So what did Lucinda Williams do over her winter break? Well, she most definitely auditioned guitarists. Having picked a good one (the terrific Eric Schermerhorn stepping into Doug Pettibone's sizeable shoes), it seems to me she made a concentrated effort to come up with an airtight setlist that gives a nod to literally every stage of her lengthy career. Though there was some variation between the Austin and Dallas sets, this third stop in Texas and her third show of the new year was pretty similar to the Austin set (though we got a new R&B-ish cover in the encore - extremely awesome, but I don't know the title). My guess is that many of these songs - especially the meticulously worked out older tunes - will be the staples of many of her upcoming shows. This is as exuberant as I've ever seen Lucinda (except for maybe the 2007 LA shows), and she seems to have put many past moody performances behind her. If Little Honey is her "happy" album, then it definitely reflects her current state of mind. She was similarly upbeat (though much more nervous) when I saw her in Nashville in October. That show, however, was a more typical "here's the new stuff" setlist, as Little Honey had just been released.
Which is not to say the new record got the shaft during her show in Houston. Far from it. The difference is that the set is balanced by some great selections from her Folkways (yes, you read that right) albums and her self-titled album. All the staples were included as well - "Joy", "Pineola", "Changed The Locks" - and Car Wheels got a substantial nod (can Lu really play Texas without "Lake Charles" and "Drunken Angel"?). Rounding out the set were a few songs from the recent albums West and World Without Tears (no Essence tonight). All in all, it was definitely the best set I've ever seen Lucinda play, deliberately paced and thoughtfully executed. There was, naturally, plenty of chatter about Anderson Fair and her days in Houston between songs, which played well to the audience, many of whom were probably around during those formative years (I won't even guess the median age last night).
It's actually been quite a few years since Lucinda played a proper Houston show. Now with venues like Warehouse Live and House Of Blues, some promoter seems to have figured out that it makes no sense for artists like Lucinda and Steve Earle to bypass the Bayou City. It seemed like a pretty packed house, and folks showed up early for a good spot up front or along the handrail. That's a far cry from her Fall '08 tour, which was hounded by reports of poor ticket sales and lackluster attendance. Maybe this new set answers the complaints of some longtime fans, who had grown tired of the newer material. Or maybe it's the excitement of a new band member. Whatever it is, Lucinda seems to have found a little extra joy for her 2009 tour.
The word is officially out -- this Lucinda show is not to be missed when it swings through your town.
Oh, and drummer Butch Norton is The Man. I forgot to mention that elsewhere.
(You can read my report from the October show in Nashville here.)
(On a personal note, I had the great pleasure of meeting and dining with longtime correspondent Matt N., who moved here back in the summer. It was his first Lucinda show so I hope he enjoyed it! We had a LOT to talk about music-wise and otherwise over dinner and before the show. Thank, Matt!)
UPDATE: Madella has some nice shots from the show over at her Flickr site.
UPDATE II: Over at the Lu message board, Stoger (who attended all three Texas shows) has posted the setlist from Houston, reproduced below...
1 I Just Wanted to See You So Bad
2 Can't Let Go [with a mini-bio of the Minnesota-born Randy Weeks]
3 Happy Woman Blues [written in Houston]
4 Crescent City
5 Circles & X's
6 Pineola
7 Drunken Angel [with much talk of former Blaze Foley hang-outs in Houston like Theodore's and Anderson Fair]
8 Side of the Road
9 Everything Has Changed [followed by "I didn't realize how sad that song is"]
10 Something About What Happens When We Talk
11 Lake Charles
12 I Lost It
13 Joy
14 Tears of Joy
15 Real Love
16 Changed the Locks
17 Come On
18 Atonement [with a 3-4 minute intro, during which Lu makes an analogy between Houston and LA as towns that get a "bad rap"--as over against the Austins and San Franciscos]
19 Honeybee [with talk of Robert Johnson after]
20 Righteously
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21 Motherless Children [solo]
22 Guitar Slim cover
23 It's a Long Way to the Top. . . .
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24 Hendrix cover [with another mention of Anderson Fair, and some talk about some documentary which apparently Lu is signing a waiver for: not sure]
25 Little Rock Star
UPDATE III: Tom Overby identifies the standout Guitar Slim song Lu covered over at the message board. The song was also performed in Austin...
The blues cover is a song called The Things That I Used To Do. It was written by Guitar Slim who has become a blues legend much like Robert Johnson and for all the same reasons -live fast die very young- he died in 1959 at age 32-- only leaving behind about 30 or so recordings, which have been repackaged several times. Slim was legendary for wearing bright colorful suits and with hair sometimes dyed to match and also using a guitar cord estimated at 350 feet- long enough so he that he would finish the shows by leading the audience out to the parking lot and continue playing the whole time. With his master showmanship and flamboyance and unique ahead of his time guitar sound I've often thought of the Prince of his time. I can highly recommend his albums The Things That I Used To Do -The Complete Specialty Recordings or The Atco Sessions which he recorded for after he left Specialty. While they contain many of the same songs these two records cover pretty much everything he recorded.
UPDATE IV: Limelight Imaging has some really nice shots of Lucinda from the Austin show over at their Flickr site. And we'll call this horse pretty soundly beaten. Have a great week!
