Lucinda Williams Live at Englert Theatre - Essay Example

I thought it would always spark my interest to focus on the contemporary alternatives of the current mainstream with artists on Billboard's top 20 such as Lady Gaga, Beyonce, Akon, and others under major labels, an invitation to watch Lucinda Williams perform at Englert Theatre last February 18 marked an event that shifted my original paradigm of appreciation in music. The concert, which featured Williams' talent with not-so-recent hits for West album, had been creatively enthusiastic.   Coming from a background chiefly resigned with rhythm and blues, punk, and some influence of modern jazz, at first it seemed like I was drawing a blank and couldn't grasp or make sense of the objective and persuasion that go with her type of music. Eventually, as I got myself to sincerely pay attention to the substance and its rhythm, I began to feel psychologically seduced to perceive how sensible it could get about my genre and environment of artistic inclinations. In the middle of the concert, I could say that I had yielded to an 'acquired taste' of her rare lyrical creation with which to ride along spontaneously. 

For a moment, while getting moderately moved at my seat some five meters from the overwhelmed stage, I was seriously enamored to anticipate every detail following the course of Williams' singing “Unsuffer Me.” The justice is done to this song conspicuously surpassed critical expectations based upon the delighted response I and the rest of the audience could not help expressing as if we were suddenly struck by an excruciating but meaningful realization of life. To me, it mostly came as a surprising attempt of reconstructing creativity with a literary ballad that makes one suppose it can be patterned from the style in Annie Lennox, Dido, or Alanis Morissette's music to converge with an amount of solemnity Sarah Maclachlan known for. Through her genius instrumental arrangement and choice of words and theme altogether, Lucinda managed to take me to the track of recognizing poetry in the social dimension of the song's content beyond rhythmic exertion. The figurative aspect of “Unsuffer Me” is something that can be attributed to Bob Dylan's rhetorical technique of putting across a warm and thoughtful mood with a mildly outrageous sentimental effect.

In the majority of the aforementioned pieces played, there had been mixtures of country rock, ballad, and blues which sounded modern enough for perhaps a fraction of diverse culture in this age yet I feel they possess certain elements that are key to paying respect to the classical worth of their roots. L. Williams only had a few words to speak in between performances and her introduction of each song was so reserved that it was adequately justified by her light yet intellectually aggressive performance. As she strove to fulfill the concert's aim of marketing the essence of West, it makes me wonder who among the contemporary artists under her category and influence would carry on the legacy or be challenged to at least enhance potential by innovating to achieve the level of significance and quality Lucinda devotes for her composition to deserve as she sees fit. Hers is a kind of music that, in my understanding, does not instantly conform to being released without attaining the intended refinement of every consideration by the musician-artist. Williams' original composition in her West album I think is capable of communicating to the listeners that it seeks to be revolutionary, breaking free of popular forms with the desire to engage them at depth and let the music search their souls right and allow it as well to look into themselves and be touched or enlightened to discern a real heart for unusual matters of concern. I couldn't begin to figure out which portion of the show ought to be modified since the music and its identity with the artist have been well-established that even Lucinda's monotonous gestures can be claimed as just appropriate for every piece and maybe spared less favorable critique. Because some of the audience like myself were new to such an experience, it is fully understood that we would not readily conceive the main thought of songs that reflect a dominant motivation of traditional folk improved by related genres. It was however grand to feel that L. Williams, in her mastery of personal skills and wisdom as a musician, was able to not just open our awareness but also an attitude to find the classical nature of blues and country songs delectable especially those that enabled us later on to merit their distinction above the existing ones within the pop culture.

Lucinda Williams is an authentic musician and I can assess much certainty that she had undergone tough times of life with upsetting gravity from which to learn how to value joy, serene simplicity, love, pain, relief, and respect which were literally and figuratively cherished in her rather experimental endeavor to blend the uniqueness of past convention with the modern. If permitted with another opportunity and time, I definitely would not hesitate at accepting the privilege of attending concerts or local tours by Lucinda Williams or other such artists with a similar line of music and who possess the capacity and courage of developing their substance out of genuine experience and maturity in perspectives within and beyond the realms of their Read More