Carly Simon began her concert Tuesday night cozily perched on a couch, an apropos move given the singer spent 95 minutes turning the Chicago Theatre’s stage into her own living room away from home. Wearing a snow hat, velvet housecoat and slipper boots, she looked as if she had just come in from the freezing temperatures and was preparing to settle down by a fireplace.
Simon also brought along a coat rack, end table and her two children, Sally and Ben Taylor, both of whom opened the show and helped out during mom’s set. For most performers, such creature comforts would seem trite, but for an artist who hasn’t toured in 10 years–and whose renowned stage fright has largely kept her out of concert halls since 1980–they were essential. Simon used it all to her advantage, making the last stop of her brief road trip a family affair.
Backed by an 11-piece band, Simon strolled through the classic American songbook on the blissful “The More I See You” and “I Only Have Eyes For You,” bringing an elegantly respectful albeit distinctive sensuality to the popular standards. Age has been kind to the 60-year-old–her vocals now capable of sultrier tones and smokier textures. A lack of eye contact and a few odd facial expressions betrayed her nervousness, but Simon’s good humor and hip-checking dance sway continually offset any anxiety issues.
So did her contralto pipes and classy, seductive delivery. Simon was careful not to overcompensate or enter histrionic nosedives, instead pulling subtle emotional hues from each tune. What she didn’t have in range she made up for in swinging expressiveness, winking an eye on the funky “Legend In Your Own Time,” getting sassy for “Jesse” and stirring salty spunk into the otherwise diluted adult-contemporary hit “You Belong To Me.”
Yet Simon also stumbled, spending half an hour caught up in needless shtick and silly distractions. After inviting former brother-in-law Livingston Taylor to join her, they performed the cornball “Best of Friends” before Taylor played “Never Lose Hope” solo, completely draining the concert’s momentum. Simon then laughed her way through “Let It Snow,” during which Santa Claus sauntered out, further diverting the vocalist from the task at hand.
But Simon recovered with the chorally dramatic “Let the River Run,” and had the sold-out crowd on its feet and clapping along to “You’re So Vain.” Not finished with the family reunion, she playfully pranced with Ben on an uptempo “Mockingbird” before calling Livingston, Sally and Ben to her side for an acoustically calm reading of James Taylor’s “You Can Close Your Eyes.”
