tntracy

OK, time for more “stream of consciousness” observations about last night’s show…

I really like the rebuilt Georgia Theatre. The old brick exterior walls (visible from the inside) remained; everything else appeared new. They had a computerized POS system like Track 29 that let them swipe your credit card once, and then you automagically had a running tab at every bar (I think there are three of them – I know for sure there was one downstairs & one up on the rooftop – a REALLY cool spot! – and I think there was one on the balcony level, but I did not go up there to see). There were these three cool ceiling fans in the venue that looked all post-modern industrial, the one in the center was HUGE. The sound was very, VERY good (Lu commented on it several times). The stage was about 4 feet high, and you could stand right up against it & lean your arms on it. (We were right up front, and stage right from Lu, in front of David).

The set list “mixed it up”, in my opinion, even more so than in Chattanooga two nights before. “Soldier’s Song”, “People Talkin'”, “Little Rock Star”, “Seeing Black”, “Those Three Days” (again), as well as repeated performances of the new “Stowaway In Your Heart” & “Tryin’ To Get To Heaven” (I welcomed all three repeats!). Just awesome.

Lu’s voice sounded a bit stronger to me than in Chattanooga; no surprise, since last night followed a day off, while Chattanooga was an almost unheard-of fourth day in a row she performed. The band was great again; special mention needs to be made of Blake’s opening set (which I enjoyed very much – despite the INCESSANT talking during the entire set – even after he politely asked the crowd to listen closely when introducing the fourth song as it was “a quiet one”. He left the stage with a sarcastic – although he didn’t say it that way – “Thanks for being polite & listening…” I felt bad for him). For the first three songs of his set, Butch accompanied him, sitting where David normally stands stage right on this white “percussion seat” that he leaned over and played with various drumsticks or his bare hands. VERY cool, and the added percussion added a lot to those songs, IMHO (I am a big fan of percussion).

Lu wore her dark brown Frye’s “biker boots” again, black jeans, a white & black pin-striped, “busstier”-style blouse, topped off with a denim vest. And, in a first (I believe) fashion report for David, he wore the aforementioned Cain’s Ballroom (Tulsa) black t-shirt. 😉

Lu was in great spirits, chatting it up with the audience between songs. The crowd was VERY enthusiastic and, while there was still some chatting going on, they were at least a bit more respectful towards her and the full band than they were towards Blake & Butch during the opening set. Maybe it was my imagination, but there seemed to be a tad bit more intoxicated folks, at least right around us up front, than at other Lu shows I have been to recently. Maybe the bar had cheap prices; I don’t know, since I no longer drink alcohol. But, with the exception of the aforementioned chatty older chicks right behind me, they were all harmless.

It was nice meeting “boots” for the first time, and then hanging out with her & stoger at the bar on the rooftop after the show. And, it was nice seeing “su_gar” again, also up on the rooftop. A great night all in all; I just wish Lafayette & West Words could have joined stoger & I – it would have been that much more fun & special.

That’s all I can think of to say, other than it was also a somewhat bittersweet night for me as it more than very likely represented the last time I will see Lu perform live for not only the rest of this year, but also a large part of the first of next, given that Lu will not be touring the first half or so of 2012 (per TomO elsewhere in this forum)…

Tom