Mary Chapin Carpenter has returned to the road in an age of miracles.
The singer-songwriter’s last concert tour, following release of her 2007 album “The Calling,” was interrupted by the diagnosis of a life-threatening pulmonary embolism, sidelining her career for several years.
But Carpenter is back on tour in support of “The Age of Miracles,” an album that explores her purpose in life and the discoveries she made while recovering from a very serious illness.
In a tandem concert with singer-songwriter Shawn Colvin Wednesday (Aug. 4) at the Woodland Park Zoo, Carpenter reflected on the two albums and her long absence from concert stages. She introduced the title song, “The Calling,” with a heartfelt message of gratitude.
“It speaks to my belief that we are all born with a purpose, a calling,” she said.
For the audience sprawled on the zoo’s north meadow for her sold-out concert, Carpenter perhaps had no greater calling (at least for the moment) than to share the songs that brought her legions of fans: “Passionate Kisses,” “Shut Up and Kiss Me,” “I Feel Lucky” and “Down at the Twist and Shout.”
Backed by a five-piece band for her ZooTunes concert, Carpenter was in good spirits, poking fun at Sarah Palin and telling stories about her life and career during the last few years.
The Grammy-winning artist opened the set with “We Traveled So Far,” a wistful, reflective song from “The Age of Miracles,” followed by “I Put My Ring Back On,” “Passionate Kisses” and “Naked to the Eye.”
Carpenter explained that during her recovery she read novelist Ernest Hemingway’s “A Moveable Feast,” a book she had first read years before, and became fascinated by his first wife, Hadley, and their life together in Paris in the early 1920s. The result was the new song “Mrs. Hemingway” (a track from “The Age of Miracles”), a tender, romantic tune about the couple’s relationship and the adventures they shared during an extraordinary time in literary history.
Carpenter closed the main set with such songs as “I Feel Lucky” and “I Take My Chances.” She returned for an encore with Colvin that featured a rousing “Down at the Twist and Shout” and poignant “He Thinks He’ll Keep Her.”
Colvin’s own set featured such songs as “Sunny Came Home” and “That’s the Way Love Goes,” performed with Carpenter.
Alas, I arrived at the venue too late to see what reportedly was a great performance by Colvin.
Here’s a link to the Web site for the ZooTunes concert series. Read a story about the Woodland Park Zoo’s new West Entrance.
To visit Carpenter’s Web site, click here.