Mary Chapin Carpenter does Heinz Hall -- Pittsburgh, PA - 7/16/99
They're selling T-shirts in the lobby.
Gilded cherubs, peeking over ornate chandeliers from their high-ceilinged perches, watch in curious silence as ushers in tuxes graciously escort patrons in shorts to their seats.
A man whose salt and pepper hair reaches halfway down the back of his bright print shirt shuffles his snakeskin boots across the plush red carpet.
In the garden, spray from the waterfall cools the backs of the preppy hucksters who are raffling a car. A blonde woman wearing a full-length, sleeveless, orange dress which fails to conceal her round, protruding belly sits alone at a wrought iron table looking more uncomfortable than expectant. A very different blonde woman, dressed in black leather jacket and pants, sits at a far bench smoking a cigarette. There is a smattering of tattoos.
On stage, between the velvet curtains, a drum kit sits on a platform immediately behind a line of guitars -- bass and six-string, electric and acoustic -- which traverses the width of the stage. Microphones, wires and large black boxes with red and green spots of light occupy an area known for its acoustics.
Electrical cables running from the stage to the sound controls behind the orchestra section, are attached to the floors with silver duct tape. Additional pieces of duct tape form arrows on the floor warning passers-by of the potential danger.
Down at the Twist and Shout, I Feel Lucky, Passionate Kisses, Shut Up and Kiss Me and no space for line dancing.
Waiting for the show to begin, a thirtysomething woman with short, straight hair and a long but unglamorous taupe dress shares a box of Swedish fish with her girlfriends. Impaling one of the red, candy fish on a toothpick she waves it in front of her companions. "Sushi," she proclaims.
