The Beachland Ballroom has a sign plastered on both sides of their stage saying in a bright proclamation, “NO STAGEDIVING.”
That wasn’t an issue last night at the sold-out Lucinda Williams show. While it was packed from front to back and side-to-side (other than a small seated area at stage right), the majority of the audience skewed towards the AARP side of life. Shouts of “Cleveland loves you, Lucinda!” rang out during the ninety-minute gig, to which she would smile and humbly thank the audience. The venue was chilly; the air conditioning must have been set at about sixty degrees, but as the attendees mustered in and filled the cavities of the spacious venue, the heat rose.
Playing a nineteen-tune set, she graced the stage about a half-hour after the advertised starting time of the show. She was helped to the microphone, still showing signs of the stroke that she suffered several years ago. Grasping the mic stand, she started the night with “Car Wheels on a Gravel Road,” perhaps her best-known tune. A few songs later, she debuted a tribute to her friend Tomy Petty. Entitled “Stolen Moments,” it was a glimpse into aging and how life catches up with us, whether we’re ready for it or not.
Offering a few covers along the way, her maturing voice gave up “While My Guitar Gently Weeps” and “Rockin’ In The free World” at the very end of the night.
