Lucinda Williams has played all over this town, in nearly every major venue and in front of some big crowds. Wednesday night she returned to the VooDoo Lounge. It was her second performance there in a few years, but it was before one of her smallest audiences -- fewer than 500 people. Lucky them: They saw one of her best local shows ever.
Her voice sounded excellent -- strong and soulful. Maybe the honey she sipped from a cup all night had something to do with that. It was supressing a cough, she said; but she sure didn't sound sick. Her setlist was built for long-time fans and not just those who jumped aboard her bandwagon with the "Car Wheels" album. (I've seen her at least 10 times; this was the first time I heard her sing "Memphis Pearl").
She brought her band Buick 6 with her, though it's a different band these days without guitarist Doug Pettibone, who's off doing the solo thing. His replacement, is Eric Schermerhorn, whose resume includes gigs with Bowie, Iggy, They Might Be Giants and The The. This evening, he fit right in with the band's country/Delta blues stylings, and he whipped up a few solo storms, especially during the covers of "Every Picture Tells a Story" and AC/DC's "It's a Long Way to the Top."
The rest of the set list was all hers, and it went back to her earliest albums, including the Folkways records (the first of which turns 30 this year). She turned things down in the middle of this two-hour show for a run of quieter, acoustic numbers, including "Memphis Pearl" and "Jackson." (And this crowd kept quiet and listened hard to it all.)
Things got loud and bluesy again, starting with "Piñeola" and then the back-to-back combination of "Joy" and "Righteously." She dropped in a new one between those, the hard but bubbly "Honey Bee," which sounded great live. Speaking of sound, the VooDoo can be one of the best live venues for sound when everything and everyone is working right. This was one of those nights.
There's room to complain about her closing the show with two covers, but during "Every Picture Tells A Story," her voice gave Rod Stewart's a run for his money; and the AC/DC cover was not a big surprise; it's on her latest album. And besides that, she filled the rest of the night with an array of songs that perfectly captured 30 years of eminent songwriting.
| Timothy Finn, The Star
Setlist: I Just Wanted to See You So Bad; Happy Woman Blues; I Lost It; Concrete and Barbed Wire; Crescent City; Tears of Joy; Everything Has Changed; Memphis Pearl; Jackson; Fruits of My Labor; Still I Long For Your Kiss; Real Love; Drunken Angel; Piñeola; Little Rock Star; Out of Touch; Changed the Locks; Come On; Honey Bee; Joy; Righteously; Motherless Children; Every Picture Tells a Story; It's a Long Way to the Top.
Nice review, Tim - awesome setlist. Seen her a couple of times, sorry I missed this one. Pretty cheap ticket, too, if I remember right.
Posted by: neighbor | June 18, 2009 at 12:15 PM
Thanks Tim for addresses the Pettibone issue I brought up in another thread. Was he with them last time?
While it was the best Lucinda show I've ever seen (out of a total of only 5 though), I was particularly impressed with Buick 6's opening set. They're instrumental version of Television's "Marquee Moon" blew me away.
Posted by: NEW | June 18, 2009 at 12:57 PM
I thought last year's show at the Uptown was better. It was more energetic and had a better setlist. There was also a show at the Beaumont a few years back (with the Bottle Rockets) that was better than last night's show, IMHO. But it really did sound great in Harrah's last night (better than the last time she was there) and her voice sounded better than some of the other times I've seen her as well.
Posted by: dunnoknow | June 18, 2009 at 12:59 PM
they are instrumental version of Television's "Marquee Moon" blew me away?
Posted by: spellcheck | June 18, 2009 at 01:09 PM
Get a life, spellcheck
Posted by: NEW | June 18, 2009 at 01:22 PM
Other than the Bottle Rockets starting while half the crowd was waiting in line outside and not being able to SEE the show at all, the Beaumont show was pretty good.
Posted by: neighbor | June 18, 2009 at 01:52 PM
I saw the Beaumont show and especially enjoyed seeing the Bottle Rockets join her on stage towards the end. I missed last night's show but I've seen her three times and by far the best was at Liberty Hall in December of 98 when she was touring for Car Wheels. I also saw her open for Tom Petty at Sandstone a while back. She's just not an opening act in my book. Too bad Doug Pettibone isn't with her anymore but I plan to look for his solo stuff. I've been digging him since he recorded with Kevin Montgomery on Another Long Story.
Posted by: Nivek9 | June 18, 2009 at 02:44 PM
she opened for Neil Young on his Greendale tour, at Starlight. That was a great show. Yes, Pettibone was at the Uptown show.
Posted by: tim finn | June 18, 2009 at 03:00 PM
That Greendale show was awesome and having Lucinda as the opening act was an added bonus.
Posted by: neighbor | June 18, 2009 at 03:03 PM
""not being able to SEE the show at all...Beaumont show was pretty good.Posted by: neighbor | June 18, 2009 at 01:52 PM ""
I dont know if it has been mentioned here, or not, but the Beaumont is a really bad venue for a concert.
Posted by: Jed | June 18, 2009 at 03:50 PM
i was actually posing as spellcheck...just wanted to see if someone got upset about the comment. experiment successful.
Posted by: encyclopedia | June 18, 2009 at 03:57 PM
Get a life, encyclopedia
Posted by: old | June 18, 2009 at 04:19 PM
i was actually posing as encyclopedia...just wanted to see if someone felt the need to continue the smattering.
Posted by: thesaurus | June 18, 2009 at 05:32 PM
I saw her open for Neil and Crazy Horse, and at the Beaumont, Crossroads, the Uptown and both times at Harrah's. It isn't important. Tim's review was spot on. There were several songs I had never heard live and she and the band were smokin. I'm fairly certain that Doug is on the Buick 6 recording, it was before he split and his solo record is called, "The West Gate". Both are worth the purchase and thank you, Tim for such a solid review.
Posted by: Lafayette | June 19, 2009 at 11:46 AM