see_what_a_quarter

..and I’ve seen Lucinda since 1998 (with Bob Dylan & Van Morrison!) and probably between 40-50 times.

Underwhelmed saw a completely different show than I. But I do not begrudge him his views, he simply doesn’t get it.

There were plenty of younger folks (i.e. 70 shows in a lifetime or less) who grew restless with the first half of Lu’s set which relied heavily on the more mellow material. I did not hear any boos, though I did hear younger voices yelling out for ‘guitar solos!’ and ‘jam a bit’, that sort of thing.

I went to the show because I’ve also followed Ryan Adams and the Old 97s since the late 90s and thought this to be a dream billing. And for me – It was! (aside from the Old 97s debacle…they were _much_ better the next night in Aspen). I know that there were plenty of others, like myself, who loved the show – particularly the sets by Lucinda and Ryan Adams.

But something that I have to admit at the age of 33 is that most of the folks at Red Rocks hadn’t been following Lucinda & Ryan Adams closely and fanatically like myself since 1998. Most of the crowd was there to see their first or third Ryan Adams show and were also turning out to see the new band Devotchka. Good on them! Certainly many worse things for the youth of America to be doing with their time, even if they ended up painfully bored during Lucinda. Still beats an x-box or some angst-filled scream-fest in my humble opinion.

As for the wisdom of showing up to the Lucinda Williams Forum and trying to shove his views down our collective throats….well, I can’t really begrudge him that either. When I only had 70 shows under my belt, I thought I knew absolutely everything there was to know too. I certainly had my moments of pride where I demanded to know why a particular band/artist didn’t float my boat…and I likely thought I had all the answers to why. But now I know that there aren’t really any answers…just moments….and Underwhelmed, myself, and 7,000 of our closest friends shared one this past Friday at Red Rocks.

We all know how Underwhelmed saw the show…..and I humbly offer that the show he saw was refracted from the opposite side of the prism than mine. Lucinda was in wonderful spirits, the band was on fire, they played a good 15-20 minutes longer than I’d hoped for, and (if you are into this type of thing) it was a spectacular success.

Thanks for the perspective Underwhelmed, I trust when you revisit your remarks when you have 70, 140, or 210 more shows under your belt you will realize how far you have come.

Speaking of how far one has come…this was my first show at Red Rocks since my FIRST CONCERT EVER back in 1983. ZZ Top/Quiet Riot….
Hundreds and Hundreds and Hundreds of shows since then, and I wouldn’t ever change a thing on any of them. Particularly the ones I thought were dawgs….builds character. I think Lu would agree.

Peace, Love, & Revolution,

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