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From Tom:
We rarely do four nights in a row, to save the wear and tear on Lucinda’s voice but sometime we don’t have much of a choice. It worked out in SB great because we had a couple of special guests and Lu was very excited about that. She was so excited in fact that she couldn’t quite contain herself when she walked out and went up to the mic. The first thing out of her mouth was “we have a couple of special guests tonight-it’going to be a great night”. So much for the surprise factor. But she was right on about it being a great night. Over the past year we have met jazz legend Charles and been blessed to do a couple of shows together. And what has transpired from those shows has been nothing short of magical -they are developing a real musical bond. Unique kindred spirits. Lu was absolutely walking on air last night with Charles in the house. For those who aren’t familiar with Charles, he is an American treasure with musical history unmatched by anyone. He was born in Memphis and at 16 was playing with the likes of B.B. King and Howling’ Wolf and later Miles Davis and Keith Jarrett and many others. He also appears on a couple Beach Boys records. He is a true master and a great soul—he lifts up the entire room when he is around. We are honored with every minute we are with him. Special doesn’t really describe last night. When Charles was taking the solo on Dust, Lucinda had her eyes closed right next to him and was swaying back and forth just listening to him. I’m not sure her feet were on the ground. It was an image I will never soon forget. And of course, no slight against Doug Pettibone as it was also fantastic to have him sitting in also. Longtime friends Doug and Stuart on guitars and being joined by Charles on an amazing version of Joy. It just doesn’t get any better than that.
t
It was a fun show. Slow moody start, other than song 2,which I liked. Lucinda was in very fine voice and the band was sharp. The Lobero is a good venue for Lu. Charles Lloyd killed it in the songs he joined in on. Doug and Stuart provided an exciting dual guitar attack. Excellent versions of Ghosts and Foolishness.
I was pleased, if not flabbergasted, to be in the presence of the Road Warrior himself, Mr. Stoger. He has promised to give us his remarks and observations shortly before he heads north. I look forward to the Troubadour shows.
Welcome to the FF jerusalem! Coming in hot for a Lu show! Stay tuned as you never know what could turn up. Probably be a last minute thing. Safe travels. 8)
From T.O.:
Well that was a lot of fun. In Lu’s words sh said “I think that was the New Years that i’ve ever had”. Pretty much says it all. Kind of nice to usher out 2016 -and kick off 2017, with one of the best shows of the year. The set was written so it would build thru the entire night and Lu and the band were on fire and the momentum was unstoppable. We hope everyone had as good of a time as we did, not just last night but this entire week. We always want every show to be different, especially when we do these multi-night stands. By my rough count we did 54 different songs over the four nights so I think we accomplished that. Thank you to all the wonderful people at the Space who did everything first class-and thank you so much Chicago for also being so great to us this year —including the 3 nights earlier this year at the Old Town School Of Music we had 7 sell out shows here this year. Chicago has for years always been great to Lu and we’ve always loved coming here.No matter what kind of year you had in 2016 we hope 2017 will be better- so bring it on.
Happy New Year!
From Tom:
A few hours before the show Lucinda asked me if anyone was ripping her apart after the “challenges” of the previous night’s show. I said “no, actually there was a ton of support” -and a lot of it from people who weren’t even at the show. I knew she was determined to have a great show. When she started singing Blessed and then turned away from the mic and started coughing I was in the back thinking “oh no this can’t be happening”. To say I was on edge at that moment was putting it mild-and I knew she was too. The band did a great job of just continuing the song and she she stepped back up and started singing I could hear the nervousness in her voice and with each line she was getting her legs back under and as the song built to it’s crescendo the feeling of support in the room just built along with it. As the song ended I knew she felt completely lifted up by the response. It was a pretty remarkable moment which she acknowledged by saying “wow I have the best fans, my fans are my friends”. Her connection with her audience is a truly unique thing and I think it has even grown over these last couple of years as we have played more of these multi-night runs in small intimate rooms. On certain nights the audience almost becomes a participant in the show -when Lu might start to wobble a little on the high wire they are there saying “It’s ok, if you fall we’ll catch you”. It’s a truly amazing thing to see.
After the show she had a big smile on her face and she said “did I redeem myself?” I said “yeah honey, I think you did”
From Tom:
Some night everything goes wrong. Some nights you step up to the mic and it doesn’t work. Some nights you want to sing a song and it doesn’t come out right. Some nights the best intentions backfire. Some nights the momentum of the downward spiral is too great and it rolls right up on you. In front of everyone. Sometimes the embarrassment of that is too much and it falls apart. All of those things and more happened last night. There was plenty of blame to go around, but we all know we can fix the things that went wrong-and we will. Unfortunately she’s the one on stage so she’s the one who has to take the fall.
But, given all that, I hope you also noticed the fire and passion of someone who refused to give in when the wheels came off. I hope you also noticed the pure fighter who got back up off the ground after it all bottomed out. In those moments you saw the very essence of Lucinda. Thinking about it now, in some ways, last night was a microcosm of her entire life- played out in two hours. She never gives up the fight to make it right -the fight to redeem the night- and ultimately the fight to redeem herself. Whether you thought she won or lost I hope you at least appreciated her fight.
