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I get a little aggrravated (sp?) when people start yelling out their favorite songs, most performers must get sick of playing the same old same old, I wish people would stop doing this, we all have our favorites, I’m sure the artists know what the most popular songs are…
BTW, what’s up with the sheet music?
She always does this, is it because she is a little stage shy?
I mean most of the audience knows all the words…I just hope her voice is ok, on 2kool, I really hated to see her struggling, I hope she’s not getting burned out from an aggressive touring schedule.
still a great show, not the best, but so glad I was there, can’t wait for Greenfield MA.I saw the show in Lowell also. I think it’s great she did the date even thought she has a full schedule with Mellencamp (Ive yet to figure out how the two of them even wound up together!) but even with the jerks heckling Lucinda, I thought the entire thing was a disapointment.
What I mean by that is there seemed to be a lot of people there who didn’t even know who she was and then you figure in the rude people that could not care a bit whether others could even see (after buying tickets on the 1st day on sale) top that off with kids running rampant or playing football in the street, it was ridiculous! I had to move around all night just to see. The Venue SUCKS and maybe that’s why Lucinda had an off night. I can clearly see why.
I hope that as I have in the past, see her in a better Venue and better spirits.
Still a huge fan!
The overriding consensus seems to be that it was unfortunate and unnecessary for Lucinda to address her fans with a profanity-laden challenge to shut-up or leave.
I’ll submit that she was abusive, particularly by prefacing her complaint with the comment, “. . . you don’t know what it’s like to be up here.”
Some of us do know what it’s like to be “up there” and also understand the goodwill you generate by showing your fans some respect, despite the few “Freebirds” that you find in any crowd.
I didn’t do anything wrong (other than pay $33), yet I feel responsible for ruining poor Lu’s evening.
Wow! What a crazy night! It seemed like it was going to be such a mellow night in Lowell! The weather was perfect, a lot of people chillin out on the lawn. The band was hanging out and talking to people between sets. ( I even had a picture taken with Doug!)
I thought Lu and and the band sounded great to start the show. Mostly slower tempo songs….but I was just waiting for Lu to unleash the band and get the place rocking.
Then “the incident” I still wonder weather the person who yelled “play some floyd” or whatever he said was trying to be a jerk…or if he said it because the band slipped a few Zeppelin licks into one of the songs just before that.
Well anyway.the wife and I are big Lu fans. She was totally sweet to us when we met after a show, but we both felt she went a little to far. Its ok to call someone out, but there were a lot of kids at the show and there was no need to drop mulitple f-bombs. Clearly 99% of the people there diiggin the show.
I think what bothered us the most was the the whole tone of the show changed after that. Lu stopped talking to the audience, she even pretty much sopped introducing the songs after that. You kind of got the feeling they were going to go through the motions and just get out of there.
Could have done without the kids running around the place like it was a playground…very distracting. Anyway. kind of a downer show for us, But Lu still is the only artist we will travel 150 miles to see!!!I Was wondering, does Lu ever start and stop songs when she is opening for Mellencamp…..or a big show in NY or LA?
It doesn’t seem Like a proper show if it does not happen at least once!
Mike in CT
@Mike in CT wrote:
Its ok to call someone out, but there were a lot of kids at the show and there was no need to drop mulitple f-bombs. Clearly 99% of the people there diiggin the show.
I agree with you that she went a bit over the edge at a family friendly event, but I don’t think it was overly obscene for a rock show. It was my first Lucinda show and I had really hoped to get a picture and maybe an autograph after the show. Unfortunately, myself and the five or six other folks hanging out by the fence didn’t get the chance. I though it was a little tacky to just sit on the bus and refuse to come off for such a small group of fans, who clearly just wanted to meet one of their idols.
Overall a good show, but I’ll certainly make sure to check out more shows as it seems like this was not a well received performance.
thoran wrote:I agree with you that she went a bit over the edge at a family friendly event, but I don’t think it was overly obscene for a rock show. /quote]. . . not obscene because of her choice of words; but obscene because of where they were directed – – to her patrons.
Those who accept that behavior, writing it off to being a sensitive artiste or temperamental rock star, are way off base.
You don’t sh*t on your people, you sh*t on the MAN.
I thought the park allowed to many people in, for starters. We drove in from CT and ended up sitting under trees (stage left), which was fine, but in mud on a slight incline. I would have preferred the grass, but we had to find a square foot somewhere for our chairs. Way too many people. They need a bigger park or a smaller crowd, personally.
I liked that Lu started with a bunch of mellow songs. She was working toward a crescendo, people! It was a beautiful night; the sun had just set, and she was just soaking in the evening. I was ticked when that woman in the back yelled, “pick it up Lucinda!” Come on! Don’t tell a Grammy-award winning artist how to do her job! Just relax and enjoy the show. I think it’s fine to yell out requests, as people always do at her shows, but telling her to pick up the pace is bossy and annoying.
I think it was a little ironic that Lucinda said about all the bugs that you find out, “who’s really the boss” a few minutes before one dive-bombed her vocal cords! I felt for her though -gross. I think I was gagging with empathy.
WTF with the verbal assault? Let me first say that my husband is no stranger to the “F” word when I am steaming (I’m Scots/Irish/Welsh – get over it!), but I would NEVER use it in front of a crowd, especially one with families. I can appreciate the raunchy aggressiveness of the word in a song, especially her songs, which are beautifully angry and hopelessly sexual…but the tongue lashing left even the least prudish of us blushing. I was as embarrassed as the “guy,” I’m sure! Also, I don’t understand the backlash of the Pink Floyd comment being followed by Zepplin, the Doors, and AC/DC! Does she just hate Pink Floyd or what? It was a bit hypocritical if you ask me. I have a short temper too though, so I can understand how Lu was doing her thing, jammin’, fighting kamikaze bugs, having coughing spells, and Pink Floyd was just the straw that broke the camel’s back …I guess.
All in all, I enjoyed the night. I had hoped to meet her again and have her sign something (my husband would count here). I hoped she would invite us to go onto her bus to listen to her jam for a few hours, but alas, she did not. The only thing that would have made me happy would have been seats in the front, but we couldn’t get there at 4am. So, I am happy to say that I went to my 5th Lucinda show and look forward to number 6.
One more thing. I don’t normally like hearing new songs, but I LOVE LOVE LOVED the three new ones she did play. I’m going to predict two Grammys for the new album! I CAN’T WAIT TO BUY THE NEW CD in September! That said, I still like hearing Passionate Kisses, Changed the Locks, and wish she would play Big Red Sun Blues and most of all…SIDE OF THE ROAD.
Love to LU!With all due respect, I am always amazed at people’s responses to LWs on stage persona. And the reasons for this are many. For example, she has a long standing history of being vocal during her performances, which includes rants of all kinds. That being said and known by many, why does this come as such a surprise when she drops her F-Bombs from time to time. This is what she does on occasion. I am not saying that I agree, just noting what the history reflects. I think it is important to remember that she is not Judy Collins or Joan Baez, just Lucinda Williams. As she said once “I have a terrible habit of falling in love with married men who already have 3-mistresses.” Songwriters and stars are normal like you and me and your neighbor so perhaps we should not set each other up to fail via false expectations.
Secondly, concerts are typically not kid friendly. At concerts there is often pot smoking , yelling, screaming, and drinking of all sorts. Even at the famous Lowell Summer Concerts that have been going on for many years. When one takes their children to such a show, there are no guarentees-especially with a songwriter like LW. As a music writer and teacher, I have seen many parents get frustarated with their kids and performers alike. Think about it, the attention span and cognitive abilities/psychological development level of kids under 16 is typically “still in process (low)” so why expect them to understand what is going on or the performer to “come down” to their level? Isn’t this setting both the kids and performer up to fail? The kids would be much happier at a water park…
Finally, I appreciate and cherish LW for all she is. After all, isn’t our inadequacies and imperfections that make all of us so darn cute? Keep singing, writing, and feeling your feelings, LW. Your songwriting is the best…
@DavidinMaine wrote:
At concerts there is often pot smoking
We smelled someone smoking at the concert, now we know who it was….
You obviously don’t have children if you think that children under 16 only have attention spans suited for water parks. What a narrow-minded generalization. Some parents actually like introducing their children to many avenues of art and culture, including concerts. My son is very well behaved and will definitely attend concerts when he is old enough to stay up a bit later. It’s not uncommon for a 3 or 4 year old to sit through a 2 hour movie, so a concert would be easy.
The point you are missing is that this wasn’t a $45 night at the intimate Calvin Theatre, but a $20 night at the Lowell Summer Concert Series, where many families could afford to attend and many people who weren’t familiar with Lucinda came because of the price -not to mention that she was outside, within earshot of..downtown! We know Lucinda has a proclivity for trash-talk, we’re just a little miffed why she wouldn’t have the desire to tone it down a little for the audience. A good analogy would be wearing a low-cut blouse and mini-skirt to high tea. It might look fine in a bar, but a tea party just isn’t the right place to wear it. We’re just saying that she should have considered the audience. Why alienate many because of one? Do you think that she impressed newcomers by launching her tirade? If that was my first concert and I knew little about her, I would have been put off by her attack. She’s a very smart woman and I would have been more impressed if she had replied with a biting, one-liner. You can be edgy and have class at the same time; but that is just my opinion.
I’m still mad the whole thing happened. She was in a bad mood, which affected the show and the mood of the show, which in turn affected the audience and the mood of the evening. My least favorite of the 5 shows I have seen – by a country mile.
Hey there:
Really, no need to show attitude, be disrespectful, or rant. It’s offensive during an (intellectual) dialog such as this. Actually, I was not using a generalization, just summarizing what is reflected in the university-level research regarding brain/personality development and my years attending concerts, writing reviews, talking with performers, teaching high school/college, and spending time with children at several concerts. Kids will sit through a cartoon-movie but a concert is a completely different thing. And expecting a performer to change their persona for you (and your kids) is a unrealistic expectation–especially a performer with such passion like LW. If you go into the woods, expect to see wild animals–regardless if you kids are with you or not. One music, one people, one love–David
Well,
At the very least. every Lucinda show leaves you wanting more!
Anyway about the kids….maybe a place such as Lowell should advertise
that the show may not be suitable for kids…so at least parents would have a
heads up.Just my 2 cents
Mike in CT
It seems like it was suitable until Lucinda showed up. It’s ironic; I was speaking to the man that’s in charge of putting the shows on before it got started. He’s been doing it for quite awhile. He told me that they’ve been trying to get her for four years, but there was always a scheduling conflict. He said he’d been working with Lu’s people all day and they were all good people. He was really excited about the show. Now after what transpired you have to wonder if they will ever ask her back, especially if they have a Board of Directors or some kind of political body.
Tim.
you have a point. They advertise the show as being free to kids under
12. so if you were parent you would assume the show would be kid friendly.
This is the promoters fault not Lucinda’s.Mike in CT
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