Touring in support of her new double-CD “Live at the Fillmore” (recorded in San Francisco, not Denver), Lucinda Williams brought her brand of outlaw country to a sold-out Boulder Theater on Tuesday night.
Williams, clad in a simple black tank and jeans, took the stage to a roar, opening with “Ventura,” a track from her most recent studio release, “World Without Tears.” Williams’ raspy voice soared over her lyrical acoustic guitar while guitarist Doug Pettibone added delicate pedal steel and harmony vocals on the chorus. She followed with “Fruits of My Labor.”
Williams’ songs often deal with themes of loss. On “Those Three Days,” her voice was tinged with heartache and longing as she sang, “Did you love me forever, just for those three days,” while Pettibone played a beautiful solo to end the song.
“I Lost It,” from the Grammy-winning “Car Wheels on a Gravel Road,” rocked with soul that most of the so-called country coming out of Nashville only dreams of achieving.
Williams told the audience she has 23 new songs written, ready to be recorded for a new CD, and the new material sparkled.
“How to Live” told of a woman moving on in her life after leaving her lover, while “Words,” which she said was a challenge since it had so many lyrics, was hypnotically beautiful, with Williams’ voice twining around Pettibone’s bluesy fills. Williams thanked the audience, telling them she knew they didn’t have the same attachment to the new material as to the old.
Pettibone played a gorgeous, bluesy solo on “Out of Touch,” and took a searing long solo after the final chorus. The band then kicked into “Righteously,” played at a decidedly more up-tempo pace than the album version, promising a strong finish to the night’s music. Williams was still playing into the night as we went to press. Those lucky enough to have tickets to her show tonight at the Botanic Gardens have a memorable time awaiting them.
John Doe opened the show with a well-received set that veered stylistically from the punk-tinged “Highway 5” to an upbeat country-rock cover of Bob Dylan’s “She Belongs to Me.”
