In(The)Flesh - Lucinda Williams, El Rey Theatre, Los Angeles, 09/08/07

On the third night of a five night stand at L.A.'s intimate El Rey Theatre, Lucinda Williams was in fine form. With the novel concept of performing one of her five classic albums in its entirety each night, followed by a second set of songs spanning her entire career, each show promised to be special in its own right. On this night, much to the delight of the rapturous crowd, Ms. Williams performed 1998's brilliant Car Wheels On A Gravel Road.
Lucinda Williams is smart, sexy and sassy, and she knows how to entertain. Album cuts such as Right In Time and 2 Kool 2 Be 4-Gotten sounded fantastic. Williams went into detail about each song's meaning, interacting with the crowd in her thick southern-drawl, and eliciting laughter and declarations of love from both the men and women in the crowd. Drunken Angel -dedicated to two Texan musicians - Blaze Foley (of whom the song was written) and Townes Van Zandt - oozed country soul.
The night was made all the more special by the revolving door of special guests that joined Williams on stage. Steve Earle's presence on stage had some in the crowd weak at the knees, and his guitar, harmonica and road-worn vocals were a welcome addition to the smoking-hot band that Williams had behind her.
The second set was made up primarily of songs from West - the fantastic album Williams released earlier this year - the highlights of which included Come On & Unsuffer Me. Williams seemed truly happy to be on stage - and said as much on many occasions; her happiness was reflected back by the many smiles in the crowd. Lucinda Williams is a very, very cool person; living proof that when the world tries to knock you down, you have to just pick yourself and keep on going. Luckily - for us - she has the continuing ability to write amazing songs as this process repeats itself.