“Don’t get me started on the whole political thing; I’m very opinionated … or do get me started,” said with a roar from her fans Saturday night at in Boulder. Williams had just covered Bruce Springsteen’s “Factory,” and told an anecdote about a woman who was losing her job of 35 years because of offshore drilling. Earlier in the evening, Williams had touched on the Aurora shooting, saying she and her band were all grieving, and she dedicated the show to the victims of the tragedy.
Williams mostly stayed with her tried and true material. The first half of the set was quieter and mellow, even on some of the more rocking tunes like “I Lost It.” Williams and bassist David Sutton harmonized beautifully on an almost ethereal “Jackson,” while Williams, herself, sang tenderly and sweetly on “Blue.”
One of the treats of hearing Williams live is getting to hear her guitarist, Doug Pettibone, whose playing punctuated Williams’ delivery all evening. Whether it was sweeping pedal steel on a cover of “Trying To Get To Heaven Before They Close The Door,” jangly leads on “Out of Touch,” or Derek Trucks-esque solos on a cover of Gregg Allman’s “It’s Not My Cross To Bear,” Pettibone was the driving force on many songs.
Williams did play some new material. One in particular, “I Need Protection,” which had Williams picking up a Fender Telecaster instead of an acoustic guitar and rocking out, shows a lot of promise, and Williams expressed a strong desire to get into the studio soon to record it. Williams also dipped into her extensive back catalog for a few tunes, including “Hot Blood,” which she said will probably have to be added to the setlist from now on because it went over so well.
On her encore, Williams touched on the celebration of what would have been Woody Guthrie’s 100th birthday this year, jumping into “I Ain’t Got Not Home.” She closed the evening by bringing out Amy Wood Cook and David Garza (who opened the evening and shone on “It’s Gonna Rain”) for a rip-roaring take on “Get Right With God,” during which many in the audience left their reserved seats and crowded close to the stage to take in the song in all its glory.
Setlist
Side of the Road, Can’t Let Go, I Lost It, Jackson, Concrete and Barbed Wire, Over Time, Blue, Trying to Get to Heaven Before They Close the Door, Steal Your Love, Hot Blood, Buttercup, I Need Protection, Out of Touch, It’s Not My Cross to Bear, Righteously, Change the Locks, Joy, Honeybee, E: I Ain’t Got No Home, Factory, Get Right With God
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Candace Horgan is a Denver freelance writer/photographer and regular contributor to Reverb. When not writing and shooting, she plays guitar and violin in Denver band .
