It’s been a busy week so far, beginning with Lucinda Williams at the El Rey on Monday night, the fifth night of her Los Angeles residency, during which she played shows consisting of an entire album of songs, in order (what’s the deal with that these days?), followed by a second set of other material from the rest of her career. Unable to snag tickets for the “Car Wheels on a Gravel Road” night, we were happy to get a pair for Monday, featuring what a KGOT dj might refer to as “Lucinda Williams’ eponymous self-titled album, Lucinda Williams.” We were warned that the show would be a long one, so we were ready when it didn’t start until 9:30, and didn’t end until 12:30. She sounded a little uncomfortable at the beginning of the album set, but her voice became more assured as she went on. She started and stopped a couple of songs, wanting to get it right for the video and audio recordings that were taking place, and even seemed at one point that she might not be able to go on, she was so flustered. On another song, she started in the wrong key, but her band played along, transposing their parts and even getting a new harmonica from a roadie without mentioning anything. When she stopped in the middle because it was too high, she said “I was in the wrong key. You knew that, didn’t you?” and the band members nodded silently. After a 20-minute intermission, she came back for a more relaxed set of other tunes, and brought out John Doe from X, always the star of Roadside Prophets, my favorite movie of 1992, as well as the amazing Emmylou Harris, who sang harmony on a few songs and sang her own “Red Dirt Girl.” Pretty great stuff. All of my photos came out in a blur, as I never saw much of that fleeting super-bright stage lighting that assures a good no-flash photo at a concert, and the only thing that came out was my brief video of the group on stage. Last night, we were hungry for victory at trivia night after a month of close calls and disappointments, and we came through. Or, should I say, the other team’s hubris came through for us, and gave us a chance to win. We were neck and neck throughout until they went for it in the sixth round, thinking they had correctly matched all ten backup quarterbacks to their starters. Oof. We only managed five out of the seven wonders of the world in the final round – we mistakenly listed the Library, rather than the Lighthouse, of Alexandria – but it was enough for the win.