Chicago Night #1 (Tuesday)

Nice setlist, Paul. Thanks for posting it. Nice to see “2 Kool…” & “Jailhouse Tears” (w/ a guest vocalist to handle duet duties, no less!) make an appearance. Two of my (many, many) favorites.

Thank you as well for the detailed venue description. While my legs and back might appreciate the somewhat odd table / seat arrangement, it makes me very satisfied with the choice we made of going to the three shows in New York over Chicago. I really do much prefer the energy of shows with people standing up right against the stage (although I do understand other folks do not). I also find the combination of seats & tables contributes more to a “lounge” type atmosphere, oftentimes encouraging “chit chat” during a performance, something I detest (not to say it occurred last night – it very well may have not). Of course, neither set up necessarily impacts the quality of the performance itself, although I do believe Lu & the band prefer the standing venues…

Have fun tonight everyone – I look forward to your postings…

Tom

Makes me super excited for tonight and tomorrow! Though, I do agree, I hope that they have removed the seating for the two remaining shows. People seem to enjoy the music more that way.

Thanks for posting the setlist, Paul. I figured someone would get to it before I dragged myself out of bed today (more on that later).

Anyway, I agree that the Park West is a great venue. I didn’t arrive until about 7 and still snagged a seat on the right side of the venue, maybe 5-6 feet from the stage, which I was happy about. Last night was definitely a pretty loose show. Lu had to confer with the band to decide whether they were going to play Stop Breaking Down or Disgusted, and there was a little confusion about who was supposed to be on stage with her during some of the Ramblin’ songs. Butch also ended Factory Blues a little too early, which led to a bit of a tense moment. I could tell Lu was trying to laugh it off, but she was upset. Anyway, no Buick 6 set last night, but Butch was wearing the Buick 6 T-shirt and showed it off to the crowd, mentioning that it was for sale out in the lobby. Lu told us that the picture of her with duct tape over her mouth on the front was “an inside joke that got started in the studio.”

There was a pretty lengthy break between the first and second sets, about half an hour. When Lu came back, she told us they were doing a bit of an impromptu rehearsal backstage (presumably with Robbie Fulks and Rosie Flores). The second set was good, especially Still I Long For Your Kiss and Come To Me Baby. And the encore with the special guests was indeed special.

Anyway, I normally agree with tntracy that standing beats sitting at a Lucinda show. I was surprised to see they’d set up tables and chairs last night. I was grateful in this case, though, since I’ve been fighting the flu for the last couple days and honestly don’t know if I could’ve stood for 3.5 hours. Unfortunately, I think the flu’s going to keep me away from tonight’s show. 🙁 I could probably handle the show itself, but the 5 hours of driving before and after was rough enough last night and I’m not sure I could do it tonight. I expect detailed reports of what I miss! 😉

Good show last night. The Park West is one of my favorite Chicago venues. Not a bad seat in the house and good acoustics. We got there early to get a good seat on the floor. I hope they do not open up the dance floor since we have similar plans tonight and tomorrow night…and I am too old to stand for the entire 3+ hour show. Those going to The Pageant in St. Louis on Saturday night won’t be disappointed either. Another excellent venue.

@mshedg wrote:

Chicago Sun-Times review of last night’s show:

http://www.suntimes.com/lifestyles/hoekstra/1824390,lucinda-williams-anniversary-tour-101409.article

“Longing moments like this are really what make anniversaries matter.” Nice!

Thanks for posting the link, mshedg.

Tom

Knowing how much you love to see Lu, I’m betting you must feel pretty terrible if you are going to miss tonight’s show!

Yeah. I’m just glad I made it through last night’s show (and more importantly, my wedding last Saturday :)). Still disappointing, though. I can’t wait for reviews so I can read about what I missed…

We did, as a matter of fact…in addition to dancing to I Just Wanted To See You So Bad, we also played Something About What Happens When We Talk toward the end of the night. 🙂

So sorry we didn’t get to meet up in Chicago…I wish I hadn’t had to miss last night’s show, but it was an easy decision to make given how lousy I felt. And reading that night #2 was standing rather than sitting (which normally I’d prefer) only confirms that I made the right choice. Oh well; now I’ve just got to hit an extra show next tour!