Beacon Theatre – NYC 11/17

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  • #31645
    vmorris
    Participant

    The last time I was in the Beacon Theatre was for Joe Bonamassa several years ago and I’d forgotten what a gorgeous venue it is. Ornate, gilded and extravagant… like much of the crowd! Meryl Streep and Richard Gere were in the house (not together, let’s not start a scandal, people!) and Steve Earle was sitting one seat down from me. I’m sure there were other famous people that I’m not cool enough to have recognized 🙂

    KBB took the stage and Kenneth was rocking a rhinestone cowboy shirt, leather pants and what looked like a new cowboy hat since the last tour – rock star! Frank took it down a notch with a pom pom knit hat that bounced as he jammed 🙂 Their set was short, and the crowd was sparse, but appreciative and grooving by the end. They ended with Welcome to Alabama, which I always dig because I was born in Demopolis, AL.

    Then the Queen took the stage solo to start:

    – Blessed (I overheard Steve Earle say “I love this song!”). Lu’s voice sounds great in this venue.. deep and rich.
    Someone calls out “Nice boots!” and Lu thanks them and notes they are Old Gringos. Can someone get Old Gringos to have Lu as a spokesperson already? Lafayette and I both wear (and rock) Old Gringos because of Lu 🙂
    – Real Live Bleeding Fingers…
    – Burning Bridges (I hope I can hear Gia join Lu for this someday)
    – Pineola
    – Drunken Angel (Steve Earle really liked this!)(Stu on harmonica!)
    – West Memphis (more Stu on harmonica!)
    – Compassion (solo). I love this more and more each time I hear it live. Maybe I was just projecting my own mindset onto the crowd, but it seemed the mood was one of reverence during this song.
    – Lake Charles (Lu and Stu). Lu notes that the song is about another “beautiful loser” she lived with who “had a heart of gold, was smart as a whip and a complete troublemaker.”
    – Side of the Road. Lu gets a big cheer from the crowd as she sings the first line.
    – Blue (the stage lighting for this was . . . wait for it . . . blue!). Lu’s voice was so delicate and fragile and breaking each time she sang the word “blue.” Amazing.
    – Are You Down (one of my favorite Lu lines: “warm and messy, like your love.”) She notes that she likes standing to the side during this song and watching the guys jam. Me too!
    – Protection
    – Something Wicked This Way Comes
    – Atonement (“inspired by the writings of Flannery O’Connor”). Pure worship, this song.
    – Change the Locks
    – Essence
    – Joy
    – Honey Bee


    Lou Reed’s Pale Blue Eyes. I’ve always cried when I hear this song, and it’s so right that Lu is doing it. A beauty.
    – Fats Domino’s I Lived My Life. Smooooooth.
    -Get Right With God
    Lu signs off with “Love and Peace and Power to the People!”


    Lu returns saying “this song is for all y’all!”
    – Rockin in the Free World
    Lu leaves us with “Thank you from the bottom of my heart, it really means alot that y’all came out.” Back at you, sister!

    What I love about live music generally, but Lu shows especially, is that all of these beautiful people gather together for a shared moment… all loving the same thing. I wish we could bottle that feel-good, loving atmosphere and take it out into the world.

    Until Nashville! Viv (p.s. My 11-year-old son loved the show! His first, but hopefully not his last, Lucinda concert! Here’s to the next generation of Lu fans!)

    #53722
    Lefty
    Participant

    Great commentary, v. Sounds like it was a starry, starry night. 8)

    #53723
    tonyg
    Keymaster

    Outstanding report! Thanks also for the setlist. 😀

    #53724
    stoger
    Participant

    Excellent, Viv. Now we need Tony to red-ink the Lou Reed cover, I think. Nice that Flannery O’ got a shout-out. Let’s assume Lu got off before 11 and the dreaded “union rules” of overtime pay kicked in.

    Funny, as long as I’ve been looking at Lafayette’s and vmorris’ feet at all these shows, Old Gringos means nothing to me. Thanks, as always, for the fashion report. . . .

    #53725
    tonyg
    Keymaster

    Inked. It’s weird to be useful. 😯

    #53726
    vmorris
    Participant

    @stoger wrote:

    Let’s assume Lu got off before 11 and the dreaded “union rules” of overtime pay kicked in.

    Stoger, Yes, Lu did end just before 11pm. Maybe that’s why the KBB set was so short. One of the bartenders told me Lu was supposed to take the stage at 9:20, but since the opener was so short, she was going on at 9pm so I should hustle back to my seat. I’m glad she got the two encores in (I’m still scarred by the experience of having the plug pulled in the middle the first time I heard Blessed, at the Saratoga Mountain Winery, because of venue curfew!). Oh, and KBB rocked hard and loud. Kenneth gave the background of a new song, it might be called something “If I’m Going Down, I’m Going Down Hard”, dedicated to a friend who died of a heart attack at the age of 39. Went to bed after a gig in Mexico and never woke up. I also really enjoyed “Breakdown”, I think it’s called. I saw outside that they retired their old green van (but hopefully not the atlas and the Gideon’s Bible on the dash, but I didn’t check!) and replaced it with an identical white van… I saw the KBB sticker and other misc. bumper stickers and used my powers of deduction 🙂 See you in less than a week and I’ll wear my Old Gringos 8) Viv

    #53727
    stoger
    Participant

    @vmorris wrote:

    @stoger wrote:

    Let’s assume Lu got off before 11 and the dreaded “union rules” of overtime pay kicked in.

    Stoger, Yes, Lu did end just before 11pm. Maybe that’s why the KBB set was so short. One of the bartenders told me Lu was supposed to take the stage at 9:20, but since the opener was so short, she was going on at 9pm so I should hustle back to my seat. I’m glad she got the two encores in (I’m still scarred by the experience of having the plug pulled in the middle the first time I heard Blessed, at the Saratoga Mountain Winery, because of venue curfew!). Oh, and KBB rocked hard and loud. Kenneth gave the background of a new song, it might be called something “If I’m Going Down, I’m Going Down Hard”, dedicated to a friend who died of a heart attack at the age of 39. Went to bed after a gig in Mexico and never woke up. I also really enjoyed “Breakdown”, I think it’s called. I saw outside that they retired their old green van (but hopefully not the atlas and the Gideon’s Bible on the dash, but I didn’t check!) and replaced it with an identical white van… I saw the KBB sticker and other misc. bumper stickers and used my powers of deduction 🙂 See you in less than a week and I’ll wear my Old Gringos 8) Viv

    thanks for the kBB material especially. Their sets as a whole have seemed shorter this tour, for whatever reason. The person who died in Mexico was Ikey _______, former keyboardist for the Jack White Band. And I believe those two vans have been used alternately, though the white one is lower mileage. Rock on in the continental 48, my KBB friends!

    #53728
    tonyg
    Keymaster

    Remarks from our embedded reporter:

    “Quite a night at The Beacon. There’s always a sense when you’re in NY that it’s big show that has some extra importance. Last night was certainly no exception as there nearly 25 members of the press in the audience. In addition, Meryl Streep, Richard Gere, Tracy Ullman and director Jonathan Demme were in attendance. There was definitely a different energy in the air as Lucinda and the band took the stage. As they usually do Lucinda and the band completely rose to the occasion. There were many friends etc. there who have seen a lot of Lucinda’s shows in NY and there was several mentions that this was among her best ever, if not the best. We’ll take that.
    Only one live debut last night -a spine tingling and touching version of Pale Blue Eyes in a tribute to Lou Reed. That puts the count at 61.
    Next up Boston. ” 😀

    #53729
    Lafayette
    Participant

    Great report, Viv!

    Stoger, Lu and I were talking Old Gringos at the Lexington show, while you were nabbing the set list for me. 😀 Lu was admiring my boots and I told her, very proudly, I was rocking those boots because of her collection. Ha, I even showed her the sole of the boot with the Old Gringo stamped logo. I believe she has at least two pair she has worn on stage, with one being the black pair with the silver studs all over.

    I’m looking forward to Nashville. The Three Amigos united, once again, Lillie Mae sitting in with KBB and last, but not least, Lucinda and company melting the faces off the masses. Life is good.

    #53730
    Lafayette
    Participant

    http://www.billboard.com/articles/news/6319958/lucinda-williams-new-album-new-york-concert?utm_source=twitter

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