KICK OUT THE JAMS

Thursday, July 31, 2003
Copyright © Las Vegas Mercury

Kick Out the Jams

Neil Young and Crazy Horse, Lucinda Williams at The Joint, July 26

Lucinda Williams isn't so under-appreciated as she used to be, so it was interesting to witness the emotional roller coaster she rode during her outstanding opening set Saturday night at The Joint.

Williams opened the show with a cold, tight countenance, seemingly unsure of what to expect from the Las Vegas crowd, especially after she pissed off a local audience last year by coming on late and playing only a couple of songs. But after three numbers, each followed by wildly appreciative applause from a large, attentive audience, she broke her first smile. Two songs later, during the rocking hit "Righteously," from her latest album, World Without Tears, Williams was casually strutting about the stage, enjoying the '70s-style guitar antics of musical accomplice Doug Pettibone.

Two more songs into the show, Williams couldn't contain her delight at the positive vibe. "You are the best audience we've had on this tour," she said, unable to contain a wide grin.

Finally, after a big crowd response to another new song, "Real Live Bleeding Fingers and Broken Guitar Strings," Williams almost lost it. "I didn't expect this," she said. "It's a nice shot in the arm."

Williams needn't have worried so. Las Vegas' reputation is mixed, to say the least, in terms of how it receives more avante garde performers. But Williams is a pro, and her hour-long set deserved the enthusiastic response it received. Her emphasis on the more high-energy songs--more rock than country--from her repertoire helped, as did the superior musicianship of Pettibone and the rest of her band. She also benefited from a more mature audience that appreciates the understated beauty of Williams' songcraft. As much as I like Neil Young, if I had left after Lucinda Williams, I would have left satisfied.

But I did hang around, and I'm thankful I did, because Young and Crazy Horse delivered a greatest hits jam session for the ages--almost three hours of pure rave-up guitar rock mayhem.

This isn't what many fans expected. On this tour, Young has been playing primarily tracks from his upcoming "musical novel," Greendale. The shows have included narration, video clips and an acting troupe performing skits intended to advance the environmental agenda of Greendale. Yikes.

For whatever reason--the need for a break, the high expectations of people paying $100-$200 per ticket, the fear that a Las Vegas audience wouldn't buy into a concept album show--Young abandoned that plan Saturday night and instead opted to rawk like no other mutton-chopped 57-year-old can.

And he and his longtime bandmates, bassist Billy Talbot, guitarist Frank Sampedro and drummer Ralph Molina, seemed to have a fine time doing it. The "Godfather of Grunge" can outjam any jam band around, turning a three-minute album track into a 10-minute barrage of guitar virtuosity and feedback. Highlights were "Cinnamon Girl," "Fuckin' Up," "Rockin' in the Free World" and "Hey Hey My My (Into the Black)."

On his first encore, Young did offer a couple of environmentally friendly older tracks, including "Mother Earth," which featured a camouflage-clad woman dancing and mock-shouting environmental slogans into a megaphone. It didn't really fit with the show's free-flowing tenor but neither did it ruin a memorable night at The Joint.--Geoff Schumacher