Worker’s Stand for America Rally / Concert 08/11/12

I ran into Stoger at the Brooklyn shows, and promised him I’d post setlists from Lu’s marathon run on Saturday. Three shows in 24 hours (Brooklyn>Philly>Woodstock)…. Lu, band, and crew all deserve gold medals for pulling that off!

At the Workers Stand for America rally in downtown Philadelphia, in front of tens of thousands of Union workers from across the Eastern seaboard, Lucinda and the full band performed a set that was heavy with her people-power originals and covers. At one point, a crowd member tossed a blue Union-logo baseball cap onstage, which Butch grabbed and put on his head for the rest of the set, eschewing his trademark cowboy hat, to the crowd’s delight. The crowd members were also thrilled when Lu held up a t-shirt and poster they had thrown at her feet. Lucinda made several remarks throughout the set about her commitment to the cause of workers’ rights, and pointed out that she and her band are all Union members. The crowd responded enthusiastically to her songs and her remarks. It was, all in all, an inspiring performance.

Philly set list:
1. Ain’t Got No Home
2. People Talkin’
3. Born to be Loved
4. Factory
5. I Lost It
6. Salt of the Earth
7. Out of Touch
8. Hard Time Killin’ Floor Blues
9. Blessed
10. Not My Cross to Bear
11. Joy (with a shout-out to Philadelphia among the cities where she’s looking for her Joy)
12. Rockin’ in the Free World

A few short hours later, the tour bus rolled into Woodstock, NY, for a featured appearance at Levon Helm’s studio/barn for the legendary Midnight Ramble. The place is magical and steeped in music history, and the performance space is tiny and intimate, with phenomenal acoustics. Levon’s passing is still such a fresh wound for his family, friends, and fellow musicians who put the Ramble together, but they’re sticking by Levon’s wish that they “Keep It Going”.

Butch and David left this leg of the tour after the Philly set, so the Woodstock show was just Lu and Doug. After Lu’s set, Levon’s band and guest performers came out for their own rollicking set, which included Lu and Doug on three songs.

Woodstock set list:
1. Lake Charles (Lu solo)
2. World Without Tears (with Doug for the rest of the set)
3. Jackson
4. Bus to Baton Rouge
5. Little Angel, Little Brother
6. Bitter Memory
7. Everything Has Changed
8. Over Time
9. When I Look at the World
10. Memphis Pearl
11. Disgusted
12. Angel (Hendrix) – a moving tribute to Levon, which received a standing O.
13. Blessed
14. Drunken Angel
15. Encore: Side of the Road

Joining Larry Campbell and the rest of the Midnight Ramble house band (and Doug):
1. Crescent City
2. Will the Circle Be Unbroken
Then, closing the night:
3. The Weight

The tour rolls on, but for us civilians, it’s back to the real world Monday morning. Sigh…. It’s been an amazing weekend!

Ah, what a fine report: you can stowaway in MY [sugar-y] heart any time, correspondent! I didn’t realize the band would be along for the afternoon labor thing–nice portrait of Butch in a kind of hard hat. The alternating cover/original pattern early in the set is nice to see, though Lucinda’s feelings about organized labor are perhaps not as polarized as one might think (for those who remember certain Beacon Theatre shows, but let’s don’t linger there). “Memphis Pearl” and “Disgusted” at Woodstock make for a surprising and great combo.

Yes, this “civilian” must report for duty Thursday, and it sounds like other employment spots in the American South are hard at it today. Put those English-major verbs like “eschewed” into play daily, will you? Maybe next time I’ll get to ride the tour bus myself. But no complaints. Who’s going to DC for the duo format? Paul? Report please!

I have a cowboy hat just like that, no kidding!