Lydia Loveless is a touring machine, garnering more and more attention with each show she plays. And when she played the intimate Studio at Webster Hall on Sunday, September 28th, it was easily one of her best shows ever. It was the final night of the tour for her and her powerhouse band of Todd May (guitar), Ben Lamb (bass), Jay Gasper(pedal steel and guitar), and George Hondroulis (drums), and if they were exhausted, it certainly did not show.
Opening for Loveless was Nathan Xander, a Brooklyn-based alt-country singer-songwriter with one hell of a voice. Backed up by a full band, Xander’s songs were smooth and thoughtful. He’s on his way to the studio to begin work on a new record in the near future, and from the sound of his set, it’s gonna be a good one.
When Loveless and her band took the stage, they wasted no time before immediately thrashing through songs like “Love Somebody”, “Head”, Hurts So Bad”, “Really Wanna See You”, “Verlaine” and “Wine Lips”, all tunes off this year’s incredible record Somewhere Else. Loveless’ guitar playing has gotten increasingly more impressive over the last year, and it’s evident from watching her that she loves playing it. The way she and guitarist May play off each other on stage is electric, and combined with Lamb’s crazy, energetic bass playing, Hondroulis’ crushing percussion, and Gasper’s cool and calculated steel, they’re a hell of a team. You also get the impression they have a lot of fun together on tour, as they share inside jokes and tales from the road with the audience.
Loveless played a handful of songs off last year’s equally amazing EP Boy Crazy, like the sultry pop gem “All I Know”, title track “Boy Crazy” (which the audience went crazy for), “The Water” and “All the Time”. Her particular version of “The Water” was played less like a ballad and more like a sped up rock song, and it worked so well. “Boy Crazy” was the ultimate finale of the show, and the band went all out with Lamb and Gaspar lingering on the edge of the stage, Loveless on the ground and May literally playing his guitar against a light fixture overhead. This is a band that loves a good ending, and they know how to bring the theatrical craziness in the best way, sprinting to the finish line until they’re breathless.
The crowd was clearly psyched when Loveless broke out a few oldies from 2011’s Indestructible Machine. She played high-energy versions of “Learn to Say No” (recognizable from the very first note) and “Crazy”. “Crazy” started out solo, and when the band joined her for the second half, it went from quiet and soulful to magnetic and intense.
There were a few mellower moments when Loveless played some songs on her own, including a few new ballads that were heartbreakingly honest and gritty, especially when expressed through Loveless’ powerful voice. Loveless played around with a few songs including “Steve Earle”, a fan favorite that’s typically more of a country tune. Instead, Loveless and the guys removed all the humor and played a dark and haunting, almost trance metal version. This was a killer moment for them, and the crowd definitely appreciated the surprise.
Loveless specializes in these brilliantly cheeky nuances at her shows, and another one came when she basically gave the finger to the traditional encore setup (much needed). “Welcome to the encore,” she said, making the decision to avoid the whole charade of waiting for the band to reappear. You could call it a “non-encore”, and it should definitely be employed way more often, especially as there was no question that crowd would have stayed and listened to her play all night.
