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a kind soul at Indigo Girls’ message board found a link to a downloadable file of their set at ACL. Is there such a place where I can find Lucinda?
Seriously doubting that she wasn’t fantastic,
T
I went to all 5 Los Angeles shows and I watched the ACL webcast on my computer. Lucinda was the great in LA and great at the ACL festival. Post your sixth grader’s song and we will critique it for you. Sorry you didn’t enjoy the show.
People bitch when she writes a sad song, and now, when she writes a light-hearted song, she gets blasted. Its a jam song. Its supposed to be fun. Sometimes having fun happens in simple, childlike ways. As far as her railing at Bush, the war, and Christians, all I can say is so the hell what. You can’t really be coherent on issues like that.
I have to agree that Honey Bee is pretty awful. Lucinda is kind of an acquired taste when it comes to live performances. I hated the Fillmore CD at first, her voice comes off as abrasive and sluggish but you get used to it.
Rockin’ set right from the top -starting with Righteously.
And the Austin American Statesman seems to agree:A late-afternoon start with a big yellow sun still beating down couldn’t have put Lucinda Williams in a kinder, gentler, happier mood. But that she was, as she’s publicly declared more than once while her new album “West” slides into the sunset.
So she chose to play mostly songs off a previous effort — the superb “Essence.” No greatest hits, no temper tantrums.
Proof that she is more satisfied with self (and presumably with her fiance) came with a song yet to be recorded. After a jangley opening, “Honeybee” offered an almost childlike, giggling refrain of “Oh, my little honeybee, I’ve got your sweetness all up in my hair … We make quite a pair.”
This is not the love-starved, joyless Lucinda of old, though she still knows how to pull the greasy blues out of nearly every number with strong sides of slide and steel guitars. After a couple of classics (“Riders on the Storm” and “I Live My Life,” the latter from an upcoming Fats Domino tribute), she took the crowd to ever higher ground.
“Get Right with God,” which she introduced as inspired by Dylan’s “Gotta Serve Somebody,” was followed by a pleading, prayerful take on her “Unsuffer Me.” As a punctuation note to her John Lennon-era anti-war shirt, Lucinda raised her hands to the sky and made it clear that it is the current president’s war that simply must end now.
I try to make it a point to rail against christians, their imginary all-seeing sky man, Bush II, and the war every goddamn chance I get. I can only respect Lucinda more for doing the same on stage.
I saw her do Honey Bee in L.A. on the final night of the 5-night stint, and I thought it was a great song. She’s pissed because everyone keeps asking her if she’s going to be able to still write songs now that she has found lasting love, and that was the point Honey Bee makes, as well as being fun. You don’t forget what loneliness is like just because you’re not alone.
I liked the ACL show. Her song selection was a bit different, but showed off he band very well. No quiet songs, the rocked out for an hour. I liked Honey Bee, oddly enough it reminded me of the Gun Club.
I dunno. Ever since I read that Lucinda chose Hal Wilner to create a “hip” sound on West I’ve been very disappointed in some of her choices and her set list at ACL is no surprise. She chose songs to try and fit in with the other acts and I just think thats sad. Why not do your own thing and not try and fit in with a crowd of people half your age in a scene you are not a part of. Whatever, if she really wants to be a part of the SPIN and Alternative Press crowd than fine but it’s not working.
SPIN and No Depression do her better than the New Yorker did a few years back. Why not reach out to the kids a bit? She’s got the chops. I think it would do the alternative music promulgators that I hear a world of good to listen to how a goddamn song is written, and played with dynamics. As the L.A. shows demonstrated beautiifully, Lucinda’s fans are completely devoted to her, rabid if you will. Why not add to that army of devotion? Hell, in these days of Britney, Madonna, and the whole lip-synch crew shouldn’t we all be thanking our lucky stars there is a Lucinda Williams? I certainly do, and if she has an occasional bad night I’m not going to suddenly hold her feet to the fire. By god, she goes on every night with a live microphone, and that’s more than fucking Madonna can say. When someone writes a better song than West, then they can start talking, but I doubt it’s anyone who posts on this board.
You took the words right out of my mouth, Scone. Why shouldn’t she reach out to a younger demographic? Its not like she’s trying to be something she’s not–she’s still writing great, thought-provoking music, and as you’ve said, gets out there on stage every night and sings, which is more than I can say for B****** and the rest of her bunch of studio-creation labelmates.
@rachel8375 wrote:
You took the words right out of my mouth, Scone. Why shouldn’t she reach out to a younger demographic? Its not like she’s trying to be something she’s not–she’s still writing great, thought-provoking music, and as you’ve said, gets out there on stage every night and sings, which is more than I can say for B****** and the rest of her bunch of studio-creation labelmates.
Because it’s embarrassing to watch a woman with grace and talent try to be hip with abysmal songs like Honey Bee and Come On?
i was lucky enough to get to attend a bbc taping of emmylou harris & carolina star (minus a sick john starling, on the anniversary of gram’s death no less) and emmylou mentioned how great lucinda was a good half dozen times. she asked who’d been at the shows, she really did go on about lu.
she even started and stopped songs (for the taping) and proclaimed, hey, i was at lucinda’s show and she started and stopped. then when she did it again later, she said that’s my 2nd lucinda…she said it quite lovingly. it’s fun to be a part of the process, and got to hear snowing on raton twice, so no complaints here. they both sounded good to me (just like lucinda’s false starts sometimes sound great, but then she changes key and it’s oh yeah, that’s right)
lucinda is a wordsmith extraordinaire which is evident by the overall intelligence of her audience. i’ve yet to meet an inarticulate lucinda fan.i watched the acl show, and while i defend your right to post your opinion (altho i question your motive) i heartily disagree with your assessment.
everyone has an off day, even brain surgeons, but they seemed right in time…
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