By Ken Shane
Early on in her majestic
set at New Brunswick’s State Theatre, Lucinda Williams let it be known that it
was a special night for her because she had several old friends in the house.
It soon became apparent to the adoring audience that it was going to be a
special night for everyone. The nearly two hour-long performance included no
less than three mid-show standing ovations.
The Love Band provided the
fireworks to illuminate the brilliant songs, and it’s easy to see how they got
their name. They obviously love playing Lucinda’s music, and she loves the way
they play it. For a number of years, Lucinda had a revolving cast of musicians
surrounding her, but this band has stuck around for a while now, and the hard
work on the road has paid off. The dazzling Doug Pettibone joins a long list of
brilliant guitar players that have worked with Lucinda, including names like
Gurf Morlix, Kenny Vaughan, John (J.J.) Jackson, and Bo Ramsey. Pettibone may
be the best of them all, easily flowing from pure country riffs to passages
that would make Jimmy Page proud. His solos drew the type of audience reaction
usually reserved for great jazz musicians. Long-time Dwight Yoakum bassist Taras
Prodaniuk, and drummer Jimmy Christie anchored the solid rhythm section.
The evening began with
some mid-tempo tunes, including set-opener “Ventura”, “Fruits of My Labor”, the
Blaze Foley tribute “Drunken Angel”, and a new song that Lucinda described as a
“human” song called “What If”. Soon the place was rocking to the sound of “I
Lost It” from Lucinda’s classic Car Wheels On A Gravel Road album, another new
song, in the great tradition of George Jones and Loretta Lynn, “Jailhouse
Tears”, and “Out of Touch”, which garnered the first standing ovation of the
night. At that point it was hard to believe that it would get any better, but
soon came what Lucinda described at the “rock portion of the set”. Was it ever.
The Tom Petty covered
“Changed the Locks” upped the ante, and was followed by a new song that Lucinda
referred to sardonically as “something to play between the masterpieces”. I’m
not sure, but “Come On”, and angry open letter to a former lover, may itself be
thought of as a masterpiece someday. The title track from the “Essence” album
kept the room shaking, and was followed by another standing ovation. The payoff
to this build-up came with “Real Live Bleeding Fingers and Broken Guitar
Strings”, which Lucinda dedicated to “all the rock and roll gods and goddesses
who have gone over to another dimension”. The moody set closer “Righteously”
was a bit curious, as it seemed like a sort of downbeat way to finish a very
high energy set, but there was more to come.
The three-song encore
began with what can only be described as a torch song, the very slow, jazz
inflected “Where Is My Love”, which possibly suggested a new direction for
Lucinda’s music. The classics “Still I Long For Your Kiss”, and “This Town”
closed out the night, and filled the room with the warm glow of home.
I’ve seen Lucinda Williams
in concert a number of times, but she has never seemed as relaxed as she was on
this night. She’s clearly at a good place in her life and career, and she’s
written no less than 24 new songs, several of which she played during the show.
Based on what I heard, I’m really looking forward to her next album.
At one time Lucinda
Williams had this image as a tough, hard-living hell raiser. Age and experience
seem to have smoothed some of the rough edges, but she can still rock with the
best of them, and now she seems willing to accept the love being directed at
her from her audiences. As she said toward the end of the show, that response
is what makes all of the years of struggle worthwhile.