Shawn Colvin Charms At Union Chapel

by | Sep 27, 2023

Shawn Colvin has been to the UK many times. In fact, she regales us with tales of how her early days of playing and touring had her shipped out to London for the final European leg of Suzanne Vega’s 1987 Solitude Standing tour where Colvin’s excitement at learning the backing vocals she was sent out to perform (for $750 a week!) was not reflected by a tired and weary touring crew.

Shawn Colvin @ Union Chapel

Shawn Colvin (Kalpesh Patel)
Shawn Colvin (Kalpesh Patel)

But tonight’s solo show, the last on Colvin’s current UK run, comes at the latter end of a delightful career that has seen the South Dakota-born singer-songwriter and multi-instrumentalist release 10 solo studio albums, her 1996 highlight – A Few Small Repairs – going on to be certified Platinum in the US and being a core draw of the Lilith Fair concert series in the late 1990s, focusing on promoting female artists in a male-dominated music festival landscape (sound familiar?).

Both the solo-nature of the night, with Colvin accompanied by her own acoustic-guitar playing for the most part (a couple of piano-driven songs thrown in towards the end), and the majestic Chapel venue with its fully-seated audience, lend to a more subdued feeling. The songs themselves are often preceded with a tale from Colvin that, in many cases, is longer than the actual song that follows! Colvin has brought two acoustic guitars tonight, but the varied nature of the tunings for each of her delicately-crafted songs leads to much time spent fiddling with tunings and capos with no guitar tech to hand.

Rowland Sally classic Killing The Blues kicks off the 67-year-old’s set, which goes on to be made up of covers and original tunes. Fast finger-picking and guitar-tapping lead into A Few Small Repairs tune Trouble before “travelogue song” Polaroids from 1992’s Fat City is delivered, proceeded with the first of many tales, this one about Colvin’s move to New York City in the 1980s at the invitation of friend and collaborator Buddy Miller. Just as we think she’s about to start the song however, Colvin dives back into more of her very-detailed back story. A huge cheer rings out across the Chapel as the song is eventually kicked-off, the third song commencing a good 20 minutes into her set.

Shotgun Down the Avalanche is the first of four tunes tonight taken from Colvin’s 1989 debut Steady On, silence from the crowd as they bask in the gorgeously sad tune. “There’s nothing I like better than doing a cover song, because I’m such a fan” the Carbondale, Illinois-hailing singer says as she dives deep into Beatles classic I’ll Be Back. “The original of that was kinda perky” she jests at her subdued rendition’s conclusion.

Debut record tune Diamond In The Rough is preceded by an enchanting tale of how Colvin drew her first album cover at the age of 14. “I knew I’d be singing sad-ass songs for the rest of my life!”, chuckles spilling out across her audience. “This is another ‘guy who done me wrong’ song” she says, introducing The Facts About Jimmy. “It’s a deep well” she continues drily, the tale continuing to extend as Colvin fiddles with her tuning.

She ups the audience participation by soliciting requests, “right now I’m not doing any of those” she responds as the yells die down, delivering on them later in the night. Debut record tune Cry Like An Angel continues the music, dedicated to the singer’s friends before the sole cut from her 2006 record These Four Walls is offered by way of That Don’t Worry Me Now, we learn that the music for the tune was written but the lyrics simply weren’t coming ahead of the album needing to wrap, and so Colvin lent on a PBS documentary about Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. for inspiration.

A rendition of The Band’s 1975 single Twilight is offered next, following multiple requests for the tune from the audience, the song’s writer Robbie Robertson’s passing away just last month alluded to by Colvin. A lovely acoustic rendition of Colvin’s 1996 hit single Sunny Came Home is offered next and garners the biggest cheer of the night so far, the tune preceded by the tale of frequent collaborator Steve Earle praising the song as “the ultimate break-up song”.

“Can you repeat those requests just one more time?” Colvin requests, and her audience responding thick and fast. “I can do some cover stuff for you that will make your head spin” she offers before diving into Tom Waits’ 1975 tune (Looking for) The Heart of Saturday Night. “It’s not Saturday night though” she quips, kicking off the tune but leaning hard on her audience to offer up lyrics as she constantly forgets them.

Fat City single I Don’t Know Why is introduced as “the first song I ever really wrote”, following Colvin’s move to New York City in the winter of 1980, couch-surfing with band members to save money before the singer moves across the stage to sit behind the upright piano that has sat untouched so far this evening for 1996 tune If I Were Brave and a cover of Tom Waits song Ol’ 55. “She’s going to play the piano, no one requested the piano, what is she doing?!” Colvin jests.

She picks up her guitar one last time to round out the night with Steady On single Ricochet In Time, her audience watching enamoured and keen to be upstanding in applause for what has truly been an enchanting, if somewhat elongated, night of music and banter.

  • Shawn Colvin @ Union Chapel
  • Shawn Colvin @ Union Chapel
  • Shawn Colvin @ Union Chapel
  • Shawn Colvin @ Union Chapel
  • Shawn Colvin @ Union Chapel
  • Shawn Colvin @ Union Chapel
  • Shawn Colvin @ Union Chapel
  • Shawn Colvin @ Union Chapel
  • Shawn Colvin @ Union Chapel
  • Shawn Colvin @ Union Chapel
  • Shawn Colvin @ Union Chapel
  • Shawn Colvin @ Union Chapel
  • Shawn Colvin @ Union Chapel

Live review and photography of Shawn Colvin @ Union Chapel by Kalpesh Patel on 25th September 2023.

Outstanding Performance By Tash Sultana At The Hammersmith Apollo

Ash (Andy Willsher)

Ash Share Double A-Side Single With Graham Coxon And Announce UK Instore Shows Ahead Of Ad Astra

Northern Irish rock stalwarts Ash have released a brand-new double A-side single, Which One Do You Want? / Fun People...
Chance Pena (Louie Nice)

Chance Peña Shares Sophomore Album ‘When I Change My Mind I Don’t Mean It‘ and Confirms UK Tour Dates With Tom Odell

Texas-born indie-folk artist Chance Peña has released his sophomore album When I Change My Mind I Don’t Mean It, out now via Columbia Records. The 14-track collection finds Peña leaning further into the poetic storytelling and emotive vocal style that has made him one of the most compelling young voices in modern folk.

TS7 (Press)

TS7 Teams Up with Katie May for Explosive New Single ‘Only One’

This summer has already been a big one for TS7, and now the Bradford-born DJ and producer is capping it off with a release fans have been demanding: Only One. The track sees him reimagine Katie May’s 2007 underground classic You’re Not The Only One, this time with Katie herself returning on vocals.

Matt Berninger @ Troxy (Abigail Shii)

Matt Berninger Crosses An Inland Ocean At Troxy

Matt Berninger last performed in London just a few months ago. But a lot's changed since then. When he played an...
The Boojums (Christine Latter)

Nova Scotia Trio The Boojums Announce Debut Album And Release First Single ‘Wings Of Fire’

Nova Scotia rock trio The Boojums have announced details of their self-titled debut album, set for release on 31st October via Having Fun Records, a new imprint of Toronto’s We Are Busy Bodies. The first taste of the record arrives with lead single Wings Of Fire, out now.

Will Linley (Press)

Will Linley Shares New Single ‘Up At Night’ Ahead Of Debut Album ‘Don’t Cry Because It’s Over’

Rising South African singer-songwriter Will Linley has released his brand new single Up At Night, the latest preview of his forthcoming debut album Don’t Cry Because It’s Over, which arrives on 5th September via Island Records.

Andrew Spice (Miss Moço)

Andrew Spice Returns After 22 Years With New Album ‘With Animals’

Canadian singer-songwriter Andrew Spice has released his long-awaited second album With Animals, arriving an astonishing 22 years after his 2002 debut Pretty Demons. While the obvious next step would have been a quick follow-up, life took Spice in a different direction: instead of chasing a music career, he trained and built a practice as a clinical psychologist. Now, more than two decades later, he has found his way back to music with a record that fuses both sides of his journey—artist and healer.

Infinite Coles (Robot Moonjuice)

Infinite Coles Unveils Self-Love Anthem ‘BGM’ With Vibrant Puerto Rico-Shot Visuals

NYC-born singer, performer, and model Infinite Coles returns today with his new single BGM, a soulful, house-infused...

Pin It on Pinterest

Share This

Share Thing