Table 125 –
dead center, second row of tables in the raised rear section. (We had the
number I82 and they started at I57, so were the 26th group to get
in.)
As was the
case at Wolf Trap this summer, it’s good to see Mary Chapin Carpenter playing
with a full band again. Longtime bandmate Don Dixon prowled the stage with his
electric bass, while Jon Carroll and Johnny Duke impressed with their solo work
(piano and guitar, respectively), especially on “I Feel Lucky” and “The Bug”
near the end of the main set. (Drummer Nate Barnes was great throughout.) I was
also delighted that they included “I Know You Know”, which is my favorite track
from her latest album. She did change a few lyrics in light of recent events: “We
doctor the receipt” (from my all-time favorite “Stones in the Road”) is now “We
posted a tweet”, and a different “celebrity” (no longer a musician) has his
hand on her thigh in “I Feel Lucky”.
Rose Cousins
started with a 45-minute opening set accompanying herself on guitar and piano,
with mostly self-written material somewhat reminiscent of Mary Chapin in her
more contemplative moments. (She joked with the audience at one point that
doing happy, upbeat material was “not her job”.) I wasn’t terribly surprised
when she mentioned that she was from Prince Edward Island, since her voice
reminded me of fellow Canadian Kathleen Edwards. The north-of-the-border
connection was further strengthened by her one cover, Gordon Lightfoot’s “If
You Could Read My Mind”.
