Before performing a new song — “Stowaway in Your Heart” — in suburban Denver on July 22 in the aftermath of the midnight movie massacre in nearby Aurora, Lucinda Williams said she and her three-piece band were “trying to do some healing tonight and also try and cheer everybody up a little bit.”
Later in the two-hour, 21-song set at the Arvada Center outdoor amphitheatre, she said, “I’ve been doing a lot of writing lately. That always feels good. Looking forward to getting back in the studio with these new songs. I just taught this one to the band today at sound check. I borrowed the title from a Ray Bradbury novel. I hope that’s OK. It’s called ‘Something Wicked This Way Comes.’ “
After that song, Williams got choked up while again discussing the Aurora tragedy in which 12 people were killed and 58 were wounded at a showing of The Dark Knight Rises at Century Aurora 16 in the early morning hours of July 20. “I’ve been watching the beautiful prayer vigil unfolding in Aurora. I watched that a couple hours before the show. Like they said, everybody’s been affected directly and indirectly like a ripple when you throw a stone in the water. I think there’s a reason that we were here. We played shows these last three nights all in Colorado. …
“I don’t know. But something changed within me, I think over, these last few nights. I just feel more connected with people. … What President Obama said when he came to Aurora and he spoke a little bit (on Sunday). I was hoping he’d say something like that. He didn’t get into it too much. But, you know, he said, ‘We’re gonna make sure this doesn’t happen again.’ We need to make sure people can’t get ahold of those kind of weapons. Somebody needs to be here going, ‘Hey, wait a second. What were you gonna do with this stuff?’ “
See more photos from the show.
