Lucinda Williams – Belfast

I’ve been a fan of Lucinda Williams ever since Car Wheels on a Gravel Road landed in my CD collection back in 1998.

It’s one of those albums that gets under your skin and never really leaves. Over the years I’ve bought plenty of her records, but for some reason I had convinced myself that she rarely, if ever, toured outside America.

So when I discovered she was playing Glasgow, I was both surprised and delighted.

There was just one problem.

The gig was sold out.

I managed to find a single resale ticket, but there was no way I was leaving Emma behind for this one. After a bit of investigation, I discovered Lucinda was also playing Belfast.

Problem solved.

As regular readers will know, it doesn’t take much of an excuse for Emma and I to hop on a plane to Belfast these days, particularly when Van Morrison isn’t involved for a change.

The concert was originally scheduled for Mandela Hall, which suited me perfectly. It’s unreserved seating, meaning that if you get there early enough you can secure a spot right down the front.

That was the plan anyway.

Then the weather intervened.

A storm swept through Belfast on the day of the show and the university closed its campus, meaning Mandela Hall was unavailable. At the last minute the concert was moved to the Limelight instead.

Fortunately, the change of venue turned out to be a blessing in disguise.

Emma and I arrived ridiculously early and spent an hour and a half standing in a queue before anyone else even joined us. Some might consider that excessive.

I prefer to think of it as professional concert preparation.

Our dedication paid off.

When the doors finally opened, we secured front-row positions even closer to the stage than we would have been at Mandela Hall.

Result.

Before Lucinda appeared, support came from Ben de la Cour.

I’d heard very little of his music beforehand, but he quickly won me over. His songs were full of character and atmosphere, and he delivered them with real conviction. At one point he dropped his plectrum and casually told the audience not to worry about it.

I ignored that instruction.

Spotting where it had landed, I retrieved it and returned it to him, which seemed the neighbourly thing to do.

His music was excellent and well worth investigating further.

Then came the main event.

Even after all the gigs I’ve attended over the years, there are still moments when you find yourself standing there thinking, “I can’t quite believe I’m actually here.”

This was one of them.

There I was, front and centre, with Lucinda Williams standing barely six feet away.

For somebody who had been listening to her music for nearly three decades, it felt slightly surreal.

And she was magnificent.

The songs from throughout her career sounded every bit as powerful as I’d hoped, backed by a phenomenal band who elevated everything they touched. Every song seemed to carry extra weight in such an intimate setting, and the atmosphere in the room was electric.

I spent most of the night trying to absorb every second of it.

There were moments when I wanted to dance long before I actually did, but I managed to contain myself for most of the evening.

Then Rockin’ in the Free World arrived.

At that point restraint became impossible.

The energy in the room exploded and I finally let myself go a little.

And then something happened that will remain one of my favourite concert memories.

At the end of the song, Lucinda reached out and shook my hand.

A tiny moment in the grand scheme of things.

But for somebody who had spent decades listening to her music, it felt pretty special.

One of those life-highlight moments that you’ll still be boring people with years later.

Looking back, everything about the trip seemed to fall perfectly into place. The storm, the venue change, the ridiculously early queue, the front-row spot, the excellent support act and a spectacular headline performance from one of America’s greatest songwriters.

It all added up to one of my favourite gigs ever.

The videos below include Ben de la Cour’s support set, footage from Lucinda’s performance and, most importantly, Rockin’ in the Free World, complete with the handshake that made a wonderful evening even more memorable.

I couldn’t believe we were front and centre with Lucinda not much more that six feet away. I savoured every moment and wanted to dance before I did but during ‘Rockin’ In The Free World’ I had to let it go a bit. The band were spectacular and her songs are awesome, one of my favourite gigs ever.

Here is ‘Rockin’ in the Free World’ including my handshake with Lucinda at the end. A life highlight.