MUSIC

16 VOXMAGAZINE.COM • 10.31.13

PLAYING TO A CROWD OF 1,200 would be impressive on its own, but to entertain on stage with just an acoustic guitar is something only a music industry veteran could pull off. On Sunday, longtime friends and accomplished solo artists Mary Chapin Carpenter and Shawn Colvin will share the Missouri Theatre stage for a University Concert series performance.

With a combined 22 albums and eight Grammy awards, this pair knows what it’s doing under the bright stage lights. They’ll bring their stripped-down sets to Columbia for an intimate acoustic evening of Americana music. This setting will amplify each singer-songwriter’s personal and lyrically powerful music.

Carpenter’s June 2012 release, Ashes and Roses, is a product of the challenges she faced over the past few years. The album chronicles a divorce, a health scare due to a pulmonary embolism and her father’s death.

“I went through some very difficult times, and the songs came from those experiences,” Carpenter says. “I think that any creative endeavor is something that you can use in your life to help you get through things, to express yourself, to feel a sense of understanding about your feelings as well as how you relate to the world.”

Colvin’s latest album, All Fall Down, also came out in June 2012 and conveys a sense of loss, and ultimately, resolution. Although she describes this work in an interview on her website as a quintessential “breakup album,” don’t worry — it goes much deeper than the typical breakup song.

Nathan Anderson, assistant director at University Concert Series, saw the importance of booking the two acclaimed musicians to play at the Missouri Theatre because their acoustic show would be a big draw.

“They were two of the pioneering artists of the Lilith Fair era in the ’90s, and it’s not often you get two songwriters and performers that go out together like this,” he says.

After nearly a year and a half of touring together, Carpenter and Colvin are more comfortable than ever sharing the stage. The two first met in a club in Washington, D.C., in the ’80s. Carpenter says she loved the music Colvin played, and they became friends.

It’s this musical chemistry and the up-close-and-personal acoustic set that fans are looking forward to. Penny Zahurones saw the two perform together at the Kauffman Center in Kansas City last March and anticipates another great performance.

“They’ve been friends for over 30 years, so they have a camaraderie that’s unmatched,” Zahurones says. “I mean, the banter on the stage is very entertaining and hilarious, and they just know each other really well. Their voices together are perfect; they’re an excellent combination.”

Even after decades of playing together and months being on the road in front of audiences, it’s this supportive bond that keeps the Carpenter and Colvin show running.

+ KARA QUILL

Simply stringsShawn Colvin and Mary Chapin Carpenter team up

for an acoustic set at the Missouri Theatre

Acclaimed musicians Shawn Colvin and Mary Chapin Carpenter will go acoustic at the Missouri Theatre on Sunday. Both released new albums last summer.

PHOTOS COURTESY OF SHAWN COLVIN AND MARY CHAPIN CARPENTER

We can only listen to “Monster Mash” and “Purple People Eater” so many times before we turn into actual zombies and start eating our own feet. Chloie Piveral, seasonal worker for Gotcha Costumes, has the antidote to those song slumps with more than four hours of music on her personal Halloween playlist. If you can’t stop by the store to hear her tunes being played over the sound system, check out her favorite macabre melodies for yourself.

+ ALEX STEWART

“MOON OVER BOURBON STREET” by Sting

Written in response to the novel Interview with the Vampire by Anne Rice, “this is just plain good music,” Piveral says.

“WEREWOLVES OF LONDON” by Warren Zevon

This 1978 classic rock jam is a quintessential song that brings a more adult vibe to your party playlist.

“SNEAKY FREAK” OR “PSYCHO” by Imelda May

These tunes are modern, upbeat and creepy rockabilly. “Psycho” is a tongue-in-cheek story about the trials of being in love with a psycho. “Sneaky Freak” is just fun, Piveral says.

“BELA LUGOSI’S DEAD” by Bauhaus

“Bauhaus is a classic goth band,” Piveral says. Released in 1979, this single is considered the first song of the gothic rock genre. The title references famous horror actor Bela Lugosi, who played the original Dracula.

“HELL” by Squirrel Nut Zippers

Piveral describes “Hell” as “fun swing music.” This single marked the peak of the Squirrel Nut Zippers’ career because of its eclectic calypso style.

“MY MAN’S AN UNDERTAKER” by Dinah Washington

This number is “dark but with some swing,” she says. “It’s about a woman who’s saying, ‘Listen, I don’t know what you’re saying about me, but my new boyfriend will bury you if you keep talking about me.’”

“JUMP IN THE LINE” by Harry Belafonte

This song should make you immediately think of the final scene in Beetlejuice when Winona Ryder’s character Lydia dances in midair after acing a math test.

“ORGAN DONOR”by DJ Shadow

The only electronica song on the list, Piveral says she likes that it features a modern DJ using creepy old organ music in a classic way.

Inside Tracks with Chloie Piveral

Gotcha Costumes aficionado shares her favorite creepy jams

Mary Chapin Carpenter &

Shawn ColvinWHERE: The Missouri Theatre

WHEN: Sunday, 7 p.m.

COST: $19–39

MU Student: $14–34

MU Group: $9.50–34

CALL: 882-3781

ONLINE: concertseries.org