Those of you who’ve ever attended a show at the zoo probably already knew what I didn’t: if you want to get a seat where you can actually pay attention to the music, you must 1) show up really early and stand in line before the doors open and 2) avoid Kid Hill at all costs, which is a little incline in the very back where all the bitties congregate to play, aka run around shrieking. The show started before six, and Emmylou was on by 6:45, which makes me think that either the people camped out in the front don’t have day jobs or they took time off from work, which is great for those in positions with the flexibility to do that, but all us Joe ‘n Jane shmoes got relegated to the back with the families. And while I think it’s great that these parents are trying to expose their children to one of the greatest country vocalists ever to grace American music, I’m not sure that the 3-10 year old crowd really benefited from the whole experience as much as their noisy presence detracted from everyone else’s. Whining aside, Emmylou put on an excellent show, it was a nice evening for sitting outside, and it would’ve been tough to come up with a better set list than the one we heard. She played a few new tracks from her latest record, All I Intended To Be, but she also regaled us with plenty of old standbys like “Red Dirt Girl,” the late, great Gram Parsons’ “Return of the Grievous Angel,” “If I Could Only Win Your Love” and the closer, “Two More Bottles of Wine.” The sound system, at least from where we were, wasn’t doing her any favors, but I’m not worried that I’ll never see her sing live again, because Emmylou assured us that she’s not done performing even if– as she explained– some chodelier fans of hers have suggested that she retire. DON’T DO IT, EMMYLOU! But next time you come to Seattle, couldja maybe play a 21+ show to appease the childless, soul-less ogres like myself? Or at least somewhere with reserved seats? Just saying. More photos courtesy of li’l scoop after the jump!