I Just Read About That…

[ATTENDED: March 20, 2019] Lucy Dacus

Less than a year ago I saw Lucy Dacus at Johnny Brenda’s.  In that time, she has been in boygenius and has catapulted to a slightly higher level of recognition.

Last time when I saw her, she played two shows that night.  (She was already popular enough to sell out two shows on the same night).  I saw the first show, which was one song shorter than the later show.  (Boo).  But she was great and very personable.

Tonight’s show was quite different.   I’m not sure what it was.  Last time, perhaps because she dressed a bit more casually (she wore glasses and no lipstick–see bottom of post), or maybe because it was an early show, it felt a bit more mellow.

But this show felt like it was important (whatever that means).  She had coordinated the whole tour–dates, support acts, hotels, eveyrthing.  She also said she was pretty excited to play New Jersey (and we were happy to have her).  She even wore her now characteristic red lipstick.

What really impressed me was during the final song she stood up on stage with no guitar, facing the crowd.  She stood there confidently as her guitarist swelled music around her.  It wasn’t an act of defiance, it was an act of acceptance and the power she exuded standing up there.  She didn’t move, she didn’t sway, she didn’t speak, she didn’t fidget.  She knew we were there to see her and she was there to be seen.  And she defined our gaze.  It was stunning.

And that doesn’t even talk about the music.

She opened the set with a brand new, unreleased song.  She asked that no one record it, and everyone obliged (to my knowledge).  I have seen that it is called “Fool’s Gold.”  For this song it was just her and her guitar and her beautiful voice.  It was terrific.

Then the band came out.  Her band was slightly different this time.  Guitarist Jacob Blizzard was still there and he was still amazing–wild solos, great atmospherics–he’s really dynamite.  Sadly, he was on the far side of the stage and I couldn’t see him very well.  I also couldn’t get any good pictures of him–the lighting in White Eagle Hall is deceptively clean.

Ricardo Lagomasino was on drums (he had changed outfits after drumming with Mal Blum).   I enjoyed that his drums were up at the front of the stage rather than tucked away in the back.  But that one cymbal up front was a little too loud from where I was standing.

Last year her bassist was Sadie Powers, but this year, she had a new guy who she introduced and whose name I cannot find anywhere.  But he was great too, adding a bit louder and more powerful low end.

In fact the whole band sounded so much bigger and louder than last time–but only when it was appropriate.

Because they also held back during the quieter moments, like the opening songs from Historian.  After the new song, she followed up with “Addictions” and “The Shell.”

Then she told us she had fielded a request for the previous album’s “Direct Address,” a song they don’t play much.  Then a great version of “Nonbeliever” (boy do I love the lyrics on Historian), before she returned to the previous album for “Green Eyes, Red Face.”

For Valentine’s Day Lucy released a cover of “La Vie en Rose” which she sped up and sung in both French and English.  It is terrific.  I hoped she would play it and she did and it was even better than the record.

Up next was “”Timefighter” from Historian.  This song jammed out to about six minutes and the end was just amazing.  There bass and drums were powerful and crashing and Blizzard played a scorching guitar solo.  For the most part a Lucy Dacus show is pretty mellow, so it was great to see that she can rock as well.

I was fairly astonished that when Lucy told us that “Pillar of Truth” was about her grandmother people didn’t react better.  The fans were totally into the show, singing along to nearly every word, but I felt that they were not very receptive between songs.  The woman next to me wouldn’t stop talking even during the songs, and the woman on the other side of me talked over Lucy during all of her banter but then sang along really loudly during the songs.  Weird.  Anyhow “Pillar of Truth” is one of my favorite songs on the record (knowing it’s about her grandmother makes it even sweeter).  The song is quiet and moody and then it builds slowly, slowly until Lucy unleashes and the whole band just lets loose.  It’s the ultimate catharsis.

After singing the fun “I Don’t Wanna Be Funny Anymore” she played the lead off track from Historian, the wonderful “Night Shift.”  It was really cool how everyone sang along to this wonderful section.

Last time she played “Historians” during the second show, but not mine.  So I was especially excited that she played it for us.  This was the song where Lucy stood there on stage with no guitar and sang beautifully while Blizzard played sonically gorgeous sounds.  It was a tremendous set ending.

After a brief encore, she came out with Fenne Lily and Joe and a violinist.  She thanked us for being so receptive and said that they were going to play a fun song, a cover of “Bobby” from Alex G.  [I saw Alex G back in 2016.  I didn’t know who he was then and he has gotten more success since then.  He played “Bobby” that night but I had no recollection of it].  They were clearly having fun and they sang well together.  They even made each other laugh during the song, which was catchy and featured a nice little violin part.

When Fenne Lily left, Lucy said, “That was cute, right?  This whole tour has just been overwhelmingly cute.”

She ended the show with another new, unreleased song.  Once again, she asked us not to record it, and I assume no one did.  For an introduction, she told us she did not condone violence.  She then proceeded to sing a song about a friend/lover meeting with the father who had been absent since fifth grade.  The father is a terrible person and the chorus goes something like “I would kill him for you.”  It was powerful as anything.  And having no band backing her up helped the lyrics stand out even more.

It was a stellar ending to a stellar set.  Lucy is an amazing performer.  And if those two new songs are any indication, her new record is going to be even better than Historian.

 

White Eagle Hall, April 2019	Johnny Brenda’s April 2018
Fool’s Gold ℵ	Addictions
Addictions	The Shell
The Shell	Nonbeliever
Direct Address*	Yours & Mine
Nonbeliever	Body to Flame
Green Eyes, Red Face*	Timefighter
La vie en Rose (Edith Piaf song)	Next of Kin
Timefighter	Pillar of Truth
Pillar of Truth	Map on a Wall*
I Don’t Wanna Be Funny Anymore*	Dream State…*
Night Shift	…Familiar Place*
Historians	I Don’t Wanna Be Funny Anymore*
encore	Night Shift
Bobby (Alex G. song) with Fenne Lily
new song untitled [“I Would Kill Him”] ℵ

How different she looked just last year: