Can We Talk 2

Mary Chapin Carpenter

         Ya-a-a-ay! I got to see Mary Chapin in concert Sunday night. It was not a huge crowd, because it was an old movie house theater. But it was a full house. Every seat was sold in advance! And it was a lengthy one.

         The warm up band was all girls, Laura Cortesi and the Dance Cards. Laura writes a lot of her own music, plays the fiddle and guitar and sings in a wide range. They are hard to classify. Capable of doing a hoe down number or bluegrass, they are not really a country band, but not pop by any means. They are very versatile and talented. Apparently, they are big fans of Carpenter and enjoyed touring with her for about a month. For live entertainment, they are a great little group.

         Carpenter is celebrating 30 years of making music professionally. Her tour for this year is winding down for a winter break. Her pianist has been with her since the beginning. One guitarist has been with her at least half that time. There are only two others, one terrific drummer and another younger guitarist. Her other regular on stage doesn't perform. He's her guitar tech, Brad, and tunes her guitars during her numbers, so that she has a freshly tuned guitar for each song. That's part of the show. When she's done taking her bows, she quickly turns and hands off a guitar to Brad who is now mid-stage, ready. It's a smooth and fast move, well-rehearsed.

         I haven't seen pictures of her lately, so I was surprised that her hair is so long, and still so blond! And she's shorter than I expected. But that deep voice is still pure. The show starts off song after song without interruption. Then she starts to talk like most performers do between numbers. She doesn't get political like some. She stays focused on performing and on the music. In smaller venues, she lets people ask questions. (Or backstage later, like at our place, the people with the really pricey tickets can gather for photos and brief talk.) She told us one guy asked if the guitars were real or just props. A lady asked if she believed in alien life forms on other planets. (Really, you'd ask a singer that?) Another asked if a particular song was a real song or if she wrote it. So she told us the next number was "a real song, and, yes, I wrote it, d--- it."

         She thanked the audience for supporting live music. There is something special and intimate about the interaction between the audience and the performer that just isn't there on a CD or telephone. Mary is still at the top of her game. Everyone enjoyed the show. So glad that we got the thrill of hearing her live. Great time.