Just Four Guys and Four Guitars

So, we hit the first concert of the year last night, and, based on how good this show was, it's going to be a good year for live music!

Guy Clark, Joe Ely, John Hiatt, and Lyle Lovett. Four guys. Four songwriting legends. Four guitars. It doesn't get any better than this.

They sat in a row on the stage and took turns, one after the other, sharing songs. From time to time, one of them would jump in to do some harmony vocals or a guitar solo for one of the others. (One of my only quibbles about the show was that there wasn't more of this kind of interaction.)

Song selection ranged from old classics to newer stuff. Guy Clark did several of my favorites, including the inimitable "Dublin Blues" and "Magdalene," my favorite off his most recent release. Lovett performed a brand new song, whish will be part of his upcoming release. John Hiatt made me really happy with songs from Slow Turning and Crossing Muddy Waters, my two most favorite of his albums. I'm not as familiar with Joe Ely's work, but last night showed me I need to rectify that, pronto!

It was a truly great night of music, even if it came to an end sooner that I would have wanted. With four of them switching off singing duties, there wasn't a need for an intermission, so they played straight through for an hour and a half. This gave them four passes down the line, plus an ensemble finale of Townes Van Zandt's classic "White Freightliner Blues." I would have preferred to have one more pass through the song-sharing before the finale, but I'm just selfish like that.

It was a great start for the 2007 concert calendar! Next up: Todd Snider returns to Louisville.