An evening in the company of Mary Chapin Carpenter at the Opera House proved mostly a delight.
The show amounted to a pick 'n' mix selection from a career that has spanned a dozen years, and while the singer has become more politicised in recent times, the abiding impression here was that she remains at heart a honky tonk woman.
Backed by a five-piece band, Carpenter blended feel-good roadhouse stomps such as I Feel Lucky and Come On Come On with breathy, bitter-tang love songs such as It Works and the beautiful 10,000 Miles.
For me, it occasionally veered dangerously close to a kind of countrified complaint-rock, but just when you start to get antsy, she puts a hold on the invective and lets loose something as lovely and cosily maudlin as This Old Shirt.