John Hiatt & Shawn Colvin @ Wolf Trap

John Hiatt w/Shawn Colvin
Aug. 16, 2007
Wolf Trap, Vienna, Va.

John Hiatt, who is a frequent visitor to Wolf Trap, was pleased to be back last Thursday night. He was particularly impressed with the amphitheater’s acoustics.

“It’s like singing in your own giant shower,” Hiatt said after opening with an energetic performance of “Drive South” from his 1988 album, “Slow Turning.” Hiatt joked about how he would be singing the parts of all Three Tenors.

In seriousness, Hiatt was in excellent voice throughout the night. He sang with the unrestrained joy that you figure even Grammy nominees reserve for their bathrooms. It came as little surprise that Hiatt made himself at home. After more than 30 years as a recording artist and more than 20 since he pulled himself out of the depths of substance abuse to become a revered roots musician, Hiatt is as comfortable in his own skin as he would be within the confines of his own tiled walls.

He also appears to be as at ease performing for an audience of several thousand as he might be conducting a house concert. Hiatt is unquestionably professional, but his set had a casual appearance from his untucked shirt and jeans to the song selection.

Hiatt as usual played a sampling of old favorites such as “Through Your Hands,” “Your Dad Did,” “Crossing Muddy Waters” and “Cry Love.” Noticeably absent was “Thing Called Love,” which he usually plays if only to mention Bonnie Raitt’s version that put two Hiatt kids through college. With a catalog as wide and well-respected at Hiatt’s, though, playing all of the favorites is just out of the question.

If a few classics got left out, they were replaced by a couple of pleasant surprises. About midway through his set, Hiatt walked over to his keyboard. At past shows, this would be when he might play “Have a Little Faith in Me,” a favorite of longtime fans and wedding-mix compilers. Instead, Hiatt sat down, scratched his head in thought and said, “This is an old one.” He then played an impassioned version of “Love Like Blood” from 1983’s “Bring the Family.” (He did come back and play “Have a Little Faith in Me” during the encore). Also, in response to a request, Hiatt performed his tale of young outlaws, “Trudy and Dave,” from “Slow Turning.”

Hiatt also bent the unwritten solo singer-songwriter rules by strapping on an electric guitar for back-to-back tunes. He turned in a shimmering, soulful take on “Feels Like Rain” and backed it up with a rocking “Tennessee Plates.”

Hiatt also took the opportunity to try out new material from his next album, which he said he hopes to release in March. He gave no titles for the three new songs, but they were rooted in territory well familiar to Hiatt: settling down, the acceptance of your family and the value of good love and good dogs.

Opener Shawn Colvin played a 13-song set showcasing her soothing voice and excellent guitar accompaniment. Highlights included a cover of Donovan’s “Catch the Wind”; “Fill Me Up” and the title track from her latest disc, “These Four Walls”; the 1997 Grammy winner “Sunny Came Home; and a cover of Gnarls Barkley’s “Crazy.” Like Hiatt an experienced performer, Colvin has perfected comedic timing. After mentioning earlier in the set that she had been watching the Metallica documentary “Some Kind of Monster” on the tour bus, she later leaned into the microphone and, in her best James Hetfield growl, said, “This monster lives.”

Colvin ended her portion of the show by bringing Hiatt out to join her on “Let it Slide” from her latest disc. He returned the favor at the end of the night, as Colvin joined him for “You Must Go” and “Slow Turning.” Colvin at one point reached over and twisted a peg on Hiatt’s guitar until they were in tune. It was a sure sign that they were as comfortable with one another as they have become at entertaining their fans.

Set lists
Shawn Colvin:
Catch the Wind
Fill Me Up
These Four Walls
Trouble
Polaroids
Shotgun Down the Avalanche
Wichita Skyline
Summer Dress
Sunny Came Home
I’m Gone
Round of Blues
Encore
Crazy
Let it Slide (w/John Hiatt)

John Hiatt:
Drive South
Through Your Hands
New song (“I just want to go home with you …”)
Your Dad Did
Lift Up Every Stone
New song (“How ‘Bout those Dogs”?)
Crossing Muddy Waters
Cry Love
Love Like Blood
Trudy and Dave
Feels Like Rain
Tennessee Plates
New song (“That’s What Love Can Do”?)
Memphis in the Meantime
Encore
Have a Little Faith in Me
You Must Go (w/Shawn Colvin)
Slow Turning (w/Shawn Colvin)