Before we trip over ourselves looking for adjectives to describe just how bad the sound was at Lucinda Williams' Thursday night show at the Main Street Armory (the rain location for Party in the Park), let's remember: it was free. I will say, however, had I not known a lot of the songs, I would have had a hard time telling what the hell was going on. Cool layout and atmosphere, but they might wanna accoustify this joint some.

Williams kicked it off narcotic and slow, but bailed on that approach as the band kicked into "Lonely Girls." Didn't nobody wanna hear about "heavy blankets" in that heat, so she and her band proceeded to rock from then on. Besides the tube top's apparent comeback this season, the evening's thrill had to have been when show opener Charlie Louvin joined Williams to duet on "Get Right With God."

It was1985, the summer of lust, when I first heard Barrence Whitfieldand the Savages' "Bloody Mary" blasting out of the Bop Shop's speakers. Rusty, raunchy sax, a savage beat, and a singer who wailed like Screamin' Jay Hawkins with his nuts in a vice grip... well, that's all it took. So it made sense to have Whitfield play as part of The Bop Shop's 25th anniversary weekend in the Village Gate courtyard. Whitfield was backed by the high-flyin' Hi-Risers. Saxophonist Mark Bradley joined in making it a quasi-Salamanders/Essentials reunion - which, incidentally, doesn't sound like a bad idea. Whaddaya say fellas?

Even when the PA cut out for a breather, Whitfield kept it going. The energy was high and all the way live, despite his casual attire. I mean, he looked like he was ready for a round of golf. And I've scene this cat sportin' some class with the sass in slick suits and tall turbans, crawling across the bar screaming his head off.

Still, Whitfield wailed incredibly on a wild 'n' loose set, working dancers up so much they just started jumping up and down and howling. It was like church without the guilt.