Lyle Lovett Tapes Last ACL TV Episode In Studio 6A [Show Review]

Last night's Austin City Limits taping with Lyle Lovett was a historic moment and the end of an era for the iconic PBS series which has been in Studio 6A at KLRU-TV on the campus of UT for 36 years. In early 2011, the show will move into its new digs downtown at the W Hotel. Before the show began, executive producer Terry Lickona said "We're saving Willie for the new venue" in response to people who felt he should have been taping the final episode (after all, he was on the pilot episode 36 years ago). He went on to speak about how Lyle Lovett first headlined the show in 1987 and was a way to "celebrate the past, present and future all at once."

For Lovett's 12th appearance on the program, he made it a night to remember. There will undoubtedly be some difficult choices to be made for the nearly two hour performance to be edited down for broadcast. Every track was a winner, as he wound his way through his catalog and threw in some choice covers like Townes Van Zandt's "Loretta." There were frequently up to fifteen people on stage playing as Lovett was joined by a pianist, two guitarists, two percussionists, a mandolin player, a fiddle player, a cellist, an upright bass player, and a steel guitar player in addition to four backing vocalists.

Lovett performs twice at the Paramount next week: Wednesday, November 10 and Friday, November 12. Get more information here.

One of the night's most touching moments (before the heartfelt encore) was when he performed "Natural Forces", the title track to his latest album. Lovett said that he wrote the song one Sunday afternoon while watching an NFL game and thinking about American soldiers off at war. He explained that the song was a response to "how much contrast there is in our daily lives", which is beautifully summed up in the lyric "I pray that I'm worth fighting for."

After Lovett and his band played through a stunning seventeen song set, he called the staff to "leave their posts" and join him on stage as he played "Closing Time", a track from his 1986 debut album. There was so much pride on display (and more than a few tears) as the show's crew members slowly joined the band, embraced, and took photos while the song played out. Before the cameras faded to black for one last time from Studio 6A, Lovett smiled and cheered "here's to 36 more!"

Setlist:
“Whooping Crane” (Eric Taylor cover)
“Don’t Cry a Tear”
“The Blues Walk”
"It's Rock and Roll"
“Farmer Brown”
“I Will Rise Up”
“All Downhill”
“Blues For Dixie” (impromptu addition to the set w/ Ray Benson - Cindy Walker/Bob Wills cover)
“No Big Deal”
“Funny How Time Slips Away” (Willie Nelson cover)
“Natural Forces”
“Loretta” (Townes Van Zandt cover)
“Pantry”
“Up In Indiana”
“Isn’t That So”
“Ain’t No More Cane”
“White Freightliner Blues” (Townes Van Zandt cover)
“Closing Time”