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 John Hiatt |
 John Hiatt & Shawn Colvin |
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Story and photos by Matt Schwenke Billed as a night of music from World Cafe standouts John Hiatt and Shawn Colvin, the pairing at the Pabst Theatre would take advantage of the venue's fine acoustics, but the difference in mood and energy from Colvin's sleepy opening set to Hiatt's blusterous performance was like getting a blast of ice cold water in your morning shower.Joking with the crowd that it was her job to bring them down before Hiatt brought them back up, Colvin did just that with hushed vocals over sleepy folk guitar, as in "Summer Dress," before picking up the pace ever so slightly with "That Don't Worry Me Now," "Bonefields," and her popular "Sunny Came Home" to end her set. Down or not, the crowd cheered on for an encore, but even with Hiatt joining Colvin for her encore, the energy was still oddly sedated. In stark contrast, Hiatt got the crowd hootin' and hollerin' early with "Perfectly Good Guitar." Immediately engaged with the crowd, Hiatt's mastery of storytelling was evident in the switch from the soulful and serious "Crossing Muddy Waters," where Hiatt's voice faded in and out above surging acoustic guitar, to the humorous and catchy "The Tiki Bar Is Open," where Hiatt culled many a chuckle from the audience. Donning an electric guitar, Hiatt neared some Stevie Ray Vaughn blues style sounds with "It'll Come to You," while the acoustic-driven "Cry Love" featured Hiatt's fiery strumming and trademark howl. Other notables from the set included the crowd-pleasing "Tennessee Plates" and the double shot of blues in "Memphis in the Meantime." |
 John Hiatt |
 Shawn Colvin |
