Grammy winner Kathy Mattea played the Irvine Barclay Theatre on the campus of UC Irvine Saturday night (March 30th) for a crowd that was completely enraptured by her performance.
In between songs, she pondered the UCI Anteater mascot, wondering about the similarities between it and an anteater, much to the crowd's amusement. The "Eighteen Wheels and a Dozen Roses" singer confessed that as she's gotten older, her voice had changed, and she had to re-learn how to sing.
She must have been successful in that endeavor, as she sounds as pure and elegant as ever. Her latest album, Pretty Bird, is an Americana collection of mostly-covers, including work from Bobbie Gentry, Joan Osborne, Mary Gauthier, and more, produced by bluegrass great Tim O'Brien, that fit in perfectly with her country hits like "Eighteen Wheels and a Dozen Roses," and "Where Have You Been," which Kathy explained was written by her husband, based on his grandparents. She noted that sometimes the more personal a story is, the more it universally connects.
Following her cover of Bobbie Gentry's "Ode to Billie Joe," she cautioned the audience that if they were thinking of bringing themselves to a dramatic end like titular character, they may wish to re-think that, as in actuality, the Tallahatchie Bridge is only ten feet high.
Intense songs like "Calling Me Home," "Time Passes By," and "October Song" were balanced out with more playful ones, like "Harley" (by request) and the Gillian Welch and David Rawlings-penned "455 Rocket."
After the show, Kathy made her way into the lobby to sign autographs and take pictures with the delighted audience.
Setlist:
1. St. Teresa (Joan Osborne cover)
2. Goin' Gone
3. Time Passes By
4. Love at the Five and Dime (Nanci Griffith cover)
5. Untold Stories
6. Chocolate On My Tongue (Wood Brothers cover)
7. October Song
8. Ode to Billie Joe (Bobbie Gentry cover)
9. Eighteen Wheels and a Dozen Roses
10. 455 Rocket
11. Calling Me Home
12. Harley
13. Mercy Now (Mary Gauthier cover)
14. Holy Now
15. I Can't Stand Up Alone
16. Come from the Heart
17. Pretty Bird (Hazel Dickens cover)
