Lyle Lovett and John Hiatt: One Great Concert

“Look around and you will see; This world is full of creeps like Me…”
--Lyle Lovett, 1994

Wow, I will be the first to admit that I am not one easily persuaded by a particular band/artist on a cursory listen, but I am changed musically and more than impressed with the concert that Jen and I attended last week at the Bloomington Center for Performing Arts Theater.

We saw the BoDeans for my birthday in December and we heard that Lyle Lovett and John Hiatt were going to do an acoustic show in February; and I kind of begged Jen to go with me. She thought it would be a nice Valentines gift, since the show was on February 10, and we have decided to not buy gifts for each other, but rather go out to a show on our respected holidays. She was not expecting much as she knew who Lovett was—some quirky country/blues guy that was once married to Julia Roberts and a guy who appeared on my Clay Pigeons Soundtrack, while she had no idea who John Hiatt was. I downloaded a few songs of Hiatt from a freebie website that were more duets with Elvis Costello (Live a Little, Laugh a Little) and She Loves the Jerk, which Costello did a demo of that appears on the Goodbye Cruel World CD. She liked those songs, and we had read that the two have an interplay on stage that had as much affection and humor as it did musicianship. Besides, these guys were doing an acoustic show, so how offensive could it be? Since my recent dips into the darker forays of metal and hard rock, Jen was hesitant.

We both went to the show, looking forward to a relaxing evening; little did we know that we would walk out bonafide fans of Lovett and Hiatt. It was as if two gentlemen plied their craft with some friendly competition and jokes on their back porch and we, the audience, were fortunate enough to witness the friends sharing a laugh and having some fun.

The facial expressions and commentaries were what we really did not expect. They talked at length about their songs, their story-telling ways, and their characters. They also complimented one another quite readily and seemed to enjoy listening to the other’s music. Mutual appreciation aside, the music had a completely intimate and warm tone.

Lovett is the more demure of the two, but his jokes are right on while Hiatt is the more upfront and welcoming. They thrilled us with a fine assortment of musical accomplishments including: Creeps Like Me, If I had A Boat, Fiona, Private Conversations, My Baby Don’t Tolerate, LA County, and Family Reserve from Lovett; and Feels Like Rain, Slow Turning, Have A Little Faith In Me, Thunderbird, Tennessee Plates, and Thing Called Love (a hit for Bonnie Raitt) from Hiatt among others from both in the two and a half hour extravaganza.

I went home, calmer with a greater appreciation of music and the artists who performed them. I also went home wishing I could play a guitar. I did the next best thing and downloaded some songs by both on ITunes and decided to abandon my metal-esque quest for a bit and listen to some craftsman hone their skills and tell me a story about life.

Most would probably agree the change is probably a wise choice.