This was a last minute Sunday gem of a show! Had no idea it was happening til a couple of days beforehand and what a treat it turned out to be! Weiss and I planned to meet up and at the last minute Mike dangled a burger in front of Mark's face and that's all it took. People, once you've got the burger, the natural progression is Lucinda Williams. Burger -> Lucinda Williams. Except for me, I don't eat burgers. I had a sandwich, so--- Sandwich -> Lucinda Williams. And what a sandwich it was! Ohhh, the bacon I had. Grey Dog, you never fail me.
Lucinda did "a special" 3 night run at Irving Plaza to celebrate her 30th anniversary as a recording artist, focusing on different albums each night. We hit up night 2 which was loosely based around Sweet Old World, Car Wheels on a Gravel Road, and Essence, but also included random other hits that we were all psyched to hear. Peppered in were stories and insights on various tunes. One of her stories was about being asked to change her lyrics not once- but TWICE, to appear on TV and not offend the normies. Once was for Something About What Happens When We Talk with the line, "all I regret now is I never kissed your mouth". The second for Right In Time, when Good Morning America asked her to omit the line, "Lie on my back and moan at the ceiling*".
It was 2 sets of honest, gritty, no-holds-barred, rock 'n roll and no one else does it like her. Her supporting band Buick 6 are a super-talented group of musicians that compliment her perfectly. The beginning of set 2 was acoustic and then Buick 6 came back out and they rocked their way through the rest. Man, does she fucking rock. Also, she has the nicest dressed guitar tech I've ever seen. The man was in a suit! Swank!
We moved around back for the first half of the show and then went all the way up to the stage chuck.side-- right where the stack is. We were doomed. I put in my filters, but Mike and Mark didn't have any... and THEN I was forced into moving towards the center. The boys may have gone deaf, I never asked. But I did take these fabulous pictures!
It was an intimate show compared to the other two times I've caught her (once at the WaMu MSG Theater and the other time at Huge-a-roo**). Finally! The warmth, the sound, the grit- as it should be. Lucinda Williams, 10/14/09, Irving Plaza, NYC: 9.3 HUZZAHS!
Thanks to Weiss & Mark for the Outstanding Sunday Evening Adventure! 10 HUZZAHS for the company!
3/3 music, burger and/or sandwich lovers agree!
SLIDESHOW & FULL GALLERY OF HI-RES PICS
* She refused.
** In which Bonnaroo ended up being miles more intimate than the hollow WaMu. Yee-haw!