By Joanie Cox-Henry
All Photos By Larry Marano ©
Mary Chapin Carpenter would like to remind people everywhere that no matter where you are in life, there is still always something worth chasing. I was fortunate enough to attend Mary Chapin Carpenter and Shawn Colvin's show Sept. 29 at the Amaturo Theater at Broward Center in Fort Lauderdale. I had no idea these two brilliant singer-songwriters have had a 36-year friendship but when you see how effortlessly they interact on stage, it's obvious how close they are. They finish each other's sentences and have nicknames for each other like "Sheila" and "Oprah." Chapin, who resides in the breathtaking Blue Ridge Mountains of Virginia had hits in the nineties with "Passionate Kisses," "He Thinks He'll Keep Her," "Down At The Twist And Shout" and "I Feel Lucky." However now at 65, Chapin is quick to remind audiences she's still discovering who she is and that she still has so much to say about life, love, loss, and all the moments in between.
With acoustic guitars slung over their shoulders and two red chairs behind them, Mary Chapin and Shawn Colvin opened their intimate Fort Lauderdale performance with a soul-quenching cover of Don Henley's "The End of The Innocence."
From the moment I entered the theater, I was told videos and photos weren't allowed. It was killing me that I couldn't capture this tender rendition of one of my most cherished songs but then there was something so liberating about these precious notes only being allowed to exist in this sacred moment. It's not something I often see enforced at shows
anymore, especially with phones in the air for the duration of a set. It allowed me to connect with the performers in an even deeper sense. My initial annoyance immediately shifted to gratitude and I settled in for an unforgettable night of acoustic harmonies that embraced my spirit like a hug from a friend I've been aching to see but hadn't gotten to in years. I was only one song in when I realized this was going to be a nourishing night of music unlike any other.
Colvin and Carpenter pen lyrics that get to the marrow of what makes all of us tick. Life is simple but it's our interactions with others that make things complicated.
Colvin has been married and divorced twice and Chapin who married and divorced once both know how to write about relationships and heartbreak better than most.
Colvin, who is now 67, has also lived enough life to know how to write a song that eloquently chronicles love's ups and downs. While many know Colvin for "Sunny Came Home," her 1996 anthem about burning down her house to release herself from the past, she is much more than that. Colvin performed her bittersweet ballad "Shotgun Down The Avalanche." The somber song is a metaphor for a faltering relationship. Once the embers burn out, it's difficult to get that fire back. Colvin nails that concept.
"Break-up songs are really where we set the bar," Colvin said during the Fort Lauderdale show.
Then Carpenter weighed in. "The sadder the better," Carpenter added. "Sad songs make me happy."
Carpenter also revealed she's been writing lyrics for a new album at her kitchen table, which is her favorite place to write. She was recently strolling along a country road in Virginia with her dog Angus when she says she came upon a woman with a long salt and paper braid driving in a vintage pickup truck with two dogs as her passengers. Carpenter says she was so inspired by the sight of this woman that she instantly wanted to be her. "In that moment, I had created this whole story about who she was and I loved her life," Carpenter says. "So I went home and wrote the song 'Girl And Her Dog.'"
Carpenter says she's been examining the often ageist undertones in society and particularly in the music industry. "How do you grow old gracefully in this business and in life?' Chapin ponders. "After turning 60, I really started thinking about those things. Seeing that woman in the truck with her dogs showed me there is always something to chase."
While Colvin took the house down with her powerful rendition of "Sunny Came Home" and Carpenter pleased the crowd with hits such as "Passionate Kisses" and "The Hard Way," the duo's unexpected cover of The Backstreet Boys' "I Want It That Way" was the highlight of the night. Carpenter called the cover "The ultimate guilty pleasure" and they proceeded to play little riffs of other pop culture classics such as "Stayin' Alive" by The Bee Gees and "That's The Way It Is" By Celine Dion.
While both Colvin and Carpenter are profoundly deep songwriters, these two women also share a passion for the environment. When Carpenter performed "I Feel Lucky," she changed the lyrics in her live version to "I bought you all electric cars." In an effort to reduce single-use plastic waste, the women are proudly utilizing reusable water bottles throughout the tour and even had the Liberty bottles for sale on their merch table. A portion of the proceeds from the sale of the bottles also benefit the American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals.
Swapping stories and songs, this show is a rare chance to get a closer look at Colvin and Carpenter and the depth of the music they have to offer. This show was honestly like getting to see them in a Nashville listening room. There are also plenty of comedic moments like when an audience screamed out to Carpenter "I love your boots" and Carpenter proceeded to sashay across the stage modeling her sparkly red-bottomed Christian Louboutin boots with flippable sequins. Colvin and Carpenter go together like peanut butter and jelly or hummus and carrots and it's exactly what we all need right now.
For the latest Mary Chapin Carpenter and Shawn Colvin tour dates, visit https://www.marychapincarpenter.com/tour.
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