by David Schultz

Webster Hall, one of the hipper night clubs in New York City, in their effort to expand their audience beyond the denizens of the dance floor, played host to a unique mix of the old and the new when John Hiatt shared his stage with the North Mississippi Allstars. The unique choice of venue was apropos to the unique mix present on stage. Where else to showcase a musician's-musician like Hiatt backed by one of the South's up and coming bands but at one of New York's larger night clubs?

The pairing of Indiana's Hiatt and Mississippi's Allstars is not as random as it may appear. Hiatt's new album Master of Disaster, was produced by legendary Memphis producer Jim Dickinson who enlisted his sons Luther and Cody, members of the Allstars, to contribute their talents to the album. The NMA, whose membership varies and grows with each performance, often rising to as many as a dozen members, were present this night in their core configuration with guitar wizard Luther Dickinson, Cody Dickinson on drums and Chris Chew on bass.

Seated along the front of the stage, Luther, with a phalanx of guitars, and the Allstars opened the show with a brief acoustic set. With Cody abandoning the drums for a guitar and Chew comfortably resting his ample bulk in a chair that resembled a love seat, the Allstars played a tight set highlighted by their set closer, an extended rendition of Po Black Maddie.

For all the musicianship brought to the stage by Chew and the Dickinson's, they were equaled by John Hiatt. Hiatt, a veteran performer, brings a strong presence to the stage and is as comfortable alone with a piano as he is fronting a band with guitar in hand. Although the set list was exclusively Hiatt's, this was definitely a collaborative performance with the Allstars receiving equal billing on the marquee. Luther Dickinson, who will occasionally lend his considerable slide guitar talents to bands like moe. and Robert Randolph, was given ample opportunity to solo and added a spark that is oftentimes missing from Hiatt's recorded material.

This is a tour in support of a new release and Hiatt devoted a good portion of the show to delivering his pleasant but pedestrian new tunes. One notable exception was Ain't Ever Goin' Back where Hiatt and Dickinson greatly improved on the studio version by transforming the countrified song about moving past a bad relationship into a fierce blues anthem.

Despite the new album, Hiatt's back catalogue was not neglected. The Allstars, with their fresher ears and younger attitude, greatly improved Hiatt standards like Riding With The King, Cry Love and especially the show closing Slow Turning. The band greedily dove into Hiatt's more upbeat songs, clearly enjoying the slinky The Tiki Bar Is Open and relishing in the bouncy Memphis In The Meantime, but on the slower ones were left without much to do.

For the entirety of his 2 hour set, Hiatt was loose and clearly enjoying himself. He is keenly aware of his status as an aging rocker and finds humor in the added girth and lack of hipness inherent with his graceful aging. Before closing the show with Bring The Family's Thing Called Love, he thanked Bonnie Raitt, who had a much more successful run with the song, for putting his kids through college

Before closing the show with an extended Slow Turning, Hiatt returned to the stage alone for his encore staple Have A Little Faith In Me. Accompanying himself on the electric piano, Hiatt showed that he didn't need the younger rockers behind him to captivate and enthrall his audience.

Labels: North Mississippi Allstars