Dwight Yoakam photo by Cambria Harkey, courtesy of New West Records.
Feb. 24, 2009 — Nashville will have its share of bleary-eyed office workers Tuesday, thanks to a PBS taping of its "Legends & Lyrics" series that started nearly two hours late and ran past midnight. All the tickets for Dwight Yoakam and pop stars Gavin DeGraw and Amy Lee, of Evanescence, had been claimed well in advance, but after the wait, the audience took up fewer than half the seats.
Those that stayed saw each of the performers deliver five songs in a round-robin format. They also got in a fair share of zingers. Dwight had a book of his lyrics on hand to use as a crib sheet, and he asked Gavin at one point if he’d care to take a look.
"I haven’t read a nursery rhyme," Gavin quipped, "in quite some time."
"The shortest nursery rhyme," Dwight later retorted, "is actually an homage to you."
Slinging another arrow at Dwight’s light-turquoise footwear, Gavin lamented that his own performance "might not be loud enough to hear over Dwight’s boots."
In fact, both Amy and Gavin were clearly appreciative of Dwight’s work. His five songs included a raucous version of "Guitars, Cadillacs" and a revamped take on "Please Please Baby" with Elvis Presley vocal phrasing and distinct mountain influence. Gavin acknowledged a particularly edgy solo by Dwight’s electrict guitarist, Eddie Perez, and repeatedly noted what an honor it was to be sharing the stage with both his fellow vocalists. Amy also confessed some apprehension about following Dwight’s brash version of "If There Was A Way."
"I think," she said, "I just got schooled."
The "Legends & Lyrics" sessions, which began Friday and end Tuesday, featured a wealth of artists from numerous formats, including country traditionalist Darryl Worley, soulful singer-songwriter Marc Cohn, REO Speedwagon vocalist Kevin Cronin, Hall of Fame writer Mac Davis, bluesman Robert Cray and Americana stalwart Guy Clark.
The schedule featured a pair of sessions on most days, and that doomed the timeliness of Dwight’s show when the afternoon taping ran long. But those who stuck around were hardly complaining: It’s not often you get to see music of that caliber for free.
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