hannah Montana, it’s Martie Maguire for me.  If this Dixie Chick had a show, I would make it mandatory viewing for my daughter.  And now that I have gotten to know her husband, Gareth Maguire, I am even more a fan.  We had dinner tonight as  part of a fundraiser for the Nobelity Project.  Martie and Gareth were so kind to give their time to host my table.  I have gotten to know them each a little bit during visits to the theatre (most recently The Nutcracker with their two daughters) and each time I like them more… so down to earth and so in love with their little family…picture perfect and baby number three is on the way.

Also at the dinner tonight was Owen Wilson (a bit distracted if you ask me), Andrew Wilson (looked like he is boycotting shampoo and shaving cream), Willie Nelson (talked about maybe stopping by to see his friend Kris Kristofferson at the Paramount on May 17 for our Gala), and enough other celebrities to bring out a hollywood-style paparazzi line at the Four Seasons.  Guests were treated to entertainment from Pinetop Perkins, Bob Schneider, Joe Ely (who coaxed Jimmie Dale Gilmore and Butch Hancock onto the stage for an inpromptu Flatlanders reunion) and the magic of Night Court’s Harry Anderson.

 All this came after an evening with Olympia Dukakis who captivated the audience on Saturday night with a concert reading of “Rose”.  Her performance was spellbinding and I am still shocked she had any energy left after the show to come mingle with theatre donors who had gathered for a reception at the Stephen F. Austin.   She was so generous with her time and was very complimentary of the Paramount which was a perfect setting for her show.

 It was quite a weekend in Austin, but now I am off to bed…