Me and Rachael went to see Lucinda Williams in Des Moines this week. What a great show. I bought the tickets for Rachael as a surprise and didn’t tell her until the morning of the show.
We ate at a nice Italian place, Luccas, then cut it close, making the show as the opening act started. I went expecting to enjoy the show, but my expectations were surpassed. Lucinda is a bit of a nerd. She reminds me of my aunt – totally not a good dancer. But, by the end of the show she was everyones best friend. Her band was tight and talented, and her between song banter was perfect. My favorite part of the night was when she went on a jag about Barak Obama.
Clearly, and obviously, her crowd is sympathetic to Obama – aging hippies and hipsters and the like. She started to introduce song form her new album “Little Honey” and started talking about how Bluegrass Legend Ralph Stanley had endorsed Obama. The crowd cheered her foray into clearly uncomfortable territory for her – politics. Then she mentioned her niece, a pentacostal, who was going to vot for McCain. She couldn’t believe anyone could vote that way. Lucinda seemed a little out of control and the crowd loved it. She ran on a bit long, even for me, and 3 people in the front row left, in what appeared to be a “huff”.
Lucinda was clearly rattled and it took two songs to get her mojo back. Meanwhile, the crowd loved it. It was one of those shows where it was time to go and I couldn’t believe how fast the time flew.
She finished with the ACDC chestnut “Long way to the Top”, and we started the 2 hour drive home singing “Jailhouse Tears”
