I was worried about the rain I had seen in the forecast the weeks before...and told my friend Brad we might have to figure out a game plan for using the other venue if it rained. Saturday morning arrived- and it was not only sunshine outside..it was HOT. We arrived at English park very very early in the morning. We staked our spot at the very front of the line and sat down in our chairs...ready for a very long and hot day. The temperature was a mild (ha!) 93 degrees, making the waiting period simply miserable. We found our ways to spend the time...listening to Patty..practicing the steps! If you ever visit the English Park, there are concrete stairs you have to go down to get to the front area. Once we arrived, Brad and I raced eachother down the stairs to see who could get down faster to save our spots....I counted 44 very very small concrete steps. After waiting for about 4 hours, the manager came out and informed us that since we were that dedicated, we didn't have to wait directly in the sun- we were more than welcome to come in thepark and sit under a tree in the shade. Although it was still hot- we happily obliged and sat in a place that made it SOMEWHAT cooler! Not long after, he came back and told us that we were welcome to set our chairs down in front of the stage where we wanted to sit, and leave them there. I was extremely happy- one because we would have our front row spots- and two because I am the biggest klutz- and I truly wanted to see Patty that night, and not spend it in the hospital from falling down these concrete steps!

So we set up the chairs and went back to our shaded area by the tree. It wasn't too much longer before Patty's bus rolled in and they started her soundcheck. Patty came out, her hair pulled up, wearing green camoflauge pants and a matching green shirt- for someone who was just doing her soundcheck, she looked great! Not only that, she sounded MAGNIFICENT! Once she walked out and I heard her start singing, I began to cry- she only had to do one line...and that was it for me. She sounded awesome. They only let us watch one song (Nothing Like the Lonely) before they closed the park and made us go outside the gates...which was fine, because we could still hear her. She did "Trouble With the Truth" which was nice to hear, since she did not do it during the show. Because they started soundcheck so late- they had to push back the times that the gates opened to 5:30, which disappointed us...But then Brad pointed out once we got in the gate, we only had ONE hour to wait for the show to start as opposed to the original TWO! More people began arriving and the hotter it got! As the time sloooowly went by, we all got a lot more anxious and a lot more tired and hot! I had been waiting on some friends to arrive, and they were not there yet, so I spent the last half hour before the show worrying about where they were on the road.

The gates opened and we flew to our spots. Luckily, about 30 minutes before the show started, my friends showed up and I was very relieved to see them! Not long after, a nice lady with paper and a pen came up and said "You guys look like Patty Loveless Fans!" and proceeded to ask us some questions- for what I found out was their local paper! (You can find the article in the message boards!) So we were all pretty excited! The local radio station was trying to talk to the crowd and a dj came over to me and asked me if my PL tattoo stood for Patty Loveless. I told her that yes, it did, and was alogo off one of her cd's. She told the dj that was onstage, who promptly made me stand up to show everyone, which I thought was kinda cool. When I sat back down, another radio station worker came up to me and asked me about the tattoo as well...and then asked me if I had ever met her. I became extremely nervous and felt like I was going to cry again- I knew this lady had backstage passes. I told her that yes, I had met her, but if she had any passes, I would be extremely happy if I could get one! She just smiled and plopped two backstages passes in my hand. I was in awe- and I cannot thank the lady enough for giving them to me!!!!!! It didn't take me too long to plop one of the backstage passes onto my friend Molly, who has been one of my wonderful Patty friends for awhile...and it was pretty cool for us to meet her together again!

Patty came onstage after Hometown News was over. She had the exact same set list as Huntsville, so nothing new was put in the show, but she was awesome! She came out in a red sheer type shirt with jeans- I instantly felt for her- you could already tell by the first song was over how incredibly hot she was. She sounded perfect. Once again, the highlights for me were "Nothing Like the Lonely" and " You Don't Even Know Who I Am"., Although this show, "On Your Way Home" was better than usual. She sounded magnificent! Despite the heat, she gave it her all and busted her butt onstage to put on a great show. At one point she said we were all invited after the show to join her and jump in the Ohio river behind her. The band did the exact same- despite that heat, they played like the heat didn't even bother them. Jedd has turned "Halfway Down" into one of the most awesome songs to hear live!! I am more impressed with him the more I see him! During "Pretty Little Miss", Travis Toy came out with some rhinestone glasses and a hat that stated , "NO BEER, NO WORK". The audience got a kick out of it- and Patty had to stop and laugh herself. She had the audience riled up for "Blame it On Your Heart" and the girls enjoyed "I'm That Kind of Girl". Everyone was in awe (as usual!) when she opened her mouth to sing "You'll Never Leave Harlan Alive"...which she once again dedicated to her dad, who she said had the best seat in the house. She stopped to talk about what a wonderful man her father was- and said he always came home with a smile on his face. "Sometimes he really made me wonder" she said with a laugh. She nailed "Harlan", which was absolutely no surprise to anyone! Her encores were the same- "Nothin But the Wheel" and "That Kind of Girl". She then left the stage- leaving us once again sad that she was leaving the stage!

But, happily Molly and I went to the side stage and got in line to go backstage which was simply thebest part of the night. Patty was truly not in any kind of hurry despite how hot it was, and was her usual happy and friendly self. It made the trip, and sitting in the hot sun all day extremely worth it!! I'd do it again in a heartbeat for her! Special Special Thank You to Kristen and AJ from WBKR for giving Molly and I the chance to meet our idol once again!