Carlene Carter's comeback trail

The other night, I was able to catch Carlene Carter in concert. For those familiar with her music, you probably also could connect that Musical Shapes refers to one of her earlier albums. I am pleased to report that she was in fine form. Fiesty, rockin’, twangy but most of all honest, as a performer and a person. I never saw her back in the day but have now seen her twice while on the comeback trail and haven’t been disappointed either time. And it has been quite the comeback trail. She has survived more than her share of death around her (her mom June Carter, her stepdad Johnny Cash, her boyfriend Howie Epstein) as well as her own nearly fatal addictions. It would be a nice story that she’s simply alive, let alone in such fine form. And I couldn’t help but notice that there was a reserved table in front of the stage (for those keeping track, this was at the Mint in L.A.) with the name Lowe on the reservation card. It was for her daughter Tiffany, who Carlene had with Nick Lowe. Coincidentally, both now are on Yep Roc Records and both recently have come through town (Lowe put on a terrific, albeit lower key show with Robyn Hitchcock at L.A.’s El Rey Theater). Btw, Carter’s fine new album is entitled Stronger, a very aptly named album.