A Concert Review:  Shawn Colvin & Steve Earle at MIM

“Shawn Colvin and Steve Earle stand alone as premiere American artists yet stood together for this moment in time as fellow travelers on the highway of folk music tradition.” “Stories & Songs” (A Review)

By Kyle Harris

On Sunday night May 25th, the Phoenix MIM hosted two of America’s premiere songwriters, each with a hit-studded, award-winning provenance. Their individual writing style, musical sensibilities and performance aesthetic are entirely divergent, yet they found common ground several times in this performance that gave fans of each artist what they came to witness.

Shawn Colvin

Shawn Colvin is a self-described creator of “break-up” songs. Crafted through her life experience and lyrical sensitivity, then delivered via one of the most intriguing voices in the world of singer/songwriterdom, she creates true art. This is validated both by Grammy Awards and by number one singles. The audience was also witness to Colvin’s demonstration of singing mastery, illustrating that harmony is not subjugation, but empowerment.

Steve Earle comes with an entirely different creative perspective drawn from an experientially rich and sometimes turbulent life. Musically, Earle exploded onto the country music scene with the hugely successful “Guitar Town” in 1986, ranked as one of the Rolling Stone’s 500 best records of all time. His focus and power as a songwriter has deepened, becoming more acute and insightful over the years.

Steve Earle

On this Sunday evening in Phoenix, Colvin and Earle took the stage opening with a duo rendition of the Everly Brothers’ “Wake Up Little Susie”. It was a loose but energized rendition that won audience approval. Earle then set up “Devil’s Right Hand” with a personal story about how the song’s lyrical intent has not changed over the years, but his personal stance on gun control has.

Colvin introduced herself with personal anecdotes about failed relationships and then performed “Another Long One” which was very well received. Earle got the first real breakthrough response with a soulful rendition of “Goodbye”, and Colvin kept the audience entranced with “A Matter of Minutes”.

“Stories and Songs” was truth in advertising. Rather than just introducing the next song with a simple, short personal anecdote, each artist took the time to grant the audience access to their creative process by offering an expanded glimpse of their personal history as it related to a given song. This, of course, is not common practice in a concert performance, but the balance of ‘Story” to “Song” felt about right. The MIM Theater is also to be noted for a design that effectively blurs the line between stage and seat, mandating intimacy.

The concert had many noteworthy moments, including Earle’s very personalized version of Townes Van Zandt’s epic “Pancho and Lefty” with a deep illumination of the lyrics. “Fearless Heart”, and “City of Immigrants” also enjoyed enthusiastic applause. Earle epitomizes the true songwriter/folk tradition that requires the song must first stand on its own without embellishment. For this Phoenix audience it is worth noting that Earle apologized for his participation in an artists boycott of our state during the SB 1070 immigration law controversy. Apology accepted.

Colvin had deservedly strong responses to “Crazy” and “Sunny Came Home”. She is known for recordings that feature meticulously stunning production that defines how a vocalist should be placed in a mix. Alone, armed only with a guitar and her profoundly elegant voice, she is complete. But it was the duo performances that received the heartiest response. “Someday”, “Burnin’ It Down”, “Galway Girl”, and of course, “Copperhead Road” ignited the audience.

Shawn Colvin and Steve Earle stand alone as premiere American artists yet stood together for this moment in time as fellow travelers on the highway of folk music tradition.

June 9, 2014

Contact the editor at Editor@MusicAndMoreAZ.com.