John Hiatt - Solo Acoustic - Coach House, San Juan Capistrano, California

Another gig at the infamous Coach House in San Juan. The Coach House is one of those love/hate venues for me. I love the fact that they attract top artists such as Hiatt, Al Stewart, Adrian Belew, Peter Fripp, JJ Cale, Bruce Cockburn, Robben Ford, David Lindley, Norah Jones and many more. But the venue has questionable acoustics, they typically mix the music too loud and the food sucks. Yet the place holds less than 300 people, has good looking hostesses and is unmatched in Orange County for the artist line up and an intimate live music experience.

John Hiatt is one of those great artists who has achieved more success having his songs recorded and performed by other artists such as Linda Ronstadt, Eric Clapton & B.B. King, Buddy Guy, Bonnie Raitt, and Emmylou Harris. A true singer-songwriter's singer-songwriter, Hiatt has more than 23 records under his belt. I've seen John play a half a dozen times and always at small to mid-sized venues such as The Belly Up in Solana Beach, The Warfield in San Francisco and The Grove in Anaheim. Typically John plays with a complete band and classically John gives his compadres in recording and touring their own name — call it a brand. Most recently it was The Goners, who appear on his most recent release Beyond This Gruff Exterior. Other bands that have joined him include The Nashville Queens and The Guilty Dogs. But tonight he shed himself of excess baggage and took the stage at The Coach House naked, save a couple six-string guitars, a 12-string and an electric piano.

The primary difference between catching a gig at a small venue versus a full-blown production at a bigger theatre or heaven forbid a hockey arena is the connection the artist makes with the audience — on a personal venue. Someone in the crowd yelled out between songs "How's Rita?" John held off from launching into one of the 25 songs we'd hear that night and asked "Who?"

"Rita!"

John rubbed his brow with one hand muting the strings of his ax with the other. "Rita. Rita Farnsworth?" He looked puzzled but a huge smile came to his face. "I can't believe it. Rita Farnsworth, the first girl I ever kissed."