I went to see Lucinda Williams tonight. She was playing at an outdoor venue about a mile from my house, within staggering distance. That's relevant, since I went to see her to reconnect with who I remember I was once. The last time I saw Lucinda was at The Point, in Little Five Points in Atlanta, 20 years ago. I was in the music business, still single, still hot and all about the night life. She was a skinny waif in a ragged dress,  a restless heart and a broken voice. I sat back in the back at the bar and traded shots of Jager with some guy who I woke up next to in the morning, having missed much of Lucinda's show and the whole process of leaving the bar for his house. Why this is significant, really I don't know. Other than that my birthday is next week and I am kicking and screaming inside about turning 60. I still feel like that girl 20 years ago. 
 
I found my usual spot in front of the stage, just to the right of the center mic, in front of the speaker (which is why my right ear is a little deaf.) I was less than 10 feet from her. She came out and my hand flew to my mouth and I sucked in breath. She looks like any of the older brassy blondes that come into the gallery, a little worse for wear, wearing a little too much makeup. Not so different from me.  Tight black jeans, with some chub around the middle, knee-high black boots, black leather jacket. Double chin, and a face that's seen too much sorrow, well, that's Lucinda anyway. The voice, though. The voice, and the pain underneath, is the same. 

 Lucinda Williams doesn't sing about her lost lover, she sings to her lost lover. Her music is intensely personal, with minute detail about what she feels and what she senses. At her essence, she's a blues singer, but it's more like Austin blues, with country rock  just under the surface. She cuts through the cliches and sings right into your heart.

It's always good when your preconceptions get shoved back in your face. Tonight, somehow, I thought I would see the waif on stage and I would also be the girl in the tight jeans with someone buying me shots. Nope, that didn't show up tonight. In fact most of the folks there were older couples, and we have all seen more of life than we did when we first started listening to Lucinda. But that's perfect, and she knows that too. We were all born to be loved, it just doesn't always work out that way.