Mary Chapin Carpenter in Dublin

If you were hoping for Mary Chapin Carpenter's greatest hits, last night's concert at the National Concert Hall, Dublin, was not the concert for you. The artist is currently on a UK and Ireland tour with her friend Shawn Colvin, and they chose to do lesser known songs, covers and numbers from their respective new albums. It was my first opportunity ever to see Mary Chapin Carpenter live and I was looking forward to it. I didn't know Shawn Colvin at all, and I have to admit I was disappointed not to get more of Chapin Carpenter's better known songs. That said, I enjoyed discovering Colvin, a fabulous voice (a much higher register than Chapin Carpenter), and a performer who enjoys being on stage. But I found that, because they took it in turns to sing (sometimes accompanying each other, sometimes not), it broke the flow of the evening. They did a couple of smashing duets that worked well, and I also found that Colvin's voice was lovely in harmony to Chapin Carpenter's songs. The other way round didn't work so well. Maybe it was the miking, but Mary Chapin Carpenter's voice didn't come through very clear. I thought it was me, but BB thought the same.
Two fantastic performers. Beautiful music. A lovely evening. But somehow the sum of the parts didn't quite add up. Give us more of the greatest hits, please!