Williams practices crowd control at House of Blues

Spencer Patterson

Monday, Feb. 23, 2004 | 8:34 a.m.

"Do y'all want to hear those sweet old ballads or do you want to rock?" Williams asked a crowd of about 1,000 at the House of Blues at Mandalay Bay.

Most of the audience cheered for the latter, and the touring veteran responded, shifting into high gear to cap a superb hour-and-45-minute set with some of the liveliest material in her celebrated songbook.

"Righteously," the single off last year's excellent "World Without Tears" album, bristled with energy as guitarist Doug Pettibone worked a bit of controlled distortion into his solo.

"Changed the Locks," written by Williams and covered on Tom Petty's "She's the One" soundtrack, showcased the 51-year-old headliner's snarling retort to an ex-lover: "I changed the lock on my front door / So you can't see me anymore / And you can't come inside my house / And you can't lie down on my couch / I changed the lock on my front door."

And "Real Live Bleeding Fingers and Broken Guitar Strings," another cut off "World Without Tears," which Williams said was inspired by ex-Replacements frontman Paul Westerberg, featured an extended, bluesy jam with Williams and Pettibone on electric guitar, Taras Prodaniuk on bass and Jim Christie on drums.

All the makings of a memorable rock 'n' roll show. And that wasn't even the half of it.

For 25 years Williams has made a career of defying traditional musical definitions, moving seamlessly from one genre to another.

Her sound includes elements of country, rock, folk and blues (she's won Grammys in three of those categories) yet it remains entirely her own.

Saturday night all sides of Williams' varied music were on display.

Dressed in all black -- cowboy hat, slacks, leather jacket and tank top -- she took her fans on a trip through her seven-disc catalog, concentrating on her three most recent albums.

Williams' lyrics, sung with a gritty Louisiana drawl, have a decidedly country perspective. Many tell stories of lost loves, some she's glad to be rid of and others she wishes she still had.

"I know I shouldn't but I want you so bad / I know it couldn't be but I want what we had / I know our love is gone and I can't bring it back," Williams wailed plaintively during "Still I Long for Your Kiss," one of five selections she played off 1998 masterwork "Car Wheels on a Gravel Road."

The House of Blues' primo acoustics provided an ideal setting for Williams' personal confessions, especially when she went solo-acoustic for an encore rendition of "Passionate Kisses," a Williams-penned country hit for Mary Chapin Carpenter in 1993.

"The sound's great in here," Williams noted at one point.

Williams started with a set list but abandoned it early, responding to crowd requests and calling out changes in sequence to her bandmates.

As is her usual custom, Williams worked with a music stand at her side, thumbing through her songbook from time to time.

That resulted in one long gap between songs, as roadies searched in vain for the lyrics to an unplanned (and ultimately unplayed) number.

That miscue aside, the show proceeded smoothly, with Williams grinning broadly at the audience's enthusiasm as she stummed her guitar and swayed from side to side.

Afterward some fans grumbled about not hearing a particular favorite, such as "Car Wheels on a Gravel Road" or "Get Right With God."

But when an artist has so much strong material to choose from, such oversights are to be expected, and simply provide more reasons to catch her next visit.