Love it.

Last night's Lyle Lovett/John Hiatt show was nothing less than amazing. To hear and see two such consummate musicians so close up was an honor and a privilege. The sound was perfect, the venue was great, and I was right at the front. RIGHT THERE. I could see the hairs on their wrists.

I wore my (Texas Flag) HOME t shirt given to me by my dear friend Bookhart. As you can see the flag is large. Texans are instantly drawn to the image of the Texas flag, while other people might not recognize it quite like we do. I knew, if I could get close enough, that Lyle would see it.

Which he did. And he waved and smiled at me at least twice. Happy happy me. A little slice of home and in such a familiar guise. I've been a fan for years, saw the Large Band play in Austin and I saw Lyle a few times back in the 80's when I was in college.

What I loved was watching his rather gnarled big ol' hand strumming the guitar and making those luscious sounds. His voice comes from heaven, or somewhere not human, it is so full of soul and heart and longing. Yeah, I cried. More than once. He has the true heart and soul of a troubador; in those rough hands and quirky face is magic.

He's truly beautiful when he smiles.

I have to admit I wasn't sure who John Hiatt was when we started off, but after just one song, I was like, 'Wow, he wrote THAT?". He is an amazing guitar man, very blues influenced, and he has written so many great, famous and amazing songs. Also I enjoyed the banter they shared, you can tell they like each other and respect each other as musicians. I laughed a lot.

The Norwegian crowd was respectful, and unlike many shows I've been to here, pushing, shoving and disrespecting personal space was kept to a minimum, which was refreshing. Everyone really was there to enjoy the music and the fellow-feeling. The vibe was very good.

I was in Texas last night. I was home.