Lucinda Williams – aided by a very special guest - lights up London

Thanks to Anne Ritchie for her report on Friday night’s rearranged Lucinda Williams show at Shepherd’s Bush Empire:

“Like many fans, daughter Lucy and I approached tonight’s rearranged Lucinda Williams show with some trepidation: would she cancel, like last time?

“No worries. Lucinda turned up, and she was in the form of her life. She gave one of the strongest gigs of the hundreds I’ve seen – a joyous, engaging, energetic, even voluptuous, performance, by a musician from the very top drawer.

“Despite (because of?) a heavy cold, her voice was even huskier than normal, the perfect timbre for her unique brand of whatever is the female equivalent of c*ck rock.

“She was up for this one from her entrance. She thrilled the rapt crowd by dipping into virtually her entire catalogue and even trailered some new material from West, the next album. I mis-heard it as “Lust” when she first announced the title. It seemed like a good Lucinda album label.

“The show was already in the ‘classic’ bracket when, towards the finale, she brought on a special guest: Bruce Springsteen, no less.

"Bruce, in London for his Seeger Sessions gig at Wembley, traded bluesy riffs on guitar. He didn’t sing, but his mere presence lifted an already great show into the stratosphere.”