Lucinda Williams shows how to "Get Right with God"
If you simply saw photos and listened to her albums, you’d get the sense that Lucinda Williams is a tough, edgy, “kick ass now - take names later” sort of chick. After all, she usually emits the rogue cowgirl look - donning t-shirts, black jeans, boots, dyed hair, heavy eyeshadow and tattoos. But watch and listen to her in person, and you’ll gain a different perspective: a cute, sensitive, shy songwriter who just wants to deliver a good time to her audience. Earlier this week, I was fortunate enough to witness the later at the Forum in Harrisburg.
My experience with this venue has been limited to a few performances by the Harrisburg Symphony Orchestra and one hilarious visit by NPR's Michael Feldman, so I wasn’t sure what to expect from a rock concert. With over 1700 seats, this rotunda is wider than most theaters and offers comfortable and surprisingly spacious seating. The building is most noted for its intricately painted ceiling. It is no Sistine Chapel, but the depictions of the night sky, complete with constellations and incandescent stars, make for a beautiful room. This sold out venue offered an intimate and supportive environment for our beloved Lucinda Williams.
My friend and I started the evening at a downtown Spanish tapas and wine bar (If you are ever in Harrisburg I strongly suggest visiting Suba and Manga Qui on North Street. The gourmet Mediterranean cuisine is delectable and the atmosphere is warm and welcoming). We fully intended to catch Alejandro Escovedo as the opening act, but instead ordered a generously-poured pitcher of homemade Sangria and began talking. Since we hadn’t seen each other in a while, neither of us wears a watch, and daylight savings came early this year, all concept of time was lost! By the time we walked to the theater, people were congregating outside, smoking cigarettes and energetically discussing Escovedo’s virtuoso guitar playing. We missed him by 45 minutes. Next time, only order Sangria by the glass. Lesson learned.
Lucinda Williams is a veteran in the music industry. She’s been performing for over thirty years and released her first album, Ramblin’, of blues covers in 1978. Her music is an impressive combination of blues, country, folk and rock instrumentation accompanied by well constructed song writing. Time Magazine even named her “America’s Best Songwriter” in 2002, four years after her best selling Car Wheels on a Gravel Road was released. Her resume includes collaborations with Willie Nelson, Emmylou Harris, Mary Chapin Carpenter, Roseanne Cash, Tom Petty, and Elvis Costello.
With our fourth row center seats, I had a great view of Lucinda and her three-deep backing band. The show started off on a rocky note when a coughing fit paralyzed her mid-way thru one of my favorites, “Drunken Angel.” After chugging some cough syrup (or more likely whiskey) she was back on track…only to be derailed at the start of the next song. She abruptly pulled the brakes on “Car Wheels on a Gravel Road” to request adjustments be made on her microphone. Both of these stops, in addition to the unbalanced levels on the snare drum resulting in a distracting echo, did not bode well for the evening. Then, unleashing her southern charm, coy smile, and sweet Louisiana twang, she laughed it off with a self-deprecating remark, “I can see the reviews now.” The crowd chuckled and immediately all was forgiven.
I must admit I tend to have a love/hate relationship with Lucinda Williams’ voice. It is recognizable by its deep alto, husky rasp, and Southern drawl. In most cases, it compliments her emotionally complex songs. I swear I can actually hear her heart breaking when she sings “Those Three Days.” But sometimes it grates on me. She’s sort of the female equivalent to Bob Dylan and Tom Waits. You love the words, but on occasion, just can’t get past the growling delivery. However, tonight everything about her appeared equalized. When seeing her live you begin to appreciate her hardened exterior and inner vulnerability. At this show she sported a straw cowboy hat and hid her tattoos. She accessorized with a songbook the size of a medical dictionary. This I found a bit odd. I’ve never seen a performer of her caliber carry a songbook this massive! I think it displays her painfully shy side and acts as a buffer she can “hide behind” while on stage. My friend frankly suggested otherwise, “She’s lived a hard life. Her memory just isn’t what it used to be.” Whatever the reason, she referenced it a lot.
Even though Lucinda is touring to support her recently released album, West, she played a diverse collection from all of her records. She has a reputation of making her own rules, and while many artists with a new album would only play songs off that, she played what she wanted to. She also encouraged the crowd to holler out requests, which they eagerly did. I was very pleased with her play list. On one of my personal favorites “Righteously” (World Without Tears) she sultrily sings “You don’t have to prove your manhood to me constantly. I know you’re the man can’t you see. I love you righteously.” From Essence (Essence) she compares her relationship to that of heroin addiction. “Baby, sweet baby, you’re my drug. Come on and let me taste your stuff.” And from “Come On” off her latest is a humorous anthem many of the women could appreciate. “All you do is talk the talk. You can’t even back it up with your walk. You can’t light my fire so Fuck Off! You didn’t even make me COME ON!” she passionately bellows.
The Song of the Night Award though, goes to “Get Right with God” (Essence). What an explosive experience! Escovedo came out to assist on this tale of a woman’s quest to find God. “I would risk the serpents bite. I would dance around with seven. I would kiss the diamondback. If I knew it would get me to heaven. Cause I want to get right with God. Yes, you know you got to get right with God.” It was a regular hootenanny filled with feverish clapping and hectic chanting. I really felt like I was smack dab in the middle of an Appalachian Pentecostal revival meeting. I think I might have even been saved, or at least Baptized, by that fanatical song. The dueling roadhouse guitars that Escovedo and Doug Pettibone executed sounded awesome. I only wish it hadn’t taken all night to gather this energy from the crowd. It’s times like these that remind me why I hate the confines of seats a theater show provides. Her momentum continued with “Joy” (Car Wheels on a Gravel Road), but came 2 hours too late. I’m not sure if it was the theater setting or simply the people in it (Harrisburg can be a pretty uptight place), but I would’ve liked to see a little more spirit and intensity from both the singer and the audience. She mentioned she had recently performed at SXSW and I’ve known musicians who need at least a week to recover from all that excitement. Therefore, I imagine a better place to see a Lucinda Williams show is outside, on the festival circuit. Being surrounded by the sun, open spaces, and other like-minded roots artists and fans, I’m sure would make for a great show. Meanwhile, Harrisburg will just have to settle for a good one.
My experience with this venue has been limited to a few performances by the Harrisburg Symphony Orchestra and one hilarious visit by NPR's Michael Feldman, so I wasn’t sure what to expect from a rock concert. With over 1700 seats, this rotunda is wider than most theaters and offers comfortable and surprisingly spacious seating. The building is most noted for its intricately painted ceiling. It is no Sistine Chapel, but the depictions of the night sky, complete with constellations and incandescent stars, make for a beautiful room. This sold out venue offered an intimate and supportive environment for our beloved Lucinda Williams.
My friend and I started the evening at a downtown Spanish tapas and wine bar (If you are ever in Harrisburg I strongly suggest visiting Suba and Manga Qui on North Street. The gourmet Mediterranean cuisine is delectable and the atmosphere is warm and welcoming). We fully intended to catch Alejandro Escovedo as the opening act, but instead ordered a generously-poured pitcher of homemade Sangria and began talking. Since we hadn’t seen each other in a while, neither of us wears a watch, and daylight savings came early this year, all concept of time was lost! By the time we walked to the theater, people were congregating outside, smoking cigarettes and energetically discussing Escovedo’s virtuoso guitar playing. We missed him by 45 minutes. Next time, only order Sangria by the glass. Lesson learned.
Lucinda Williams is a veteran in the music industry. She’s been performing for over thirty years and released her first album, Ramblin’, of blues covers in 1978. Her music is an impressive combination of blues, country, folk and rock instrumentation accompanied by well constructed song writing. Time Magazine even named her “America’s Best Songwriter” in 2002, four years after her best selling Car Wheels on a Gravel Road was released. Her resume includes collaborations with Willie Nelson, Emmylou Harris, Mary Chapin Carpenter, Roseanne Cash, Tom Petty, and Elvis Costello.
With our fourth row center seats, I had a great view of Lucinda and her three-deep backing band. The show started off on a rocky note when a coughing fit paralyzed her mid-way thru one of my favorites, “Drunken Angel.” After chugging some cough syrup (or more likely whiskey) she was back on track…only to be derailed at the start of the next song. She abruptly pulled the brakes on “Car Wheels on a Gravel Road” to request adjustments be made on her microphone. Both of these stops, in addition to the unbalanced levels on the snare drum resulting in a distracting echo, did not bode well for the evening. Then, unleashing her southern charm, coy smile, and sweet Louisiana twang, she laughed it off with a self-deprecating remark, “I can see the reviews now.” The crowd chuckled and immediately all was forgiven.
I must admit I tend to have a love/hate relationship with Lucinda Williams’ voice. It is recognizable by its deep alto, husky rasp, and Southern drawl. In most cases, it compliments her emotionally complex songs. I swear I can actually hear her heart breaking when she sings “Those Three Days.” But sometimes it grates on me. She’s sort of the female equivalent to Bob Dylan and Tom Waits. You love the words, but on occasion, just can’t get past the growling delivery. However, tonight everything about her appeared equalized. When seeing her live you begin to appreciate her hardened exterior and inner vulnerability. At this show she sported a straw cowboy hat and hid her tattoos. She accessorized with a songbook the size of a medical dictionary. This I found a bit odd. I’ve never seen a performer of her caliber carry a songbook this massive! I think it displays her painfully shy side and acts as a buffer she can “hide behind” while on stage. My friend frankly suggested otherwise, “She’s lived a hard life. Her memory just isn’t what it used to be.” Whatever the reason, she referenced it a lot.
Even though Lucinda is touring to support her recently released album, West, she played a diverse collection from all of her records. She has a reputation of making her own rules, and while many artists with a new album would only play songs off that, she played what she wanted to. She also encouraged the crowd to holler out requests, which they eagerly did. I was very pleased with her play list. On one of my personal favorites “Righteously” (World Without Tears) she sultrily sings “You don’t have to prove your manhood to me constantly. I know you’re the man can’t you see. I love you righteously.” From Essence (Essence) she compares her relationship to that of heroin addiction. “Baby, sweet baby, you’re my drug. Come on and let me taste your stuff.” And from “Come On” off her latest is a humorous anthem many of the women could appreciate. “All you do is talk the talk. You can’t even back it up with your walk. You can’t light my fire so Fuck Off! You didn’t even make me COME ON!” she passionately bellows.
The Song of the Night Award though, goes to “Get Right with God” (Essence). What an explosive experience! Escovedo came out to assist on this tale of a woman’s quest to find God. “I would risk the serpents bite. I would dance around with seven. I would kiss the diamondback. If I knew it would get me to heaven. Cause I want to get right with God. Yes, you know you got to get right with God.” It was a regular hootenanny filled with feverish clapping and hectic chanting. I really felt like I was smack dab in the middle of an Appalachian Pentecostal revival meeting. I think I might have even been saved, or at least Baptized, by that fanatical song. The dueling roadhouse guitars that Escovedo and Doug Pettibone executed sounded awesome. I only wish it hadn’t taken all night to gather this energy from the crowd. It’s times like these that remind me why I hate the confines of seats a theater show provides. Her momentum continued with “Joy” (Car Wheels on a Gravel Road), but came 2 hours too late. I’m not sure if it was the theater setting or simply the people in it (Harrisburg can be a pretty uptight place), but I would’ve liked to see a little more spirit and intensity from both the singer and the audience. She mentioned she had recently performed at SXSW and I’ve known musicians who need at least a week to recover from all that excitement. Therefore, I imagine a better place to see a Lucinda Williams show is outside, on the festival circuit. Being surrounded by the sun, open spaces, and other like-minded roots artists and fans, I’m sure would make for a great show. Meanwhile, Harrisburg will just have to settle for a good one.
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