Watching Lyle Lovett and Vince Gill onstage is not unlike watching your geeky chemistry tutor and the football captain from your high school get together with their guitars, only much better.
The crowd at Ruth Eckerd Hall this past Wed., Feb. 24 concert seemed to think so, too.
Gill and Lovett (20- and four-time Grammy winners, respectively), on tour together for the second time in as many years, took an already intimate space — Ruth Eckerd has just under 2,200 seats, a sliver of the 20k that fit at the MidFlorida Credit Union Amphitheater — and made it feel even cozier. The twosome alternated singing, giving the crowd more of themselves with every story that bridged the songs. Often, Gill accompanied Lovett on guitar, even admitting his preference was to play back-up.
Fans didn't come to hear Gill play guitar, though, as evidenced by the hoots and cheers when Gill opened with his 1992 hit, "One More Last Chance," and with every subsequent song he performed throughout the two-hour-plus acoustic show, which fell only a few weeks after the release of his most recent album, Down to My Last Bad Habit.
For his part, Lovett played and sang brilliantly, and his quirky quiet humor balanced and smoothed Gill's somewhat rowdier mannerisms and mainstream sounds. Lovett hasn't produced any new material since 2012, but his voice and delivery remain fresh and clear, especially in performances of "My Baby Don't Tolerate" and "Election Day." His style — that of a measured Southern gentleman — stood in stark contrast to Gill's "charm the crowd" manner of engaging.
The pairing, however, worked. In interviews, promoters billed the setlist as largely improvisational and the concert did indeed have the feel of a late-night jam session, which seemed to delight the audience — although, at the midpoint of their second tour together, it's clear each musician knows when the other will go next.
While only one new song surfaced during the evening — the title track from Gill's new LP — the appeal came not in Gill's still-sweet voice or Lovett's extraordinary balladry, but from their clear chemistry, interactions and contrary yet complementary appearances; Lovett in his trademark suit (with white socks peeking out beneath the cuffs), Gill looking primed to hang out at the bar (albeit a classy one) in jeans and tee-shirt. The incongruous twosome charmed the crowd with stories of how they met, their mutual admiration and, almost as an afterthought, their music.
Perhaps the two most memorable performances of the evening came from Lovett's empathetic "If I Had a Boat" and the song started by Gill's father and finished by Gill after his father's death, "It's Hard to Kiss the Lips at Night That Chew Your Ass Out All Day Long." The latter, a somewhat misogynistic song, charms not for its sentiment but for the backstory and Gill's poignant recollections of his relationship with his father.
There remains no doubt — at least in my mind — Lovett is unquestionably the more talented balladeer while Gill's greatest hits bring in fans. The amalgam of their personalities, talents and energy made for an evening that was both gratifying and enlightening.
