Songwriter John Hiatt goes it solo at Wolfe Auditorium

by Carol Mallett

Thursday February 21, 2002, Asheville Citizen-Times

John Hiatt's show here tonight at Thomas Wolfe Auditorium is nothing too fancy.

"Just me and an acoustic guitar, a solo performance," the singer-songwriter said. "About once a year, I like to break it back down to basics."

Not many artists can hold their own on a big stage with just a guitar. John Hiatt can. A roots rocker with an R & B bent, Hiatt's making his first visit to town, with singer Maura O'Connell opening.

Bob Dylan, Bonnie Raitt, Jewel, Iggy Pop, Willie Nelson, rockers to Mississippi Delta blues men have recorded Hiatt's songs. From his first hit in '74 for Three Dog Night to B.B. King and Eric Clapton's recent Grammy for his song "Riding with the King," he's best known for his 25 years of songwriting. But once you've heard him, you know Hiatt's got the magic.

He's also got a keen sense of observation, and he used it to find the title for his latest album "The Tiki Bar is Open."

"I'm from Indiana and Daytona's where everyone went for spring break," he said. "It was a mystical place, madras, penny loafers, girls in bikinis, funk. I drove by a sign that said, `The Tiki Bar is Open.'" So he borrowed it for the new disc.

His voice is warm and charming, and his words are clever and quick as he speaks. And he's handsome on stage, with the air of a man who's traveled Route 66 cross country in a muscle car, comfortable with his suit, guitar and dark glasses. He's dangerously cool, holding his own and aging well.

But he's not just about male macho stuff. His love songs are stunning. "Angel Eyes" was a top five hit for the Jeff Healy Band and a hit again later for New Grass Revival. Bonnie Raitt's cover of "Thing Called Love" topped the charts in '89. Linda Ronstadt, Emmylou Harris and more have made tears flow singing his songs. But when he sings his own material, it's special, heart wrenching - like he wrote it so we'd know, interpreting it for us.

His voice is smooth and yet sometimes has the gravel of the blues man. A Gibson J-45 acoustic guitar is his usual tool, sometimes a Taylor 12-string too. Hiatt talks about them lovingly. His other passion is racing.

"I race. I've been at race week. I race a Hobby Division, a step up from Legend Cars," he explained. "It's called the Pro-Challenge Two. We just raced at Orlando Speedway, and I won it. I'm the winner of the Winter National Pro Challenge," he said.

Irish singer Maura O'Connell is opening. A star in her own right, she came to the U.S. in the early '80s fronting for the Irish traditional band DeDanaan, touring the folk festival circuit. It started a long love affair with this country and a successful recording career as a solo artist.

She's as liable to sing a rock song as a traditional Irish tune. With a large personality and a high-spirited, uninhibited presence on stage, her clear soprano voice is wonderfully melodic, dramatic with a huge range.

The combination of the two acts makes for a night of strong personalities, quirky charm and probably some surprises. "I'll be playing stuff from all over the map," said Hiatt. His latest record is a retrospective, covering a lot of life territory. A remarkable storyteller, he covers everything from what to say to old girlfriends to drugs, whores and the wild sexual escapades of his youth. There's a tribute to his sister-in-law, who died of breast cancer a few years ago. It's an unpredictable but sumptuous mix. "Solo doesn't mean it's folk music; it rocks," said Hiatt, describing what people will hear. "It's rock and roll. They'll get it." Carol Mallett writes about music for the Citizen-Times.