Lucinda Williams + Alejandro Escovedo = Fun

[Swish]

Caught the show last night and had a great time. Alejandro opened with his all-acoustic band; two cellos, violin, lead acoustic guitar, along with his own guitar, and they played several songs from his latest "The Boxing Mirror"; Dear Head on the Wall (lyrics were written by his wife who was in an Arizona restaurant with a ton of deer heads on the wall), Arizona, and One True Love. I like the record and the acoustic set was pretty cool.

But we really came to see Lucinda, and she didn't disappoint. Backed by a great lead guitarist (Doug Pettibone), bass and drums, she played for nearly 2 hours and chose many of the songs I'd hope to hear. From her stellar Car Wheels On a Gravel Road came the best of the night; Lake Charles, Drunken Angel, Concrete and Barbed Wire and the title track. Drunken Angel was the first song she played and, after getting through the first verse, she started coughing and had to stop the band. After someone brought her some "cough medicine" (yeah, right!) she didn't miss a beat the rest way.

From her "Lucinda Williams" record she played only Crescent City, which was among the best of the night, but I really wanted to hear more from this one.From Essence she played Get Right With God and the title track, from World Without Tears came Righteously, and a couple of tracks from her new release, West, called Come On and Fancy Funeral. She had a pretty good little story about Fancy Funeral; a relative recently passed away and she was responsible for making the arrangements. She mentioned how surreal it is "shopping" at a funeral parlor, and how she felt they take advantage of people who are in a vulnerable state of mind and are apt to spend more than they can afford, while the decedent could care less.

I can't recall the last song in the encore, but for the first one, Joy, she brought out Alejandro as a second lead guitar and he jammed well with Doug. At the beginning of the show she told us they were going to be a bit looser than usual because they had the day off "tomorrow" before playing in Nashville on Friday night. I guess she was telling the truth since most of the tunes were up-tempo and the crowd was into it nearly the entire show. If you have a chance to catch her on this tour, I would highly recommend it. She reminded me why I love alt-country so much and I'll be spinning lots of Lucinda in the coming weeks.

Swish

[JohnMichael]

Sounds like a good time. I am a Lucinda Williams fan and I hope to catch her on tour. I do not go to many concerts but I will make the effort to see her.

[tentoze]

You got really lucky with that pairing, I think. Saw her 2 weeks ago with The Heartless Bastards as openers- worst band ever. Lucinda was fine, though.

[Swish]

You got really lucky with that pairing, I think. Saw her 2 weeks ago with The Heartless Bastards as openers- worst band ever. Lucinda was fine, though.

...according to one of her short stories during the performance. They apparently hung out with a large number of musicians in Austin, TX a number of years together, and various configurations of them would get together a play local clubs or just jam whenever they felt like it.

Swish

[Rae]

Sounds like a night to remember, baby!

Great that you got to see Escovedo in his "quiet" mode... I've had the chance to catch him with that kind of a lineup and also in his boozy bar band incarnation, and he's one of the few guys that rocks effectively either way. I was kinda worried that we'd never get the chance again after his health problems a few years back...

Lucinda I haven't had as much luck with-- evidently you caught her on an "on" night. I saw her once at a club (not bad but not that memorable) and once at an outdoor show at the Minnesota Zoo, and for the latter she was completely TANKED. She still had a little of the ol' charisma, but she spent a lot more time shouting the words to her songs than singing them. John Doe (of X fame) was the opener for that one, and she brought him out for her encore and proceeded to plant an awkwardly intimate kiss on his mouth. Good times.

~Rae

[Swish]

Sounds like a night to remember, baby!

Great that you got to see Escovedo in his "quiet" mode... I've had the chance to catch him with that kind of a lineup and also in his boozy bar band incarnation, and he's one of the few guys that rocks effectively either way. I was kinda worried that we'd never get the chance again after his health problems a few years back...

Lucinda I haven't had as much luck with-- evidently you caught her on an "on" night. I saw her once at a club (not bad but not that memorable) and once at an outdoor show at the Minnesota Zoo, and for the latter she was completely TANKED. She still had a little of the ol' charisma, but she spent a lot more time shouting the words to her songs than singing them. John Doe (of X fame) was the opener for that one, and she brought him out for her encore and proceeded to plant an awkwardly intimate kiss on his mouth. Good times.

~Rae

...she tanked there too. The NO Jazz Fest is an amazing event with tons of bands playing on numerous stages throughout the fair grounds, and the event organizers do an awesome job in keeping things moving. That being said, she was about 20 minutes late, something that I'm sure didn't please the organizers, and she was on during the afternoon of a beautiful, sunny day. Then she proceeds to play what sounded like funeral dirges for about 30 minutes, and the crowd was just not into it one iota, including me. The only thing recognizable was Right In Time, and I was really happy to hear that.

I was actually concerned before this show because I thought it would be more of the same, but her voice was in great shape and the band cooked nicely. Alejandro did a nice job as well, and the crowd at the Forum in Harrisburg was appreciative. He did mention his country punk roots, which brought a chuckle from the audience, but he didn't show any of that edgy stuff until he came out to jam with Lucinda's band. He made that Gibson SG sing pretty nicely, and showed he knows how to handle an electric.

Swish Baby

[Mr Peabody]

I've got Lucinda's Essence, it took me a while to appreciate it but now when I'm in the mood I play it quite a bit. I also recently picked up an album by Mindy Smith and one by Patty Griffin, have you heard of them? Also, what do you think Lucinda's best album is?

[Swish]

I've got Lucinda's Essence, it took me a while to appreciate it but now when I'm in the mood I play it quite a bit. I also recently picked up an album by Mindy Smith and one by Patty Griffin, have you heard of them? Also, what do you think Lucinda's best album is?

...me with World Without Tears. I actually gave that one to Tentoze I think, although I can't quite remember. As for Mindy Smith, I never heard her, but I like Patty Griffin a lot, and have about 4 or 5 of her cds, including the most recent one, Children Running Through, and it's really good. We saw her at the Keswick near Philly a couple years ago, when she was touring with Emmylou Harris and Gillian Welsh. It was a great show, and it was amazing to hear the voice that comes out of that petite redhead. She can really belt.

My favorite from Lucinda is Car Wheels on a Gravel Road, followed by her self-titled cd.

Swish.

[Mr Peabody]

I have Patti's 4th album and it's the first for me. I thoroughly enjoyed it. She does have a great voice. You should definitely check out Mindy Smith, she has fabulous voice as well. I can't remember the name of the album but the first song is Come to Jesus, it may be her first, I know it's not her latest.

[tentoze]

...me with World Without Tears. I actually gave that one to Tentoze I think, although I can't quite remember.

Wasn't me, amigo, I paid hard money for that one and still think it's phenomenal. But thanks for thinking about me, eh?

[Swish]

Wasn't me, amigo, I paid hard money for that one and still think it's phenomenal. But thanks for thinking about me, eh?

...Chip B. maybe? I really can't remember, which doesn't surprise me. My life is about as complicated as you can imagine. Lots going on, but always ready for something new.

Swish

[tentoze]

...Chip B. maybe? I really can't remember, which doesn't surprise me. My life is about as complicated as you can imagine. Lots going on, but always ready for something new.

Swish

Tell me about it- I've been in Taipei for a week, and still have a week left to go before I can play a 2 lp 180g virgin vinyl copy of a Sly & The Family Stone Anthology I picked up this afternoon.

[Swish]

Tell me about it- I've been in Taipei for a week, and still have a week left to go before I can play a 2 lp 180g virgin vinyl copy of a Sly & The Family Stone Anthology I picked up this afternoon.

Ha! Is that business, or pleasure? We just bought a second small business with a couple of partners (my oldest brother and a family friend) and I started a new job about 3 weeks ago, so I'm cooked right now. Lot's of details to consider, and too many things going on in relation to all of these things; insurance issues, benefits, 401K rollovers....where does it end!

Swish

[tentoze]

It's always bidness, amigo- I never get to travel for pleasure.

[Swish]

It's always bidness, amigo- I never get to travel for pleasure.

...interesting, then I wouldn't mind it so much. My norm was Cleveland, Columbus, Scranton, Cincinnati, Indianapolis...how does that grab you? Ha!

Swish

[bobsticks]

...interesting, then I wouldn't mind it so much. My norm was Cleveland, Columbus, Scranton, Cincinnati, Indianapolis...how does that grab you? Ha!

Swish

Hey Swishy...next time you're in Indy PM me and we'll get a beverage and I'll tell you about the Willard Scott Conspiracy...

Cheers

[tentoze]

...interesting, then I wouldn't mind it so much. My norm was Cleveland, Columbus, Scranton, Cincinnati, Indianapolis...how does that grab you? Ha!

Swish

Well, actually, after 10 days here with 6 more to go, even Cleveland doesn't sound all that bad.