Peerless Texas

So it was the first time I had seen Lyle Lovett since the splendour of his Large Band captivated 3000 fans and more at the Edinburgh Playhouse in the mid 1990’s
In the comparatively boutique surroundings of the Queen’s Hall fronting his four piece ‘Acoustic Band’, the long tall man from Texas is an even more commanding presence.
Sliver of suit, boots boasting the most immaculate chiselled toes, the 51-year-old with the grin that transcends lop-sided is the most tastefully tortured artist imaginable.
Anchored by the redoubtable Russ Kunkel, his drummer of long standing who also played with the cream of the Seventies Californian scene, and gets more power out of brushes than lesser mortals manage with sticks, this is a gentlemen’s ensemble of great talent.
Cellist John Hagen has been around Lyle for at least two decades, and it shows in the repartee between them. If timing is indeed the secret of comedy, then Lovett can stand up with the best of them.
He is more tall and droll than Chic Murray, a deadpan storyteller both spoken and sung. Hagen plays the knowing straight man almost as well as he bows that cello, which is very well indeed.
They reach back as far as If I Had A Boat, cherry picking from a 23 year career, injecting renewed vigour into tunes like My Baby Don’t Tolerate and Since The Last Time.
Showstopper of the night? In a set that wreaks casual emotional havoc throughout, the penultimate tune that opens the encore, North Dakota. Unrequited painful border brooding. Cue moist glass eyes etc.
In this former church, it was a religious experience.