As I may have mentioned here before, I've been looking forward to seeing Lyle Lovett in L.A. for some months now, and the date is fast approaching. It will be my second time seeing Lovett perform, and my first Lovett concert in the "Songwriters' Tour" format, with Joe Ely, Guy Clark, and John Hiatt also performing (I saw him with his large band, which was great, but a jazzier experience, while this will no doubt be a more countrified evening). A trip to L.A. for the concert also offers an opportunity to see the Sergio Leone exhibit at the Autry National Center. A nice little mini-vacation (and not even gambling-related!).

Anyway, I got an e-mail from an online friend, whom I've met in real life a few times at Randy Newman-related activities, offering me two tickets to the Lovett concert if I knew anyone who wanted to go. Now, I had thought about bringing my mom to the concert, because I took her to see Lyle Lovett with me as a Mother's Day gift, and she was disappointed, because he kept trying to sound like Harry Connick, Jr. (I understood her point, but enjoyed his jazzy and blusey numbers as much as his country songs) So I thought she'd enjoy a more acoustic, country show. But as I was buying a series subscription to make sure I got a seat for the Randy Newman concert, there wasn't a practical way to get a ticket seated with me for her as well, so I dropped the idea. But now, due to Ralph's generosity, my mom can go to the show (though she wasn't too thrilled when she found out, as a condition of attending the concert, she had to return to the Autry museum), I get a much better seat for the show, and I can pass my ticket on to another member of the online Randy Newman community to enjoy. Should be a fun night.