I fell in love with Lucy Lawless when she was the dark-haired, leather-clad bad girl of Xena: Warrior Princess, but I love her no less in all her femme incarnations. From sassy blonde ’40s movie star to glittering cowgirl to — be still my heart — Sunday night’s sultry chanteuse, I love the Lawless that gave her fans what most called “her best concert ever” at San Francisco’s Herbst Theater, in a benefit for the Richmond/Ermet AIDS Foundation.
AfterEllen.com photographer KT Jorgensen was there, and said, “Boy, does she know how to play with the audience. She reaches out and grabs our attention and imagination with a smile and more. During one song, she slowly stripped both of her long gloves off. Wow. Best song of the night: ‘Hallelujah.'”
Lucy sang in front of a video backdrop, including some scenes of her days on Xena, something I’ve never seen before at one of her concerts. Fans also saw a few clips of her role as the Cylon D’Anna Biers on Battlestar Galactica. And another first: KT says the acoustics were great.
For her encore, Lucy sang the song “Bitch,” then offered to re-do it in any style the audience chose. They first had her do a bluegrass version, and then she followed it up with a blues version.
KT swore she was going camera-less to the next Lucy concert, most likely in Los Angeles this coming January, during the Xena convention. “I don’t really get to experience the concert when I am looking through the lens,” she said, “But I do get to experience Lucy.”
Hey, I’ll take it.
