Playlist Rewind: Luka Bloom at Sellersville Theater

I would listen to Luka read a phone book, so there won't be much negative to say about his show Thursday night at the Sellersville Theater. But I am disappointed at the lack of audience members; Luka has a huge following based on his Philly shows, so I was surprised to see the house only half full. Sellersville isn't far. I know, I know, one lives a city for the ease of access to concerts and events, but some country air and a drive down Route 309 every now and then is good for the soul. Well, the air is good for the soul. 309 is the work of the devil.

Those who made the trek were treated to a two and a half hour, twenty-five–song set. Honestly, the first few songs felt a little rusty, but Luka was coming off a four-night stint in NYC. He began with "I Am Not at War With Anyone," a dedication to World Cafe Live. At last year's Philly show, Luka publicly decried a firing of his friend; seems he won't be invited back to the venue. Most of this year's audience must have been at last year's show because a loud ripple of laughter worked through the crowd when he mentioned the venue.

But after a few songs, Luka hit the stride that makes his fans adore him. With a bounce in his knees and sweat on his brow even on a cool fall night, he led the audience through the wide spectrum of his catalog. He usually comes around these parts once a year, and every year, it seems he grows more comfortable with his voice; it feels like he is settling in as he hits his mid-fifties. He joked that he no longer bothers writing a set list because it always fell by the wayside after the first song. He is an artist who plays what he wants (and what the crowd wants: when asked, I will suggest a song, so thanks for playing "Primavera"). When singing "See You Soon," Luka switched to a perfectly pitched falsetto held up by fifty-five years of love, loss, and life. It went to my bones and hushed the crowd for that beat after the guitar's last note stopped moving through the theater.