Zendog13

I gotta say, from what I read about the first two nights, I think we lucked out. We were down front, directly in front of Butch, about 4 “rows” back, plenty of room. Y’all who think it was “overcrowded” oughta try getting there earlier. The “Troub” can be an amazing venue if you know how to navigate it. Anyway, we found our sweet spot.

Everyone was in good spirits. Lucinda was downright chatty. You could tell she was feeling the love in the room and a couple of times spoke of that, even though she also said “I don’t do ‘stage patter.'”

It was really great to watch Butch and Dave up close. You can get a much better feel for how tight and dialed-in they are. LOVED Butch’s bare hand work on the skins. (Can’t remember which tune.)

And though I think Stuart is a darn good guitar player, I think it was a mistake to open with Dust. Trying to recreate (even in a small way) the interweaving magic created by Frisell and Leisz is a losing proposition for any one guitar player. But that’s just me. I’ve listened to that record so many times I’ve got the notes burned into my brain. The rest of the night did not leave me wanting.

Loved that she did Rebel, Rebel, but I’m bummed she dropped Get Right With God.

Finally (and maybe this is due to being up close, or maybe it’s due to being about the same place in life as Lucinda), but I was struck by the number of tunes that had to do with death and loss: Dust, Ghosts of Highway 20, Drunken Angel, Copenhagen… I dunno. Maybe all her sets are like that because she’s a poet and that’s what poets think about.

Anyway, it was a good reason for this old dog to stay up late.