SARATOGA, Calif. — The calm evening air and lush surroundings of Saratoga's Mountain Winery made the perfect setting for Lyle Lovett and his just-short-of-large band to kick off their summer tour.

Hitting the stage just at sundown Saturday for the second of three sold-out nights at the vineyard, Lovett was in easy command, leading the audience through the quirky twists and Texas tales of his two-and-a-half hour repertoire.

Lovett, attired in a slick black leather sport jacket, opened with the Steven Fromholz-penned "Texas Trilogy," from 1998's Step Inside This House, giving full indication of the tasteful evening that was in store — top-of-the-heap songwriting, unparalleled vocal harmonies and, as is always the case with Lovett, a backing band of the highest order.

Eschewing his large band of old that featured a horn section and multiple background singers, this year's version is a stripped-down yet dynamic outfit consisting of mandolin player Sam Bush, fiddler Gene Elders, Mike Auldridge on Dobro, cellist John Hagen, Jon Randall on acoustic guitar and harmony vocals, Pat Bergeson on electric guitar, bassist Viktor Krauss, drummer Dan Tomlinson and percussionist James Gilmer.

With veterans like these at his side, Lovett spent the evening freely roaming his vast catalog. Never one to be afraid of mixing styles, genres or tastes, Lovett delivered the cow-jazzy "Give Back My Heart" (RealAudio excerpt), from his first album; perennial favorites "If I Had a Boat" and "L.A. County," from Pontiac; and such tongue-in-cheek crowd pleasers as "Don't Touch My Hat" (RealAudio excerpt) and "Her First Mistake" (RealAudio excerpt), from 1996's The Road to Ensenada.

Lovett kept the pace even-keeled with somber ballads ("Nobody Knows Me") mixed in with uptempo flares ("That's Right, You're Not From Texas"). The swaying choruses of "Fiona" and "Private Conversation," in particular, clicked behind Bush and Randall's harmonizing.

Lovett exhibited a wonderful trait of a great entertainer: He

knew he was surrounded by great musicians, and he freely gave them

opportunities to step out. Bush, an engaging performer in his own right, stepped up to the mic and delivered "Same Ol' River," as Lovett smiled and sang harmony.

At one point Lovett regaled the crowd with the story of how his day got off to a great start: He awoke to a C-SPAN broadcast of Sens. Pat Leahy of Vermont and Orrin Hatch of Utah commenting on what fans of the Grateful Dead they are and testifying that they've downloaded the band's music.

Lovett told the audience he "really believes that Jerry Garcia is out there looking over us." On that note he broke into the Dead's "Friend of the Devil," which he delivered with such reverence and conviction, you'd think he wrote it himself.

And lest fans thought the magical evening would end without a tribute to Townes Van Zandt, Lovett served up the Texas songwriting legend's "White Freight Liner Blues" for an encore.