Lucinda Williams rocks the Fillmore, comes back tonight for more

Prolific singer-songwriter brings smoking set of originals, covers, to legendary San Francisco venue

You won't find a more authentic rock 'n' roller in today's music scene than Lucinda Williams. Adored by critics (Time magazine recently mentioned her as the greatest American songwriter today) and her hardcore contingent of fans, Williams would probably be the biggest thing in music today were it not for a culture that puts High School Musical and American Idol above the real deal on our cultural top shelf. No worries though—the lucky thousand fans who got to watch Williams rip through a mesmerizing two hour set of tunes last night—and those who are going back tonight for more (tickets still available), were in for a treat of the highest order.

Backed by her outstanding four piece band, Buick 6, Williams took the stage at 9:30 p.m. with "Real Love", the single off her outstanding new album, Little Honey.  Other Honey tracks included the barnburner "Honeybee," as well as the hilarious duet, "Jailhouse Tears", about a woman kicking her louse-spouse out for good. Lead guitarist Doug Pettibone provided the "he said" part for this song, filling in for Elvis Costello's performance on the record. Williams sprinkled songs from most of her records throughout, with the World Without Tears and Essence albums getting heavy coverage. For Monday night's show, Williams announced that she'll be playing an entirely different set list. I'd go back again in an instant, were it not for a prior engagement.

Clad in red jeans and a sleeveless black tee that read, "Love Is a Drug," Williams was in good spirits throughout, as was the raucous Fillmore crowd. For her encore set, Williams kicked things off with a lovely, solo acoustic rendition of Jimi Hendrix' "Angel", played as a tribute to Hendrix drummer Mitch Mitchell, who passed away last week. From there, she covered Buffalo Springfield's "For What It's Worth" and AC/DC's "Long Way to the Top", putting her stamp onand vocal snarl of approval into each.

In all, it was one of the best rock shows of the year. Set list is below, courtest of a fan at lucindawilliams.com forum section.

Real Love / I Just Wanted to See You So Bad / Steal Your Love / Fruits of My Labor / People Talking / Overtime / Jailhouse Tears / Can’t Let Go / Sweet Side / Out of Touch / Little Rock Star / Essence / Changed the Locks / Atonement / Unsuffer Me / Real Live Bleeding Fingers and Broken Guitar Strings / Honey Bee / Righteously // Angel (Hendrix cover) / For What It’s Worth (Buffalo Springfield cover) / It’s a Long Way to the Top (AC/DC cover)

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