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Lucinda Williams leaves Kessler crowd speechless during first of three nights in Dallas

Lucinda Williams played to all of her strengths Sunday night at the Kessler Theater. It was the first of three shows at the venue and, despite a slightly oppressive temperature due to air-conditioning issues, Williams and her top-notch band invoked varying moods of love, anger, pity and redemption.

Concentrating primarily on her latest album, The Ghosts of Highway 20, Williams peppered her set with fan favorites and deep album cuts that were well received by the capacity crowd. Beginning with "Protection" (from 2014's Down Where the Spirit Meets the Bone), Williams locked in on that patented blend of mid-period Stones and old-school country, a fruitful muse that has served her well for almost four decades.

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Up next was "Metal Firecracker" (from 1998's seminal Car Wheels on a Gravel Road) and Williams' droll Louisiana delivery perfectly suited the song's theme of love found and lost. "We'd put on ZZ Top and turn 'em up real loud," Williams sang as the respectful audience hung on every syllable.

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Indeed, the crowd was blissfully quiet the entire evening. Sure, the ovation at the end of each song was enthusiastic, but when she spoke, Williams was treated like a minister at her hometown church. It was an enlightening experience to see that kind of bond between performer and audience.

When Williams launched into "Drunken Angel," she made the connection explicit. The song's theme of another great loss at the hands of alcohol resonated throughout the room. It was as though everyone in attendance knew a friend who had succumbed in the same way. Williams' authenticity was as apparent as her empathy as she presented emotions deeper and darker than many wish to travail.

Much like Hank Williams, Williams is unafraid to dig deep into questions concerning mortality.

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"I had this interview the other day where this guy asked why I write so many songs about death," Williams said. "I told him that I write this stuff to keep me from going completely out of my mind."

Yet new songs such as the impressive "Can't Close the Door on Love" show Williams displaying a weary optimism that belies any fixation on death. In her disillusionment, Williams always seems to find the right moment of clarity and comfort.

By the time she and her band locked into the Stones-esque groove of "Everything But the Truth," Williams had delivered two hours of classic Americana. Like Steve Earle, Williams plays music for passion, not profit. And much like Earle, Williams continues to widen her range while still maintaining her fervent base.

At 63, Lucinda Williams is a woman free of pretension, free to do what she wants whenever she wants. Sunday night at the Kessler, she did just that and it sounded perfect. She was a woman in charge of everything around her.

By Darryl Smyers, Special Contributor. Darryl is a Dallas freelance writer.