Bloomington IN Setlist

1 Something Wicked
2 Can’t Let Go
3 Crescent City [for sister Karen from Indy–Lu addresses the insane heat in the space but says she has resigned herself to it]
4 Pineola [with flubbed repeated lyrics]
5 Drunken Angel
6 I Lost It
7 West Memphis
8 Compassion
9 When I Look at the World
10 In the Pines [with recognition of the many recorded covers of this]
11 Lake Charles [about Clyde we learn that his “liver gave out” and that his chili was always “Texas-style,” with a clear distinction between the meat and beans; “he was my boyfriend–who would have thunk it?”]
12 2 Kool {Lu admits she was “shocked and dismayed” by the poverty portrayed in Shelby Lee Adams’ book Appalachian Portraits]
13 Are You Down
14 Protection
15 Changed the Locks
16 Essence
17 Righteously
18 Honeybee
________________________
19 Should I Stay or Should I Go [preceded by “it’s hotter than two rats fucking in a wool blanket”]
20 The Rising
21 Get Right
____________________________
22 Rockin’ in the Free World

Quite a venue, this non-Nashville Bluebird. “Will call” proved to be the last booth in the adjacent bar, where the one doorman told the folks behind me to wait outside as he rifled through clipboards and multiple sheafs of loose paper; eventually, he stamped my hand but I was not convinced he had found my rightful name. I started to raise the issue of the reentry policy, but there was no need: the side door was ajar all night, presumbably for smokers, but anyone from the street could walk in and out at will, unchecked. I mean, a person with the right stride, good sharp elbows, and the right entry time could have left the sidewalk in front of the club and had her hand on stage 45 seconds later, gratis. Not that I saw anyone do it exactly.

The heat was overwhelming. I”ve never gone back and forth from back of room to bar spot near door as often as I did last night. The temperature difference had to be 8-10 degrees. Someone told me club capacity was 800, with ticket sales 500+, but both of those numbers seem a bit high to me. It was dense and tropical by Lu’s 10:10 Saturday night setime. All this said, she stated she would rather play an infernal dance club like this than a staid sitdown venue.

As for beverage purchases as over against Red Rocks, my barman was clearly of age. But when I asked about white wine, trouble ensued. “We only have a little red–and that’s just because the owner’s wife likes it when she’s around.” It turns out “a little” equaled one minibottle of Merlot. Also, said wife seemed out of town at moment, and “hated” the barman in question, as he put it. Cheers,

On to Madison Theatre, a known quantity.