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Review Carpenter offers subdued show By JONEL ALECCIA There are some visitors who are welcome whenever they arrive, even if the time's not quite right and the hosts are tired. That seemed the case with singer Mary Chapin Carpenter, who rolled into Medford Wednesday on the latest leg of a 20-city autumn acoustic tour. Like accommodating kin, an audience of about 650 showed up to greet the Grammy-winning star, despite the midweek date and ticket prices that averaged more than $40. The crowd didn't quite fill the 750-seat Craterian Ginger Rogers Theater, and folks across several aisles seemed preoccupied with more practical concerns: babysitters, soccer games, work schedules. But that didn't stop the audience from reacting warmly to Carpenter, who admitted she was offering a toned-down version of her usual high-energy, full-band tours. "We've got a lot of depressing songs for you," Carpenter joked to the audience after a delicate rendition of "Halley Came to Jackson." "An acoustic tour kind of lends itself to melancholy." With only three musicians accompanying her -- John Jennings and Duke Levine on guitars, John Carroll on piano and accordian -- Carpenter performed a range of familiar tunes with subdued style. There was "He Thinks He'll Keep Her" and "Passionate Kisses" from her hit album, "Come On Come On." And there was an even earlier song from a whole album of songs written about a failed relationship. "My best friend called him `Torture Man,"' Carpenter recalled, before launching into the tormented lyrics of "You Win Again." The introspection didn't stop there. From her tune, "Outside Looking In," to what Chapin described as "a bummer song by someone else," seemingly titled "Dancing in the Dark," the group onstage was a inward-looking little gathering. At one point, it seemed that all four performers were playing with their eyes completely closed. Not that that was bad, really. The singing was lovely and soothing, the songs lyrical and intelligent. But the vibe created by all this subtlety was, well, contagious. "You're so ... quiet," Carpenter told her calm crowd, peering past the lights into the audience. "And that's fine, but there's this built in fear of space." To be sure, a few tunes picked up the pace. A silly song likely called "If I Were a Diva" explored what Carpenter would be like if she were a different kind of singer entirely. "If I were Mariah, I would wear stilettos," went one verse of the song, which also featured Madonna and super-diva Celine Dion. The audience howled, especially during a spunky story about Carpenter's treatment at the Grammy Awards a few years back. "Mariah Carey's bodyguards mowed me down!" she said indignantly. "I was pissed." Then she added, catlike: "Meow." Carpenter's gig approached the 90-minute mark, too late for a reviewer to stay for encores. She was preceded on stage by singer-songwriter Catie Curtis. Curtis offered a quick set of mostly autobiographical tunes, performed in a throaty yet delicate voice full of warmth and humor. She also received a reserved welcome. "You're extremely, like, polite," Curtis told the crowd. "Sorry," an audience member joked apologetically. But surely the performers understand: It was Wednesday. (JoNel Aleccia is Mail Tribune reporter. She can be reached at 776-4465.) Mail Tribune Copyright � The Mail Tribune 1998, Medford, Oregon USA