Steve Earle / Lucinda Williams: Friday

by David Pyndus

Meteorologists spoke of the “cone of uncertainty” with regard to Hurricane Rita, but when Steve Earle blew through the ACL Fest, he chose a well-worn path with “The Revolution Starts Now” cutting the way. His set was mostly predictable, unlike his schedule to leave town for a White House march led by anti-war leader Cindy Sheehan, but his songs were as impassioned as the blaring midday sun.

“If the hurricane (path) changes and blows y’all out, come up to Washington tomorrow,” offered Earle, who acknowledged the storm’s “terrible” destruction but called it “a distraction” from the Iraq conflict. Dedicating “Rich Man’s War” to protestor Sheehan, whom Earle said had “single handedly started a movement” among Americans, he and the Dukes played largely from the last two studio albums. And this couplet from “Rich Man’s War” summed it up: “When will we ever learn, when will we ever see / We stand up and take our turn, and keep tellin’ ourselves we’re free.”

Earle strapped on his mandolin for an almost-obligatory “Copperhead Road,” his story of a Vietnam veteran who supplements his income with a weedy cash crop, and whoops elicited from the parched crowd. “Anybody who heard this song in 1988 and didn’t think it was political wasn’t listening,” he said.

Newlywed country singer Allison Moorer scooted on stage twice, singing backup on “Conspiracy Theory” and later sharing the microphone with husband Earle on “Comin’ Around” in a rare love-song duet. Another tough but tender moment was a ragged rendition of “N.Y.C.” which Earle said was about his new hometown. The highlight was a trio of politicized songs, “Condi Condi,” the reggae ode to Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice; “Jerusalem,” a plea for peace around the world; and “F the CC,” a foul-mouthed rant juvenile as a Lenny Bruce routine yet exciting as a teenage jailbreak when performed live with the Dukes. Overhead, a cloudless sky buzzed from a small airplane trailing a banner that read “U.S. Out Of Iraq Now” and Earle is trying to achieve just that aim Woody Guthrie-style.

Also highly charged and slightly more personal was Lucinda Williams, who appeared in a tee adorned with a glittering peace sign. She atoned for a fairly incoherent show two years ago by giving one of the finest performances of the three-day fest, including the Texas debut of three songs. “I want to thank this whole damn town,” said the former Austin resident, who reached into her back catalog for two ruminations on death, “Drunken Angel” and “Pineola,” to begin her 10-song set. Williams played a rarity she recently resurrected with the lilting “Crescent City” as a tribute to New Orleans and dedicated to hurricane victims in her birth state of Louisiana.

Playing one of the most adventurous sets of the fest, where artists often tend to rely on crowd pleasers rather than road testing new material, Williams gave fans a preview of her 2006 album, tentatively titled Knowing. There was the droll weeper “Jailhouse Tears,” a traditional county duet that she will hopefully record with Keith Richards or perhaps Earle; “Well Well Well,” a moderate stomp, and the time-stopping “Unsuffer Me,” a love song offering more redemption than Williams usually allows. “Unsuffer” also benefited from restrained distortion courtesy of guitarist Doug Pettibone.

“Fuck politics, you’ve got to get right with God,” Williams said before her gospel outing, a hip quivering “Get Right With God” that had Williams shaking her own self in another sort of redemption. As she announced like a mantra before leaving the stage: “Peace, love, revolution.” Righteous.