Lafayette

I only saw Dylan once, with Elvis Costello and Amos Lee (Amos is right up on top of my favorites), a great bill for me, about a year and a half or so ago.

I think many Dylan fans will have issues with JM being on the ticket (if indeed it comes to fruition.) However, for us, we know how much JM admires Bob, as do most musicians, so it’s a dream ticket for us.

Do you think she was taken back to her Austin days?

AND, would this be it? Not even sure this is a valid link? Are tower records still around?

http://www.tower.com/car-wheels-on-gravel-road-lucinda-williams-cd/wapi/106157154

http://blogs.courant.com/eric_danton_sound_check/2009/03/lucinda-williams-calvin-theatr.html

Review: Lucinda Williams at the Calvin Theatre
By Eric R. Danton
on March 11, 2009 12:56 PM

Sometimes Lucinda Williams is hotter than a $2 pistol on Saturday night; sometimes she’s more subdued.

The veteran singer and songwriter was a little of both Tuesday at the Calvin Theatre in Northampton, Mass., where her less boisterous side held sway early on in the two-hour, 22-song performance.

Not only did she start with the lower-key stuff, she front-loaded the set with older material, too, opening with “I Just Wanted to See You So Bad,” from her self-titled 1988 album. Williams dug even further back, playing the twangy country-blues title track from 1980’s “Happy Woman Blues,” then fast-forwarding to the wry country-rocker “I Lost It” from her 1998 breakthrough, “Car Wheels on a Gravel Road.”
She rounded out the opening salvo with the “Pineola,” from 1992’s “Sweet Old World,” and she sang as if the lacerating story of a friend’s suicide was as fresh and painful as when she wrote it.

Williams was six songs in before she played “Plan to Marry,” a tune from last year’s “Little Honey.” Her four-piece backing band left her alone on stage with an acoustic guitar to sing the somber apologia for the desperate optimism about love that underlies the hurt and heartache that sometimes go with it.

There’s a rugged beauty to Williams’ voice that has deepened over the years. She sang “Plan to Marry” in low tones that cracked the way a fire does as it runs out of fuel, and her voice reverberated around the hushed theater with aching majesty on “Blue.”

Her newer material came toward the middle of the set. A handful of songs from “Little Honey” included the blustery “Real Love,” while Williams took on the role of experienced elder with hard-learned advice on the cautionary “Little Rock Star,” a song that built from quiet, rueful observations to searing guitar breaks.

The intensity built in volume as the set progressed, and Williams and her band delivered a brawny rendition of her unsettling rocker “Changed the Locks.” After stomping determinedly through the accusatory “Joy,” they ended the main set with the sing-songy appeal for romantic generousity, “Righteously.”

Her encore consisted entirely of covers, which spanned the decades. First was her solo-acoustic version of an old blues standard, “Motherless Children,” followed by vintage blues tunes written by Son Jackson (“Hard Time Killing Floor Blues”) and Skip James (“Disgusted”). She ended with a different sort of blues: “It’s a Long Way to the Top” by AC/DC.

Williams’ band, Buick Six, opened with a set of instrumental tunes, including a Led Zeppelin medley.

@Ray wrote:

i promise to always do my part — standing, swaying, shouting, and dancing (but also “well-behaved in a good way, not a boring way” !) 8)

i am liking these current setlists…

I will join you on your pledge. Next time, however, I need to check the belt on the jacket I was holding. I think I was hitting Stoger with it as I was swaying.

Hotblooded, I misunderstood your point about the dumb Mellencamp fans, thinking you were lumping all JM fans together. I, as yourself, though, was put off by what I thought your comment intended. I felt I needed to respond because I am a JM fan and I saw the size of the crowd, in their seats and on the lawn at the shows I attended. I didn’t realize you were speaking about the actions of those around you. Yep, I’ve had the inconsiderate chatting happen many times at various shows, including JM shows. He was doing an acoustic set of 4 or 5 songs, this was in the fall a year ago during an arena tour. One time he became so fed up with the talk, he told a few fans to shut the **** up. The only time on this tour where no talking was going on during the acoustic set, (again at the shows I attended), was a venue that had a no alcohol policy. I’m not sure if that was the reason, but it sure seemed as such.

One thing I do want to make clear, though. I’m not here to defend John or my taste in music. I’m here to participate as a Lu fan. I know there were many here not happy about John and Lucinda being paired on a tour, it was quite evident when I first came to these boards. I respect and understand that. If you don’t like JM, you don’t like JM, it’s not the reason I read these boards and go to shows. I made a connection to Lu, through John, but more importantly, through her words and music. Hey, but it is a bonus if you were digging the last JM record. TBone Burnett is a genius.

Peace.

Hotblooded, It’s always thrilling to see artists, such as Lu, with a long career, attract a younger crowd. Even more so with someone as young as you that understands and appreciates the words and music. I have a 21 year old and he would never consider seeing Lu, he just doesn’t get it.

I have to disagree with you on your standing room concern. Lu, and many other artists, seems to like a general audience crowd (Springsteen and U2 come to mind). It has been mentioned several times in this forum there are differences in Lu’s shows in a theater versus a standing crowd . Her performances (and the crowd) tend to be more lethargic (my opinion) in a theater. I personally heard her tell a fan, after a show in Columbus, OH (general admission) she was into the crowd. She pointed to him and said “I remember you, I was feeding off of you tonight!” Wouldn’t you prefer to go to a show format that Lucinda seems to prefer, where SHE is the one into the crowd ? Where the crowd rouses her? It should be a little give and take, don’t you think?

As far as the DUMB Mellencamp fans that didn’t get to her show to see her open, I just happen to be one of those DUMB Mellencamp fans. I’m not sure which show you went to on that tour, I’m guessing Holmdel with your location, but I can tell you with certainty at the Detroit and Cincinnati shows, the DUMB Mellencamp fans were represented, many of them paying SEATED pavillion patrons. She was feeling the love, even though everyone stayed seated. At both of these shows, she even thanked everyone for coming to see her open and she felt as though her and John had much the same fan base. I think she may have even said this in Milwaukee. I went to 5 shows last summer. I really can’t remember the crowd size at Jones Beach in NYC, probably not near the crowd in Detroit and Cincy, but I do remember someone in the front and center received an autograph from her. It was hard for me to see as I was off to the side for that show, but Lucinda had one of her crew get this fan’s ticket, she autographed it side stage, and then her crew returned it to the fan. So much for the DUMB Mellencamp fans, I suppose. I”m almost certain this fan was in the front row. If he didn’t sneak down, he more than likely paid $250 for that seat, as JM, much to my dismay, went to the GOLD level pricing.

I applaud your youth and devotion to Lucinda but have to disagree with your take on the GA shows. I think a perfect compromise is a venue that has the GA floor with tables and chairs in the upper perimeter and balconies.

The watermelon picture.