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Is anyone else upset about the Town Hall show on 10/2?
I am a longtime fan but will not return again for a live show for a very long time. I have never posted a blog on any site ever until now.
At Town Hall on 10/2, the 1st set was great; the 2nd set was appalling. Lucinda stopped the band mid-song twice, making us so uncomfortable that the focus changed from enjoying the show to worrying about whether she was going to throw a complete tantrum.
Steve Earle’s appearance was exciting, but also turned out to be disappointing. He was on and off stage constantly, and was barely audible as back-up harmonica/guitar. Instead of dragging other unremarkable artists up to perform, she could have focused on making a magical night with Steve Earle.
After paying $75, I don’t expect to hear her whine about a bad review throughout the show, stop the band or listen to annoying guest acts.
The show I went to over the summer in the Pocono Mountains was also quite bad.
Has anyone got some insight on why this is going on at her shows?
I think alot of it has to do with the mood she’s in that day. It’s too bad for the fans that have to see it.
Lucinda’s shows are a lot like Dylan’s shows. When they are bad, they are really bad, but when they are good, they are GREAT.
I caught her Dallas show earlier in the year and it wasn’t that great. The pace was sluggish and she just wasn’t into it. I went to the Cain’s Ballroom show in May and it was the best Lucinda concert I had ever been to.
@ParkerCA wrote:
Lucinda’s shows are a lot like Dylan’s shows. When they are bad, they are really bad, but when they are good, they are GREAT.
Ditto. I have been to 10 shows over the last 3 – 4 years, and I can think of two or three that we “off” – the latest one for me was in Lexington, KY, (or so it seemed to me – I still had a great time, but you sense some “awardness” for lack of a better word). I’m a big enough fan that I just kind of shrug it off thinking that anyone I am going to see so often is bound to have a bad night or few (we are all human, after all), but I think I am a little more forgiving of her (due to my obsession w/ her music 😉 ) than others (not saying they are wrong for their feelings).
So, sis3306, I think you have just been unfortunate enough to be 0-2. And, concerning this show in particular, I am sure doing 5 shows in a row (with the added pressure of doing a new “format” for each – for not only Lu but also the band) then repeating it all on the other side of the country is tiring. Again, not making excuses or dispersions – just stating what are possible factors that may have served to lessen your luck this night, sis3306…
Tom
ParkerCA wrote:Lucinda’s shows are a lot like Dylan’s shows. When they are bad, they are really bad, but when they are good, they are GREAT.yeah, that is almost exactly what she said last night.
Thanks for your replies – I guess you take the good with the bad. I get the Dylan comparison, but I though it was more like Judy Garland (showing my age here). Very fragile.
Sis
No need to feel guilty about having expectations dashed by Lucinda’s primadonna behaviour. I am constantly mystified as to how people on this site can so often suspend all objective judgement when assessing Lu’s shows or commenting on her capricious behaviour.
I never saw Judy Garland but I think you make a fair point about the way Lu’s tantrums echo that era- and can actually make you worry about her wellbeing. Like many of the contributors here I have seen gigs and concerts in clubs, halls and stadia over the last 30 plus years and I have never seen and do not expect to see other artists rehearsing live onstage in front of the paying public. Save it for the sound-check or book some extra rehearsal time and then get it about right on the night. The odd thing is that every band makes mistakes onstage but only they know about it and most just plough on.
At $75 you haver a right to expect professional standards. You would not accept shoddy workmanship from anybody else- carpenters, plumbers, lawyers or Doctors- all of whom espouse trades and professions and then have responsibilities to their clients, customers and patients. Make no mistake a concert is a transaction like any other – its a paying job for the artist, there are contracts and penalty clauses as with every other deal.
The rather pompous way in which my fellow Lucinda fans excuse all this because she is an ‘artist’ does not wash with me and love her as I do, and I do – I and my 7 compardres will not be travelling 350 miles to London and back to see her whinge and moan and give a sub-standard show as she did last year. You would imagine after God knows how many dates this year that the band would be tight and she’d know the words – But don’t bet on it.
Your missing the point Gretsch, just because board members defend Lucinda on HER forum doesn’t mean that all objective judgement is suspended. She does not act like a primadonna either, that is ridiculous. It’s is not like she restarts a song and says “fuck you” and runs off stage. She stops, typically apologizes, makes the corrections with her band and starts again. What’s the big deal Gretsch? You said, you have never seen other artists do that live, well it is just another thing that makes her shows unique.
Lost it
The big deal for me is that it just really pisses me off. It cost me hundreds to see her last time out in England and she was not good. Moreover her band was very iffy and I did not enjoy the stuttering show at all. Posters here said it was great – it wasn’t – it was poor and nobody said so. Why?
Lucinda is one of my favourite singers and songwriterss. Car wheels is my favourite album of all time and I have bought copies for friends and promoted her work with evangelical zeal
I don’t see her as a celebrity and do not endorse that spolied little princess behaviour. Also whilst I can see the line from the tragic divas of country music and Lucinda in her work I don’t want it to be self-fulfilling prophecy. So I think her manager or road manager or band should get a grip of her. I do not meant to be critical but constructive. I am a fan of many years standing – she is the best and should not let her standards slip.
oh, i didn’t know who had hired lucinda to perform for YOU gretsch….like you would have a carpenter fix your back porch or a doctor look at your busted knee. who are you? would it really be more fun and would you get more out of it if lucinda performed a flawless show? i doubt it.
like she said the last night, she doesn’t want to get home, listen to these songs, and wish she had changed something. just let her do her thing. she’ll do it anyway. she always says that she couldn’t give a fuck anyway what people say.
Hmmm…Who am I gravel? The great existential question……….
I am just a poor wayfaring stranger – travelling through this world of woe. Same as your good self I suppose….only tainted by the rigours of life and possibly slightly jaundiced. I shall try to practise blind faith in future Honest Guvnor…….No Honest.
Actually I don’t listen to herself for perfection, I love the crack in the voice – the rough and the raw emotion. The lilting Southern accent- all those references to what sound like exotic locations -pure whisky to a tired ole Brit like me. But the point is a fair one isn’t it? Given with love – what you might call tough love – but still love….
Gretsch, I agree with you. The problem is getting worse with her. I’ve Lost It has said this has always happened. It didn’t happen in 1998-1999 and probably before that too. The last two years it has accelerated. There is nobody on stage to tell her “You have to do better, this is not good enough.” She had a tremendous band with her from 2003-early 2006. Taras & Jimmy Christie left and that’s when things changed big time. I saw the band you’re talking about last fall & I couldn’t believe the difference. If she just wants “yes” men & hired hands onstage with her I think this is just going to continue.
I love her music as much as anyone; I was lucky enough to attend 14 shows on this tour and when she’s on there is no one like her. But I have to say that almost all the shows I attended almost none of them sold out, despite the fact that they were small-medium size halls. So I think that maybe people just are turned off by what they see. Hopefully something will be done and she’ll get it back together.Hey Tim
We seem to be the voices in the wilderness – yet you clearly have terrific pedigree and therefore credibility – 14 shows – you should be crew!!
My posts are not meant to be pointless rants or bitching, I genuinely hope for better things that is all. I bought the box set live in LA and cannot wait to hear it but there is a lot of fawning on this site that ignores some major issues. I was moved to join the forum last year when the love band went kaput. The suspicion that the kind of moody stuff mentioned on this thread was either the cause or the effect has made me join in and express my concerns.
I know it is Lucinda’s forum and I respect all those who join it who are obviously true fans. But to my knowledge it is not run out of Burma so there is no party line and some free speech is permissible and even desirable. Please – having a differing, qualified opinion is not treacherous or disloyal……..it is healthy.
I agree with you, wholeheartedly, Gretsch. It would be run out of Burma if I’ve Lost It was running it. You can tell by his posts that the only thing he’s lost is his mind! Hopefully things will get better when they get to Europe, but I don’t think it will. I’m afraid that Doug will be the next to leave.
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