MT

I was shocked when I saw the obit in the LA Times today. A bunch of us had Duane standing next to us in the crowd during the El Rey shows. I didn’t know who he was at first. I sure did when we joined Lu on stage. “Still I Long for Your Kiss” has always been a favorite of mine. I listen to it now as I type.

In case you were wondering, it was colon cancer.

Yep, Stella had some wine. I ran into her and bunch of others who saw the El Rey shows last year.

The band played great. Lucinda sang better than I have ever seen. After Passionate Kisses and Real Love being so well done, I knew we were in for a treat. The set list was really well assembled. The show flowed very well…not too many interruptions due to changing instruments, tones of the songs transitioned smoothly from one to the next.

passionate kisses – Lu solo.
real love – Unfolded well.
i just wanted to see you so bad – Better than when I had seen her do it at the El Rey.
something about what happens when we talk – Floored by this one.
west
ventura – Song done in its namesake town. Enthusiastic crowd response. Show tempo picked up a bit after this.
tears of joy – Comes across well in concert. The song takes its time well.
jailhouse tears
can’t let go
i lost it
drunken angel
little rock star
essence –
come on – Felt like I had to hide because I was surrounded by women.
unsuffer me – Butch was owning this one and playing hard. Look for broken drumsticks.
real life bleeding fingers and broken guitar strings
honeybee – Gotta love the guitar sound/effects used to convey the topic.
righteously

encore
angel – Many ways for others to do this song. Lu did well and didn’t force the song.
for what it’s worth – Yes, we can.
it’s a long way to the top – Rock and roll.

As for ‘Honey Bee’, I love that song. It’s a straight punch to the gut that doesn’t compromise. The song is very tactile. The song rocks..really hard. If anyone wants to judge the song strictly by the lyrics, fine. I’d say you are missing something.

I have to wonder whether Lu wrote that song while touring with The Heartless Bastards. I’d love to strap on a guitar and play ‘Honey Bee’ in front of a rocking crowd. After all, how bad can a song be if it gets a crowd excited? “Come On” might have been a throw away to many, but it has the Grammy nomination.

Does Doug have a skeleton t-shirt that is proportioned perfectly to his anatomy? I don’t think I really want to know.

Lucinda plays a J-45 and an Esquire (not sure about which year).

Doug? I’ve seen him with Stratocasters, Les Pauls, Gretsch and play as many as eight guitars in one night. Oh yeah, add Rickenbackers and SGs to the list of what I’ve seen him play.

For those of you in or near New York. Go to every show you can. I went to the last four nights. It was a great run that I enjoyed tremendously. It was really cool to see many of the same faces each night I was there. The first sets were great. The second sets were unexpected moments of exhilaration because you never knew who would come out on stage.

I don’t know how the New York venues will be, but I love seeing shows at the El Rey. I can only hope the New York crew posts all sorts of comments and observations about the shows.

Which Will had Lucinda frustrated. Before the song, she was telling a story. The band and everyone else left her on stage by herself. She walked around and looked behind her to no one. I doubt she expected that, yet she continued alone anyway. Doing the song solo was working for. Then she got Doug to come out, but he really didn’t know the song. David came out. Then she got a pen and some paper. Keys changed. Chords written. A quick words to get Doug on the same program as Lucinda. Then the fan near her mic stand was blowing too hard at Lucinda. That upped the frustration a bit more.

We could tell that she wanted to do the song well. She said she had thought the mood for song was ruined. She continued. Doug picked it up fine. David played the upright base. Greg appeared on the second verse on pedal steel.

The song ended up fine. I suppose that song was an encapsulating moment about how very difficult it is to play about 75 different songs over five nights, especially when you care about nailing each one.

……..

It was a bit strange to see someone in the crowd who was standing near you one night, up on stage the next. Or seeing someone playing one night and standing near you the next. That said, I enjoyed seeing songs like ‘Pineola’ come out a bit differently from night to night depending upon the line up and who was stepping up to take the leads. It hasn’t been the Doug Show for all lead parts. It’s also interesting to see how the different musicians are when they are side stage. Steve Earle watched without moving while Gia was bouncing around, dancing all over the place off-stage.

……….

The first set had Lucinda talking about the songs a decent amount. If I had to say, I thought Doug’s mic level was too high. One of the mics for the harmony vocals was too low, again. That was the one on stage right.

…..

I skipped out for the second set after having seen full shows on Thursday and Saturday. I had a long drive home, but will be back for the finale tomorrow to close.

Greg Dulli was the driving force in The Afghan Whigs and his current line up is the Twilight Singers. I flipped out when Lucinda announced him and I saw him coming to the stage.

For me to see two of my current favorite musicians sharing the stage was something that I will remember for a long, long time. Before last night, I had seen two shows at the El Rey. One was Lucinda. The other was The Twilight Singers.

I’m hoping for Paul Westerberg to show up one night and do “Real Life Bleeding Fingers and Broken Guitar Strings”.

Oh, “Honeybee”? Does it remind anyone of something The Heartless Bastards might come up with?