Here are a few comments about the show.
First - from her fan site
message board:
Stunning performance at 930 Club posted by passionate roadtripper.
A dynamite show for a wildly supportive full-house at the 930 Club this past Saturday night. Lucinda expressed her pleasure to play at a real-live stand-up rock'n'roll club, as opposed to the outdoor or seated venues previously on this tour. The audience was really together, taking care of friends and strangers, protecting floor space during bathroom breaks, and finding a woman's purse that had skipped across the floor during the routine shuffling of feet. The set included a rearranged Essence, with the band quieting during the 3rd verse, allowing Lucinda to sing unaccompanied towards a drum-roll at the "all f*d up" finale. The setlist: (1) Drunken Angel; (2) Ventura; (3) Those Three Days; (4) Fruits of My Labor; (5) Blue; (6) Concrete and Barbed Wire; (7) The Night's Too Long; (
I Lost It; (9) Still I Long for Your Kiss; (10) Righteously; (11) Out of Touch; (12) Essence; (13) Are You Down? (14) Joy; ENCORE: (15) Minneapolis; (16) Like A Rose; (17) Right In Time; (18) Come to Me, Baby.
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and from the
Wash Post:
Lucinda Williams
"Now that I've made it, I think people like to take potshots at me," Lucinda Williams said Saturday night at the 9:30 club. She was introducing her song "Righteously," which she said was panned in No Depression magazine. It's hard, though, to feel much sympathy for a performer who would announce that she's "made it" and then bemoan the problems related to such a fortunate development.
Lyrically, Williams's songs painted vivid pictures, from the imagery of a scorpion's nest in "Those Three Days" to the straightforward narrative of "The Night's Too Long." Unfortunately, those lyrics were buried under her raspy, emotionless vocals, and her music watered down her blues and country influences to a few generic guitar riffs and an unvarying drumbeat. Williams's encore included a few engaging, subtle ballads ("Minneapolis," "Like a Rose"), but by then it was too little too late.
Williams encouraged the crowd to dance during "Are You Down," but sold-out shows at the 9:30 club are so packed that the audience can barely move, or sometimes even see the performer onstage. That may be for the best, as the view was often of Williams casually conferring with her band mates -- and up to two roadies -- between songs, and blatantly reading her own lyrics as she sang from a book that a crew member had to turn the pages of. This conduct might have been forgivable from a musician just starting out, unsure how to prepare a set list or afraid of forgetting the words she had written, but such unprofessional behavior is disappointing for someone who's been at this as long as Williams.
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my opinion The truth is probably somewhere in between those extremes. At an early point she mentioned that the club told her she could play as long as she wanted. I thought this would be a good thing. Turns out - maybe not. It seemed to give her license to take an already pretty informal approach to an even more exxagerated extent that I think hurt the pacing of the show a bit - the band spent a lot of time between songs conversing & deciding. And then some songs were extended to such lengths that they nearly veered into jam band territory. Sometimes good - sometimes mediocre. Also - as mentioned in another thread by kathys - the ending seemed very abrupt, especially for someone eager to "play all night". The entire band though did appear to be having a GREAT time & the crowd was cool. Much less crowded than most sold-out shows at the club - so kudos for that. And there was some sweet young lass working the door. I miss seeing the icon thatguy, but she sure was a nice fill-in.
Overall - a good show, but not near my expectations. I may have even enjoyed Jim White more.
Did you DJ kosmo? If so, where do you set up? I looked for you & the only area I could find was the soundboard. My friends made many appreciative comments about the between set tune selections.
