John Hiatt Hits The Note During Career Spanning Show At Sellersville Theatre (SHOW REVIEW)

John Hiatt took the stage, smiled, and offered “How ya doing? It’s great to be back” to a respectful, attentive sold-out Sellersville Theater (PA) audience, many of whom were well familiar with his iconic songs that stretch back now into four decades. With a few gestures and a few jokes, it was clear that Hiatt came to play with enthusiasm, belying the phrase he used on one of his albums, ‘Beneath This Gruff Exterior,’ even before he strapped on his acoustic and harmonica in the rack for the opening “Real Fine Love.” The show was billed as “John Hiatt – Acoustic – The Eclipse Sessions,” the latter referring to his album of that name released about a year ago this same time. However, we heard just a few of those tunes as this show on November 10th moved toward his most well-known songs, especially in the latter half, songs from “the last century.”

As Hiatt moved through his set, with his guitar tech swapping out each acoustic, he was in command of every move, knowing exactly what he was going to do next. Like the best solo acoustic performers such as Neil Young and Rodney Crowell, Hiatt had a plan. He may have detoured from his setlist once but even that seemed like part of the scheme. We’ve heard so many of his songs so many times, often covered by other artists, that it was a treat to hear Hiatt add his own inflections and infectious energy to them. He did 19, and with the encore of “Memphis in the Meantime,” count 20. One could not help but marvel at the strength of his iconic catalog but also realizing that he could just as easily do another ten shows or more with 20 different and equally strong songs each time.

Hiatt clearly appreciated the engaged calm of the Sellersville audience, which, unlike many crowds, doesn’t have the obnoxious fans calling out requests each tune. Sure, there was some of that but very little. Hiatt showed some humility too in his straightforward, sometimes witty banter, confessing to being nervous on his second song, “All the Way to the River” from The Eclipse Sessions, thereby leaving out two verses. Heck, if he was nervous, it certainly didn’t show. Six songs in, we heard a rocking (is there any other way to do it?) version of “Perfectly Good Guitar,” highlighted by his high whistling in the instrumental break. Three songs later, we heard “Slow Turning,” thus beginning a string of his most recognized songs.

Hiatt played his electric piano only twice, first on the evocative ballad “Is Anybody There” and of course for the closer, ”Have a Little Faith,”, which he introduced by saying “Thanks for having faith in me all these years.” Between “Slow Turning,” the ninth one in set and that one, we heard some gems from Bring the Family and Slow Turning, breakout albums from the late ‘80s that still have the most enduring popularity in his prolific discography. He introduced “Drive South,” by saying that it was usually the kickoff song on his reunion tour last year with The Goners. He also indicated there will be some 2020 dates with that band -Sonny Landreth (guitars), Dave Ranson (bass) and Kenneth Blevins (drums). Also included were “Tennessee Plates,” “Feels Like Rain,” “Thing Called Love,” and the encore “Memphis in the Meantime.”

As we listened to these songs, we heard the echoes of Gregg Allman, Buddy Guy. Rosanne Cash, Rodney Crowell, B.B. King, Emmylou, and even Conway Twitty, among many others – yes, count more than 700 renditions of Hiatt’s songs by various artists over the years. More people have probably heard Hiatt’s songs covered by others than have heard him perform them directly. He doesn’t have the perfect voice. He never has, it can by growling, froggy, or just a bit off-pitch at times but he compensates with his oft surprising and harsh intonations and unexpected quips.  His material is deeply personal, and one gets the sense it comes out just a little bit different, each time he performs it. That’s why seeing him solo is so special.

Photo by Tina Pastor

 

Related Content

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Recent Posts

New to Glide

Keep up-to-date with Glide

Twitter