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[It seems wiser just to start a new stream, though I echo Faux Farm Girl’s sentiments]
1 Rescue [followed by Lu requesting the spotlight on her be dimmed: “it’s like a heat lamp up here”]
2 Real Love
3 2 Kool 2 B 4 Gotten
4 Tears of Joy [before which a fan is turned directly on her, during which Lu walks over and slings the fan to the side: after, she pronounces the show “totally marred” and adds “It’s not a fucking light show”]
5 Fruits of My Labor
6 Lake Charles [Doug can be dimly seen on pedal steel–though lighting issue has been resolved, Lu bemoans the sound and says to monitor man Kevin that the show is “ruined”]
7 Out of Touch [before which Lu says “I think we should just move on,” having first declared that two Louisiana songs were coming]
8 Little Rock Star
9 Come On
10 Changed the Locks
11 Honeybee
12 Joy
13 Righteously
14 Are You Down
15 I Live My Life
16 It’s a Long Way to the Top
Encore: 17 Lake Charles, [reprised, solo: first time I’ve ever seenLu do same song twice, in full]
18 Bus to Baton Rouge
19 Steal Your Love [paulfromlosangeles calls it, just prior]
20 Get Right with God [preceded by “We’ve redeemed ourselves” and “y’all have a lot of soul to live in this humidity” and “Make sure you vote”]What a night. At one point Lu offered a “free show” to make up for her perceived weakness (“I don’t feel like I’ve done a good job”). At another she apologized for her “meltdown–no pun intended”. She also said “I’m not drunk, I’m sober as a fucking judge–unfortunately.” Yes, there was a scuffle in the second “row” near the end of the encore, and some jerk tried to upgrade his spot and use the lilypad (if that’s what it was) up front as a footrest. But by the end, she was dancing and wiggling on “Get Right,” happy once more. Even by “Righteously,” whose lyrics she flubbed, she was getting back to form and shrugged off her mistake with a smile. It was one for the ages, to be sure. I don’t think I’ve ever seen half the main set (songs 1-4; 13-16) where Lu was guitar-less, either.
Buick 6 was not only “assume” but awesome, Doug very vocal, introducing everyone and dedicating their set to Robert Garrett, deceased one year ago, music fan from the area. Doug’s guitar tech introduced them as the “instrumental stylings of Buick 6.”
Let’s hear from TN Tracy and paul and others to supplement
Lu is among my favorite three or four artists. I’ve seen her a half dozen times and have seen her get distracted and flustered before, most notably in Vegas opening for Neil Young during the WWT tour.
Lu is almost legendary for her ability to channel her anger and emotion into her performance, taking it to altogether different levels.
That simply didn’t happen last night. She destroyed any rhythm the show might have had by ripping through the book and seemingly playing the first rocker she came to. She badly flubbed her vocal timing on both “Righteously” (going from first verse to second without pausing for Doug’s guitar riff) and “Get Right with God” (starting too early). And then after ten consecutive rockers to close the show, coming back with an encore that began “Lake Charles”, “Bus to Baton Rouge” and “Steal Your Love”…
No question, the humidity was downright nasty and the lights and sound mix were terrible. I still love Lu and eagerly await the new album and my next chance to see her, but her assessment of “redeeming herself” at the end of the show was about the most self-serving thing I’ve ever heard a performer say. Particularly one who had spent the last two hours alienating a crowd the way she did.
Here I am – a little slow this afternoon after quite a (long – more on this later) night & a bit too much wine. I can’t really add anything to stoger’s write-up regarding Lu’s set (great review, stoger), and the set list notes I took match his to a tee (except I didn’t bother to write down the encore – too excited & again, too much wine I suppose).
It was a beautiful, albeit very humid, night. Rain threatened a couple of times (not storms, but a couple of times a few drops fell as if it were going to lightly rain), but the Music Gods smiled upon us & it didn’t rain. I was in a great mood and ready for a great show, and I was not disappointed. The night turned out to be even better as we were surrounded on the lawn by some really cool folks.
When Lu played at the Botanical Gardens 2 or 3 years ago, I got there at about 4:00 PM and was the only one in line for two hours. 😯 So, this year, we took our time getting there after a great Mexican dinner, and arrived at about 6:05 only to find 150 or so people already queued up. Oh well, you just never know. Nonetheless, we managed to get in quickly, and found a spot on the lawn almost dead center and “third” row – just behind a large blanket laid out & reserved for family members of the band – Lu’s included, I believe, because one of the women who was there bore a striking resemblance to Lu.
Buick 6’s set was fantastic. A little surf vibe on one of the songs, a nice funk groove to another (during which I was getting a bottle of wine & saw a security guard in the back bobbing his head to the beat – we caught each others eyes & smiled big – totally getting into the music). They finished up with an instumental cover of “Black Dog” and then a sung cover of “Cinnamon Girl” – both done fantastically. Like I said, a great set – I’m looking forward to their CD.
Like I said before, I’ve not much to add to stoger’s review of Lu’s set except to say, yes, Lu complained about the lights, but I felt it did not detract from her show one iota (despite someone’s else’s post in another thread). My take is Lu’s music and poetry is what I am there to see and hear & if something is not to her liking with the sound or the lights or whatever, she has every right to say something about it. It does not (to me any way) diminish the music and the poetry. I guess I just love her talent that much. In fact, last night’s was one of the best of a dozen or so shows or hers I’ve had the pleasure to see.
I brought a couple of posters (one a gig poster from the Malibu, CA show we went to a in October, 2005, and one a cool “Southern Woman” promo poster for CWOAGR) to see if we could see Lu after the show to get them signed. I also bought the Print Mafia gig poster for last night’s show – the best one IMHO that I have seen of the series so far – a really cool Dia de los Muertos style skull design. My great & patient wife Sarah and I hung out near the buses for quite a while without seeing any one other than roadies loading gear. Then, I saw Doug up by the front of one of the buses, so I walked over and chatted with him and the bass player (sorry – I can’t recall his name). They were very cool & Doug signed a couple of my posters for me.
Then, just as we were about to call it a night, Lu & Tom were nice enough & gracious enough to come out & chat with us for a nice long time & Lu signed my posters for me! They were both fantastic – very nice & unassuming. I was a little drunk & a little star-struck – I hope I didn’t embarrass myself too much, but it was like a dream come true. Lu apologized for her comments during the show about the lights, but she said they were really, really bad, and I told her not to worry – it wasn’t a problem at all for us. I’d like to publically thank Lu & Tom for their kindness to Sarah & myself. They truly made it a night that we will never forget. I was on a cloud all the way home!
Tom
(EDIT – fixed a spelling error – sorry, but I’m anal about that!)
Damn, TN Tracy, I’m pretty sure now that you were the guy near the buses when “paulfromlosangeles” and I left the [Lu-less] “aftershow” and asked directions to Piedmont Ave. Both of us have gotten to meet Tom and Lu before, so no problem there, but I wish I had paused to chat with you and your wife. I’m happy your wait was rewarded. We were two “rows” in front of you during the show, a bit to your left sounds like. Thanks for adding to this, and I second your thoughts on Lucinda’s actions and words.
@stoger wrote:
Damn, TN Tracy, I’m pretty sure now that you were the guy near the buses when “paulfromlosangeles” and I left the [Lu-less] “aftershow” and asked directions to Piedmont Ave. Both of us have gotten to meet Tom and Lu before, so no problem there, but I wish I had paused to chat with you and your wife. I’m happy your wait was rewarded. We were two “rows” in front of you during the show, a bit to your left sounds like. Thanks for adding to this, and I second your thoughts on Lucinda’s actions and words.
Dang, sorry we missed you. If the guy you saw was 6′, about 250 lbs w/ short grey hait & wearing a black “Lucinda Williams & The Love Band” T-shirt then, yep, that was me!
Tom
OK, this was my second Lucinda show. My first was a year or so ago at Wolftrap. I’ve only been into Lucinda since just prior to the “West” album, so I do know that I’m not a seasoned reviewer.
However, in my opinion, some of the comments are erroneous (this thread and others).
First, the profanity doesn’t bother me. On her studio recordings, she sometimes uses the word “Fuck”. Also, sexual innuendos are obvious in some songs. Thus, one should deduce that there is the potential for some adult related material in any show.
Secondly, I too have had bad days. I’ve had days at work that started off poorly, regardless of whether it is my fault or someone elses. We’ve all had moments (I assume) when we were not on top of our games. So, I think one should appreciate how seriously Lucinda takes the quality of her perfomance. She wasn’t happy with her performance, so she tried to atone for it.
I loved the show and don’t feel disappointed in the least. My wife and I drove nearly 3.5 hours, spent $120 on a less than desirable hotel room (another story in and of itself), and nearly divorced 3 or 4 times due to irritating Atlanta traffic, one way streets, poor mapquest directions and detours.
However, at the culmination of our trip, we left longing and willing to pay for another Lucinda show.
My highlights were:
Real Love
Lake Charle #1: This is one of my all time favorites even though my wife and one of my dear friends rank this low on the “Car Wheels” album. It’s my second favorite next to “Metal Firecracker”.
Little Rock Star
Come On-I just like this song
Lake Charles #2 She quickly appeared for the first encore which was a solo acoustic version of Lake Charles. It seemed to be her way of apologizing to the crowd for what she deemed to be a lackluster beginning (although I didn’t feel this way).
Get Right With God-One of my wife’s favorites and a rocker, so I’m glad it closed the show.
I have no regrets and I spent a decent amount on tickets, travel and hotel.
Setlist
1 Rescue
2 Real Love
3 2 Kool 2 B 4 Gotten
4 Tears of Joy
5 Fruits of My Labor
6 Lake Charles
7 Out of Touch
8 Little Rock Star
9 Come On
10 Changed the Locks
11 Honeybee
12 Joy
13 Righteously
14 Are You Down
15 I Live My Life
16 It’s a Long Way to the Top
Encore:17 Lake Charles,
18 Bus to Baton Rouge
19 Steal Your Love
20 Get Right with GodBotanical gardens show was my first show!!! I was soo glad to be there…my guy from boston had asked me to come up there to see Lucinda but I could not so he made plans to come here–we almost didn’t get tix…the show sold out immediatly…I finally came up with tix the day before—we arrive at the show happy to be there….I am curious to know how many fans were there to see Lucinda or because they had “season tix” to the gardens nevertheless WE were happy to be there!
It is no surprise that the lights fucked up because while happily sitting there waitng for the show we watched some stagehand adjust the lights with a floor squeegie–anybody see that??? wow- now thats a pro!!!
Buick 6 rocked out but only got about 3 peeple to tap there toes–rough crowd… however we totally enjoyed them and were happy to know they were the band that was to back Lucinda up!!!!
I could not help but feel for Lucinda when she came out on had the lights in her fucking face–I would have love to see her chuck the fan they tried to place up there in the “mote”!!!!! I appauld you Lucinda for telling it like it is and having the songs to fit the show. YOu were great you did not offend me or my man we applauded and cheered for you and stuck up for you to some yuppies who didn’t understand that maybe a performer could have a bad day too….I am going on Lucinda tour—hey u need a merch girl!!!!!??
Is there anybody who has a copy of the show???????? ❓ 😈 😈
Bravos66 you nailed my impression of the concert Friday night. Lucinda has been a favorite of mine for many years since I first knew of her as a songwriter- (“Sweet Old World” sung by Emmylou Harris) and one of few performers that I will go to see in concert. A friend in Nashville let me listen to her first two releases and I was hooked. Her music and lyrics have always seemed relevant to what was going on in my life. Her language doesn’t offend me at all but I remember her last show at the Botanical Gardens she was cognizant that there might be kids in the crowd and as I recall, only sang one song that had fuck in it. Having lived in Louisiana, one would think she wouldn’t have made such a fuss about the weather – the lights were a totally different issue that should have been resolved. All of the other shows I have seen of hers have been great; this one was disappointing but I am no less of a fan because of it.
Also, Doug Pettibone and Buick 66 were fantastic; really a highlight of the evening.
All I’ve seen in the Atlanta paper (we only have one major newspaper, believe it or not) about the show so far, is this little blurb. Kinda sad, but that’s the state of the press in this city…
Lucinda Williams feels the heat
Atlanta’s heat and technical problems took Lucinda Williams’ “Joy” Friday night while performing at the Atlanta Botanical Garden. Three songs into her concert, the Grammy-winning folk-rock singer halted the show because of glaring stagelights.
“It’s not a [expletive] light show,” she announced into her microphone, directing technical crew to remove the heat light, err, spotlight from her face. Concertgoers filling the garden’s Great Lawn didn’t seem to mind her mood, even when several songs later she stopped the show again because of the sound system, this time announcing she was “as sober as a [expletive] judge” and that she’d have to hold a free concert to make up for what she felt was a lackluster performance. (Buzz is pretty sure she’s kidding about that free show.)
Williams later rallied, ending the show with a rousing “Get Right With God,” and drawing laughter from the crowd when she said Southerners have more soul than the rest of the country. They’d have to, she said, to deal with Atlanta’s heat.
http://www.ajc.com/search/content/metro/stories/2008/07/28/buzz.html
Tom
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