Harrisburg Setlist

Last night Lucinda Williams brought her crack 3 piece band to the beautiful Forum theatre in Harrisburg, touring in support of her new, and from-the-gate, best selling CD, West. Waving tentatively as she slowly walked on stage, she & the band then eased into “Pineola.” As is her usual wont, most songs were introduced, whether via name or the story of its origin. Two-thirds of the way into the set list second song, the down-tempo “Drunken Angel,” from her best-selling album Car Wheels On A Gravel Road (which became the record of focus this evening), she brought the song to an abrupt end & exclaimed, “I could feel it coming…I had to cough…can I get some cough syrup?” & then went on to explain that once she goes through Austin, she always picks something up…it must be the cedar…” while apologizing for the interruption. She did the song over successfully, then went on about being sorry. Unfortunately, the Car Wheels title track also got off to a rough start, which then took her down the road of wondering about her reviews. “I can see the reviews now…” she complained, the crowd slipping into some minor unease. She finished the song without further incident, but already the long timers sat wondering if it was going to be ‘one of those shows.’ That was dispelled with “Lake Charles” where her mellifluous voice floated through the venue with gravitas, and thankfully there weren’t any more episodes. She played a decent if unexceptional show, frequently showing too much restraint, with Doug Pettibone frequently the one held back the most as his prowess is the most pronounced when on full display. Surely he played some great fills & his playing remains an excellent focal point of her concerts musically speaking. But for most of the night he never came close to any kind of repeated, crescendo-like-runs that mark the best of her more free-spirited shows. Honestly, Lu looked not-quite-fit, her jeans a little tight & her pretty teal/flowered layered top set sometimes exposing her less-than slim mid-drift, and in general she was somewhat ill-at-ease, using lots of “ya knows” when she was speaking & was quite earnest in sharing that she looked forward to a day off & a return to the South…”it’s cold up here…” The set list adhered to those of most recent shows, though she did go off the published set list a few times. Spot-on versions of “Essence (has anyone ever written a classy & a sensual song as this? No.),” “Crescent City (dedicated to the people in NO),” & “2 Kool” highlighted as did the previous mentioned “Lake,” which was simply beautiful & as riveting as she can get. It wasn’t until Alejandro Escovedo joined the band that she truly loosened up & let it fly. He and Doug played an incendiary “Joy,” trading off licks & runs, which was followed by a surprise “Get Right” that had her extending her arms upward as she cajoled a fairly tame – except for the idiots who kept shouting some incredibly stupid things to her – audience to indeed get right with god. AE’s quartet lent an excellent boost to the set closers, their warm strings buffeting her sad words. All in all, a B effort. Not a bad show, but way short of her best.

First poster had the set list right, I believe. Published Set List:

Pineola
Drunken
Car Wheels
Lake
Fancy
Crescent
Lost It
Where Is My Love/Still I Long
Righteously
Come On/Changed Locks
Essence
Atonement/Unsuffer
HTKFB/Disgusted
Get Right/Joy

++++++++++++

Everything
Jackson
Bus To BR

it started with “my boyfriend thinks you’re hot” then went to “my gf thinks you’re hot” to someone else w/ them saying “both my friends think you’re hot” it got old fast. along w/ other assorted redneck musings…plenty of WVians in the crowd!

People from all over last nite…philly, md, central/western PA, WV,

Yes, I’ve seen Lu six times and this show was far off her usual mark. I hate to say it, but she sorely misses Taras and Jim Christie. The band just isn’t cohesive and Doug Pettibone seemed really hampered by something. The sound was disruptive. I was down near the floor in the first level of non-floor seats right at dead center and we had absolutely no drum problem but we had a less than ideal bass sound, all click and clunk and very little real bottom. The guitar was very weak in volume. We were mostly hearing the stage amps for both guitar and bass and very little PA. Then I moved upstairs to the very top to get away from that and the sound was excellent, well rounded and hearing the proper amount of PA amplification of the instruments. As evidenced by Alejandro’s set, the room is acoustically perfect. It projects every little pin drop from the stage. The problem appears to be introducing loud sounds from the stage. They cut right through and compete with the PA itself. The board operator probably had to keep them off the board to a greater degree than normal. You were hearing the drum sounds uneffected by the PA amplication which would normally drown out all the echo completely. The PA volume seemed low down on the floor area, but by the time you get up near the top (where the board was), the room is full of sound. They probably ought to move the PA speakers tighter in next to the band on stage. Lesson learned – sit at the top for any modicum of loud instrumentation at the Forum.