Hello,

First time seeing Lucinda Williams,and at the risk of sounding like an ungrateful wretch,after a long day I must admit I wasn't particularly in the mood for schlepping along anywhere.

Man alive,am I glad I did!That was the best show I have seen since my last best show (er,The Lightning Seeds last Sunday) and a little different from what I expected,which was acoustic and occasionally melancholic songs delivered beautifully.
Yes,I did get that but this show was a lot more electrified and upbeat too.As LW said when she was reminiscing about how long it took her to get a record deal,she was always told by record execs that she fell between two stools,rock and country,and therefore they passed on her.Berks.

There were another four musicians onstage (Chet Lyster on guitar and keyboards,David Sutton on bass,Butch Norton on drums and guitarist Eric Schermerhorn) and the sound was just the best:I mean that both how they played and they actual quality of their sound was as you wanted it...full,loud but clear.

LW was in a relaxed mood from the beginning,and even when she had to restart a rarely-played song ('Memphis Pearl') twice because she thought she was starting it in too high a key she was able to laugh and we saw her wonderful smile:this would always reappear when she turned to engage with one or more of her band-mates.
She was happy to chat briefly about the genesis of each song before she played it,and how she felt when she first picked-up a guitar in 1965 and heard the wonderful music of Dylan,The Stones,Neil Young etc.,which connected right away then and how she still felt like that today.
I only own one album of hers ('Car Wheels...') but I know realise that Lucinda Williams's taste spans Country,Rock,Blues and maybe more besides.I am also glad that I've got a little exploring to do,hah-hah!







Come back soon,LW.

Cheers,

Si.

Lucinda has always been worth the effort to see her in my experience. She had to restart a song twice when I saw her earlier this year but I don't think it was "Memphis Pearl" (I'll have to investigate this). Anyway, glad you enjoyed it, you definitely need to check out more of her discography -- you have a fulfilling adventure ahead of you.

I'm pissed off that I didnt get to see her on this tour. Too many other commitments this summer.

She should have played an Irish date. My first Lu show was at the Bridgewater in 2006 - had front row tickets and had a delightful rendezvous with her afterwards.

Mate of mine saw her in Gateshead last Saturday night. She was REALLY pissed off towards the end of the show at how lame the audience was.

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Glam Descendant
She had to restart a song twice when I saw her earlier this year but I don't think it was "Memphis Pearl" (I'll have to investigate this).

she did that when i saw her too. restarted a song and seemed a bit cranky. she opened
for john mellencamp at milwaukee's summerfest in '08. she played at another stage
at summerfest the following night. didn't see that one.

glam...did you see the restart in Milwaukee?


IORR............but I like it!

Bad case of camel toe!

Thanks for the recap and the photos. I have always liked Lucinda Williams though I have yet to see her in concert. Car Wheels On A Gravel Road is an excellent album for sure.

Mike

>glam...did you see the restart in Milwaukee

No, it was in Birmingham. She said she'd been kept awake the night before in a bus trip from Arkansas during a storm and there was a leak over her bed (lol). She turned to one of the guitar players in frustration saying, "Why can't I remember this?" (paraphrasing here) I'll have to see if I can find out what song it was but unlike the cranky local rag reviewer, I found it honest & charming rather than "nonprofessional".

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Gazza
Mate of mine saw her in Gateshead last Saturday night. She was REALLY pissed off towards the end of the show at how lame the audience was.

Hi Gazza,

No danger of that last night-the Manc crowd adored her and she mentioned how special she felt a couple of times...maybe that was because she only had to glance down to see my beaming,cherubic boat gazing right up at her with my 'lost in music' grin that is reserved for great artists only,hah-hah!

While I'm here,I wanna say that although a few IORRians bang-on about the high number of O/T threads (and I realise that a couple of these threads would try anyone's patience,let alone bv's),it is only by other folk reporting back on bands or albums or shows that they've seen and liked that the word spreads.
Hell,that is how I came to see LW!Keep up the good work.

Cheers,

Si.

Nice review Simon. I too missed her this time round but I've seen her tour her last few albums since World Without Tears. Doug Pettibone is such a great guitarist.

Dough P., a great gitarist, indeed, left the band some months ago and is replaced by another great player.
I feel the band is more a team though now when I saw them this month at a great gig in Holland (from which a great recording also appeared)

Dough P. I saw some 3 months ago with the Ray laMontagne band at a great gig in Paradiso /A'dam

I am surprised that she switched lead guitarist again. Doug Pettibone had been with her quite a while, and it seemed that he was much "her" guitarist ,Maybe she needs to change things up regularly. Gurf Morlix (from Mac's band) was with her too. She gets these top top guys. On the double live she put out, IMO the real star is Doug Pettibone.
Simon - if you like LW, I would most definitely check out "Essence" and "World Without Tears". Equal to "car Wheels" at the very least. "Little Honey" her latest is also excellent. IMO "West" is not that good; by her standards.

Thanks for the review. Seeing Lucinda tomorrow night in Perth and looking forward to it. Got front row seats after getting a heads up on the tour on this forum. Have got a hotel booked and intend to make a night of it. It's part of a small festival and Mary Gauthier and Jason Ringenberg are playing the late night festival club.

Never been to a gig in Perth, but have met a lot of musicians from the area who love music and partying, so I'm hopeful of a really good audience.

nice one Si - love bit of Lu.
Like Gazza, i couldn't make this tour - next time, for sure.

her old bassist taras is now playing with spencer davis band... kind of sad.. he is excellent i just would have expected that after his long stint with lucinda he'd have found better gigs...

restarts and ripping the audience....

is that her schtick or is she simply unprofessional?

i don't like it when a performer takes jabs at a paying audience.

the same night that I saw Lucinda open for Mellencamp...Mellencamp
also provoked the audience. with ticket prices so high....seems like some
performers still miss the big picture....we are paying them to perform...it's up
to them to entertain us. i don't need Mellencamp acting as though we should
be honored to be in his presence. that's backwards. he's a star because we made him a star.
(it's not unlike politicians that forget that they were elected as representatives...to serve their constituents)


IORR............but I like it!



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 2009-07-31 18:17 by sweet neo con.

Hi Palace Revoultion,

Many thanks for the LW recommendations...next stop is her latest Long-Player,'Little Honey'.Looking forward to it!

Hi S.N.C.,

From the one and only LW show that I saw,her Ladyship was charm incarnate!

Cheers,

Si.

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teleblaster
and Jason Ringenberg are playing the late night festival club.

Hey - I'd be grateful I you'd review Jason now that you are at it - haven't seen him in a long-long (too long) time.

Hi Simon, try to not miss out on "Essence". Produced by Charlie Sexton; the most melancholic of her albums, but maybe my favorite.

Speaking of Charlie Sexton, wonder what he is up to these days? Seen him about 10 years ago in a club in Atlanta, great show although he wouldn't play his biggest hit "Beat So Lonely" for some reason.

Mike



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 2009-08-01 21:28 by RSbestbandever.

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RSbestbandever
Speaking of Charlie Sexton, wonder what he is up to these days? Seen him about 10 years ago in a club in Atlanta, great show although he wouldn't play his biggest hit "Beat So Lonely" for some reason.

Mike

[en.wikipedia.org]

Hard to go wrong with any Lucinda album, that said I dont think she found her true voice (and sound) untile Gravel Wheels.

I expect most of us know the Mry Chapin Carpenter (fine version) of Passionate Kisses, but does anyone recall the live version that CMT usta show on heavy rotation, featuring the cream of the country ladies backin M.C.C. including Emmylou ? its was that that made me seek out the original, and whilst the early albums were a bit dissapointing, there was enough to keep me hanging in, Gravel Wheels for me was when she struck gold.

'Car Wheels' is the dogs bollocks - and as great an album that was made by anyone in the '90's but I actually prefer a couple of her earlier albums to the ones she's put out in the last few years (especially the self titled one and 'Sweet Old World')

FAO Simon and others - Lu's Manchester show is now available on dimeadozen :
[www.dimeadozen.org]



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 2009-08-02 18:29 by Gazza.

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Gazza
FAO Simon and others - Lu's Manchester show is now available on dimeadozen :
[www.dimeadozen.org]

Hi Gazza,

Thanks for the pointer.
I've no @#$%& idea how Dime works,hah-hah!
Hope it's a good quality recording though.

Cheers,

Si.

Drop me an e-mail with your address and I'll send it on to you, mate.

Well, Lucinda was absolutely sublime in Perth on Saturday night. What an enjoyable show! Not just for the audience, as Lucinda seemed to be enjoying herself immensely as was the band. Last night of the tour, although she and the band were playing the Cambridge Folk Festival before heading back to the States. She played a lot of early stuff off her Folkways and Rough Trade albums as well as Car Wheels and later tracks. Great acoustics in the hall (which she appreciated) and a receptive audience too. Lucinda said something like "in the States, audiences get better the further South you go. Over here, it works the other way round and the audiences improve the further north you go" which went down very well in Perth, the "gateway to the Highlands". The band were hot and she told us that one of the guitarists had played with Iggy Pop for five years. She also name-checked the New York Dolls who I saw play a blistering set in Glasgow a couple of weeks ago.

All told, this was a really great gig that all the audience seemed to love. It was part of the Southern Fried Festival in Perth with lots of good vibes around (and busy restaurants - had trouble getting a table before the show). I did manage to get a "no dope smoking, no beer.....etc" T shirt at the gig, though.

Many, many thanks to the poster who first drew my attention to this gig. Thanks to you I was able to get the two centre seats in the front row and friends got seats two rows behind. The show was completely sold out.

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mofur

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teleblaster
and Jason Ringenberg are playing the late night festival club.

Hey - I'd be grateful I you'd review Jason now that you are at it - haven't seen him in a long-long (too long) time.

Sorry, mofur, but we couldn't get in to the club as it too was completely sold out and no returns. Waited around for folk leaving, but security staff still wouldn't let us in without a ticket so we had to go elsewhere for our post-gig imbibing. Travelled down in the elevator with Jason the next morning (he had stayed in the same hotel as Ms Teleblaster and me) after realising that the American woman at the next table at breakfast was Mary Gauthier. She had done a songwriting workshop before her gig the previous day, but I had gone to the bluegrass guitar workshop instead. Jason got a taxi to the railway station, but didn't get the Glasgow train, so he was either going north (Aberdeen train) or further south (London train). BTW he did a kids' show during the day then the club gig at night.



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 2009-08-03 17:07 by teleblaster.